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  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  October, 
  1907 
  

  

  The 
  Nineteenth 
  Century 
  Bedroom 
  

  

  By 
  Esther 
  Singleton 
  

  

  N 
  comparison 
  with 
  former 
  

   centuries, 
  the 
  nineteenth 
  

   century 
  was 
  somewhat 
  bar- 
  

   ren 
  in 
  distinctive 
  styles. 
  Its 
  

   dawn 
  found 
  Sheraton 
  furni- 
  

   ture 
  in 
  high 
  favor; 
  and 
  in 
  

   fashionable 
  houses 
  this 
  style 
  

   was 
  very 
  soon 
  supplanted 
  by 
  the 
  Empire. 
  

   The 
  designs 
  of 
  Percier 
  and 
  Fontaine, 
  in 
  

   France, 
  and 
  the 
  works 
  of 
  Thomas 
  Hope, 
  in 
  

   England, 
  quickly 
  familiarized 
  the 
  buying 
  

   public 
  with 
  the 
  latest 
  adaptations 
  of 
  Greek 
  

   and 
  Roman 
  decoration. 
  The 
  fashion 
  plates 
  

   of 
  the 
  period 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  Empire 
  style 
  

   lasted, 
  with 
  modifications, 
  far 
  into 
  the 
  cen- 
  

   tury. 
  Its 
  forms, 
  on 
  the 
  whole, 
  grew 
  

   heavier 
  and 
  clumsier, 
  and 
  the 
  applied 
  or- 
  

   naments 
  in 
  gilt 
  and 
  bronze 
  were 
  dropped, 
  

   till 
  nothing 
  but 
  ugliness 
  remained. 
  

  

  Heavy 
  mahogany 
  beds 
  of 
  tomb-like 
  pro- 
  

   portions, 
  massive 
  wardrobes, 
  big 
  box-like 
  

   washhand 
  stands 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  wood, 
  and 
  

   solid 
  chairs, 
  with 
  an 
  occasional 
  rocker, 
  fur- 
  

   nished 
  the 
  average 
  bedroom. 
  This 
  was 
  

   supplemented 
  by 
  a 
  big 
  cheval 
  glass 
  and 
  a 
  

   dressing-table 
  which 
  was 
  adorned 
  with 
  the 
  

   old 
  eighteenth 
  century 
  toilet. 
  The 
  floor 
  

   was 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  hideous 
  Brussels, 
  Axminster 
  or 
  Kidder- 
  

   minster 
  carpet, 
  and 
  the 
  windows 
  were 
  curtained. 
  

  

  Side 
  by 
  side 
  with 
  the 
  Empire 
  style 
  a 
  spurious 
  Gothic 
  was 
  

   trying 
  to 
  make 
  itself 
  felt, 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  fashion 
  

   plates 
  of 
  the 
  day. 
  This, 
  however, 
  was 
  affected 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  

   wealthy, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  the 
  carved 
  work. 
  Down 
  

   to 
  i860 
  a 
  bedroom 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  middle 
  class 
  in 
  England 
  and 
  

   America 
  presented 
  an 
  odd 
  mixture 
  of 
  styles. 
  Many 
  men 
  

  

  

  2 
  — 
  The 
  Heavy 
  Mahogany 
  Furniture 
  of 
  the 
  Early 
  Part 
  of 
  the 
  Century 
  

  

  1 
  — 
  Heppelwhite 
  Bed 
  ; 
  Chairs 
  Reminiscent 
  of 
  Sheraton 
  ; 
  Nondescript 
  Table 
  

  

  still 
  living 
  remember 
  in 
  their 
  childhood 
  to 
  have 
  slept 
  with 
  

   a 
  brother 
  in 
  a 
  trundle-bed, 
  pulled 
  out 
  at 
  night 
  from 
  under 
  

   an 
  old 
  curtained 
  four-poster. 
  The 
  fourposted 
  bedstead, 
  with 
  

   carved 
  or 
  turned 
  posts, 
  or 
  "sweep 
  top," 
  is 
  still 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  

   in 
  many 
  houses. 
  

  

  The 
  nineteenth 
  century 
  bedroom, 
  before 
  the 
  general 
  use 
  

  

  of 
  iron 
  or 
  brass 
  bedsteads, 
  contained 
  articles 
  of 
  several 
  styles, 
  

  

  such 
  as 
  Heppelwhite, 
  Sheraton 
  and 
  Empire, 
  side 
  by 
  side. 
  In 
  

  

  fact, 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  the 
  same 
  thing 
  may 
  

  

  be 
  seen. 
  A 
  glance 
  at 
  the 
  accompanying 
  

  

  illustrations 
  will 
  show 
  this. 
  

  

  The 
  heavy 
  mahogany 
  furniture 
  in 
  use 
  in 
  

   the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  century 
  is 
  well 
  exem- 
  

   plified 
  in 
  the 
  illustrations 
  Nos. 
  2 
  and 
  3. 
  

   Even 
  in 
  these 
  rooms, 
  however, 
  we 
  notice 
  

   simple 
  forms 
  of 
  the 
  Windsor 
  chair, 
  which 
  

   date 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  early 
  years 
  of 
  the 
  preced- 
  

   ing 
  century, 
  and 
  have 
  persisted 
  to 
  the 
  pres- 
  

   ent 
  day 
  in 
  kitchens. 
  The 
  Windsor 
  rocker 
  

   may 
  also 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  No. 
  5, 
  which 
  contains 
  

   a 
  good 
  example 
  of 
  the 
  nineteenth 
  century 
  

   toilet-table. 
  In 
  this 
  room 
  also 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  

   a 
  couple 
  of 
  chairs 
  in 
  the 
  Sheraton 
  style 
  and 
  

   a 
  Heppelwhite 
  bed, 
  showing 
  his 
  character- 
  

   istic 
  "sweep 
  top." 
  Heppelwhite, 
  however, 
  

   would 
  have 
  put 
  his 
  drapery 
  over 
  the 
  

   "sweeps" 
  instead 
  of 
  under, 
  as 
  here 
  ar- 
  

   ranged. 
  

  

  Another 
  form 
  of 
  Heppelwhite 
  bed 
  ap- 
  

   pears 
  in 
  No. 
  1, 
  where 
  the 
  chairs 
  are 
  

   reminiscent 
  of 
  Sheraton 
  and 
  the 
  table 
  is 
  

   nondescript. 
  The 
  heavily 
  upholstered 
  

   "wing-chair," 
  which 
  we 
  find 
  in 
  bedrooms 
  

   in 
  thousands 
  of 
  inventories 
  through 
  the 
  

   eighteenth 
  and 
  nineteenth 
  centuries, 
  ap- 
  

  

  