Monumental 19th Century American Empire Mahogany Four Poster Canopy Bed with Bobbin Turned Posts

This monumental Southern post bed is pictured in historic literature from Guarding Oak, an 1859 mansion in Jefferson, Texas. The bed was featured in the home’s Magnolia Room and was described in accompanying tour materials as having “a hiding place for jewels” concealed within one of the towering posts.

According to period house literature, the bed was believed to have arrived in Jefferson from New Orleans via riverboat during the 19th century, reflecting the era when Jefferson served as one of Texas’s most important inland ports. According to family history, this bed was transported by river from New Orleans to Jefferson, Texas, circa 1860, likely aboard a shallow-draft Red River packet steamboat traveling the historic Mississippi–Red River–Caddo Lake–Big Cypress Bayou route. Jefferson was then one of Texas’s key inland ports, receiving goods, furnishings, and fashions from New Orleans by steamboat.

cquired from Guarding Oak, the historic 1859 Greek Revival estate in Jefferson, Texas, documented through Historic American Buildings Survey materials and mid-20th century house literature. Historic brochures from the mid-20th century depicting the bed in situ accompany the piece.

Dimensions:
98” H
66” W (outside posts)
83.5” L (outside)