Antique bed

[James]

Ok folks anyone here know when 3/4 size rope beds went out? I went to a tag sale in the next town up the railroad earlier this month and they had an old rope bed for sale. On Friday the price was way to high, but as luck would have it on Saturday was back in the area and stopped in again and they cut the price down to $50 and long story short, its in my barn. Found a tag nailed up under with a company name, established 1885 and listing locations as New York and Philadelphia. I googled it and its still in business, will see if they respond to an email.
I would have thought a 3/4 size rope bed would be somewhat earlier than 1885 and certainly more of a rural item than a big city one by that time frame. Any Victorian experts out there? That gets a bit late for whatever expertise i might have. Will try and send a picture at some point but not able to right now. Suspect it may have had some alterations, but for $50 not complaining about it.

[downtowndahlgren]

Actually, I believe 3/4 beds didn't go out of style until the early 20th century, depending on the area of the country. I've got several, and there's a lot of difference in the sizes. I actually used one for myself with a full-sized futon mattress, but I also have a "regular" 3/4 solid pine bed that takes a 48" X 72" mattress. The rope 3/4 beds were obviously discontinued earlier than ones with slats (for reasons of comfort, primarily.)

[oldhouseluvr]

James - Melissa's Mom, Vera, has quite a collection of victorian furniture. As I recall she is also very knowledgeable about that period of furniture. You might want to PM Melissa with your question.

[James]

Thanks for the information folks. Will send Melissa a message. Not sure just what I will do with this bed but at that price it was to good to pass up. I have several of those old 3/4 size rope beds myself, in fact sleep on one but I honestly figured they would have gone out sometime prior to the 1885 date on this one. And yes I have found that there is not much standardization of the sizes. They tend to very by several inchs, width and length wise.

[S Melissa]

Hi James! Good score on a solid wood bed - rope or otherwise. As for when they went "out" - hmmm - I know I was able to buy 3/4 size mattress for one of my beds from Sears back about 20 yrs ago - since then, they've discontinued them and I had to get a new one custom made - not as expensive as you might think. For the most part tho - I try to use a full size mattress on them, easier all the way around. I've taken 3/4" plywood and had it cut to fit the space between the rails to form a platform - which is anchored to the slats that sit on the side rails (these may have been replaced at some point to lengthen the bed - hard to tell) and then buy a mattress that doesn't require a box spring, and plop it on top and ta-da. Otherwise these new deep mattresses are so tall, you have to take a running jump into the bed and it just plum looks weird.

My mom - now 92 slept on a rope bed with a straw tick in the summer and feather tick in the winter. So they were around in the Missouri countryside in the 1920's!

[pqtex]

I try to use a full size mattress on them, easier all the way around. I've taken 3/4" plywood and had it cut to fit the space between the rails to form a platform - which is anchored to the slats that sit on the side rails (these may have been replaced at some point to lengthen the bed - hard to tell) and then buy a mattress that doesn't require a box spring, and plop it on top and ta-da. Otherwise these new deep mattresses are so tall, you have to take a running jump into the bed and it just plum looks weird.

Low profile box springs are available to help reduce the extreme height caused by a tall bed and new (deep) mattress. My antique bed (family heirloom--belonged to my great-grandparents) is plenty tall, and like Melissa says, current mattresses are very deep and you do have to take a running start to hop on top. I solved the problem by buying a low profile box spring. It was inexpensive, too.

[James]

I buy what the stores refer to as bunkie boards, which is a box spring about 3-4 inchs tall. That keeps the bed from getting to high(which the top of the mattress is still like 32-33 inchs above the floor). Down here I can still get a 3/4 mattress, or could the last time I looked for one. And custom sizes aren't that expensive, just takes a long lead time, so don't need it by the weekend.
Have been sleeping on a 3/4 size rope bed ever since I moved into this house(and yes, it is roped). I honestly doubt if I could get a full size box spring up the stairs here. The PO had a queen size mattress, but no box spring with it.
And as for the date issue on the tag sale bed, I have started to wonder if the tag on the bed was not about the bed itself but the bed curtains(its a tester), the bed looks lots older than the 1885 date on the label but the company, which I have researched, seems to have been very big on fabric and wallpaper. They are in fact still in business and have a website but have not responded to inquiries, at least not yet.

[Asher1234]

I buy what the stores refer to as bunkie boards, which is a box spring about 3-4 inchs tall. That keeps the bed from getting to high(which the top of the mattress is still like 32-33 inchs above the floor). Down here I can still get a 3/4 mattress, or could the last time I looked for one. And custom sizes aren't that expensive, just takes a long lead time, so don't need it by the weekend.
Have been sleeping on a 3/4 size rope bed ever since I moved into this house(and yes, it is roped). I honestly doubt if I could get a full size box spring up the stairs here. The PO had a queen size mattress, but no box spring with it.
And as for the date issue on the tag sale bed, I have started to wonder if the tag on the bed was not about the bed itself but the bed curtains(its a tester), the bed looks lots older than the 1885 date on the label but the company, which I have researched, seems to have been very big on fabric and wallpaper. They are in fact still in business and have a website but have not responded to inquiries, at least not yet.

I know that for sure, low profile box springs are quite handy in helping reduce the extreme height caused by a tall bed and new mattress. My antique bed is plenty tall my currenthttps://hovement.com/best-queen-size-mattress/ mattresses are very deep and since I can't think of disposing them due to their unrivalled quality, I solved the problem by buying a low profile box spring.Just like those mattresses, it was quite affordable and of high quality as well.

[CaseyAdams]

I don't think 3/4 size rope beds went out of style. I had a 3/4 size rope bed a few years back. Now, I have replaced that old bed with a new one. Currently, I am looking for a mattress and found on the internet about the latex mattress Miami. I am planning to order it from Palma Sleep. I love keeping my house furnished with good furniture and other items.