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Mason Monterey A-Frame Dining Chairs to be
Used in the Chateau of the Oregon Caves NM

Page Under Construction! The project is complete, and we will be adding material weekly as the reports are finalized. We offer our interim reports, below, which are informal updates for our clients. The A-Frames have been delivered; to see images, go to Delivery Day at the Oregon Caves

NOTE: This is restoration work performed using conservation techniques, not strict conservation, performed on chairs that were badly damaged in both structure and finish, as described on the a previous page.

These eleven Mason A-Frame Dining Chairs experienced the flood of 1964. These chairs were to be reused in the Chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument.

The structure on most of the chairs was compromised; new parts had to be made in some instances, and care was taken to replicate them from Oregon alder in the manner they were made by Mason Manufacturing. Distressing was created, edges were rounded and anomalies were made so they appeared to be original.

The finish on all the chairs was severely compromised except on, the green chair shown on the right side of the image above right. In some cases the finish was non-existent or the chairs were refinished.

To see a snapshot of the steps involved in painting the decorative splats, see our page on Painting the Decorative Elements. Our model for the eleven damaged chairs was the original Chateau Green Chair, seen below.

Note: We are interested in obtaining broken down
Mason Monterey (or other brands in the genre) to repair and possibly restore.

Chateau Green Polychrome A-Frame Dining Chair With Original Finish

Two chairs were Chateau Green, one being the only surviving A-Frame with original paint intact, shown left. The original finish was in stabile condition, though worn, including the decorative motif on the splat. This was conserved per normal conservation protocol, and set aside for the Museum Collection. While it may be that the original color was intended to be Spanish Green, the base color is lighter than Spanish Green with a distinct blue tone to the undercoat, and the Smokey Maple top coat is quite subdued, so the overall appearance is a minty green. We dubbed this color "Chateau Green" and hope it sticks!

Restored Chateau Green Polychrome A-Frame Dining Chair

One of the chairs to be restored was determined to have originally been Chateau Green. The A-Frame was in poor structural condition, shown right, needing to be disassembled, reinforced, and needing several new legs. Our model for the damaged chairs was the original Chateau Green Chair, which is best seen when one sees both chairs side-by-side, top of page, after treatment. Below, the A-Frame painted Chateau Green, left; The A-Frame next to the original finish, and before waxing (it is very glossy), and after waxing, bottom right. RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY A-FRAME DINING CHAIR (COMING SOON)

 

Spanish Red Polychrome A-Frame Dining Chair

The Chair that we determined was once Spanish Red was split in two and fractured in several places. Three new legs were fabricated by Jim Abbaroot. Our sleuthing showed us numerous places where the Spanish Red base paint stuck in grooves and crevices, allowing a color match, above right.

We assumed the decorative pattern was as the existing green A-Frame, but had to surmise the decorative color details on the splat. We used historical items, not necessarily chairs, in Spanish Red, for our clues. We chose to replicate the same pattern as the Old Wood and Smokey Maple A-frames, below, but did not paint the ball turnings. Waxing takes down the sheen and also warms the color: below, before waxing, left, and after, right.

Chateau Orange Polychrome A-Frame Dining Chair

The Chair that we finished as Chateau Orange we patterned after the Chateau Green chair, above, and so we did not paint the ball turnings nor the splat background a different color. The finish colors chosen were taken from the Lamp+Table, which has its original finish, and can be seen on our main Mason Monterey page. The broken tabletop is seen below left, and the color match is show below right before the chair was waxed. The center image, below, is of the Spanish Red and Chateau Orange chair before the decorative elements were added.

 

Three Old Wood Polychrome A-Frame Dining Chairs

The Old Wood frames were in varying states of degradation; one was disassembled and missing parts, shown left. Most had residue of original finish intact, though polyurethane topped the original finish; one was painted with matte brown paint. Research allowed us to surmise the decorative element design and colors, including the painted back splat and ball turnings. RESUME 440 OLD WOOD POLYCHROME AFRAME MASON MONTEREY DINING CHAIR

Five Smokey Maple Polychrome A-Frame Dining Chairs

The Smokey Maple frames were in varying states of degradation. All had residue of original finish intact, under layers of secondary finish. Research allowed us to surmise the decorative element, and the colors were taken from the Old Wood chairs, including the painted back splat and ball turnings.. Below, a line of Smokey Maple chairs with their decorative colors. RESUME 444 SMOKEY MAPLE POLYCHROME AFRAME MASON MONTEREY DINING CHAIR

 

For information on the Mason Monterey line used at Oregon Caves National Monument, see our page on the two dozen pieces restored for the Chateau, shown left. We have divided the collection into three parts, with additional pages on various processes and showings:

• Museum Collection;
• Robert Gamblin's assistance in the restoration and color determination
• Chateau Collection, for reuse in the hotel;
• A-Frame Dining Chairs, which we felt deserved a special page
• Painting the Decorative Elements on the A-Frames
• The Portland showing of the collection;
• Delivery Day at the Oregon Caves!
• and finally, the Oregonian wrote an article on the Collection:"Portland's MPF Conservation team's work shines in the Mason Monterey collection at the Oregon Caves"

For information on the Imperial "Monterey" line
used at Crater Lake National Park,
see our page on the three dozen
pieces previously damaged, and restored by MPFC for the
Crater Lake Science and Learning Center.