Rocking Chair, Owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1865-1875

This chair, made of tree roots and branches, was once owned by one of the richest men in 19th century America. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), the founder of shipping and railroad dynasties, may have used this chair on his porch, in a gazebo, or other garden structure at his Staten Island, New York, home. Many well-to-do Victorians admired rustic furniture that celebrated nature.