This is Mr. Nutto’s Chair. It’s a Belter Chair from the late nineteenth century. It is rosewood with a needlepoint cushion that is not original. It was given to us by my father in law, Howe, who gave us the chair and the story several years ago.
Mr. Nutto was an elderly suitor to Vern, my husband Jeffy Guy’s grandmother, who was a widow for half her life. Vern’s first husband, a wealthy pharmacist, died when he was 40. Jeffy’s mom was 6 at the time. Her brother Rus was 10 and would soon get shipped off to the Milton Hershey School, a private school founded by Hershey Chocolate’s founder.
Vern remained a widow for the rest of her life, but later on, Mr. Nutto came calling. He wanted to marry Vern, but she refused. As the story goes, he died not long after the proposal. It’s unclear when he gave her the chair.
Had she agreed to his hand, he would have left her with a fortune. As it stands, he left her with this chair, which is now ours. It was half broken when we acquired it, and through wear, we fully broke it. I got this photo from the repair shop to indicate it is finished.
Finding someone to repair an antique, rosewood chair is no easy task. When I presented Jeffy Guy with the estimate, he said, “I like that chair, and it’s Mr. Nutto’s chair.”
