Derived from patterns for "Parlour Chairs" published in Thomas Sheraton's, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (London, 1793), pI. 331 this pair of chairs are part of a set of twenty-four armchairs and side chairs made by Henry Connelly (1770-1826) for Mayor Thomas Willing (1731-1821) of Philadelphia in 1804. Other armchairs from the set include one in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art illustrated in James Biddle, American Art from American Collections, (New York, 1963), p. 15, six others advertised in The Magazine Antiques (October 1960): 293, another was sold at Christie's, New York, The Collection of Mrs. Bertram D. Coleman, January 16, 1998, sale 8842, lot 265 and a pair sold at Sotheby's, New York, Important Americana, January 22, 2016, sale 9456, lot 1562.

The distinctive turned and tapering reeded legs with bulbous knees and spade feet are also known on a sideboard made by Henry Connelly for Henry Hollingsworth in 1806 (see Marian Carson, "Sheraton's Influence in Philadelphia: The Parallel Works of Henry Connelly and Ephraim Haines," in Philadelphia Furniture and Its Makers, 1975, p. 85). Nearly identical ebony chairs are part of the famous set for Stephen Girard by Ephraim Haines (1775-1837). The surviving bill of sale states that the legs were turned by Barney Schumo and were carved by John Morris. Given the direct similarities it is probable that these men also worked on this set of chairs. For additional information on Henry Connelly and Ephraim Haines see Page Talbot's entries in Philadelphia: Three Centuries of Art, (Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1976), p., 211-2, no. 173a and 173b.