PLATFORM ROCKER

also called Swing Rocking Chair, rocking chair with rockers fixed to move on a stationary base instead of on the floor. Introduced in the United States about 1870, it achieved quick popularity, partly because the movable section of the chair could be kept at a comfortable angle without oscillating. The base of the platform rocker was often of considerable structural complexity, but this meant that the seating portion could be made of lighter material, such as bamboo. The backs were invariably rectangular, never curved, and the general decorative pattern was usually based on 17th-century prototypes.