United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Speaker’s Chair

Scroll-backed brown leather chair with a tall back, acanthus carvings under the armrests, a thin row of pearls carved around the seat, and brass tacks. The chair is on four brass casters./tiles/collection/1/17031.xml
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Scroll-backed brown leather chair with a tall back, acanthus carvings under the armrests, a thin row of pearls carved around the seat, and brass tacks. The chair is on four brass casters.
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Date

ca. 1900

Dimensions

58 × 31 3/4 × 36 in. (147.3 × 80.6 × 91.4 cm)

Accession Number

2007.002.000

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

This imposing scroll-backed chair first appeared at the rostrum when “Uncle Joe” Cannon was Speaker of the House in the early 1900s. It vanished for a while but returned at the start of Sam Rayburn’s long speakership. Although a practical swivel chair on casters, its tall back and simple decorative details—such as the acanthus carvings under the padded armrests and the thin row of pearls carved around the perimeter of the seat—give it an air of authority. An identical replacement occupies the rostrum most days, but this particular historic chair comes out every two years, for the opening day of the new Congress.

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Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov