Why this chair is on so many album covers 

"same type of chair" would be more accurate

"They were all sitting in the *EXACT* same chair." Me: Uh...no?

"They were all sitting in the *exact same chair."* Shows a bunch of *different* peacock chairs.

Im from the Philippines and there are only few people right now who still works and creates this masterpiece and my family is one of them.

Imagine being known as "Drake's Dad"

Vox: "This EXACT same chair" with images of *different* chairs

From a photography point of view I’d say the peacock chair is good for portraits because of the way it frames the subject. Framing in photography is a fairly widely used technique. I’m surprised you didn’t mention this aspect more.

"They were all sitting on the exact same chair" Interesting use of the word exact

As a Filipino, I thought the peacock chair was just an ordinary chair from our childhood days. Didnt know it made an impact globally. Thanks vox as always :)

“Exact”. You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

Saying "the exact same chair" suggests that there was one chair they all used which clearly was not the case. The same style of chair however, would work.

Sent here by Napoleon's hand...

when i was starting to learn photography, people would say “add texture to your shot”, and that chair adds and lot of texture

I'm Filipino and seeing the chair in the thumbnail, I'm like "I know that chair". Amazing history I bet millions of Filipinos have never heard of. I didn't until this video.

My (American) grandparents married in the Phillipines in about 1920 and my mother was born there in Baguio. I still have their wicker couch with 2 side chairs and we also had one of these Peacock chairs. So their furniture is now over 100 years old and still going strong! Thanks for sharing the history & background.

It's a must in the 80’s and 90's that the winner for a beauty pageant here in the Philippines should sit in the Peacock Chair for pictorial after the crowning moment. Having these rattan and bamboo furnitures was common back then, cheaper and it's suitable to our tropical climate. I still have my grandmother rocking chair. 🇵🇭❤️👍❤️!

I just hear "creeeeeeeek" whenever I see a wicker chair

Here in the Philippines, we usually called the Wicker furniture "Rattan" just because it's made of Rattan.

We're still producing peacock chairs every single day in our rattan factory in Indonesia. In fact, we shipped out a whole container just today to France. Funny to look back at the history of a chair I see almost every day. The trend is far from over! The last few weddings I've attended had a peacock chair as a photo area.

In the 70's my aunt had a wicker peanut chair, swinging from the ceiling by a chain. She said she used it for making cousins

“ Cher on a chair”

Let me fix that for you: "They were all sitting in similar chairs"

We all had peacock chairs back in the 70's and 80's. It was inexpensive and in style.

My mom had the same chair in our living room. My brothers and I would use the chair as a prop for interviews whenever we played wrestling. I was always Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat 🤙🏼

The peacock chair gives the sitter a Halo, probably why it's "picturesque".

This was fascinating. One of those things you’ve seen a million times, but never really. considered. Well done piece of cultural history.

Glad to hear the Philippines played a significant role on this tremendous pop culture trend ❤

I'm from the Philippines and I'm shocked that this all leads to my country. I'll def get one that is locally made.

me, a filipina, when i clicked on this video: "this looks so familiar" vox, a few minutes later: "the first photo from 1914 comes from the philippines" me: OH THAT'S WHY

The iron throne is just a peacock chair made of swords.

I remember sitting in one of these chairs back in my childhood. I didn't know this chair was famous worldwide. It was common here in The Philippines back in the 80s and 90s

My dad had this chair in our garage for so many years. I knew it existed but never appreciated it. He originally had it in his house in the 1970s with my mom. When I moved into my house many years later, I called him and asked if it was around. He said yes and it is now the focal point of my sun room. I found it’s matching bookcase a few states away this month for $40. I love it! They are made exceptionally well.

This chair was a staple in every Haitian Person’s wedding photos prior to 1990.

Literally everyone had this chair in my family when I was younger. My teddy bear even had one.

Very interesting history. Though I'm not a historian, I am a visual person and I am inclined to add my interpretation of why this type of chair has such a popularity in photography, particularly of musicians .... it's a great way of framing a person to make them seem important but also down to earth or accessible at the same time. Great paintings often benefit from frames that provide some separation from the surrounding room. A good frame helps draw the viewer in to the painting without attracting much attention to itself. Likewise, a musician wants their album cover to lure people in, to make the musician look elevated and important. These wicker chairs do just that - provide a decorative frame around the individual, provide a focal point, that makes the subject seem slightly regal, without the pretension of a traditional throne or the heaviness of a solid chair of similar design.

My Christening’s photoshoot consisted in me sitting on this exact type of chair with a tiny bonnet, what’s more interesting though, is that I was born on 2003.

To this day, my country, the Philippines still make Peacock wicker chairs.

FYI: “Exact chair” and “exact same type of chair” mean two completely different things. Just sayin’...

I remember someone told me that the "peacock chair" was actually a throne chair design from pre-colonial Philippines --- the large fan design at the back made the rajah of the tribe stand out. Unfortunately I don't have any proof that it was true, but I do remember the design was based off a pre-colonial Filipino throne, hence the impact of the design is so eye-catching. In any case, the reference of the old Bilibid Prison here in Manila blew me away.

I have a peacock chair from the 70s! It fits perfectly with my bohemian style and reminds me of old photos of my parents when they were dating. I plan to pass it down to my future kids and possibly use it as a sweetheart chair at my wedding!

it’s also in every hispanic baby shower

I'm dominican and this chair SCREAMS "Oldschool Babyshower" to me.

“Exact” is a bit of a stretch. No, it IS a stretch.

My mom and I had an 80s photo session with one of these chairs back when I was a kid, lol

Am from the Philippines, and at my Lola's house, we have that peacock chair two for single seater and one a sofa like, never knew about the album covers incorporating them

This was the grown folks' chair that the kids weren't allowed to sit or play on growing up.

This video is so stunning. The use of archival materials and seemless transitions between historical movements and figures is something i hope to demonstrate in my work as a history student. This is TOP NOTCH rhetorical work. Brava

The shape of the chair is so what like a throne. I can only imagine that was why it was used so often.

Peacock chair: *exists* 1920s people: *MaJeStIc*

Next week: How "goat carts" became "Go-Karts"

Lots of people took their photos in this type of chair back in the 70s and 80s. Even graduates. It was very common.

All of my relatives who lived and grew up in the 60s, 70s and 80s had portraits in ‘that chair’

editor has to relax a bit. let us digest the images a little longer.

The reason it made a comeback in the late 60's to mid 70's is because there was a HUGE retro fad going on around that time. Old Hollywood, 20's/30's Art Deco, 50's rock 'n' roll, etc, were all super fashionable and popular. There's even a Life magazine article from (I think) 197, all about it.

I never realized how much this chair was in my entire consciousness throughout my whole life. This just blew my mind. 🤯 This is why I’m subscribing. 👍🏾

This Chair was pictured in my Family, & every other "Black" Household I knew from the 70's & 80's..

These chairs were very popular. My parents had two in the 1970s.

3:15 , this one is for the boys back home

One of my family's close friends has one of these chairs in his basement filled with old stuff and I've always found it to be a really interesting piece of furniture that made me look mightier than I was, it really did feel like a piece of history and looks like it is!

“They were all sitting in the EXACT SAME chair.” *literally every single chair is different*

When a chair gets more fame than you.

I loved the Addams Family as a kid and kept begging my parents for "the chair" everytime my birthday came around but for some reason they refused Years later when my mom got ill someone gave her a small teddy bear in a peacock chair as a gift and I commented on it She said "Y'know, we should have given you one of those chairs" It took her almost dying to acknowledge the power of the chair! ( btw I never even knew it was called a peacock chair til this vid) Thank you I learned a lot and enjoyed the old album covers☺

Cardassian: There is one EXACT chair. There has always been only one chair. Crying Picard: There are FOUR chairs!

My grandparents had a peacock chair. Growing up, it was kind of a tradition for us grandkids to have our picture taken sitting in it whenever we'd visit. I always thought of it as a cobra chair, but peacock makes more sense.

I knew this chair as “the baby shower chair”

First off, they are not all "the exact same chair."

Asa child of the 80s, we had this chair. It was everywhere. Along with the decorative horse hair fans and oversized wooden forks and spoons.

My grandma had one when I was a kid. They were common. There answered all your questions

I've work at a record store for many years and I saw a lot of those album covers and thought what's up with that chair? Now I know. Thanks 🙂

And the actual designer of this chair has been lost in the mists of history.

At the start of the video i knew that this kind of chair reminds me of my childhood fastforward to peacock chair made in the Philippines just makes sense rattan furniture is just part of our homes..

Filipino here and I have sat in many times with this kind of chair in so many households way back in the 80s.

I know by the looks of that rattan, that the Philippines will be in this mini docu.

2:00 and this *T H I N G*

Not only celeb butts, but our family has many old photos of my mom, day, and granny sitting in those kind of chairs back in 60s and 70s as well.

Quit Playin'. This same type of chair has been 'sat in' and is in most everyone's club & senior pictures from the 70s to 80s. It was THEE chair to have in your living room. ahhhh, those were the days

I had a peacock chair for my barbie dolls when I was little!

"The exact same chair".. I mean honestly it looks like different versions of the same style of chair, I wouldn't say it's the EXACT same 🤷🏾‍♀️

We have a series of family pictures on this thing! love it!

This chair was in every home practically in the 80s.....its a classic.

“Perhaps because it makes everyone sitting in it look really cool” *Proceeds to close the video on an amazingly awkward counterexample*

Vox: What video should we make? Also Vox: b i g c h a i r

When i was a kid EVERY black home had or wanted that chair.

Love those wicker furnitures. We had them all over the house growing up. It's just so comfy.

This is just brilliant! I can imagine the level of research conducted!

As a very impressional teenager, Emmanuelle sitting on a Peacock Chair had a huge impact on me!

My father was a furniture maker in the the Philippines and he specialized using its material called "rattan". I had seen countless of his design of the wicker chair and I once told him to made one for me. He did and it was the most beautiful chair I had ever sat on- I was 7 yrs old then. Time flies and this video brings back so many memories.😅

I remember loads of people having these chairs in the 80s and I want one now after watching this video!

I've only ever known the peacock chair as the "black power chair," so it's great to know the history 👍🏿

My parents had one when I was growing up. We called it the ‘Morticia Chair’ after Morticia Addams from the 60s version of The Addams Family. 😂

I just remembered I have baby portraits sitting in a wicker chair lol

I was a pre-teen in the early 70's. My sister-in-law then, (9 years older than me), had a white one with a lot of wicker 'curly ques' woven into the design. It was gorgeous. She and my brother divorced and I never saw it again. But I fell in love with that chair and vowed that one day I would have one. Fast forward 40 years and, one day while looking at a regional buy and sell website, I found one, for sale, by people living in Austin Texas. My son was living in Austin at that time. I purchased the chair and then called my Son for him to go and get it. It was very similar to the one on the album covers. A couple years later, I found another one listed in the inventory of a yard sale. It was huge! The fan back from left to right measured at a full 4 feet wide! The yard sale was also in the Austin Area. I called the number, in the add, and found out that the yard sale had been called off due to bad weather. I called my son and told him I was coming, and I needed him to help me get it. I jumped in the car and headed out. We got that chair! I was so excited, and as much as I loved those chairs neither had the 'curley ques' I remembered from my ex-sister-in-law's chair. Then, one day I remembered the in-law had purchased her chair from an emport company called Peir -n- 1Emports. That company still exists today. So for years I would check the Pier-n-1 web site every single week, without fail, in the hopes that they would once again offer it. Then one day, about 3 - 4 years ago I went on the sight and I asked for wicker and -- bam! -- there it was! Not only a real peacock chair, but it had all the 'curley ques'. I just sat there, staring at it in disbelief. I called the local store and they had one! I paid for it over the phone and picked it up at the store. I finally had the chair that I wanted. I have all of them and they sit on a glass porch I have behind my house. Every time I walk out onto my porch and I see those chairs, I feel pure satisfaction. My Son laughs when he sees them, as he recalls the memories of my getting them with his help. It is the little things in life that are the best.

The fact you pick up on these things is amazing, for creatives going through the past help understand the symbols of communicating a status or symbol of power.

Grew up in the 70's and 80's with these. Now I want one!

Who would have guessed…? After all of my many years I’ve never realized the attraction to a wicker peacock 🦚 chair…. Now I want one and i come to find that no one sells them

I really enjoy these videos. This channel is amazing. Thank you for the content!

Expectancy: some eccentric people used It And It became a meme But in reality, what a ride! Vox again making amazing content out of a Lot of research and work to answer questions that I didn' knew I needed answers, and added much to my viewpoint of the world.

Thanks to the "Philippine Prisoners" for sharing this art!

I'm a Pilipino and I didn't know that my country is the contributor of that particular chair. And then I suddenly realize that I, too, had a studio photos from childhood sitting on that chair. Thank you.

I’m so glad this was made! I always wondered what the hype was w these chairs!!!