Furniture - Beds, Chairs, Tables And Clocks ( Originally
Published 1902 ) THE bed was, of course, the most important
piece of furniture in the bedroom. Almost invariably, it was a
tall and wide four-poster of mahogany, more or less richly
carved. But the framework, handsome as it might be, and even if
crowned by a carved tester, was comparatively unimportant when
the furnishings are remembered. A large feather bed, weighing
many pounds and stuffed with the softest feathers, rested upon a
simple arrangement of bed-cords, or a " sacking-bottom,"—a kind
of heavy sail-cloth from which the word " bed-bunt " was
probably derived. " Bed-bunts " were imported and were usually 6
X 4 ft. and 9 X 4 ft., which shows the average size of the bed.
The sheeting usually came from Holland, and was known as "
ozenbrigs ; " the blankets were " striped," " rose," or "
swanskin ;" and the spreads, or " sprees," early in the century
were " white cotton bed carpets," but they were supplanted later
by "white flowered counterpains." M