Chairs by Burke
Web site by: Phil
Broad
The standard equipment chair seen
on the sets of the Enterprise were manufactured by a company in Texas called
"Burke". They were closely patterned after a similar chair by Saarinen
except that they featured a four-blade"propellor" base instead of
the circular "Tulip" base favored by the other company. Two models
were seen on the show, the "115" or "armless" version
and the "116" which was basically the same shape except for the
sides which had been extended upwards to create arms. Neither versions of
the chair is still being manufactured but they can be found for sale from
used furniture dealers. As of 2004 they typically sell for $120 to $180 depending
on condition.
As used in Star Trek, both styles
of chair were modified to the extent of having the rolled edge cut off the
top and along the upper sides of the back to permit the addition of a piece
that extended the back height by about 10 inches (custom back extension seen
above). These seat back extensions were all hand made at the studio and as
one watches the show, they will note that each seat back is slightly different
from the next. None of them have the exact same outline or section profile.
In fact many of them are so crudely made that they are not even symmetrical.
This leaves the person who wants to recreate these chairs with a wide-ranging
selection of patterns to copy, all "correct" because they were all
"seen on the show". The Burke chairs also had three triangular shapes
added to the back at the bottom of the seat which were purely decorative.
The chairs were painted a light blue color overall and were usually seen with
dark gunmetal colored bases and feet. The seat cushion and back pads were
upholstered in black pebble-finish vinyl. The example of seat-back seen above
is one of the lesser seen "dress" chairs used in formal settings
and also seen in the crew quarters. It is upholstered in the same "Alexander
Girard " rust colored velvet fabric which also covered the beds and pillows
seen throughout the ship.
