Bellaire Metal Lawn Chairs
West Branch Delaware River
Starlight PA
2007
by Jennifer

I took off for a weekend last month to try and recall the whole year ~Jimmy Buffett

find perspective

QUOTE: Take a JOURNEY

https://www.retrometalchairs.com/

The first historical accounting of the stamped metal lawn chair commonly called Motel, Bouncer, Shell Back, Clamshell, Tulip etc. It takes the reader from where the more common names derive from to many of the past manufacturers to just who may have actually designed the first Metal Lawn Chair. Includes case history on three of the most prolific makers of all steel lawn chairs and gliders. Contains insight as to who helped design some of the more commonly found chairs and gliders and their contributions to the Art Deco and Industrial Age time periods. Provides telling points to identify many styles of vintage chairs, their dates and maker. The book will help the reader understand these great old chairs much better, put away some misconceptions and make hunting, restoring and collecting the old furniture more exciting and fun. Includes a large number of color photos as well as a good bit of vintage advertising. It does not answer every question but instead makes reasonable effort to explain the unknown for many of the more unique pieces.

The Vintage, Atomic Era Retro styling of our Bellaire Vintage Metal Lawn Chair goes well with just about any Vintage or Retro décor setting and work great as Front Porch pieces, in the Backyard or around the Pool! Place a few on your Deck and you have an instance Retro Oasis of Bright Colors and Vintage Accents to entertain friends and family.

In early 2005, Torrans Manufacturing Company, LLC began making historically accurate reproductions of the famous Retro Metal Lawn Chairs designed by, Rideout, Schreckengost, Shott and Warmack. Today Torrans Manufacturing Company, LLC makes five historically accurate Retro Metal Lawn Chair in 11 Retro Atomic Colors! These designs include our Bellaire, Thunderbird, Parklane, Riviera and Skylark.

History of the Retro Metal Lawn Chair
Beginning in about 1937, industrial designers began experimenting with a unique chair design for outdoor use. Tube frame chairs utilizing the cantilever feature had already been in use for several years. This was the highly popular Dinette Set which featured round, chrome tube frame parts with a very colorful and jazzy Formica top. The Chrome Dinette Set was a staple in almost every home beginning in the late 1930’s and lasted well into the 1970’s!
Aside from just a few purpose made outdoor chairs and gliders, the Retro Metal Lawn Chair had yet to be developed. It wasn’t until famous Art Deco and Industrial designers such as John Gordon Rideout, Viktor Schreckengost and Normal Bel Geddes began dabbling in bent tubing and stamped sheet metal that a true all steel lawn chair became widely available.
John Gordon Rideout is credited with creating the first, deep dished or deep drawn metal lawn chair known as the Calumet Chair in about 1938. Rideout’s chair was quickly called by several other names such as Clamshell, Shellback, Tulip and Steel Lawn Chair.
Viktor Schreckengost designed the Beverly Hills Lawn Chair in about 1942. This chair saw very limited production due to the start of World War II and was not seen afterwards. In the Post War Era, industrialists like Allen (or possibly Alvin) Shott along with Ed Warmack began making deep drawn all steel porch or lawn chairs using round tube cantilever frames.


The West Branch Delaware River is one of two branches that form the Delaware River. It is approximately 90 mi (144 km) long, and flows through the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania.