The Black Tables & Chairs in Dining Hall -Only existing Complete Set Made by the Sibley family from Stewiacke, Nova Scotia.
Fig. 4. Ladder-back side chair (height 88cm, width 47.5cm, depth 41cm, floor to seat 44.5cm), mixed woods. Made by Sibley, not marked. The tapered feet, stretcher arrangement, bent back posts which taper above the seat, arched slats, and mushroom-shaped finials are distinctive of the chairs made by the Sibley family. Joseph Sibley, a Wittenburg, Colchester County, farmer, was the first Sibley to make chairs and other items, beginning ca. 1820, and is considered to be the one responsible for the distinctive combination of features. Michael Sibley began to work with his father by 1853 and was managing the shop by 1858. The operation had expanded by 1878 and wood-seated chairs, stencilled "Manufactured by/Sibley Brothers/ Lower Stewiacke/Colchester County/ N.S." are supposed to date from this period. A Sibley cousin, John Wright, sold the furniture throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec. The business closed by 1898. The original seat on this chair was likely a woven splint seat. It has been replaced with a piece of green carpet laced with nylon cord. Originally the chair was painted green. Fisherman's Life Museum, Jeddore Oyster Ponds, Halifax County, cat. no. NSM 78.132.2
Fig. 4. Ladder-back side chair (height 88cm, width 47.5cm, depth 41cm, floor to seat 44.5cm), mixed woods. Made by Sibley, not marked. The tapered feet, stretcher arrangement, bent back posts which taper above the seat, arched slats, and mushroom-shaped finials are distinctive of the chairs made by the Sibley family. Joseph Sibley, a Wittenburg, Colchester County, farmer, was the first Sibley to make chairs and other items, beginning ca. 1820, and is considered to be the one responsible for the distinctive combination of features. Michael Sibley began to work with his father by 1853 and was managing the shop by 1858. The operation had expanded by 1878 and wood-seated chairs, stencilled "Manufactured by/Sibley Brothers/ Lower Stewiacke/Colchester County/ N.S." are supposed to date from this period. A Sibley cousin, John Wright, sold the furniture throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec. The business closed by 1898. The original seat on this chair was likely a woven splint seat. It has been replaced with a piece of green carpet laced with nylon cord. Originally the chair was painted green. Fisherman's Life Museum, Jeddore Oyster Ponds, Halifax County, cat. no. NSM 78.132.2
