H&M Author Chair vs Ralph Lauren Writer's Chair

[Andrew Liu]

Just curious when the Author chair was released and which one came first. I found this NYT article http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/31/ga...verywhere.html from 1996 that seems to imply RL kicked off the craze in this style of chair, and the similarity in name (author/writer) suggests to me that the resemblance is more than incidental.

I imagine the H&M version is equal to the EJ Victor/RL for a lower price, but the only thing that bothers me about the Author is the multiple leather panels on the sides as opposed to the single panel on the RL. Thoughts about that would also be appreciated--perhaps that should be considered a feature and not a cost-saving measure? Or perhaps they just did it to differentiate?

[drcollie]

My understanding of the 'Author Chair' which is done by Hancock and Moore, is that it was originally copied after one that Ernest Hemingway used in his home, though I have never been able to locate a photo of the original. It was originally called 'the Hemingway Chair' but the estate of the late author wanted a royalty for that so the name was switched to the more generic "Author" chair. Lots of companies make them, in fact Thomasville Furniture has the license to make it, however I have found the H&M model to be the most comfortable of the ones I have tried.

You can get the chair custom-made with either one or two panels if you like, depending on how large the hides are on the leather you select (they vary in s.f. by series). There will be an upcharge for that, and you also have to understand that there will be more natural flaws left in the hide that they would normally cut around and scrap. I like that look myself, but not everyone does. That's a large expanse back there on the wrap, so I doubt a single hide can make the whole coverage, but probably could with two hides and just have either one seam, or two seams.