Morris Chair

A Morris chair is an early type of reclining chair. The design was adapted by William Morris's firm, Morris & Company from a prototype owned by Ephraim Colman in rural Sussex, England. It was first marketed around 1866.

The design features a seat with a reclining back and moderately high armrests, which give the chair an old-style appearance. The characteristic feature of a Morris chair is a hinged back, set between two un-upholstered arms, with the reclining angle adjusted through a row of pegs, holes or notches in each arm. The original Morris chair had dark stained woodwork, turned spindles and heavily decorated upholstery, in typical Victorian style.

The chair was widely copied after Morris' introduction, and is still manufactured. The appearance and style of upholstery is usually quite different to Morris', but the overall layout is constant. The best known examples are those first produced by Gustav Stickley and then widely copied afterwards. These are in the American Craftsman idiom, rather than English Arts & Crafts styles. Woodwork is lightly finished and largely undecorated oak in rectangular sections. Upholstery comprises unframed cushions in brown leather, or green or brown fabric. As this style is by far the most common, the chair is often thought of as a Stickley design named in homage to Morris, rather than an original Morris piece. As with all Stickley, these chairs are keenly collected today and originals fetch several thousands of dollars. The recurrent mention of the Morris chair in popular song lyrics indicates its romantic and erotic use:

The chair is mentioned prominently in the Marilyn Monroe cover of the Irving Berlin song "You'd Be Surprised" as follows:

"At a party

Or at a ball

I've got to admit

He's nothing at all

But in a Morris chair

You'd be surprised."

Additionally, the Morris chair is mentioned in another Irving Berlin song, "All By Myself", published in 1921, as well as in the song "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" (1922), by Joseph Meyer:

"A cozy Morris chair

Oh what a happy pair",

or, as Barbra Streisand sang in her recording of the song:

"A cozy Morris chair

What kind of chair is a Morris chair?".

It is mentioned also in the World War I patriotic song: "If he can fight like he can love, good night Germany" (words by Grant Clarke and Howard E. Rogers, Music by George W. Meyer)

"..I know he'll be a Hero over there, 'Cause he's a bear in any Morris chair..."

The Morris chair appears in the song, "Oh, Sister! Ain’t That Hot!" verse 2:

"Now some folks like a Morris chair

"Some prefer a baby grand.

"But things like that cannot compare

"With that lovin’ hot lip band."

On February 6, 1932 Jimmie Rodgers recorded "Home Call" in Dallas, Texas

"A big Morris chair waits for me there

"In front of a bright log fire

"My babe at my knee and my wife sings with me

"While I strum on my old guitar

"In fact we're as happy, as happy can be

"In the evening just Carrie, Anita and me

The Morris chair appears in a song that anticipated the era of alcohol prohibition (1920-1933), "You Don’t Need the Wine To Have a Wonderful Time (While They Still Make Those Wonderful Girls) (Music by Harry Akst, lyric by Howard E. Rogers), published in 1919 and introduced by Eddie Cantor, in live performance, in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 (recorded in "Ziegfeld follies of 1919," 33 RPM vinyl disk, : Smithsonian Collection, published, 1977):

"Why should we care if the wine isn’t there?

"We still have the sofa and the old Morris chair."

It is also mentioned in the Three Stooges short film, Rockin' thru the Rockies (release date March 8, 1940), when Curly claims, "I once shot a Morris chair from underneath Sitting Bull."

Bullwinkle J. Moose explains "... you sit happily in your Morris Chair ..." in the "Mister Know-it All" segment of Rocky an Bullwinkle, Season 2, episode 3 .

The chair is a popular subject with amateur furniture makers, particularly in the USA.