Hitchcock, Lambert H (1795–1852)

US furniture maker. He started making furniture by hand, and in 1818 he set up a factory in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, that would soon employ some 100 workers, turning out the parts for chairs that furniture makers could assemble. The chairs became popular, and in 1825 Hitchcock expanded his factory and began to manufacture the completed chairs (as well as other types of furniture). In its own way this was a pioneer effort in the factory/mass production system, although the business went bankrupt in 1829. Hitchcock served in the Connecticut state legislature 1840–41.

The factory was rescued after bankruptcy and continued for some years. It was revived as the Hitchcock Chair Company in 1946 to make chairs and other traditional American furniture.

Hitchcock was born in Cheshire, Connecticut. The village where he worked was named Hitchcockville but became Riverton in 1866. The basic Hitchcock chair (essentially a simplified version of the Windsor chair) was made of simple turned legs, rungs, and back posts (the legs and back being slightly bent); had a broad back rail; usually a rush seat (sometimes cane or wood); and was painted solid black (over a red base) with designs stencilled in gold or colours.