Sofa

This sofa was high-tech for its day. Mass-produced, upholstered in horsehair (fabric woven from horse tails and cotton or silk), with newly invented coil-spring seating, such furniture was all the rage with the growing American middle class. Joseph Meeks and Sons, one of the most prolific furniture manufacturers in America, advertised a similar sofa for $80 (about $2, 000 in 2015 dollars) for sale in its New York and New Orleans showrooms. The sweeping curves and scrolls and the lion’s-paw feet are characteristic of the Greek Revival style. Popular in both Europe and America, it was inspired by archaeological finds of the mid-1700s. Such harking back to classical Greece appealed to Americans, who traced their democracy to ancient Athens.