Bedtime stories

“Angels sing thee to thy bed”, hand embroidery on linen pillow shams. 1880. Minnesota Historical Society Collections, #71.105.2.A,B

“Angels sing thee to thy bed”, hand embroidery on linen pillow shams. 1880. Minnesota Historical Society Collections, #71.105.2.A,B

Bed (linen) time stories

Bed linen is a common and universal companion of human life. Even if the specific shapes and materials change from place to place and over time, some kind of textile always serves as an underlay and a cover for people when they sleep. Presence as well as absence of those textiles is a significant marker of identity, way of life, social situation, and geographical disposition.

We spend a substantial portion of our life in bed, in its multiple forms. It answers a basic necessity as the place where we sleep, but it is also often where we are born and give birth, lie in sickness and die, make love, dream and have nightmares, relax or lie restless when visited by a troubled conscience or insomnia. It is a lonely place and a shared space, and often crucial discussions happen there when we are on the verge of falling asleep.

How we make our bed reveals how we make ourselves human, civilized, and cultured, with all the delights, doubts, difficulties, ironies, triumphs, disgraces, pains, and pleasures that these three words evoke. Shall we peek inside the armoire?

Link: Bed Linen Questionnaire

Linen sheet and its embroidered detail (initials AL) underneath the crochet border. Circa 1880,   Minnesota Historical Society Collections, #720908.

Linen sheet and its embroidered detail (initials AL) underneath the crochet border. Circa 1880, Minnesota Historical Society Collections, #720908.