These chairs are something rather special in our eyes. They are very early Ercol carver dining chairs, dating from the 1940s. We know this because they are CC41 stamped on their backs. The CC41 scheme was put in place by the British government during the second world war as a way to manage increasingly scarce resources like wood. The CC41 austerity regulations meant domestic things like clothing and furniture needed to be manufactured to strict, approved designs. It ran until 1952 as the UK, along of Europe recovered from the war years. Lucian Ercolani designed these six spindle chairs in line with the CC41 scheme but what’s particularly fascinating is that they are the original Ercol Windsor chair design. In the following post-war decades, Ercolani revisited the hoop back Windsor chair design over and over, evolving it, refining it and softening it to the much loved chair that is still made by Ercol today. Here though is the OG… note the chunky D-shaped seat with flat edges and the much straighter legs that in later models are more splayed. Quite remarkably this pair of chairs is over 80 years old and they still have so much to offer. They’re as solid and sturdy as they come. Although dining chairs, these carvers are perfect for any space in the home from fireside to bedroom to hallway. They come with a great history and considerable appeal.
