The Radford brothers -- Benjamin, William, and Daniel -- made fine furniture in Portland during the early 1800s and are the likely makers of this chair, one of a pair that belonged to Stephen Longfellow, father of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Longfellow family receipts document a number of pieces made by the Radfords that can be seen in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland.
Highly skilled artisans like the Radfords found patrons who were eager to furnish their Portland homes in the latest style.
