Federal Pencil-Post Bed, New England, circa 1800

Description

Birch and pine with original red paint stain
H. 72”, L. 70” (rails), W. 46 ½” (end rails)

A rare and beautifully styled pencil-post bed in a remarkable state of preservation with a flat top canopy, tapered posts and wonderful original red paint stained surface.

Reference:
Fine points of Furniture, by Albert Sack, p. 90, for a nearly identical example labeled “Best”.

American Furniture, The Chipstone Foundation 2014, edited by Luke Beckerdite. Article by Nancy Goyne Evans “Documentary Evidence of Colored Finishes and Decoration on Bedsteads and Cornices: Late Colonial and Federal Periods”,Page 224-256. The two beds here are illustrated and discussed as Figure 1, P. 224 and Figure 2, P. 226