Hey bub, that is William Penns Chair Your Sitting On

Here is an interesting story out of Philly.com. It seems that a library wants to auction off chairs that once were owned by William Penn and were donated to them in the early 19th Century. But will people in the town take news sitting down? Nope. They may want the chair to stay in the town.

\”people in Newtown are also interested in history, said Hains, and they, too, would be willing to spend the money to help the library and to keep the chairs in town. Hains said that the board should consider other fund-raising options – benefit dinners and concerts, for example – before they sell the chairs.\”

Here is an interesting story out of Philly.com. It seems that a library wants to auction off chairs that once were owned by William Penn and were donated to them in the early 19th Century. But will people in the town take news sitting down? Nope. They may want the chair to stay in the town.

\”people in Newtown are also interested in history, said Hains, and they, too, would be willing to spend the money to help the library and to keep the chairs in town. Hains said that the board should consider other fund-raising options – benefit dinners and concerts, for example – before they sell the chairs.\”



\”We certainly recognize the value of the chairs,\” Shaw said. \”But we also feel that the future of the library is important.\”

\”The chairs, referred to in a library history as Orange Stuart Spanish Chairs, were built in Philadelphia in 1685 by a Boston cabinetmaker who then sold them to William Penn. Penn, in turn, donated them to the Bucks County Courthouse, which at the time was located in Newtown, then the Bucks County seat.\”

\”When the courthouse moved to Doylestown in 1812, judges left the chairs behind. That same year, the library found a temporary home in the old courthouse building and officials chose to salvage the old chairs.\”

\”There are three William Penn chairs owned by the library, and two may be sold. The third, which has been on display at Pennsbury Manor for the last 20 years, has been moved to the library and will remain on permanent display, Shaw said.\”

\”The chairs, because they date to the period between 1680 and 1830, are a rare find, said John Nye, vice president of the American Furniture Department at Sotheby\’s.\”