Georgia Magazine - August 2021 - 7

Curious GEORGIA
By Kathy Witt
Have a seat!
Collectible and Antique
Chair Gallery holds
record-setting
collection
B
arbara H. Hartsfield owns more than
3,000 chairs but can't sit in a single
one of them.
Made of wood, iron, ceramic, leather,
brass, glass and other materials, the chairs
are part of Hartsfield's Guinness World
Records collection of miniature chairs-a
record established in 2008. The chairs run the gamut
in style and size, from simple to intricately ornate
and from as small as a thimble to large enough to
accommodate a toddler. All are showcased in the
Collectible and Antique Chair Gallery in historic
Stone Mountain Village in Stone Mountain.
Inside the three-room renovated
house museum and gift shop are
teapots, cookie jars, wristwatches,
clocks, lamps, items reflecting
national holidays, fruits,
animals and more-all of
them chairs or chair-themed
items. Mind you, these are
not doll furniture pieces but
individual works of art.
" I started collecting by
accident over 30 years ago while
working as a psychiatric nurse, "
Hartsfield says. " I bought a chair and
baby doll to set the mood to write an article
on pregnant psychiatric patients and their young
children. When I was shopping for this one chair,
I found a variety of unique chair designs. After the
article was published, I continued to shop for chairs
as a weekend hobby. "
From that humble beginning, Hartsfield's
E
C
collection grew to epic proportions, and in 2009 a
museum was born.
" The oldest chairs in the collection are a heavy
set of dated clay chair bookends, " Hartsfield says. " I
also have a display case with a variety of chair inkwells,
and that is one of my favorite exhibits. "
Among the most unusual chairs are a 12-inch
Above: Barbara H. Hartsfi eld showcases some of her more than 3,000 chairs and chairthemed
collectibles. Inset below: This director's chair atop a thimble is the smallest in the
collection, which also includes a small chair inside a bottle.
piece that Atlanta designer Karen Woods constructed out of toothpicks
and a clawfoot tub adorned with chairs and flowers. Wow-factor displays
include a Christmas tree trimmed with more than 100 chair ornaments and
a Western exhibit featuring horseshoe chairs.
One chair that proved a challenge for the collector to obtain was a
1940s chair inside a saltshaker that she discovered on Pinterest.
" I waited over four years, and the owner did not want to sell
it, " Hartsfield says.
She eventually found a retired folk artist, Greg Alvey,
who designed chairs, ships and other items inside bottles.
Alvey connected her with artist Keith Brown, who created
similar works.
" He had never designed items inside a shaker but
was willing to try, " Hartsfield says. " He actually designed
two chairs: one for the salt and a darker-colored chair for
the pepper shaker. He had salt and pepper grains in them
and engraved my name on the backs of the chairs inside. "
Brown's chairs were added to the museum's display
of more than 100 chair-themed salt and pepper shakers, and
Hartsfield wrote about the experience in an antiques publication.
In August 2020, she published a book about her tiny chairs, bringing her
collecting adventure full circle.
" Thirty years ago, I was interested in at-risk infants and young children, "
she says. " Now I published 'My ABC " Chair " Book' for preschoolers.
" Writing the book is one way to move the museum out of the building
with creative marketing. Each alphabet letter is represented by two chair
designs from the museum. "
Hartsfield's book is available through Amazon and other online stores
as well as in the museum's gift shop.
Kathy Witt is a freelance writer in Kentucky.
When you go
Collectible and Antique Chair Gallery, 994 Main St., Stone Mountain.
(770) 498-8816; museumofminiaturechairs.com.
www.georgiamagazine.org
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COURTESY COLLECTIBLE AND ANTIQUE CHAIR GALLERY
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http://www.museumofminiaturechairs.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Georgia Magazine - August 2021

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