Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1804, part of a set of 24 made by Henry Connelly (1770-1826) for Mayor Thomas Willing (1731-1821) of Philadelphia in 1804, rich dark brown color, each retaining probably original caning, mahogany frames with reeded and foliate carvings, slip seats with blue silk upholstery, 33-3/4 x 21 x 21-1/4 in., seat heights 20 in.

Provenance: Thomas Willing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords, New York, NY; Sotheby's New York, NY, "The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords, Vol. II", October 28-29, 2004, lot 293; Sotheby's New York, NY, "Important Americana", January 18, 2018, lot 865, $17,500; The Delany Collection of American Furniture and Decorative Arts

This pair of chairs are part of a set of 24 armchairs and side chairs made by Henry Connelly (1770-1826) for Mayor Thomas Willing (1731-1821) of Philadelphia in 1804. Other armchairs from the set include one in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art illustrated in James Biddle, American Art from American Collections, (1963), p. 15, six others advertised in The Magazine Antiques (October 1960): 293, another was sold at Christie's, New York, NY, "The Collection of Mrs. Bertram D. Coleman", January 16, 1998, sale 8842, lot 265 and a pair sold at Sotheby's, New York, NY, "Important Americana", January 22, 2016, sale 9456, lot 1562. The distinctive turned and tapering reeded legs with bulbous knees and spade feet are also known on a sideboard made by Henry Connelly for Henry Hollingsworth in 1806 (see Marian Carson, "Sheraton's Influence in Philadelphia: The Parallel Works of Henry Connelly and Ephraim Haines," in Philadelphia Furniture and Its Makers, 1975, p. 85). Nearly identical ebony chairs are part of the famous set for Stephen Girard by Ephraim Haines (1775-1837). The surviving bill of sale states that the legs were turned by Barney Schumo and were carved by John Morris. Given the direct similarities it is probable that these men also worked on this set of chairs. For additional information on Henry Connelly and Ephraim Haines see Page Talbot's entries in Philadelphia: Three Centuries of Art (1976), p., 211-2, no. 173a and 173b.