Great chair!! Looks like mahogany....early...I would say civil war era.....and I would take it to a pro! Those tacks and webbing are the only thing supporting the seat and should be done right. The fabric isn't holding down the springs...I would hope they are tied....but once you take off the printed stuff, you don't know what you will find beneath.....and then you start! LOL!
Unless you can find someone who will walk you through it...I would let a pro do it. That's really a wonderful chair....don't mess it up by splitting the wood or something.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: Chair!

Wow, thanks Linda C, for your input! I thought it was just so dainty and pretty when I saw it in the shop... So you think paying $40 for it wasn't too bad? :)

I haven't done anything to it yet, and now I'll take it to a specialist to see what can be done. Thanks again.

It is an exquisite chair. Carving is beautiful. It has been re-upholstered before and somebody knew what they were doing. I can see the springs are tied with twine, and that appears to be excelsior padding. Unless you know what you are doing, let it be professionally done. If you don't it's going to go BOING on you. Some damage on the corner of the frame. My guess is aesthetic movement, circa 1880s.

You don't want that chair. I'll take it off your hands for $50. ;-) LOL

Agreed! Verrrry nice! The springs and padding appear original. They have been retied and the webbing replaced, but whoever did it knew what they were doing and was probably done early 1900's. I would agree with Callipe on the age... 1880's.

I'll give you $51.50 :-) IOW's... ya got a steal... well done!

LOL! I think I'll keep it. Thanks so much everyone! You all have been so helpful and have piqued my interest even further. Your input has probably saved it's life! :) I got as far as pulling one tack out and stopped as soon as the first reply came in... and didn't open the "finish and restore" liquid in walnut color I was going to use either. YIKES!

Stingy... isn't she!? lol Ya done good keeping the "finish and restore" capped. If at all possible, I would also try and retain the current webbing and tacks. I'm not an upholster, so I don't know all that entails, but one other idea that Linda posted once before that I thought had a lot of merit was to save the current fabric once replaced.

Agreed! Very nice! It is a superb chair. I just want to brief it as astonishing accent chair with a nice back has a delightful finish The mechanism and stuffing appear original.

Love this chair! It's very pretty and with a more period appropriate fabric on the seat, it will be even more stunning.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but it's my very first antique purchase! :) What fun! Thinking there will be many more to come...