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Many people have the misconception that rocking chairs originated in America. Whilst the early settlers made them a popular household item their origins stem from Europe.

Rockers (or skates) were a common item on cradles dating back to the late 1300's. They were added to horses as children's toy in the late 1600's but the earliest mention of 'rockers' being added to chairs was first documented in the early 1600's. A prime example of a 'converted chair' is one from Yorkshire UK

can be viewed at

http://www.designboom.com/en g/education/rocking/origin.htm l

Benjamin Franklin was preported to have been the 'inventor' of the rocking chair but this myth has been dispatched out of hand by the discovery of an earlier bill from the furniture maker William Savery in 1774. It bears the inscription: 'to putting rockers on a chair' for which the charge was one shilling and sixpence.

It was during the early 1800's that these chairs came into popular demand and 'custom built' chairs were being produced throughout the World.

Regardless who originally thought up the idea of adding 'rockers' to the legs of a chair, the concept has given comfort to many who could quietly rock away in peace. Large bills to the head of the household non the less became apparent for the renewall of floor covering where the rockers had cut deep into the carpet.

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