Convertible Bed in Form of Upright Piano
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Object Label
The piano was an important element of the parlor in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was a focus of family life and attested to the social aspirations of the owner. The consumer of this convertible piano-bed could, in a way, have his cake and eat it too--enjoying the propriety that a piano conferred on his parlor while gaining a reasonably comfortable sleeping unit for a large family living in limited space. The amusing idea of sleeping in a piano (or a fancy parlor cabinet, in the case of the parlor bedstead) must have been part of the furniture's appeal.
Caption
Smith & Co.. Convertible Bed in Form of Upright Piano, ca. 1885. Ebonized woods, metal, 55 1/2 x 54 3/4 x 27 in. (141 x 139.1 x 68.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Elinor Merrell, 86.176. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.176_closed_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Convertible Bed in Form of Upright Piano
Date
ca. 1885
Geography
Place manufactured: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium
Ebonized woods, metal
Classification
Dimensions
55 1/2 x 54 3/4 x 27 in. (141 x 139.1 x 68.6 cm)
Markings
On back, stamped: "5734A"; stenciled: "SMITH & c." Two fragmentary paper labels [give directions on how to open and use bed; see files for full text]
Credit Line
Gift of Elinor Merrell
Accession Number
86.176
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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