Over the years, I’ve had quite a few people that weren’t crazy about brass on their bed. But back in the 1800’s the manufacturers of iron beds were desperately trying to offer the brass bed market a better, stronger bed, yet still give a touch of the then popular “brass trim”. With brass the public…
Back in the early 1800’s the more affluent people in this country sought out the beauty of shinny brass beds.
I bought my first antique iron bed, or I should say acquired it, back in 1969. It was given to me by a farmer in the backwoods of Central Pennsylvania. I’ve been asked how I got into this business and recounted the story about how I came across it so many times, I posted the…
“The Hills are Drying Up”, has become the catch phrase for every antique picker that is still in the business. When I started as a wholesale “picker”, over 40 years ago back in Washington DC., the “hills” were load with merchandise. The “hills” are the backwoods, that are away from cities and densely populated metropolitan areas.…
It was the traditional bed for that period. Yes there were wooden headboards. But the majority of the population slept on iron beds. What made them so popular were a number of contributing factor’s. The first few were practical ones…….they elevated the person sleeping in the away from the drafts that were close to the…
When I got the bed I had really inspected it until a few days later I was moving some of the iron beds from that particular shipment and I happened to notice it. The casting is of a mythical character I was able to pull up on the web called “Old Man Winter” the drawing…
“Lay Lady Lay…..Lay Across My Big Brass Bed”. Does this song ring a familiar note? Listen to the words. Back in the very early 70’s I had just started selling brass beds. I use to play it in my store in Georgetown , Washington DC. Iron beds had yet to come into their own and brass…
Few iron beds that have been photographed in the movies have ever received the attention as the one used in the movie “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. It was an incredibly scrolled Victorian piece that really highlighted the mood and personalities of the actors and story. What many…
So why were iron beds so high off the ground? The old beds and even their wooden counterparts were elevated higher than what we’re use to today because of cold drafts that were close to the ground
Competition is one of the things that helped this country develop over the years into the economic heavyweight we have become. When it came to iron beds vs. brass beds, the competition was fierce.