High-post bedstead
Thomas Seymour
(American (born in England), 1771–1848)
Vose and Coates
(American, active 1806 – 1815)
Thomas Wightman
(American, 1759 – 1827)
William Lemon
(1763–1827)
John Doggett
(1780–1857)
about 1804–1814
Object PlaceBoston/Roxbury or Salem, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/TechniqueMahogany, pine, birch, oak, paint, gilding, brass
Dimensions221.93 x 171.45 x 207.64 cm (87 3/8 x 67 1/2 x 81 3/4 in.)
Credit LineGift of Miss Martha C. Codman
Accession number23.12
On View
On viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
This is one of three surviving beds with a history of ownership in the Derby family. It may have been one of six beds listed in the 1814 inventory of Oak Hill, the most expensive of which was valued at $75. In 1808 John Doggett charged Salem upholsterer William Lemon $16 for "gilding Bed Cornice Bows Darts Quivers arrows," an entry that may refer to this bed. The modern bed hangings are chintz (glazed cotton), reproduced from an early-nineteenth century example used in a home in Danvers, where Oak Hill was located.
ProvenanceOwned by Elizabeth Derby at Oak Hill, Peabody, where it remained until 1921, when it had come into the possession of Mrs. Jacob Crowninshield Rogers (Elizabeth Putnam Peabody). It was then acquired and presented to the Museum by Miss Martha C. Codman on May 25, 1921.
