Antique Baby Crib
I was fortunate to be the recipient of an antique baby crib for my infant daughter.
It was a jenny lind-style crib, oak, with spindles and a side rail that raised and lowered. I loved it!
The crib was a gift from my aunt, who had stored it away for years after my cousins grew out of it. None of my cousins were interested in it, but I was thrilled to get it — it had held my dad and aunts when they were babies, and now it was going to be my baby’s.
Why was I so excited about this particular antique baby crib? Remember, it had held my dad as a baby. My grandmother had placed her sleeping children into it at night. I could picture her rocking her baby to sleep, and then laying the sleeping child in the crib. That connection to family was very precious to me. It made me feel that I was reaching out to my grandmother, long dead now. I felt that I was somehow closer to her, and to my heritage.
The antique baby crib also had practical advantages for me. I didn’t have to buy a new crib (have you seen the prices they get for cribs these days?!?) It was tried and true so I knew it was safe. It was a lovely deep walnut color, just beautiful.
I decided to refinish the crib. The color was lovely, but the finish was scratched and scraped up from storage and age. I found a local refinishing company in the phone book and transported the crib to them, all metal and hardware removed. They were able to “dip” the crib pieces into a stripping solvent which removed the varnish, leaving the crib clean and fresh, ready to have a new non-toxic finish applied.
My daughter napped, slept, played and grew in that antique baby crib, enjoying it for two years, until her brother came along and moved her out of it. The good news is that the crib stood up to my son’s rough-and-tumble childhood also, until his brother arrived to move him onto his “big boy bed” as well.
Do modern-day cribs handle this type of use? I would venture to say that most present day baby beds don’t have the staying-power of those old-time cribs. One hundred years ago, furniture was made to last a long time. These days you’re lucky if you can get a few years out of a piece of baby furniture before it falls apart or gets sold at a garage sale.
If you’re lucky enough to have or receive an antique baby crib of your own, congratulations! An antique crib can be a wonderful part of your family’s personal history, a heart-warming connection with your past.