Historic through the fact that it once graced the chamber of Oliver Wendell Holmes is the exquisite four-poster now in a Salem house. This is characterized by a richness of design that is most attractive, and the hangings are in keeping with the exquisiteness of the whole. In this same dwelling is another old poster, this time of the low type, that came into vogue about 1825. This shows but little of the carving that is a feature of the older types.
Other fine old four-posters can be found in Salem. One is of Hepplewhite make, showing the slender posts and fluting of his type, while another is considered one of the best specimens in New England, with a drapery of patch that is probably all of a hundred years old.
At Dunbarton, New Hampshire, in the old Stark mansion, is a fine example of the Field bedstead, standing exactly as it did when Lafayette occupied it so many years ago, and still known by the name then given to it, the Lafayette bed.
In the Middleton house at Bristol is a most interesting four-poster, done in white, the gift to a bride of long ago. Lately this has been repainted exactly as it was when first placed in the house, the design depicted, that of the bow and arrow, showing as clear and dainty as when first traced. In another chamber in this same old home is another four-poster that was brought direct from Leghorn. Both of these rare specimens have been in the family since the building of the homestead.
Examples of these fine old beds are growing scarcer and rarer each year, and their value is correspondingly increasing. Some years ago they could be had almost for the asking, but with their revival in favor, their worth has increased. They depict an era that is associated with the best in the way of design and craftsmanship, and not a few of them have historic associations that render them particularly notable.
CHAPTER XI
MIRRORS
The heavily freighted ships that came into the harbor in the days of Salem's commercial prosperity brought in their holds many valuables, including mirrors, several of which are to-day found in Salem homes. Not a few of these are ancestral heirlooms, closely interlinked with interesting family histories, and their depths have reflected the faces of many old-time belles.
Even in the earliest days of the colonies, mirrors formed a part of the household accessories, for our Puritan ancestors, scorning as they did all pretence of personal vanity, did not forbear to glimpse their appearance before they wended their way to service on Sabbath morn. Proof positive of their use at this time is to-day in existence in the form of inventories that list the prices and tell odd, descriptive stories concerning them, as, for instance, a record of 1684 that speaks of "a large looking-glass and brasses valued at two pounds, five shillings."