This is our finest reproduction of the legendary campaign chair named in honor of the headquarters of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers stationed at Roorkhee, United Provinces, India, and used by British military officers from the 1890's up to the beginning of World War II.
The army needed a chair that was light in weight, highly portable, exceptionally strong, and very comfortable. In addition it had to be perfectly stable no matter how uneven and rough the terrain. This was achieved by constructing the chair from a series of turned teak wood parts which were fitted into each other loosely and were not glued, being held together by a combination of leather straps and leather or canvas seat and back. When someone sits in the chair, the straps, arms, seat, and back all act under tension to keep the whole structure in place while, at the same time, allowing it to adjust to uneven ground and remain perfectly stable (actually, the heavier the occupant the more stable the chair becomes). All this in a chair that can be assembled or disassembled in a matter of seconds and transported in a compact package 8"dia.x 30" long.
The excellence of the Roorkhee chair's simple, functional design has never been improved upon and it has influenced many of our greatest modern architects and furniture designers. Lewis Drake and Associates is proud to carry on the tradition in our exquisitely detailed reproduction entirely hand made of the finest teak wood solids with seats and backs in your choice of heavy leather-trimmed canvas or 100% top grain buffalo hide all in a quality better than the originals. Overall a strong, functional, workhorse of a chair, impervious to weather, virtually indestructible, and entirely suitable for the finest room in your home or apartment, a weekend tailgating party, your deer camp in the mountains, or the rain forests of Malaysia. The beautiful heavy canvas carrying bag is included in the price.
The last photo depicts the legendary army officer/tiger hunter/conservationist/author, Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Corbett, sitting in a Roorkhee chair in Dhikala, at the foothills of the Himalayas, approximately 300 kilometers from New Delhi, in Corbett National Park, which was designated India's first national park in 1936. (Photo source: Elegance Under Canvas by Nicholas A. Brawer.)
The middle photo is of an original Roorkhee chair from a private collection as depicted in the excellent book, "British Campaign Furniture" by Nicholas A. Brawer, to whom we owe much of the above descriptions and which is also available directly from us. (Some photos in the gallery are shown in canvas, also).
Dimensions: 21" deep, 21" wide, 3.5" tall, 17.5" seat height |
