Need help identifying this 19th century (?) hall chair

by Kelsie
(Kentucky)

hall chair

Hi all,

About a year ago, in a small town in Western Kentucky, I bought a very narrow, spindly chair in an antique shop for $30.00 I fell in love with the slight gothic-ness of it, and affectionately began calling it my "Gothic Tea Party" chair. Probably incorrect in my assessment, but oh well! I use the chair in my dining room (I have mis-matched antique dining chairs), and I love how it looks with my modern dining room table in my Victorian house. :) Today, I was at an antique store in Oklahoma and I found a chair that was the PRECISE twin of the chair I'd purchased in Kentucky (right down to the gold velvet seat/back). It was $20, so I snapped it up, cleaned it up, gave it a good rub-down with lemon oil, and decided I really wanted to know more about it. The tag on the chair had identified it as a "hall chair," and some research into the purpose/ideas behind hall chairs makes me think that the assessment was correct. However, I want to know more!

When do you think it was made?

Would it have been used by a lower/middle class family? It's not terribly ornate, so I figured it would fit in a smaller/less affluent household.

Since I've encountered a couple of these chairs in the past couple of years, I have to wonder....did one company/person make them?

And finally, did I get a good deal? $20 seemed like a small amount to pay for something I love so much. :)

Thanks for any info you all can provide on this chair! I've been getting more and more intrigued!