After the Napoleonic Wars came to a close in the early 19th century, Berlin was transformed into a stately Prussian capital. The leading architect was Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841) whose neoclassic public buildings recalled the political and moral freedom of ancient Athens. Across the Atlantic similar architecture symbolized America as a “New Republic.” In the 1830s, nearly 125,000 Germans, including many skilled cabinetmakers, immigrated to the United States. It is not surprising that some of Schinkel’s furniture designs, including a reading chair made for King Friedrich Wilhelm III (ruler of Prussia during the post-Napoleonic era) were widely imitated in New York. Antique Roman stools for dignitaries inspired this chair’s curving curule legs. A swiveling brass arm supports an adjustable bookstand, which fits on either arm to accommodate either a right- or a left-handed reader.