Rocking Chairs in US and UK

A rocking chair is a chair fitted with rockers so that it moves backwards and forwards when a person sits in it. When people in the US and the UK think of rocking chairs they usually imagine an old woman sitting in one knitting. Other people think about a mother holding a baby, calming the child to sleep. In the US some people have rocking chairs on their porches, and are often shown in films sitting in them at night when it is warm. Rocking chairs are widely used to decorate baby bedrooms and also add a romantic touch to rooms for girls.

According to an American legend, the rocking chair was purportedly invented by Benjamin Franklin by simply taking a standard chair and adding rockers to it. Cabinetmakers began producing rocking chairs in the early nineteenth century, and many examples from that era still survive today. Their popularity has only increased, and antique rockers of many varieties are highly collectible today.