The Nursery In the Nursery the iron cot dated 1860, along with the cane and bamboo perambulator donated by Dr. Cornish of Frankston, are examples of baby furniture of the last century. Iron bars, iron wheels and a lack of springs demonstrate how uncomfortable life as an infant then would have been in comparison with today. This room also contains some exquisite baby wear, including a number of christening robes. The English pedigree doll sitting in the chair is wearing a christening robe dated c1860. The chair was donated by Lady Coles. The sampler above the cot was worked by a ten year old girl and is typical of pieces worked by girls learning their stitches. Seated in the low chair, believed to be a birthing chair used by women in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, is an old teddy. "Mr. Teddy" belonged to Frankston resident Mrs. Reed, who received him as a gift on her first birthday in 1926. Early teddies were so named beacuse American President Theodore Roosevelt collected bears. Bears of this era are recognisable by their pointed snouts and cardboard joints. Like those in the Lantern Room and Boudoir, the woollen rugs in the nursery are handmade. They are made by cutting old woollen garments into long strips that are then rolled into balls. Using a special hook, called a progger, the strips are worked into a background of hessian. |
