From birth to death, the bed played a significant role in life’s daily cycles. Almost a room within a room, the bed was a place for sleeping as well as intimate activities, such as sex, childbirth, nursing, convalescence, and even death. From the seventeenth to early nineteenth century there was a bed in almost every room of the home. The “best bed”—today we call it the master bed—was usually located in either the distinguished parlor or “best” bedchamber. These were public spaces, where guests were entertained and daily activities took place.
