The now-iconic design of the Shaker slat-back chair originated in New Lebanon, New York, which was the center of Shaker governance, overseeing all earthly and spiritual matters—including design. The earliest Shaker chairs were made at the turn of the 19th century when Shaker communities were being built from the ground-up. These chairs were made for use by the Shakers and, often, they were bespoke, made to accommodate a specific Brother or Sister conducting a specific task. ¶ Over the century, there was an evolution in chair design—Shaker chairs became lighter, more visually appealing, and easier to produce using new technology and techniques. In 1870s, Shaker chairs became a thriving industry. The chair factory at Mount Lebanon’s South Family produced an established product line of chair designs that were stamped and certified to be authentically Shaker. ¶ This #5 Rocking Chair was made in the decade before Shaker chairs were stamped and certified, and it can be seen as an earlier prototype on the way to the fully realized Shaker production chair. The delicate scroll arms tenoned into the steam-bent back posts of this chair evidence handmade production still practiced through the 1860s that, in the 1870s, is replaced by uniform chair parts manufactured using templates.