Object Spotlight: The Washingtons’ Bedstead
We don’t know whether George Washington was a snorer or a tosser and turner, but we do know what he liked in a good bed thanks to the bedstead that he and Martha Washington purchased in 1797.
Generously sized, the high-post bedstead with its slender, turned posts devoid of carving and its low, serpentine-shaped headboard typifies the elegant, plain style that the Washingtons favored.
The piece is unique not only because it’s the bed that George Washington would die in approximately two and a half years later, but because it’s the only piece of Mansion furniture that Martha Washington is documented as having been involved in purchasing.
The 1790s predate the standardization of beds into twin, full, queen and king sizes, so the Washingtons ordered their bed based on personal preference. Almost as wide as it is long, the bed is rather short at 73 1/2″ but its width of 72″ makes it wider than most beds from that time. (By comparison, a standard queen-size bed today is 60″ wide by 80″ long.)
The bedstead (consisting of the bed’s wooden frame of posts, rails and tester on top) is only one of the components that makes up the Washington bed, however. A colonial mattress was traditionally filled with straw, horsehair or other coarse materials. On top of this would have been a featherbed covered with sheets, blankets and a counterpane (like a bedspread). In the winter, the Washingtons used a bed rug (a thick rug-like cover) as a final layer to keep warm. The colder months also meant that the Washingtons’ dimity curtains were hung around the bed’s frame to keep in warmth; when the weather became warm, mosquito netting was draped in its place.
All materials considered, the Washingtons probably spent three to four times as much decking out their place of sleep with textiles than they did on the bedstead. Today, the bedstead is the only one in Mount Vernon’s collection that is original to the estate. Visitors can see it in its rightful spot, where the General and Mrs. Washington slept each night, inside the Mansion.
Object Spotlight is a regular feature on George Washington Wired that highlights some of the household belongings that Washington came into contact with in his daily life.
W-194, Gift of George Washington Custis Lee, 1908
December 21st, 2010 at 1:41 pm
As an historic interpreter, we get frequent questions as to how GW fit on his bed. I have been saying that he had about 3 inches to spare:the bed was 6’6” long(78”) and his height 6’2 1/2”(74 1/2”). The article above states that the bed was only 73 1/2” long so that if his height was 74 1/2” the bed was too short!
Can you explain?