Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
American Rope Bed, c. 1850-1899 |
Object Name |
Bed, Four-Poster |
Description |
American Rope Bed, c. 1850-1899. Wooden (mahogany?) four-poster bed with peg inserts. Canvas sacking bottom not present. Four-poster bed has turned elongated "acorn" finials at tops of posts. Footboard and headboard appear to be the same height but headboard has a wider trapezoidal wooden piece in the center. Side poles are in two pieces, secured with dowels and are turned cylinders with knob "buttons" protruding in a straight row for affixing rope. Ends of side poles are threaded to screw into holes in both headboard and footboard. Dowels and jute rope are included. Headboard has bendable disk-shaped feet at bottom while footboard has silver-colored rounded metal ends. |
Date |
c. 1850-1899 |
Creator |
Unknown |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
2022.012.001 |
Dimensions |
H-60 W-54 D-84 inches |
Dimension Details |
60 x 54 x 84 (assembled--according to donor); 60 x 52.5 x 3.75 (head and footboards); 79.25 x 4.5 x 3.25 (rails--assembled) |
Collection |
3D - Furniture |
Inscription Text |
none |
Provenance |
Belonged to donor's great-grandmother in Nebraska. Accepting for use in the Girl's Room of the Sanchez Adobe in Pacifica. |
Notes |
"In the 1800s ... mattresses were held on bed frames using a woven rope design. These ropes needed frequent tightening to ensure a taut, firm mattress for a good night’s sleep. Hence, the phrase "sleep tight" was born. "The mattresses were often stuffed using straw, shredded corn husks, or down feathers. These materials attracted bed begs, and so over time it became a common phrase to say "sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite." "Rope beds were invented in the 16th century and fell out of fashion quickly after the invention of the coil spring mattress in 1865." [https://authorchrisedwards.com/2021/10/12/an-offering-of-historical-rope-bed-jenny-lind-spindel-bed-from-the-1800s/#:~:text=In%20the%201800s%20and%20mattresses,corn%20husks%2C%20or%20down%20feathers. 02/07/2022] |
Search Terms |
Bed Furniture |
Subjects |
Acorn decorations Beds Furniture |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Winnifred Homer-Smith |