. "Designs for hour-glass stools were illustrated in furniture pattern books of the 1830s, indicating that the form became fashionable from that period. J.C. Loudon recommended hour-glass stools in his Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, 1833, fig. 2328, suggesting that they could be made of straw for rustic summer houses, as well as used in drawing rooms. A design, very similar to this pair of stools, and also with bun feet, was illustrated by Thomas King in The Cabinet Maker's Sketch Book, of Plain and Useful Designs. Vol I Consisting of Chair and Sofa Work, 1835, page 20, 'An hour-glass seat'. King also illustrated two other versions of different design in Specimens of furniture in the Elizabethan and Louis Quatorze styles. Adapted for modern imitation, c. 1835."@en . . .