Adirondack chair

{{Short description|Outdoor lounge chair with wide armrests and a tall slatted back}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}

{{Infobox furniture

| name = Adirondack chair

| image = Typical Adirondack chair in eastern Ohio.jpg

| caption = Classic chair with a flat back and angled, contoured seat

| designer = Thomas Lee and Harry C. Bunnell

| made in =

| date =

| materials = Wood (original)
wood, plastic, metal (contemporary)

| style =

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The Adirondack chair is an outdoor lounge chair with wide armrests, a tall slatted back, and a seat that is higher in the front than the back.{{cite web |title=Adirondack chair |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Adirondack%20chair |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=2023-03-14}} Its name references the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York.

The chair was invented by Thomas Lee between 1900 and 1903 in Westport, New York, but was patented by his friend Harry C. Bunnell, who added some minor adaptations to make it more suitable for convalescents.{{cite web| author=Harry C. Bunnell |title=Chair. (US Patent 794,777) |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US794777A/en |date=April 1, 1904}} The chairs were popularized in nearby tuberculosis sanatoriums, where they were favored for the way the armrests helped open up the sitter's chest. The Lee–Bunnell chair, however, had a single plank for the chair back; it was not until 1938 that the fan-shaped back with slats was patented by Irving Wolpin.{{cite web |last=Judge Silber |first=Debra |title=The Feel-Good Recliner That Cures What Ails You |date=2021-08-04 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-adirondack-chair-became-feel-good-recliner-cures-what-ails-you-180978322/ |website=Smithsonian|access-date=2021-12-18}}{{cite web |author=Irving Wolpin |title=Design for a lawn-chair or similar (US Patent 109,239) |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USD109239S/en |date=April 12, 1938}}

Adirondack chairs are now often made by injection molding and can take any form. Since the 1980s, they are generally marketed in Canada as "Muskoka chairs",{{cite web |title=Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles |date=2017-03-21 |url=https://dchp.arts.ubc.ca/entries/Muskoka%20chair |website=DCHP-3 |access-date=2024-08-25 |language=en}}{{cite web |last=Rubin |first=Josh |title=Whose Chair is it Anyway? |date=2019-06-29 |url=https://www.thestar.com/business/2019/06/29/the-great-beer-chair-war-muskoka-brewery-sues-molson-coors.html |website=Toronto Star|access-date=2022-11-11 |language=en}} although the design did not originate in Muskoka.{{cite web |last=Hunter |first=Douglas |title=Chair Wars |date=2018-02-21 |url=https://dwhauthor.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/chair-wars/ |website=Douglas Hunter |access-date=2021-03-01 |language=en}}{{cite web |last=Rubin |first=Josh |title=Whose Chair is it Anyway? |date=2019-06-29 |url=https://www.thestar.com/business/2019/06/29/the-great-beer-chair-war-muskoka-brewery-sues-molson-coors.html |website=Toronto Star|access-date=2022-11-11 |language=en}}

At least one oversized chair has been built as tourist attraction for a gift shop.{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/frontenac_news/docs/frontenac_news_23-14/s/22488003|title=Cloyne Big Chair|website=issuu}}