One of Two Sets of 20th c. Smith & Watson Hepplewhite Wheelback Armchairs. Reproduced exactly from a original antique of rare quality and grace, circa 1780, and finished to order in antiqued Mahogany. Each measures 25w x 26d x 37h. Good condition. Smith & Watson was founded in 1907 by Richard Smith and Alexander Watson and was quaintly referred to as "a London furniture shop in New York." In the early 1940s the company was purchased by the late John Ryan whose sons, John P. and Robert, would later follow him into the business. By this time the firm had moved to larger quarters and was catering to the “carriage tradeâ€, wealthy New York families such as the Rockefellers, the Astors, the Carnegies, and the Mellons. By the late fifties Smith & Watson had been “discovered†by the interior design and architectural trade.