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.
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.
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.