Jimmy Possum Chair-making Tradition
The Jimmy Possum chairmaking tradition is bound to the history, people, and landscape of Deloraine, Tasmania Australia’s southernmost island state. These chairs feature a simple yet ingenious design that was reputably devised by a bush artisan who, according to local stories, lived and worked in the hollow of a tree around the turn of the 20th century. There is a great deal of intrigue surrounding the identity of this now-legendary chairmaker, and questions as to whether or not Jimmy Possum even existed. As many Deloraine locals see it, the mystery attracts far more interest to these chairs and their makers, than any cut-and-dried facts can merit.
The defining characteristics of a Jimmy Possum chair can be seen in its side-view configuration: The legs intersect the seat and are housed in the arms, while the two outer back rungs/posts intersect the arms and are then housed in the seat and headrest. This connection of leg and back components to the arms and seat strengthens the chair as it is sat in, tightening the structure by adding pressure to the back and compressing the arms. But this innovative design is counterpointed by the chair’s notorious discomfort caused by the middle of five back rungs running up the sitter’s spine. Perhaps this discomfort, along with the Jimmy Possum chair’s association with poor folk, can partially explain why the design remained moored to one valley of Tasmania and didn’t spread throughout the country or overseas.
