On 12 August 1903 Martin quoted 16. 6d. per chair for an unspecified quantity. On 1 December that year, he was paid 17. 6d. each for 137 chairs; see Billcliffe, loc. cit.

Billcliffe (loc. cit.) elegantly describes this model as Mackintoshs succinct rationalisation of the traditional ladderback design ... these chairs for the Willow Tea Rooms are the most successful solution of his attempts to use traditional vernacular designs. The chair looks strong yet simple, with rear uprights and front legs of rectangular and square section. The uprights are slightly splayed and the rungs, which are again rectangular in section, are curved along their length and set into the leading edge of the uprights. The seats were originally rush. For discussion of other Arts & Crafts period interpretations of the traditional ladder back chair see H. Blairman & Sons, Furniture and Works of Art (2006), under no. 19. The vast majority of surviving chairs of this pattern have the additional horizontal strengthening bar across the top of the back, added at an apparently early date (Billcliffe, loc. cit.). Notable exceptions are in the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria.

The dramatic effect of these chairs in their original setting can be judged from contemporary photographs; see Billcliffe. op.cit., figs 1903. C-I.