
Now, Gary Glover has contacted me with photographs of his two William Cole armchairs! And one of them is a low-back (see photo above). Gary’s chairs look as though they were made to go together, and both have the broad arms described above.
I’m very grateful to Gary for the information about his chairs. While it seems almost inevitable that other Cole armchairs will emerge, there’s little doubt that his low-back chair is extremely rare. The pairing of the high-back with the low-back is possibly unique, and I hope they can continue to stay together.
Just to reiterate the chairmaker relationships. William Cole lived in Bosbury, Herefordshire, close to Philip Clissett, and his sister was married to Clissett. Cole himself was married to the daughter of John Warrender, another chairmaker who was Philip Clissett’s uncle by marriage.