House Beautiful
January, 2002
During the British military campaigns of the 18th century, soldiers rarely left home without their furniture. Designed to accommodate both swelling populations and traveling battalions, these pieces were collapsible, packable, and stylish. Cabinetmakers and designers of the day - Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Shearer, Ince, Mayhew, and Sheraton - responded to the demand by making furniture that was not only portable and durable, but also delicate and graceful. "Campaign" furniture helped high-ranking officers preserve their status by maintaining a semblance of their home life while they were in the field. Using a George II sofa bed as a touchstone, we decided to look at why campaign styles are so fitting today.
Leigh Keno: Who would imagine that they were making sofa beds in the mid-18th century?
Leslie Keno: It makes sense, given the population explosion in England and Wales.
Leigh: The amazing thing about this sofa bed is its elegance - I love the fabric. I see it's signed and dated on the back: "T. Hancock/January 3, 1779."
Leslie: There's a similar piece - a metamorphic mahogany sofa bed - in Lorton, Virginia, in the Colonial plantation house of George Mason, the father of America's Bill of Rights. For starters, the makers chose a great mahogany.
Leigh: Look at that wood! It's beautifully figured on the front.
Leslie: This probably would have been one of the more expensive pieces in the house back then, especially when you consider the metal fittings and how complicated they are. The neat thing is that the back holds up a sort of canopy above it; in the 18th century, curtains and canopies were believed to keep out the night air, which was considered by most to be poisonous.
Leigh: The cabriole legs, which are there purely for decoration, are almost faux-Chippendale legs! He's also given it a serpentine crest, plus beautiful serpentine arms with scrolled handholds. And he spent a lot of money on the fabric to dress it up. It must have impressed -
Leslie: - the ladies?
Leigh: - and the neighbors! You could have houseguests over and say, "Well, I have a place you can sleep right here. It's called a 'sofa bed.'" [Both laugh.]
Leslie: Campaign sofa beds don't come up in the marketplace much, and if an American one turned up, it would be quite unique.
Leigh: What would an American version look like?
Leslie: Well, we don't even know if any existed. But it seems someone would have made them in the Colonies, considering the amazing things that were produced here in the 18th century.
Leigh: I know General John Cadwalader of Philadelphia ordered a very fancy bed in July 1776 from a Philadelphia upholsterer - a camp bedstead to take to the field. It had copper-plate-printed cotton curtains with tassels. Of course, people today wouldn't use a sofa bed like the one we've been looking at. You wouldn't sleep on it. Campaign furniture was also used when the British colonized India.
Leslie: That' s true - India, North America, Africa, and the South Seas. The idea was to live a sort of genteel British life abroad.
Leigh: Compared with American officers, the British were living in the lap of luxury, even though - and perhaps because - they were farther from home. An officer was concerned about his status at all times, and the furniture he had reflected his station. The British officers who camped in America with this incredible mahogany furniture - desks, chairs, tables - even had mahogany-framed bidets for their lady companions when they visited. Most campaign furniture - though not this sofa bed - can be broken down into pieces. Legs were made to unscrew, chair backs came off. Caning was often used because it was light and wouldn't get very hot. The most important pieces of furniture were obviously the bed, chairs and a washbasin.
Leigh: Because it was so versatile and stylish, campaign furniture was even used at home for picnicking or going to the races. Apparently, the idea of "roughing it" just didn't appeal to the British sensibility.
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