The Republican., 1894-01-25
oGD-TIME FURNITURE.
What Ca pit. Kidd Ate From, Sat and SIep
Or,

vi hSCDAAiS ~ EAA'uoC chAlOCh
for n travels slof buying a carpet for
his s8o' Sand was sprinkled over the
boz the houi 80 shat were fastidi-
ouss t, but as from this there
was ally no c ling.
II 'est apprt y to the modern
carpet t was k Nvn at all to the
early h settlet, was a sort of
drugg' tn, which was only used on
specia asions pf ceremony and
state because of the presence of
dlstlns guests the table would
be spr, the parlor instead of the
kitche was laid under the table
to carefully secured and
wax
III ypensive piece of furni-
ture houses was invariably
the and it's appointments.
Ih the modern sense, was
unA IL is, the handsomest
and BED room in the house
l-,ay., .Ja-44a sleepinglroom of the
heA |of the household. The bedsteads
were of wood as costly as the purse of
the owner would permit, and commonly
of the old four-post kind. 1t was not,
however, until the luxury of England
had modified the simple customs of
the Knickerbockers that such thing
was known as the mahogany bedstead,
with carved wood ornaments-eagle's
claws, and the like. Before that less
expensive woods were used and the
carving was unheard Of
1t is well known that our ancestors
deemed it almost essential to have cur
talns inclosing their beds. A canopy
overhung them as they slept, and from
these depended the curtains which in
earlier times were of "Killeminster,"
lined with ''sarsnet." The cost of a
full set of these was often as much as
twenty-five or thirty dollars. The
feather pillows were covered as to-day
with cases which were usually of a
check or other fancy pattern. Later
SILK curtains, silken bedticks, silken
coverlids, and pillow-cases came in
vogue, and the most eXtravagant of
the aristOcracy would spend as much
as two hundred dollars on the entire
outfit of a bed. In early times, or be-
fore the accession of the English, the
prevailing custom was to sleep be-
tween two feather beds of different
sizes, the larger being underneath and
the smaller and thinner one being used
Tor a cover. small rug in front of
the bed was the usual substitute for
the modern carpet in the bedroom.
Bureaus were unknown. Among the
earliest settlers there was not even
known any such thing as the chest of
drawers. Chests, Or boxes of expensive
wood, handsomely finished, We're used
by the Dutch housewives, in which to
store their household linen, under
c,,5thing and the like, and the bureau
seems to be a thing of evolution from
this, the change beginning with the
fashion of storing one chest upon an
other
A sideboard, as it is now called, is
the modern modification of one of the
principal articles of furniture in the
houses of the olden time. Our ances-
tors called it a cupboard, and this nat
ural composition of substantives be
came in time word, used as the name
of any small apartment used for the
storage of small things. The cupboard
of our forefathers was no such thing as
the 'cubberd" of to-day. 1t was a
leading article of furniture in the domi-
cile. Itstood in the pSrlor, when there
was parlor. When there was no par
lor it adorned the principal corner of
the kitchen. 1t was usually made of
what we now call French walnut.
They called it, aforetime, French nut
wood. IT was made in all styles. The
more ambitious pieces had glass doors.
All had shelves of wood, on which were
displayed the best dishes of the house
hold, whether they were of silver,
pewter, china, delft, or the commonest
earthenware. The best of these cup
boards were builded so well that they
remained in a family from one genera
tion to another, and became time-hon-
ored as family relics or heirlooms.
Some few of them are still eXtant, and
are known among dealers in IAN
tiques'' as Holland cupboards.' -
Later than this-in fact almost a
modern thing, by comparison-was the
''scrutoire" 1t was chest of drawers
underneath, with folding lid that
could be used as a desk. Two solid
bars were made, which slid in and out,
and which served to support the lid.
The upper structure was a small book
3se, ample then to hold all the books
TT the average household. These pieces
are to be found to-day in a great many
New York houses.
Tables were formerly used only for
the purpose of holding things to eat
and drink. Even after the Dutch New
Workers were supplanted by the En-
glish there were none of the various ta-
bles which are now used 1t was not
until 1920 that there are any mentions
made in the old chronicles of the sub
sidiary tables. Before that all that
was known was the great dinner table
which stood in the kitchen or principal
room of the house for use at meals. 1t
had what are now called folding
leaves which hung down perpendicu-
larly when not in use to save room, and
which were propped up by movable
legs when it became necessary to en-
large the table
In 1920 there was imported from Eu-
rope the fashion of having small tables.
These were of japanned ware, and were
used first for the tea service. Later
than this came the backgammon and
card tables. Gambling became in New
a I 1 a l.