FAQ
Convertible Bed in Form of Upright Piano. Smith & Co. Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1865. Ebonized woods, metal. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Elinor Merrell, 86.176
The piano was an important element of the parlor in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was a focus of family life and attested to the social aspirations of the owner. The consumer of this convertible piano-bed could enjoy the propriety that a piano conferred on his parlor while gaining a reasonably comfortable sleeping unit for a large family living in limited space. The amusing idea of sleeping in a piano must have been part of the furniture's appeal.
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum