Past Tents

During the last fifteen years of the nineteenth century, the pillows, curtains, hangings, and tassels with which the middle class padded its homes tended to amalgamate into constructions known as “cozy corners.” Built in parlors, they were just that: lavish, intimate little retreats. These particularly fine examples, sent to us by Lynne Marple Cannon of Ambler, Pennsylvania, were photographed by her great-grandfather, Alfred C. Marpie. An avid amateur camerman, he was a furniture salesman, and the cozy corner on the right served as a display in his Philadelphia store. The magnificent rococo specimen with Moorish ordnance and Turk’s head stood in the home of the Marples’ Philadelphia neighbors, the Wrigleys. William Wrigley himself came from that household, and it would be nice to think that the initial idea for his spearmint gum settled on him during a moment of reflection beneath the battle-ax. The occupant in the picture is known to history only as Miss Woodward.

We continue to ask our readers to send unusual and previously unpublished old photographs to Carla Davidson at American Heritage Publishing Co., 10 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020. Please send a copy of any irreplaceable material, include return postage, and do not mail glass negatives. AMERICAN HERITAGE will pay $50.00 for each one that is run.