The 1908 opening of the House Office Building (later the Cannon House Office Building) gave Representatives individual offices for the first time. Members each received a roll top desk and this barrel-shaped swivel chair. Like all furniture made for the new building, these chairs were made from high-quality mahogany. Specifications also required that the “outer edge of the four base feet of the Representatives’ desks chairs to be protected by a special claw shape, in solid cast brass.”
