Description:

Historic Taylor Family American Rococo Faux Grained and Carved Rosewood Three Quarter Tester Bed
mid-19th c., attributed to retailer Prudent Mallard, New Orleans, related to the bed at Lansdowne in Natchez, MS, having a serpentine tester with beaded molding and finials, tapered cluster column posts, foliate-carved scalloped paneled headboard with ripple molding; pierced carved foliate molded rails, arched footboard with rounded ribbon-carved corners, carved and fluted low finialed posts

Note: Through family lore this bed was traded to the Taylor family from Hermitage and the Jackson Family for legal services rendered in the 1890s. Two major events between the families happen in the 1890s. First Governor Robert Love Taylor signs off on the first Board of Trustees the governing body of Ladies' Hermitage Association, who acquired The Hermitage in 1889. Second event comes a few years later when then Senator Robert Love Taylor works with Amy and Andrew Jackson III on getting the Andrew Jackson Papers Collection into the Library of Congress. "Senator Taylor of Tennessee submitted a resolution to the effect that the Committee on the Library be instructed to inquire into the feasibility of buying the Jackson Papers for the same purposes indicated in the earlier Senate resolution of 1884." From Library of Congress Jackson Papers section 153. The bed could have been payment for help with one or both of these events.

  • Provenance: Robert Love Taylor (July 31, 1850 – March 31, 1912) House of Representatives 1879-1881, (24th and 26th) Governor of TN, Senator, Matthew Hillsman Taylor (August 4, 1884 – November 1, 1965) Speaker of the House in Tennessee, Mettie Taylor Dobson
    (1912-2000) sister of Matthew Hillsman Taylor Jr. (January 8, 1917 – November 2, 1994) known as Peter Taylor the Pulitzer and Faulkner Award winning Novelist, current family descendant
  • Dimensions: outside H. 131 in., W. 78 in., L. 95 in. Inside W. 72 in., l. 86 in.,
  • Condition: Structurally sound, later finish with good patina, old repair to center top of headboard appears to have been filled, see photo, scattered veneer repairs, old repairs to rail returns at the corners of the footboard, see photos, Front and right side have sun fading, scattered nicks, chips, dents and scratches consistent with age and use, Old shrinkage repairs to headboard and footboard see photos, comes with custom mattress and box spring, one bead molding missing from left side of tester, sections of ripple molding replaced on headboard, the mosquito poles are not operable appeared to be glued in. additional photos on Nealauction.com

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November 21, 2025 11:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

Neal Auction Company

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
$100,000 + $20,000