Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010753-0010, Kieler Woche

A deckchair (or deck chair) is a

folding chair A folding chair is a type of folding furniture, a light, portable chair that folds flat or to a smaller size, and can be stored in a stack, in a row, or on a cart. It can be combined with a folding table. Uses Folding chairs are generally used f ...

, usually with a frame of treated wood or other material. The term now usually denotes a portable folding chair, with a single strip of

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

forming the backrest and seat. It is meant for

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisur ...

, originally on the deck of an ocean liner or

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

. It is easily transportable and stackable, although some styles are notoriously difficult to fold and unfold. Different versions may have an extended seat, meant to be used as a leg rest, whose height may be adjustable; and may also have arm rests.

History and usage

In Northern Europe, the remains of folding chairs have been found dating back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. Foldable chairs were also used in Ancient Egypt,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the folding chair was widely used as a

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

furniture piece - Part of the standing of a Bishop was his Cathedra (official chair or throne) which was housed in his

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

(Church which housed his throne) - but since his duties inevitably meant him travelling around his Diocese from time to time an easily transportable version of his Cathedra was a standard part of his luggage. Often this took the form of a folding stool (virtually identical to those used by ancient Roman Generals and Administrators) but several folding or dismantle-able armchairs were devised - of which the

Glastonbury Chair Glastonbury chair is a nineteenth-century term for an earlier wooden chair, usually of oak, possibly based on a chair made for Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, England. The Glastonbury chair was known to exist since the Early Midd ...

is the most famous. It's rediscovery in the early 19th century was possibly influential in the development of many folding chairs in the 19th century (despite the fact it is actually not a folding chair as such), certainly many reproduction copies of it were made. . In the United States, an early

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

for a folding chair was by John Cham in 1855. Folding wooden chairs with woven or cane seats and backs, of the type now known in the UK as "steamer chairs", began to be used on ocean liner decks from about the 1860s, and were known at the time as "deck chairs". It is unclear whether they were first made in the US or Britain._Antony_Woodward
,_''Design_Dinosaurs:_5._The_Deck_Chair'',_The_Independent,_27_February_1994.html" ;"title="Antony Woodward"> Antony Woodward
, ''Design Dinosaurs: 5. The Deck Chair'', The Independent, 27 February 1994">Antony Woodward"> Antony Woodward
, ''Design Dinosaurs: 5. The Deck Chair'', The Independent, 27 February 1994 Retrieved 31 December 2012 In England, John Thomas Moore (1864-1929) took out a patent for adjustable and portable folding chairs in 1886, and started manufacturing them in Macclesfield. Arts Journal, "Royal Deck Chairs", 29 May 2008
Retrieved 7 June 2015 Moore made two types: the Waverley, described as "the best ship or lawn tennis chair", and the Hygienic, which was a rocking chair "valuable for those with sluggish and constipated bowels".
Retrieved 31 December 2012 Early versions of the deck chair were made of two rectangular wooden frames hinged together, with a third rectangle to maintain it upright. A rectangular piece of canvas, of the type used in

hammock A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wo ...

s, was attached to two of the wooden rectangles to provide a seat and support. The use of a single broad strip of canvas, originally olive green in colour but later usually of brightly coloured stripes, has been credited to a British inventor named Atkins in the late 19th century, although advertisements of 1882 for a similar design refer to it as "The Yankee Hammock Chair", implying an American origin. Other sources refer to it as the "Brighton beach chair" or "''chaise transatlantique''" ("''chaise transat''"). The term 'deck' chair was used in the novels of

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...

in the 1880s, and passengers on P & O liners in the 1890s were encouraged to take their own on board. BBC h2g2, "The Deckchair"
. Retrieved 31 December 2012 The classic deckchair can only be locked in one position. Later, the strips of wood going toward the back were lengthened and equipped with supports so that there were several possible sitting positions. A removable footrest can also add to the comfort of the user. Folding deckchairs became widely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During the golden age of ocean liner travel, the deckchairs upon ships' decks were sometimes reserved for particular passengers for whom crew would attach a paperboard name tag to the wicker seat-back. Such a tag is visible on an empty deckchair near the center in a famous 1912 photo showing survivors of the RMS ''Titanic''

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

after rescue while they rest on the deck of RMS ''Carpathia''. The same system was in use aboard ''Carpathia'' two years later; a reservation tag is visible on the empty deckchair in the lower right of a 1914 photo. The deckchairs shown on some of those photographs are of the more solid "steamer chair" type, rather than the portable canvas-seated chairs. The ''Titanic'' carried 600 such wooden chairs; six were known to survive, of which one was sold in 2001 for £35,000. The hiring out of deckchairs, on an hourly or daily basis, became established in British

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

s, often for use on

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

s and

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

s, in the early 20th century. They were also often used in large public parks such as Hyde Park, and for spectators at informal sporting events such as local

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

matches. With the widespread availability of lighter and even more portable forms of seating later in the century, the use of deckchairs declined. In one of the largest English resorts, Blackpool, 68,000 deckchairs were rented out in 2003, at £1.50 a day, but tourism officers suggested that they should be phased out, except on the piers themselves, because they were a reminder of the era of " cloth caps", and had "had their time in the 50s and 60s".

Sunlounger

A sunlounger is somewhat like a deckchair, and bed-like in nature. The rear surface can be tilted up to allow the user to sit up and read, or it can be reclined to a flat surface to allow

sleeping Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

in the horizontal position.

Usage in metaphor

To "''rearrange the deck chairs''" is a popular saying meaning that things have changed only apparently. The phrase, " rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic" amplifies on it by implying that someone is overly concerned with unimportant minutiae during a crisis.

Gallery

File:Cliffs and Deckchairs on Beer Beach, August - geograph.org.uk - 218533.jpg, Deckchairs on beach at

Beer, Devon Beer is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. The village faces Lyme Bay and is a little over west of the town of Seaton. It is situated on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and its picturesque clif ...

, England, both open and stacked Image:Deck chair red.JPG, Deckchair with arms and padded head rest File:Rms carpathia passengers on deck 1914 blasius zeiser osa group of 1914.JPG, On-deck image of passengers on

RMS Carpathia RMS ''Carpathia'' was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their shipyard in Wallsend, England. The ''Carpathia'' made her maiden voyage in 1903 from Liverpool to Boston, and continued on ...

during a 1914 overseas tour led by Father Blasius Zeiser File:Sheridanp268crop01.jpg, U.S. Civil War Union Cavalry General

Philip Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...

on campaign

References

External links