Oak Double Pressback Chairs

Chloe Hughes Interior Design Expert

Chloe is a highly-regarded expert in all things vintage and antique. She’s excited to share her vast knowledge with readers and clients wishing to infuse their homes with a mixture of old-time warmth and modern comfort. In addition to her design work, Chloe regularly volunteers at her local community center, teaching DIY projects to adults and kids.

Updated 31/03/2021

You will absolutely want to see our collection of gorgeous oak double pressback chairs. Lovingly crafted out of one of the most sought-after hard woods, these chairs have both craftsmanship and style, and satisfy any need. Use them for seating at a dining table, or on the front porch. Add one to your bedroom for a handsome addition. Give your home a tried and true new furniture piece.

Buying Guide

Carved wood has always been in demand, but until the late 1800s, it was dependent upon skilled workers who could produce the carvings. But as factories geared up, there first came the spindle carved chairs followed up by pressback chairs. Oak double pressback chairs became a staple of mail-order cataloged because they looked great, but could be manufactured quickly. The pressback process was used on the backs of chairs. It worked by rolling a sharp press over the back of the chair, stamping the design into the chair. Hundreds of chairs could be quickly produced using the same pattern. “Double Pressback” meant that the designs were not just on one side, but on both. For more complex designs, the pattern could be stamped on, then a worker could quickly trace it using a power router.

What types of contemporary pressback chairs are there?

Finding solid wood furniture, even from factories, has become more difficult in recent years. So many items are made from composition board. Amazon offers precisely two listings for this type of chair:

Liberty Furniture Nostalgia Pressback - Not sure we could call this one a double press back since the design is only on one side of the back. However, they are made from hardwood with an oak veneer, and they sure are pretty.
Coaster Home Furnishings - Advertised as a “country armchair” these have chairs have arms, turned spindles, and a pattern pressed into the back. They are beautiful, and a little fancier than Liberty’s chairs.

Are antique pressback chairs worth a while?

Sometimes you can pick up antique pressback chairs, but the woven cane bottoms often need to be replaced. One press back chair fancier commented that if you find someone who does this, to get them to do it and pay them whatever they ask – that it will be well worth it. These older chairs often show some distressing but are in every way beautiful. The turned spindles on Larkin press back chairs, for example, series 1 through 6, are each slightly different. Not only do they hail back to the golden age of oak, they are examples of early factory manufacturing.

Are pressback chairs expensive?

Press back chairs were not intended for the rich. They were a way for people who had a little money to spend on their home to have something beautiful. The very cheapest press back chairs had faint patterns because the press was only passed over them once. More expensive chairs were pressed more than one time, and some even had hand detailing after the press work was done.

Whether you are buying modern replicas or have the good fortune to find genuine, turn of the century antiques, oak double press back chairs are treasures.