Upholstered side chair from Mae's Millinery Shop, 1900-1950. Creator: Unknown.

High-backed wooden side chair with an upholstered seat and back. The chair has early Baroque ball turned front legs and straight back legs. There is a carved scallop with feathered edges at the center of the front stretcher, the side stretchers are straight and there is no rear stretcher. The crest of the seat back has a carved late Baroque style shell design at the center and two inward-facing ears on each side of the crest rail. The upholstery on the seat covers the front, side, and rear seat rails. The fabric is velvet with a striped design in red, yellow, orange, green, brown, beige, and black. The back upholstery is edged on the facing and reverse sides with blue passemenetrie with an undulating pattern. Mae Reeves (1912-2016) was a pioneering African-American milliner who was famous for her custom-made hats. Her business, Mae's Millinery Shop in downtown Philadelphia, was one of the first shops in the city to be owned by a woman of African American heritage.