History of Teak Furniture
In the late 1800s, teak traveled from its home in India, where it was much
used and admired, to Victorian England.
From antiquity, civilization has known teak as a valuable resource and
popular timber tree. It is easy to work and resistant to decay. Since the middle
ages, its strong structural properties have made it the choice of shipbuilders.
When metal comes in contact with teak, the teak will prevent rust and corrosion
from occurring. The first outdoor teak benches were made of decking from old
sailing ships. The decking was still good when the ships were ready to be
scrapped.
In the late 1800s, teak traveled from its home in India, where it was much used
and admired, to Victorian England. Teak benches and chairs soon became the
perfect complement to the English garden. All over England, you’ll find outdoor
teak furniture in the parks, some of it nearly a century old. In India today,
elephants are used to haul teak from jungles to waterways. Because of its
weight, teak has always been difficult to transport. The logs are too heavy to
float. Elephants must be used to drag the teak logs through the thick
undergrowth in the rain forests, which are a long way from the coast. The
elephants have been trained to stack the logs evenly in piles. When a bell is
rung to signal the end of the day, the elephants stop their work without any
human direction.
Virtually impervious to all weather conditions due to its high oil content and
dense grain, teak also resists insects. Today teak flooring is used in homes as
well as on cruise ship decks, and you’ll find it in parks, patios, and gardens
as outdoor furniture. In the tropical patios of hotels in Hawaii and in outdoor
dining areas for skiers in Colorado, you’ll find benches, tables, and chairs of
teak. You can find teak steamer chairs from the Arizona desert to the coast of
Maine. In addition, it is still the best wood for shipbuilding and other general
construction requiring durability. This reveals the versatility of teak. And, of
course, for beautiful, long-lasting outdoor furniture and rustic elegance, teak
can’t be beat.
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