Knapp Chair
Object NameChair
Datec. 1880s
MediumWood and fabric
Dimensions44 × 24 × 28 in. (111.8 × 61 × 71.1 cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Mary Jean Stoddard Fowler. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object number73.5.1
Status
On viewCollections
Label TextAlthough few items original to the parlor have found their way back to the Farm House Museum, one exception includes a carved Queen Anne velvet upholstered chair used by Seaman Knapp while living in the house. As the first professor of agriculture at Iowa State, Knapp lived with his family in the house from 1880 to 1885, during which time he became the second president of the college. He was one of the most influential members of the college faculty and his effort on behalf of scientific experiments and demonstration plots resulted in federal legislation for financing experiment stations at land-grant colleges.
This was a favorite boyhood chair for Herman Knapp (son of Seaman H. Knapp). Herman was 17 when his family moved into the Farm House. The chair was originally stuffed with Spanish moss. The color of the upholstery has changed from dark green pile with a cut design of large flowers to orange corduroy to the current red velvet. The chair was last refinished in 1965-66. It is done in the Chippendale style.
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Farm House Museum
