Today I’m thinking about beds. Hoping for a nap? Nope. Doing research for a scene in a book, which sent me down a research rabbit hole.
The articles and photos I perused about beds led to an “aha!” moment for me. Remember
the Hans Christian Andersen story, “The Princess and the Pea”? In the story, a skeptical queen decides to test a so-called princess by seeing if she can feel a pea beneath “twenty mattresses…and twenty eider-down beds.” And wouldn’t you know, she felt it—proving she was a real princess.
I’ve seen picture books and stage play versions showing modern mattresses comically piled twenty feet high, giving “over the top,” a whole new meaning. But I learned afresh today that beds made of piled mattresses were commonplace in former centuries.
A mattress, often called a tick, was basically a large, densely-woven cotton sack filled with straw, wool, or horsehair. A “bed” usually referred to a feather bed—another cotton sack filled with carefully prepared goose feathers, and if one were quite wealthy—down. These were traditionally layered atop coarser mattresses.
Here’s a photo of a cross-section of a bedstead from the Winterthur Museum. Notice the several layers:
- The bedstead strung with sacking or ropes (or, later, wooden slats)
- Straw-stuffed tick/mattress
- (Often another mattress filled with wool or horsehair)
- Feather bed
- Wool blanket
- Linen or cotton sheets
- Another blanket
Here’s another diagram from Historic Kenmore:
I don’t think I would feel a pea through all those layers, would you?
Feathers (goose or duck, but not chicken) were costly, desirable filling, but the feathers had to be prepared before use. Feathers have stiff spines, and would poke through (and you) otherwise. Each feather had to be carefully split, the spine removed, and then “curled” over a sharp surface. Feather beds were tedious and expensive to make and maintain. The feathers alone were a major investment. I’ve read estimates of 1,000 feathers or 35-50 pounds of feathers needed to fill one tick. Feather beds, bolsters, pillows, and bed curtains were called “bed furniture” in the 18th century and were often more valuable than the bedstead itself–so valuable they were often itemized in people’s wills. (Today, you can buy a feather bed online for $100-200.)
I have visited English manors with bedsteads so high one would need a tall footstool to climb into them. Even so, I never guessed at the varied—and humble–layers within. I’ve read that even in wealthy Regency households where people could afford the finest down, the beds would also have layers of straw and perhaps wool or horsehair beneath. I’m not sure why I have trouble visualizing, say, Mr. Darcy sleeping on straw, but I do. (Although no doubt the beds of Pemberley would have had enough luxurious layers over the coarse ones to satisfy even the most sensitive princess.)
Reading about feather beds and cotton ticks reminded me of a favorite song from my American childhood. It was written by Jim Connor, popularized by John Denver, and sung often by Dad and me. 🙂
Grandma’s Feather Bed”
When I was a little bitty boy just up off the floor
We used to go down to grandma’s house every month end or so
We’d have chicken pie, country ham
Homemade butter on the bread
But the best darn thing about grandma’s house
Was the great big feather bed
It was nine feet high and six feet wide
And soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty ‘leven geese
Took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It could hold eight kids and four hound dogs
And a piggy we stole from the shed
We didn’t get much sleep but we had a lot of fun
On grandma’s feather bed….
Ah, memories. What about you? Ever sleep on a feather bed? Been down any of your own research rabbit holes lately?
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Very interesting post, Julie (though I must confess just reading the words “bed” and “nap” in the first paragraph caused me to yawn – – power of suggestion, I guess, LOL). 😉
I’d never given much thought to beds from many years ago, but this makes me appreciate our present-day comforts!
I’m smiling at your memories of singing that old song with your Dad – – and now I’ll be humming that tune today. 🙂 Have a blessed day!
Took me a few minutes to get the beat to this song, but I sure do remember it. Loved it and still do. I have actually slept in my Grandmother’s bed at my parent’s house after Grandma passed away. It wasn’t made of down, but it still brings back memories. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Julie, thanks for that great info! I do remember sleeping on-in a feather bed at my grandmother’s house when I was a little girl. It was very soft and comfortable. Enjoy the research!
Fascinating, Julie. I always wondered why those old beds were so high. Seemed rather inconvenient, but if it was for the sake of comfort, I can understand. I think I’ll stick with my very modern memory foam mattress, thank you very much. 🙂
Interesting post, Julie. I’m wondering how much of this information will actually make it into your novel? My brain is stuffed with great information that I uncovered while doing research and, sad to say, almost none of it makes it into the story. Maybe we should write a book, “Never-Used But Fun Research Facts.”
I like that idea!
I remember that John Denver song fondly! My sisters and I used to dance to it in our living room. 🙂
I’m allergic to dust mites. All I could think while reading your post was how very grateful I am to live in this century. The ‘tick’ and all those feathers would have sent me into nightly allergy attacks.
John Denver, one of my all time favorite singers! He gave the best performances too. Saw him in Birmingham and halfway through during intermission he sent his band off stage for a break and he sat down on the edge of the stage with his guitar and kept playing and singing for us! So sad when he died.
We may not be able to feel a pea under our mattresses, but isn’t it wonderful to know we are all Princesses, because we are daughters of the King of Kings!
I have slept on a feather bed! My grandmother had one from her childhood (she was born in 1904) that she let us kids sleep on. She had two others in the basement, I think they belonged to her older sisters. I remember my great aunts telling me about making feather beds and how they would gather extra down out of the goose nests after the nest was no longer being used of course. They let nothing go to waste.
Thanks for sharing your research. Ive been down a few rabbit holes, I say I’m just going to look up one thing, hours later I’m still at it.
I grew up with a feather bed & feather pillows! Although we didn’t have wool or straw layers, I’m quite sure that that bed was the reason that I woke sneezing every morning! So thankful that we now have non-allergenic options!
Adorable post, Julie! I love that song at the end! I have often thought of what went into the beds (and the creatures they sometimes attracted – ick!) not exactly the most sanitary situation. Love my comfort foam topper! Thank God I didn’t live back then!