Both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were probably influenced by George Hepplewhite in their tastes in home furnishings. Jefferson purchased two sets
of shield-back chairs from two different unidentified makers. The
designs for these chairs were influenced by Plate 5 and Plate 2 of George
Hepplewhite's The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide. Jefferson probably acquired them in New York during the spring of 1790 for his house on Maiden Lane where he resided while serving as Secretary of State.
Washington purchased a set of chairs with a back of quite a different design. The heart shaped shield back design is more closely associated with the work of James Wyatt and Gillows of Lancaster and London. This chair is one of four in the Poore collection at Indian Hill. They formed a part of the set bought by Washington for Mount Vernon, and were in use there at the time of his death.
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