The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-01-24
OLD-TiME FURNITURE.

What Cal pit Kidd Ate From. Sat and slep
On.
Up to the time Of the revolutionary
var there were no carpets on the floors
of the houses in New York City. At
least, there were SO few, that it NAV
be said there were none without much
exaggeration. What few there were.
in the houses of the wealthiest citi-
zens, were curiosities, and the citizen
of moderate means would as soon have
thought of keeping private balloon
for his travels as Of buying carpet for
his floor. Sand was sprinkled over the
boards in the houses that were fastidi-
ously kept, but aside from this there
was generally no covering.
The nearest approach to the modern
carpet that was known at all to the
early Dutch settlers was sort of
drugget cloth, which was only used on
special occasions of ceremony and
state, when, because of the presence of
distinguished guests, the table would
be spread in the parlor instead of the
kitchen. This was laid under the table
to protect the carefully secured and
waxed floor
The most expensive piece of furni-
ture in the old houses was invariab bly,
the bedstead and its appointments.
The parlOr, in the modern sense, was
unknown. That is, the handsomest
and best-equipped room in the house
was always the sleeping room of the
head 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
expensive woods were used and the
carving was unheard Of
1t is well known that our ancestors
deemed it almost essential to have cur
tains 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
full set of these was often as much as
twenty-five or thirty dollars The
leather 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 bed. In early times or be-
lore 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 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, were used
by the Dutch housewives, in which to
store their household linen, under
clothing and the like, and the bureau
seems to be 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 a 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
leading article of furniture in the domi.
Gle. Itstood in the parlor, 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
more ambitious pieces had glass doors. |
All had shelves of wood, on which were
the best dishes of the house |
hold, whether they were of silver, |
pewter, china, delft, or the commonest
The best of these cup
boards were builded SO well that they !
in family from one genera
ton 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 a chest of drawers |
with folding lid that |
could be used as 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 |
case, ample then to hold all the books ,
Of 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 ea' |
and drink. Even after the Dutch New |
\ orllers were supplanted by the En-
slish there We're none of the various ia
oles which are now used 1t was not /
until 1920 that there are any mentions |
made in the old chronicles of the sub
sidiary ables. Before that all hat |
was known was the great dinner table |
which stood in the kitchen or principal
'oom Of the house for use at meals. 1t I
lad what are now called folding
caves, which hung down perpe ndicu-
arly when not in use to save room. and
which were propped up by movable
egs when IL became necessary 10 en-
arge the table.
In I72o there was imported from Eu-
.ope the fashion of having small tables.
These were of japanned ware, and were