The vehicle that is bringing you this information has done more to better the world, bring people together and make our lives better than any single invention since the telephone or possibly as far back as Gutenberg’s printing press. It has narrowed the gap between nations, brought us closer to a cure for countless diseases and helped plot a course for the future of our planet.
But what it’s also done is desensitized us to certain social norms and mores that were prevalent in the 1800’s when fancy iron beds brought “romance” to the bedroom in an otherwise puritanical period in our history. Clothes were designed to “cover” women. Not expose them, as is the trend today. Antique iron beds were an anomaly during the Victorian Era. The period was characterized by stifling and prudish moral values. There was little that allowed a person to express the way they felt about the opposite sex. “Courting” was often restricted to seeing the person you liked, only when other family members were present.
So it was not without intent that metal beds that were being made in this country started to mimic to curved sensual lines that were being manufactured in France. Society was much less restrictive in France. People weren’t persecuted for displaying their emotions. It was common practice to “hold hands ” between people who were seeing each other. Displays of affection were also common place. The same patterns of behavior between the sexes in France were strongly frowned upon here in America. Furniture was just an extension of the attitude for life the French had and still do to this day. There was next to no “racism” and “homosexuality” was not an issue. Throughout history we have criticized the French, but usually more for our political differences and alliances. Yet we have always admired and copied their impeccable style and design.
It was their impeccable taste and sensual designs that we strove to copy, as metal beds started to take a strong foothold in America. It didn’t take long for their progressive romanticism to catch hold here. Because the bedroom was such a private room back in the 1800’s, there was no better place to display , privately, the repressed romantic feelings we were starting to slowly become more comfortable with.
Today a beautifully scrolled antique iron bed carries with it the romance of a simpler time. A time when things weren’t so blatant and obvious. They carry with them a love for beauty and sensual lines. Because there seem to be a countless number of styles and designs made throughout the 1800’s. A person was free to express exactly how open or possibly repressed they were and there always seemed to be a bed that fit them like a glove.
