The indefatigable Debbye Lansing dug up the following, which I'm passing on with thanks. It's a detailed study of 19-th century regional styles in chairmaking. Many of the Worcester County Brooks families of this time period were chairmakers, and there are some gorgeous examples at this site. Chris ======================= John Loring Brooks (b. 1793), the son of Sterling chairmaker Ammi Brooks (1765-1815), worked as a chairmaker in Portland, Maine, by 1815. Before 1823 he worked in partnership with another Massachusetts born chairmaker, John Bradley Hudson (fig. 23). Sterling, Massachusetts, native Samuel Kilburn White (1798-1849) worked in Maine by 1820 (fig. 24). Both he and Brooks moved when in their early twenties, presumably after completing their apprenticeships. Maine probably afforded greater opportunities and less competition for chairmakers than Worcester County.35 The above is a portion of the article located at http://www.chipstone.org/publications/1995AF/1995barontext.html