A virtually identical armchair from Harewood House is illustrated in The Shorter Dictionary of English Furniture (R. Edwards, London, 1964, pp. 142, 145, pl. 102). The design of this chair , with its unusual and spacious proportions, was undoubtedly influenced by the extraordinary width of 'fashionable costume' which reached its height during this time period. Beginning in the 1730s and continuing into the following decade, the 'whalebone hoop' adopted by ladies continued to widen, until it was almost impossible to pass through doorways without rotating sideways. Chairs of this form with wide seats, high backs, and arms which are set further back on the seat rail were necessary to enable such stylish ladies to sit. The form was useful for men too, whose fashionable coats stretched out wide with flaring skirts, typically stiffened with whalebone (Anon., 'A George II Chair,' Connoisseur, 1966, p. 109).