Posted 11 months ago
SandyShores
(52 items)
Baby Rocking Cradle from late 1800's in family since then. Famous lawyer Bill Fallon born in 1886 and who graduated from Fordham
as Valedictorian in 1906 and Fordham Law School in 1909. He was known as the "Mouthpiece" because of his oratory skills in the courtroom. This has been in our attic at least since WW2. It is interesting because the lever on the top can be pushed up to rock the cradle or down to lock it in position. The wood is marked as shown and I really can't make out what it says and the date. My late father wrote down that it was marked 1875. Does anyone know anything about this?
Hi, SandyShores. :-)
Beautiful piece of furniture.
I think I see "1875" towards the right in the bottom row of stenciled text.
I can't read any of the text in the curved lines, but below that, I think I see "CINCINNATI," and below that possibly "PAT.," "something," and then possibly a patent number, which I can't read.
However, a quick search yielded this:
*snip*
My old baby cradle has been in our family for generations. On the bottom it says "Betts Street Furniture Co., Berens, Rignemans Co., Props, Cincinnati, Ohio, Pat. Oct. 26, 1875, Feb. 26, 1878."
*snip*
Your antique rocking cradle would have been produced circa 1880 by the Betts Street Furniture Co. in Cincinnati, OH. Betts Street Furniture originated in the 1850's, and was a major producer in Cincinnati into the early 20th century.
*snip*
https://www.justanswer.com/antiques/8jjsb-old-baby-cradle-family-generations.html
No pictures, though. :-(
Here's one at EBTH (not the same style):
https://www.ebth.com/items/9255283-antique-victorian-betts-street-furniture-co-baby-platform-crib
Here's another listing (again, not the same style) that when I look at it from Google says, "Walnut rocking baby cradle, signed on hardware and on wooden slat, "Sprengard Oct. 26, 1875, Cincinnati, Ohio", with unique mechanism to lock the cradle in .."
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/price-result/1875-signed-sprengard-walnut-rocking-cradle/
Here's the 1878 Sprengard patent:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US200805A/en
And here's an 1877 patent cited by the 1878 one:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US4021867A/en
Perhaps the Betts Street Furniture Co. bears further investigation.
Hi again, SandyShores. :-)
Just following up a bit.
I found these enlightening tidbits about the Betts Street Furniture Company:
*snip*
Q I inherited an oak cradle from my father's family. It is smaller than a modern crib. It has straight slats on the sides and solid head- and footboards. It rocks on a platform, but can be locked in place. I think the mattress is original. The stuffing is straw or horsehair. The bottom of the cradle reads "Betts Street Furniture Company, Berens, Ringeman & Co., Props., Cincinnati, O., Oct. 26, 1875 & Feb. 26, 1878."
A Betts Street Furniture Co. was founded in Cincinnati by Herman Theodore Kemper, who immigrated from Germany in the late 1850s. The dates on your platform cradle are probably patent dates relating to the rocking mechanism. They make it clear that your cradle was not manufactured before 1878. This was an era when all types of rocking furniture were patented. Children's needs became a high priority in Victorian homes.
*snip*
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2005/04/03/garden-items-garner-high-prices/117996842/
Sprengard was one of the incorporators:
*snip*
THE BETTS STREET FURNITURE COMPANY
Company Number
261
Status
Cancelled
Incorporation Date
3 December 1867 (over 155 years ago)
Company Type
CORPORATION FOR PROFIT
Jurisdiction
Ohio (US)
Registered Address
HAMILTON, CINCINNATI, OH
United States
Business Classification Text
CONVERSION DEFAULT
Inactive Directors / Officers
CHARLES SCHROEDER, incorporator
ET AL, incorporator
JACOB SPRENGARD, incorporator
JOHN EILERS, incorporator
*snip*
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_oh/261
Sprengard did have another cradle/crib patent from 1875:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US169123A/en
Here is another cradle that looks close to your. Unfortunately, the listing doesn't give a lot of detail (you'd have to contact Invaluable for more information), but it does appear to be one of those rocking/non-rocking convertible ones:
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/walnut-platform-baby-cradle-with-pressed-design-166-c-5c94ec7ba3
Here's another Betts convertible on picclick with those same patent dates:
*snip*
HERE IS A VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF AN AMERICAN MADE ANTIQUE VICTORIAN CHILDS OAK ROCKING CRADLE/CRIB/BED. THE CRIB/BED RESTS ON A PLATFORM WITH A LOCKING MECHANISM OF TWO METAL FASTENERS WHICH HOLDS IT IN PLACE FOR USE AS A BED, OR WHEN RELEASED ALLOWS IT TO ROCK AS A CRADLE.
THIS GREAT AMERICAN ANTIQUE PIECE IS MARKED TWICE: "BETTS STREET FURNITURE CO., BERENS & RINGEMAN & CO., PROPS., CINCINNATI, OHIO, PAT. OCT. 26, 1875 & FEB. 26, 1878."
*snip*
https://picclick.com/Victorian-Oak-Rocking-Cradle-Bed-Crib-Childs-Doll-201184786575.html
It IS difficult to read those old stenciled letters, and it's possible that the date is 1878 instead of 1875.
Here are some genealogical tidbits about Jacob Sprengard:
*snip*
jacob sprengard
Birthabt 1833 - Bavaria
Death1913 - Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States
MotherMary Messer
FatherUnavailable
Born in Bavaria on abt 1833 to Mary Messer. jacob sprengard had 1 child. He passed away on 1913 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States.
*snip*
https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/jacob-sprengard-24-27rf343
A'ight, let me try to separate the wheat from the chaff in what I put into my earlier comments.
I suspect that what you have is a patented Betts Street Furniture Company convertible cradle/crib.
Take a closer look at the pictures in this EBTH listing for a convertible cradle/crib, specifically the one with a closeup of the board that has information stenciled on it (picture 8 of 9):
https://www.ebth.com/items/9255283-antique-victorian-betts-street-furniture-co-baby-platform-crib
Notice the similarity to the stenciling on yours: the top row of information is in an arch with subsequent lines of information in straight rows.
Here are those two patents (OCT. 26, 1875 & FEB. 26, 1878):
https://patents.google.com/patent/US169123A/en
https://patents.google.com/patent/US200805A/en
The convertible cradle/crib I found that bears the most resemblance to yours (solid head and foot, open sides) is the one at the Invaluable dot com listing, which unfortunately doesn't give much detail:
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/walnut-platform-baby-cradle-with-pressed-design-166-c-5c94ec7ba3
Here are the links to information about the Betts Street Furniture Company, and Jacob Sprengard:
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2005/04/03/garden-items-garner-high-prices/117996842/
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_oh/261
https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/jacob-sprengard-24-27rf343
I suspect that you know the drill on patents: an item can't be any older than the newest patent listed on it; however, 1878 isn't inconsistent with anything else you've told us about this family heirloom.
It's both beautiful and ingenious. <3
Thank you!! You gave me so much information! I know you put a lot of time into this and appreciate it. I am overwhelmed now with moving and have so many antiques. The research you did on this was extensive and saved me so much time. Thank you again!!
SandyShores, You're very welcome. :-)
I really didn't spend that much time on it. Possibly, it seems that way because I tend to be a bit verbose (*cough*) in my comments, especially with cut-and-paste excerpts from the sources I find online.
I do that because I'm always afraid the the links will become defunct. I don't think a lot of information is ever truly lost on the Internet, but it does have a distressing way of moving around.
The amount of time I've spent on this convertible cradle/crib is actually trifling when I compare it to some of the vintage sewing machines I've researched. Yeah. };-)
I've got a few extra tidbits for you, and I'll start with this caveat from the Chicago Tribune about another slat-sided Betts Street Furniture Company convertible cradle/crib:
*snip*
The openings between the bars are too large to be safe for an infant, so it should be considered only as a decorative piece.
*snip*
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-04-17-9404170357-story.html
There is a 28 page Betts Street Furniture Company catalog from 1886, but in all the world, it seems like there is only one copy (however, it's available for borrowing):
https://worldcat.org/en/title/36812205
I realize that you're probably crazy busy with moving right now, but something that you might want to do with your family heirlooms once you've resettled is label them in an inconspicuous location.
What you could do is print something like this:
=================================================
Convertible cradle/crib that was once used by ancestor Bill Fallon
Made by the Betts Street Furniture Company, Cincinnati, OH
U.S. Patents 169,123 (October 26, 1875) & 200,805 (February 26, 1878)
=================================================
Then put the printout in one of those little laminating pouches, and affix it to the underside of the cradle/crib platform using double-sided sticky tape.
That way, the family will know the basics about this heirloom.
Good luck. :-)