History Of Wicker

The Origin of Wicker

Antique Wicker Corner Chair

Wickerwork is so much a part of the history of man that it is mentioned in the myths of many primitve societies. The Potawatami Indians believed there was an old lady who lived on the moon and weaved baskets. It was said that when the basket had beed finished the world would be destroyed. Well thank goodness that never happened. It was all due to a dog (the eclipse) who disroyed the basket before its completion, so that the old lady had to start again!
Basketweaving has been a part of so many cultures around the world, and is infact it is the oldest and most widespread of human activities. Today the production of modern wicker furniture is little more than an extension of the basic basketweaving techniques.
The earliest known evidence of the production of wicker furniture date back to the Sumerian civilization of
4000 B.C. The Sumerians used wicker for shelter, floors, transportation, clothing, furnishings and utensils.
The ancient Romans were found to have a design of wicker furniture similar to their predesessors.
Sophisticated examples of ancient Egyptian wickerwork is still intact today. And today even though wickerwork
has the added the advantage of modern technology, with tools and machinery which inevitably reduced the labour and increased efficiency, the basic construction and weaving techniques remain the same.
The word wicker is believed to be of Scandinavian origin: wika which means to bend in Swedish, and vikker meaning willow. Wicker is not a material in itself, but rather an overall classification of furniture woven from any one of a variety of materials â€“ cane (rattan), willow, bamboo, reed etc.

The oldest surviving pieces of wicker furniture date from the Egyptian Empire. These pieces include chests made of reed and rush, wig boxes of reed and papyrus, and wicker hassocks and chairs.

Early American Wicker.

Early American Bedroom Chair

It has been established that one of the first pieces of wickerwork found in America, was a child's cradle said to have been brought in by the Pilgrims who eventually settled in the new land.
Other wickerwork, such as baskets, and cradles were produced in colonial America, but the use of wicker for decoration and furniture had not yet been explored.

The influece of the China trade, however, dramatically affected the American wicker industry. Traders brought back from the Chinese fantail or peacock chairs as novelty items to America and England. However, most importantly was the rattan being imported to England. There the shiny skin was being stripped off and the reed used to weave seats and backs.

At that time, rattan was used as dunnage to hold ships' cargo in place. The stuff was the dumped onto American docks and left to lie until, one day, a young grocer named Cyrus Wakefield took an armfulof it home and wrapped the frame of a rocking chair with it. Here was the begining of the great American wicker furniture industry.
Cyrus Wakefield was among the first to recognise the potential of this new enterprise. Wakefied began importing stripped cane of the types most in demand and had soon established himself as the foremost wicker supplier in America. By 1855 he established a rattan furniture company in South Reading (later to be renamed Wakefield), Massachusetts, and was on the way to becoming one of the most prominent American manufacturers of wicker furniture.

Victorian - Style Wicker

The period between 1860 and 1880 marked the golden age of Victorian - style wicker. This was a period of great experimintation, both in the technology of production and in the design of the wicker furniture. Whereas the inner core, or the reed, of the rattan pole had previosly been discarded, Cyrus Wakefield and others, exited by the possibilities of this new material, began experimenting with the use of reed. In 1856, civil unrest in China resulted in a cutoff of the rattan supply, which encouraged greater emphasis on experimentation using the reed. Reed was found to be not only more flexible than whole rattan but also capable of taking paints or stains while rattan could only be shellacked.

Source: Cornerstone Collector's Guide To Wicker by Jeffrey Weiss

Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company

Heywood Bros. & Wakefield Co.

On March 17, 1897 The Wakefield Rattan Company merged with the firm of Heywood Brothers & Company, thus effecting one of the most important consolidations of capital yet made in New England. the two leading manufacturers of wicker furniture in the world formally joined forces to create the now famous Heywood Brothers and Wakefield Company. The merger was a consolidation of furniture designers,master craftsmen and shrewd business minds from each company. Thus the first joint catalog of 1898 - 1899, Click here to view catalog. The company contributed designs and shared inthe actual labor, is a special significance. It is this catalog which marks the true beginning of the most famous of all wicker furniture companies, for when these two giants of the industry combined forces they produced some of the finest handmade wicker furniture ever made.

Source: Dover Books. Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company, Classic Wicker Furniture, The complete 1898 -1899 Illustrated Catalog

Manufacturer's Labels

One of the only substantial clues to the age of antique wicker pieces is a manufacturer's lable. Most often found either under the seat frame or at the back of the seat frame, this vauable historical record greatly enhances the value of the given piece and should be carefully preserved. A "Heywood Brothers & Company" paper lable confirms that the piece was made during the Victorian era. A red and white "Heywood Brothers and Wakefield Company" lable attests that the piece was manufactured between 1897 and 1921. Celluloid lables with the "Heywood-Wakefield" identification appear on furniture manufactured in 1921 or after.

"Wakefield Rattan Company" (1855-1897)
"Heywood Brothers & Company" (1868-1897)
"Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company" (1897-1921)
"Heywood-Wakefield" (1921 or after)