Name/Title
Half-Tester BedContext
In the center of the 1855 bedroom is a walnut half-tester bed. The bed was purchased in New Orleans in 1848 by Judge Rueben A. Reeves (1821-1908) and his new wife Sarah soon after their marriage as they traveled from Kentucky to Palestine, Texas, to start their new lives out west. This bed has the oldest Texas provenance of any of the items in the Neill-Cochran House Museum Collection.
The bed is a half-tester bed, meaning that it has a canopy, or tester, supported by two shaped posts on either side of the headboard. The headboard is decorated with three arched panels and an elaborately carved floral crest. The corner posts at the foot of the bed are topped with carved urn finials.
This bed is believed to have been sold to Reeves by Prudent Millard (1809-1879), one of the most famous providers of fashionable furniture in the pre-War South. Millard, based out of New Orleans, did not manufacture furniture but did finishing and upholstery work on pieces he acquired for resale. He imported furniture directly from the centers of style in France and New York and employed skilled craftsmen to assemble and upholster these pieces for the local market.
Judge Reeves, who brought this bed to Texas, became Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and was later appointed Justice of the Court of the New Mexico Territory. His great-granddaughter, Mary Olive Titteringham McClendon, donated the bed to the Neill-Cochran House Museum.
You can see this bed and all of our dreamy artifacts Wed-Sun, 11-4pm at the Neill-Cochran House Museum.Acquisition
Accession
1969.03Source or Donor
Mrs. R. W. McClendon (Mary Olive Titteringham)Acquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
In memory of Mrs. William Caven (Mary Word)Made/Created
Artist
Attributed to Prudent Mallard