Did you know…

The conversation chair also known as the courting bench, a tête-à-tête, a chaperone chair, gossip chair or an indiscret was considered the pinnacle of sophistication and style during the Victorian age? If you were a member of the “genteel society” or entertaining the “fashionable elite”- having one of these in your parlor was considered a necessity.

Conceived in 19th century France, and popular with the Victorian Planter Class, the basic setup of the indiscret or conversation chair consisted of two seats conjoined in a serpentine shape, allowing the sitters to discreetly have a conversation without a table creating distance between them. They were able to speak more intimately and quietly, while also preventing too much physical contact by virtue of a shared armrest cleverly doubling as an elegant barrier of sorts.

Budding courtships of the era often unfolded with the close supervision of parents,older siblings or chaperones and the conversation chair effectively became a popular feature of the household for pushing a potential match in the right direction, while still keeping it all very PG-13.

Adding a third seat to the scenario turns it into the “chaperone chair”, “indiscret”, or what we might prefer to call a “third-wheel chair”, convenient for a young lady’s governess to be certain nothing inappropriate was being discussed by the couple. The “chaperone chair” encouraged eaves-dropping by the governess or older sibling. Imagine what it felt like to be chaperoned as you tried to have a romantic conversation with your suitor, or imagine whispering amongst your friends about the latest gossip with your sibling listening to your entire conversation!

Three-way chairs in France were were known as the “indiscret” (indiscreet), in honour of the third person- the one who would be sticking their nose into a private conversation. Napoleon was a huge fan of the indiscret and distributed them throughout his ministers’ apartments in the Louvre, as a way to encourage his advisors and subjects to eaves-drop on each other.

The most basic chairs were designed for two or three individuals. However, there were also more elaborate styles that could support five to eight individuals and could be circular or resemble modern-day sofas. These chairs were built specifically for spreading secrets and plots as well as eavesdropping.

All of these chairs chairs were designed with bad habits in mind- inappropriate conversation and touching, indiscreet gossip and sharing secrets. Only history knows of the conversations that were had; the schemes that were plotted; and the secrets that were shared, overheard and repeated across these unique facilitators of moments.

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