Beds - Construction
All illustrations are from furniture in Buffalo, NY, unless otherwise indicated.

	Bandy legs Legs bowed or bent in an outward curve
	Bed-hangings Curtains hanging from rods Often used in conjunction with a valance.
	Bedstead The frame supporting a bed
	Canopy A covering, usually of cloth, suspended over a bed Often arched: 2 curved rods reinforced by narrow stretchers
	Field top The tester is cut in a serpentine curve from head to foot
	Finial An
	Foot board An upright board across the foot of a bedstead
	Head board A board or panel that forms the head of a bed
	Ornamentation: Acanthus leaf Acorn finial Cabriole leg Claw-and-ball feet Finial -  See above: Finial Fluted bedpost Pineapple Reeded bedpost
	Rail The horizontal strip of a frame or a panel. The horizontal tie bar joining the stiles/posts Illustration: Empire low post bed - Private collection, Buffalo, NY
	Slat Narrow band of wood,used to support mattresses Illustration: Empire low post bed - Private collection, Buffalo, NY
	Stile / Post / Bedpost A vertical structural unit Illustration: Ansley Wilcox Mansion / Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Empire hired man's bed - Boies-Lord House (Hamburg)
	Tester (pronounced TES ter, or TEE ster) A canopy Sometimes domed
	Three-Quarter High-Post Bed "Is without tester and all posts are alike. They measure from four feet six inches to five feet eight inches tall and are either vase-and-ring turned, terminating in ball, urn or cone-shape finials, or acanthus-leaf carved and terminate in urn or pineapple-carved finials. "Below rails they are turned in vase shape, are either plain or leaf-carved and terminate in small peg feet. "Headboard, 16 to 20 inches high, has either a straight upper edge with voluted ends or a carved and pierced cresting. Matching footboard may be present. "Rails are generally 26 to 28 inches from floor. "Made in all sections [of the country] of mahogany, maple, cherry or birch. Ca. 1820-1840." - Thomas H. Ormsbee, Field Guide to American Victorian Furniture, 1951 Illustration: American Antique Furniture, Orchard Park, NY
	Valance (pronounced VAIL ans, or VAY lens) An ornamental drapery hung across a top edge of a bed or canopy

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