Morgan & Sanders Chair Bed

Made of mahogany, Morgan and Sanders described this as 'The best & most approved Chair Bed, forming a handsome easy chair, and is with great ease transformed into a Tent Bed'.

The meaning of a tent bed at this time was one with a canopy from which would be hung drapes to keep you warm or nets to prevent attack from insects if in hot climate. Originally this Chair Bed would have had posts and an arched frame that could be added to form the canopy. As with the vast majority of such chair beds these have been lost with time. The Chair has a 3 section pine frame seat which folds out to extend its length for use as a bed, supported by 2 screw in feet.

The maker's label giving the address of 16 & 17 Catherine Street is set into this frame. For travel, the 2 bolts that join the back board to the sides are removed and they fold on their hinges to lay on top of the seat. The sides will also lift off at their hinges. The back has 2 mahogany bars that twist vertically to add support to the back board. If the bed was used with the sides removed, they would prevent the back board falling onto the sleeper.

This design of Chair bed was made by most of the Catherine Street cabinet makers that were associated with either Thomas Butler or Morgan and Sanders and the rivalry between them has been well documented elsewhere. Morgan and Sanders stand out amongst cabinet makers of the early 19th Century and their name is better known now than that of their predecessor and former employer Butler.

This is a good example of their work and is both a comfortable and functional piece of furniture. Circa 1810.

Size as a Chair given.