[HN Gopher] Wharton Esherick and the Armstrong Linoleum Company
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       Wharton Esherick and the Armstrong Linoleum Company
        
       Author : thomasjb
       Score  : 21 points
       Date   : 2025-06-10 13:31 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (whartonesherickmuseum.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (whartonesherickmuseum.org)
        
       | dfxm12 wrote:
       | If you're in the Philadelphia area, I highly suggest checking out
       | the Wharton Esherick museum. The PMA has an impressive Esherick
       | fireplace [0], too (among a lot of other impressive art!). If
       | you're interested in beautiful, hand crafted furnishings, you can
       | also hit up the Nakashima workshop and Bertoia studio as well.
       | 
       | Anyway, the story about the woman looking for the stool in the ad
       | reminds me of a similar issue my mom had with an ad. She was
       | given an ad for Wayfair featuring a particular end table. She
       | clicked on it expecting to go right to the product page for that
       | end table. However, it just went straight to the home page and
       | after both of looked, that end table appeared to simply not be
       | for sale by Wayfair. They lost a customer that day.
       | 
       | I'm also frustrated when a rug or lighting company sends me an ad
       | where they have all this beautiful furniture in the ad (that they
       | don't sell) and, after clicking through, I realize their products
       | were what seemed like the set dressing of the ad. I guess I get
       | that if your products aren't good enough, put them next to
       | something nice in an ad, but it doesn't put me in the mood to buy
       | anything.
       | 
       | 0 - https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/84555
        
       | jihadjihad wrote:
       | From the "Armstrong spread in Ladies Home Journal" copy in TFA:
       | 
       | > Below the hefty, vinyl wear surface is a foamed vinyl backing
       | called Cushioncord. Because this backing "gives" under pressure,
       | Cushioned Coronelle is quieter, warmer, and more comfortable to
       | walk on.
       | 
       | The description and the photo instantly took me back to my
       | grandmother's kitchen, that little bit of squish as you head to
       | the fridge.
        
       | ofalkaed wrote:
       | The staircase in his studio is impressive[0], completely changed
       | how I looked at wood and wood working. Love that little chair
       | under it, for years I have tried to design a chair based on its
       | basic structure but have never managed to come up with anything I
       | am happy with. He played with that structure a fair amount but
       | the others always looked off to me.
       | 
       | [0]https://whartonesherickmuseum.org/wp-
       | content/uploads/2020/04...
        
         | aaronax wrote:
         | Perhaps it is stashed in a location where it can't be used
         | because it is ergonomically terrible? (Appears so to me at
         | least.) And for the same reason you have not been able to come
         | up with a satisfactory variation.
         | 
         | * Leg corners extending above the seat are suspect
         | 
         | * Narrowing back is the opposite of how most chairs get wider
         | towards the top, where you actually need the support.
         | 
         | * Back appears to angle back too much.
         | 
         | * Reclining is going to generate shear force on the T joint at
         | the bottom of the back sticks...not optimal. Also you are going
         | to get some crazy forces on the mid-joint of the back sticks.
         | 
         | I conclude: it is just for looking at.
        
           | ofalkaed wrote:
           | Chair backs serve purposes other than reclining against and
           | many are designed with their primary purpose to be something
           | other than reclining. Dining chairs are a good example and
           | historically we see a great many classic designs which are
           | very uncomfortable if you recline into the back; backs on
           | dining chairs were often intended as a handle to make it
           | easier to pull out and push back in from the table and you
           | are supposed to sit on them more as you would a stool.
           | 
           | It is actually a fairly comfortable chair, I built a quick
           | copy years ago just so I could see it in person and get a
           | better feel for the design. Even when made out of scrap low
           | grade pine it held up quite well and was my desk chair until
           | the canvas I used for the seat started to sag too much and
           | did not seem worth replacing since that cheap pine was
           | eventually going to fail. The stresses in the chair are well
           | thought out and will be long lasting if made from a suitable
           | wood.
           | 
           | Not sure why you think the chair can not be used in that
           | location, looks like a great place to stop for a think.
        
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       (page generated 2025-06-10 23:01 UTC)