Genetic Anomalies

This old rocking chair really does have some stories to tell. Whether the tale is completely told, and whether it's complete and coherent at this point...well, you be the judge. The pictures probably say it all.

In the creation of a Grande Damme like this, especially when one can move back beyond the era of super duper mass production as we know it today, you find telltale little details. Really, these are about the craftsman or the processes he used to produce the finished product.

This elegant Old Lady displays some fun distinguishing anomalies. In the pictures at the top, for example, you see two decorative spindles. The bottom spindle, found on one side of the rocker frame, shows itself as fully rounded, "plump." The other spindle, found on the opposite side of the rocker frame, shows a a flat spot where the craftsman's turning effort ran out of material before the spindle was fully formed on the lathe. He probably had the stock "chucked" into the lathe in somewhat of an eccentric manner. Certainly, the piece was used anyway! The outcome: a fun and identifying feature in the creation of this Grande Damme. She's "herself" and there's probably not another Lady quite like her.

Another fun example can be seen, too. It's found in the crevasse where the decorative top of the chair fits snugly into the turned (left) "rail" to support the upright back of the chair. It hides there, but once you see it it's obvious forevermore. The craftsman's ban saw took very hungry little "nibble" before he had it perfectly aligned for his cut. Oopsie...a fun identifying characteristic.

"What did you say?" (She's talking to me, quite bashfully.) "Oh, but they're my beauty marks...(she says, and she agrees)...and...does the whole world have to know?!" We love her; she feels it. Distinguishing characteristics that make this Grande Damme herself...special!

So until next time it's...Wood Talkin.