I am putting up two Irish Gibson chairs for sale via two random drawings. The chairs are a little different and each has a different price.
Both chairs are black cherry and finished with soft wax (a non-toxic, easily repairable finish). And both are assembled with hide glue, so the joints are reversible should they ever need repairs. The backs of both chairs lean at 25° and are identical in comfort. The arms of both chairs are heavily shaped by hand, which is different than my usual Gibson. Here is how they are different.
The Saddled Gibson
This chair is the one I built for the video we released last week. The seat has a shallow saddle, and the seat is 15-1/2” from the floor.
As I was assembling one arm, I cracked off a piece thanks to a bad hammer whack. The piece glued back on just fine. There are no structural problems with the arm, and I expect the fix will be permanent. But there is a small cosmetic scar visible on the inside of the arm. Because of this cosmetic flaw, the price of the saddled chair is $1,100 plus shipping.
The Unsaddled Gibson
I finished up this chair today, which is why its finish looks a bit brash in the photos. The color will mellow in a couple days. The seat is unsaddled – honestly, the shallow saddle doesn’t improve things as far as I can tell. So I decided to leave this one flat, which is how the chairs were historically made.
The seat is 15-1/4” off the floor – a tad lower than the other chair. The other difference is that I glued cross-grain blocks under the arms to strengthen them during assembly (I will be covering this in a video next week). This chair is $1,400 plus shipping.
How to Buy a Chair
These chairs are being sold individually via two random drawings. (I’m sorry but the chairs cannot be shipped outside the U.S.) If you wish to buy a chair, send an email to lapdrawing@lostartpress.com before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Tuesday, May 30. In the email please use the subject line “Saddled Chair” or “Unsaddled Chair” depending on which one you want. And include your:
- First name and last name
- U.S. shipping address
- Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
Yes, you can enter both drawings, but you must send two emails – one with each requisite subject line. And only one email per each drawing please; duplicates will annoy Fitz, and be deleted.
Shipping options: The winner of each chair is welcome to pick up theirs here in Covington, Ky., and also get a free pencil (woo hoo). I am happy to deliver each chair personally for free within 100 miles of Cincinnati, Ohio. Or we can ship it to you via LTL. The cost varies (especially these days), but it is usually between $200 and $500.
— Christopher Schwarz
Actually, the saddled chair with the cracked arm has added value.
The artist left his mark, in an action documented on video. It’s part of woodworking history.
The artifact has hysterical value.
Hello, the Gibson chairs look great. I think you have said before that they are very comfy to sit in. Any chance you could post a photo of someone seated in the chair to get an idea of how the 25 degree take affects sitting position/scale/comfort please? Thank you
There is a photo of my friend Narayan sitting in a Gibson in our store’s description of the video.
https://lostartpress.com/collections/dvds/products/video-make-a-gibson-chair
Perfect thank you, sorry I didn’t spot that
After spending a week with my wife paddling out in the wilderness, those chairs look extremely comfortable! An honest design with a touch of sophistication, I like it. Beautiful work as always.