The Antique Bed Still Something To Dream On

By Robert Reed
   Let this bed be hard, and rather Quilts than Feathers. Hard lodging strengthens the Parts, whereas being buried every night in Feathers melts and dissolves the Body.
   -John Locke, ca. 1700.
   Initially the wooden frame of the bed was far less important that the trappings of textiles that surrounded it. Most any reference to a bed centuries ago actually mean the mattress and what ever cloth materials were piled upon it.
   During medieval times there was no particular room set aside for sleeping quarters, thus the bed itself became almost a room within the household. Some of the more elaborate bedsteads had both a room and sliding panel walls. Occupants could climb inside and stuff themselves off from the rest of the chilly and drafty residence.
   Gradually the side panels of the ‘bedroom’ were replaced with heavy curtains, but the basic roof remained. The solid covering was known as a tester and retained the name even though the canopy covering eventually became one of cloth and curtains as the sides had been.
   Basically the roof of these early beds was supported by a bedstead, sometimes called the bedstock in England, and two posts. Over the decades makers adopted a style that incorporated an expanded four posts which in turn supported the full tester canopy.
   Early in the 1700s, during the Queen Anne period, four-poster beds were often entirely upholstered. In fashionable homes of the era velvet and other textiles were used so extensively that the basic woodwork was almost obscured. Back panels were used less and less. As the century progressed the rear posts remained covered with curtains, but the front posts became more visible. As a consequence the front posts became more elaborately carved and decorated.
   Frames could become substantial objects by the middle of the 18th century. Some of the most impressive four-poster beds could reach heights of eight feet or more, complete with a sweeping array of curtains and canopy. Sturdy frames might be crafted from mahogany or walnut. Panels of curtains could be closed at night for a further feeling of warm and security. Matching coverlets and bases then totally enveloped the grand bed in a sea of cloth.
   “Fabric for the bed fashions continued to be imported” from Europe in the 1750s and 1760s according to Patricia Petraglia author of volume, American Antique Furniture. “But with the increase in leisure activities and attention to developing social graces that characterized the time, fancy needlework done by women and school girls often supplied the decorative detail and charm.”
   Certainly not all sleeping facilities were as regal as the four-poster bed and its related furnishings. A field bed might be in use in more modest dwellings of latter 18th century America. Typically the posts of the field bed were slender and little over five feet tall, and thus more suited to a house with a lower ceiling. Reportedly the name was derived from similar beds used by the military in fields of encampment. In homes they typically held a slightly arched canopy, and existed in woods such as cherry, maple and pine.
   As the Federal period developed in the 1780s and beyond an even smaller noncanopy bed gained some popularity. The four-foot poster bed was known in New England and other areas as the ‘cott’ bed.
   Today such small beds “would most likely be called attic beds,” according John Bowman author of the comprehensive book, American Furniture, “since they were frequently kept there and used by servants or to accommodate an overflow of guests.”
   Ultimately the finest bed of that century’s end and the dawn of the 18th century was the stunning Chippendale bed. The Chippendale and those similar in style displayed predominantly high foot posts which were handsomely carved and ended elegantly with ball and claw feet. By contrast the head posts were sometimes not carved and instead left plain only be extensively decorated by fabrics. Elaborate decorating of the beds gradually increased as owners opted for serpentine headboards and reeded posts in lieu of additional drapes.
   By the 1800s the lavish use of fabrics on beds had diminished considerably and the wood itself had more of a prominent role in the overall design. Almost without exception posts were carved or otherwise decorated. Moreover the beds themselves were likely to be placed in rooms specifically for sleeping, and not in parlors or various other locations in the residence.
   The rise of the Empire period in the 1820s had an impact on a vast assortment of furniture including the bed. Scrolled headboards were very fashionable, and posts were decorated with acanthus leaves and detailed beading. Mahogany remained one of the most popular woods of choice, however numerous other woods were put to use including even tiger maple.
   In moving toward the middle of the 19th century the tend with gracious beds was toward shorter posts and somewhat diminished headboards. Many fine beds were crafted in the 1840s and 1850s with gracefully curved headboards but with posts all but eliminated. Such designs were known for a time as sleigh beds because their shape strongly resembled a popular mode of winter transportation. Such beds remained popular for many decades in some geographical areas.
   On occasion beds of latter 1800s had more inventive methods crafted into the favored styles.
   “Sometimes the central panel of the bedstead had a secret spring so that it could be used as a means of escape into the adjoining chamber or into a secret passage,” according to Esther Singleton in the 1922 volume The Furniture of Our Forefathers. “Also cupboards were sometimes concealed artfully in the based of the bed foot posts, which were sometimes ten to 14 inches square.”
   For all their seeming changes, beds remained quite luxurious. It was not unusual for the well established to spend more for the bed furnishings than on the actual wood structure itself Bright colors were preferred over white, fine linen-like textiles were added in shades of red, blue, yellow and green. Generous amounts of silk and lace were used, along with woolen cloths.
   Finally the choice in quality beds would evolve from fine woods to cast iron. In vogue during the second half of the 19th century they became what Bowman later termed, “the most graceful examples of Victorian exuberance.” Early examples had short cariole legs and striking scroll work. Typically they were just under six and a half feet in length and just over three and a half feet wide. They were considered forerunners of the iron and brass beds which would later come into fashion by the start of the 1900s.
   Today classic antique beds of the past are treasured and many fine examples are frequently offered in lead auction houses and other antique outlets.

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