The Bed Work
“This will be yours...” © 2013-20
Click here: TWBY_GrlsInstBed_TxtSpecsBiblgry_040220.pdf to download a PDF of the complete text,
specs and bibliography.
Antique metal doll bed with wood balls at feet
12” (W) x 21 1/2” (L) x 3 1/2” (mattress level)
12” (H) headboard, 8” footboard
Sham Pillowcase front
(vintage white with green and blue flower patterned cotton comforter cover with machine embroidered ruffle)
9” (W) x 6” (L)
Bedspread
(vintage white with green and blue flower patterned cotton comforter cover with machine embroidered ruffle)
25” (W) x 24” (L) with 2” dust ruffle
If you would like any hi-res images of these photos, see additional images of this piece, or
if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me: tamarstone@pipeline.com
Duvet (Comforter) front
(vintage quilted white comforter with rose pattern)
25” (W) x 23 1/2” (L)
Images Copyright © 2020 by Tamar Stone. All Rights Reserved.
No images may be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the artist.
Mattress front
(vintage blue stripped cotton ticking fabric, cotton batting stuffing)
12” (W) x 20 1/2” (L) x 2” (H)
The stories represented in this bed piece are grouped around girls in institutions, women who come together in groups to help other women in various states of need, and in some cases women experiencing a great change while among other women. These stories occurred during a timespan ranging from the late 18th century to the 1940s and took place in a wide variety of beds, some that were not always their own — sometimes by choice or necessity, and many times not a place for one’s personal space for usual sleep.
As with the previous pieces, some of these women are well known, and some may not be known at all. However their voices are all equally important in telling their stories and creating a path for women to follow to into the future.
These stories include a boarding school student in New England in the 1790’s, a Lowell MA mill worker who left her home for work and learned to live with others on their own, in the mid-1800’s. A young black woman opens a school for African American girls at the turn-of-the-new 20th century, while another young woman struggles to create a safe place for those working on the streets of 1910 Chicago. An Alabama teenager finds herself having to convert to Catholicism at her new school, and another girl, who was to become one the most respected and revered writers for many generations, experiences a sexual awakening.
Pillowcase front
(vintage white embroidered cotton sheet )
8 1/4” (W) x 4 1/2” (L)
Pillow front
(vintage off-white rose patterned pillow ticking,
cotton batting stuffing)
7 1/4” (W) x 4 1/2” (L)
Top Sheet front
(vintage white cotton bed sheet with pink flower pattern, sewn fold-over edge)
20 1/2” (W) x 27” (L)
Blanket back
Duvet (Comforter) back
Pillowcase with Pillow front
Duvet (Comforter) Cover back
Blanket front
(vintage pink and green wool blankets, with polyester satin blanket trim)
23 1/2” (W) x 26” (L)
Pillowcase back
Pillow back
Blanket back
(vintage pink and green wool blankets, with polyester satin blanket trim)
Top Sheet front
((vintage white cotton bed sheet with pink flower pattern, sewn fold-over edge)
20 1/2” (W) x 27” (L)
Top Sheet back
Bottom Sheet front
(vintage white & floral patterned cotton bed sheets)
2 original vintage labels:
hand written name “Ruth” and stitched
“Canon Muslin Single Bed”
22” (W) x 28 1/2” (L)
Top Sheet back
Mattress Cover front
(vintage cotton stripped pink flower pattern pillow ticking with zipper closure)
12” (W) x 21” (L) x 2” H
Bottom Sheet back
Mattress back
Mattress headboard side with embroidered signature
Sham Pillowcase front
(vintage white with green and blue flower
patterned cotton comforter cover with machine embroidered ruffle)
6” (W) x 4” (L)
Sham Pillow front
(vintage white cotton pink flower patterned bed sheet,
stuffed with cotton batting)
9” (W) x 6” (L)
Sham Pillowcase back
Sham Pillow back
Bedspread back
(vintage white with green and blue flower patterned cotton comforter cover with machine embroidered ruffle)
25” (W) x 24” (L) with 2” dust ruffle
Duvet (Comforter) Cover front
(vintage white cotton sheet with vertical-lined pink rose pattern,
with 4 matching ties)
25 1/2” (W) x 24” (L)
Duvet (Comforter) Cover back
Bottom Sheet front with “Canon Muslin Sheet” label
(vintage white & blue floral patterned cotton bed sheets)
20 1/2” (W) x 27” (L)
Bottom Sheet back with handwritten “Ruth” label
(vintage white & pink floral patterned cotton bed sheets)
Mattress Cover front
(vintage cotton stripped pink flower pattern pillow ticking with zipper closure in back)
12” (W) x 21” (L) x 2” H
Mattress Cover back
Mattress front detail
Mattress long side 1
Mattress cover unzipped
Mattress long side 2
Mattress footboard side
