BEDSTEADS
[Illustration]
ONE of the most valuable pieces of furniture in the household of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the bedstead with its
belongings. Bedsteads and beds occupy a large space in inventories,
and their valuation was often far more than that of any other article
in the inventory, sometimes more than all the others. In spite of the
great value placed upon them, none have survived to show us exactly
what was meant by the “oak Marlbrough bedstead” or the “half-headed
bedstead” in early inventories. About the bedstead up to 1750 we
know only what these inventories tell us, but the inference is that
bedsteads similar to those in England at that time were also in use in
the colonies. The greater portion of the value of the bedstead lay in
its furnishings,—the hangings, feather bed, bolster, quilts, blankets,
and coverlid,—the bedstead proper, when inventoried separately, being
placed at so low a sum that one concludes it must have been extremely
plain.
[Illustration: Illus. 51.—Wicker Cradle, 1620.]
Several cradles made in the seventeenth century are still in existence.
Illustration 51 shows one which is in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, and which
is said to have sheltered Peregrine White, the first child born in this
country to the Pilgrims. It is of wicker and of Oriental manufacture,
having been brought from Holland upon the _Mayflower_, with the
Pilgrims.
[Illustration: Illus. 52.—Oak Cradle, 1680.]
The cradle in Illustration 52 is of more substantial build. It is of
oak, and was made for John Coffin, who was born in Newbury, January 8,
1680. Sergeant Stephen Jaques, “who built the meeting house with great
needles and little needles pointing downward,” fashioned this cradle,
whose worn rockers bear witness to the many generations of babies who
have slept within its sturdy frame. It is now in the rooms of the
Newburyport Historical Society.
Another wooden cradle is in Pilgrim Hall, made of oak and very similar,
with the turned spindles at the sides of its wooden hood, to a cradle
dated 1691, in the South Kensington Museum.
[Illustration: Illus. 53.—Bedstead and Commode, 1750.]
“Cupboard bedsteads” and “presse bedsteads” are mentioned in the
inventories. They were probably the same as the Dutch “slaw-bank,” and
when not in use they were fastened up against the wall in a closet made
to fit the bed, and the closet doors were closed or curtains were drawn
over the bedstead. There is a slaw-bank in the old Sumner house in
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, built in 1797.
[Illustration: Illus. 54.—Field Bedstead, 1760-1770.]
Illustration 53 shows a curious bedstead made about 1750, when it was
used by Dr. Samuel Johnson, president of King’s College, New York.
It is now owned by his descendant, Mrs. Johnson-Hudson of Stratford,
Connecticut. The slanting back of the bedstead is like the back of
an early Chippendale chair, and the effect is similar to that of the
couches shown in Illustration 205 and Illustration 206; but this piece
was evidently intended for a bed, as it is considerably wider than the
couches, which were “day beds.” The wood of this bedstead is mahogany.
The commode which stands beside the bed is of a slightly later date.
It is also of mahogany, with massive brass handles.
Illustration 54 shows a bedstead of about 1760-1770. It is what was
called a field bed, the form of its top suggesting a tent. The frames
for the canopy top were made in different shapes, but the one in the
illustration was most common. The drapery is made of the netted fringe
so much used in those days for edging bedspreads, curtains, and covers.
This deep fringe was made especially for canopy tops for bedsteads.
Its manufacture has been revived by several Arts and Crafts Societies.
The slat-back chair is one of the rush-bottomed variety common during
the eighteenth century. This room, with its wooden rafters, is in the
Whipple house at Ipswich, built in 1650.
The claw-and-ball foot bedstead in Illustration 55 was a part of the
wedding outfit of Martha Tufts, who was married in 1774, in Concord. It
was then hung with the printed cotton draperies, hand spun and woven,
which still hang from the tester, albeit much darned and quite dropping
apart with age. The draperies are of a brownish color, possibly from
age, but at all events they are now dingy and unattractive, whatever
they may have been in 1774. The posts above the cabriole legs are
small and plain, and there is no headboard. The wood is mahogany. This
bedstead is now owned by the Concord Antiquarian Society. Although
Chippendale’s designs do not show a bedstead with claw-and-ball
feet, he probably did make such bedsteads, and this may be called
Chippendale, as it belongs to that period.
[Illustration: Illus. 55.—Claw-and-Ball Foot Bedstead, 1774.]
A bedstead with plain, simple posts, with the cover and hangings of old
netting, is shown in Illustration 56. There is a good comb-back Windsor
arm-chair and a mahogany cradle of the period in the room, which is a
bedroom in the Lee Mansion, Marblehead, Mass.
[Illustration: Illus. 56.—Bedstead, 1780.]
A splendid bedstead found in Charleston, S. C., and now owned by J.
J. Gilbert, Esq., of Baltimore, is shown in Illustration 57. All four
posts are carved and reeded, and are after the manner of Chippendale.
The tester and headboard show the Adam influence, placing the date of
the bedstead about 1770.
[Illustration: Illus. 57.—Bedstead, 1775-1785.]
Illustration 58 shows a bedstead made from one of Hepplewhite’s
designs, about 1789. The lower posts are slender and fluted, and end in
a square foot.
[Illustration: Illus. 58.—Bedstead, 1789.]
The cornice is japanned after the fashion which Hepplewhite made so
popular, and the style in which this bedstead is draped is extremely
attractive. It is at Indian Hill, the residence of the late Major Ben
Perley Poore.
The four-post bedsteads had sometimes canvas stretched across the frame
and laced with ropes, similar to the seat of the couch in Illustration
206, and in other cases they were corded entirely with ropes. Mrs.
Vanderbilt in her “Social History of Flatbush” thus describes the
process of cording a bed: “It required a man’s strength to turn the
machine that tightened the ropes, in cording these beds when they were
put together. Some one was stationed at each post to keep it upright,
while a man was exhausting his strength and perhaps his stock of
patience and good temper, in getting the ropes sufficiently tight to
suit the wife or mother. When the bedstead was duly corded and strung
to the tension required, then a straw bed, in a case of brown home-made
linen, was first placed over these cords, and upon this were piled
feather beds to the number of three or four, and more if this was the
spare-room bed.” The height of the top one of these feather beds from
the floor was so great that steps were required to mount into it, and
sets of mahogany steps are sometimes found now, which were made for
this purpose. A set is shown in Illustration 64.
Illustration 59 shows one of the finest bedsteads known in this
country. It is in the house of Charles R. Waters, Esq., of Salem. The
two lower posts are exquisitely carved with garlands of flowers, and
every detail is beautiful; the upper posts are plain. The size of the
posts is somewhat larger than during the previous years, and the style
of the lower part with the fluted leg would place the date of the
bedstead about 1795-1800, when the influence of Sheraton was strong.
The cornice is painted with flowers in colors, and the painted band
is framed in gilt; the ornaments at the corners, the basket with two
doves, and the ropes and tassels are all of gilt.
[Illustration: Illus. 59.—Bedstead, 1795-1800.]
About 1800, when the Empire styles commenced to influence the makers
of furniture, the posts of bedsteads became larger, and they were more
heavily carved, with acanthus leaves twining around the post, or a
heavy twist or fluting, with pineapples at the top.
[Illustration: Illus. 60—Bedstead, 1800-1810.]
Illustration 60 shows a bedstead at Indian Hill, with the heavy posts
and tester, the lower posts being fluted. The bedstead is draped on the
side and foot with curtains which could be let down at night in cold
weather, thus shutting out the bitter draughts. The coverlid for this
bed is made of linen, spun and woven by hand, and embroidered in shades
of blue with a quaint design. The easy-chair at the foot of the bed is
covered with old chintz, printed in figures that would afford a child
unlimited entertainment.
[Illustration: Illus. 61.—Bedstead, 1800-1810.]
A bedstead with massive twisted posts is shown in Illustration 61. The
lower posts only are carved, as was usual, the draperies at the head
of the bed concealing the plain upper posts. Twisted posts were quite
common during the early years of the nineteenth century, and more
bedposts are found that are carved in a twist than in any other design.
The coverlid is similar to the one in Illustration 63. This bedstead
stands in one of the panelled rooms of the Warner house in Portsmouth.
[Illustration: Illus. 62.—Bedstead, 1800-1810.]
Illustration 62 shows a fine example of the four-post bedstead made
from 1805 to 1810. It is unusual in having all four posts carved, and
for its splendid feet, which are carved in massive lions’ claws.
Each post is carved with festoons of drapery, and is surmounted with a
pineapple The headboard is elaborately carved with a basket of fruit.
This mahogany bedstead is owned by Mrs. E. A. Morse of Worcester.
Illustration 63 shows another bedstead with all four mahogany posts
carved in the acanthus leaf and pineapple design. Each post is finished
at the top with a pineapple, and the bases are set into brass sockets.
Upon the plain sections of the posts may be seen pressed brass
ornaments, of which there are six, two for each lower post and one for
each upper one. These ornaments cover the holes through which the
bed-screws are put in to hold the frame together.
[Illustration: Illus. 63.—Bedstead, 1800-1810.]
There is a headboard of simple design upon this bedstead. The coverlid
is an old, handspun and woven, cotton one, with a design of stars in
little cotton tufts. Such coverlids were made about 1815 to 1830. This
bedstead is owned by the writer.
[Illustration: Illus. 64.—Bedstead and Steps, 1790.]
Illustration 64 shows a bed owned by the Colonial Dames, in their
house, “Stenton,” in Philadelphia. It has the large, plain and heavy
posts found in the South. The hangings are the original ones. Beside
the bed is a set of steps used to assist in mounting to the top of the
feather beds used in those days. The cradle is of about the same date.
[Illustration: Illus. 65.—Low-post Bedstead, about 1825.]
Illustration 65 shows a low-post mahogany bedstead which is owned by
Dr. S. B. Woodward of Worcester, having been inherited by him. It was
made about 1825. The four posts are carved with the acanthus leaf, and
both head and foot board are elaborately carved. It can be seen that
the bed in this illustration is not so high from the floor as those of
earlier date. The low French bedstead became fashionable soon after
this time, and the high four-poster was relegated to the attic, from
which it has of late years been rescued, and set up, draped with all of
its old-time hangings.
[Illustration: Illus. 66.—Low-post Bedstead, 1820-1830.]
The latest style of low-post bedsteads is shown Illustration 66. It
was probably made about 1820-1830, when the light woods, maple and
birch, were, with cherry, largely used for such bedsteads. The wood
of this bed is curly birch, and all four posts are carved alike with
the pineapple and acanthus design, similar to the tall posts of the
previous period. Low-post bedsteads are often found with posts plainly
turned, of curly maple, beautifully marked.
[Illustration: Illus. 67.—Low Bedstead, about 1830.]
Illustration 67 shows a low French bedstead, found in Canada and owned
by George Corbett, Esq., of Worcester. The bedstead is made of finely
grained old walnut, the rounding top of the head and foot boards and
the face of the large drawer under the footboard being veneered. This
drawer may have been intended to use to keep blankets in. It has a
little foot so that it remains firm when pulled out. At each side of
the low bed is a carved shell, which slides out, showing a covered
rest, perhaps for kneeling upon to pray. Both the head and foot boards
are covered with canvas, which was probably, when the bedstead was
new, about 1830, covered with a rich brocade. All the lines of the
bedstead are most graceful, and the carving is unusually well done.
Plainer bedsteads in this style were made, veneered with mahogany, and
they are sometimes called sleigh beds, on account of their shape. These
bedsteads were fashionable from 1830 to 1850, when they were superseded
by the black walnut bedsteads familiar to everybody.