Oct 1, 2010

Friday Finds : Mammy Rocker

I have a thing for rockers, I have written about the ones I have in my earlier posts. :-)..HERE and HERE

And this friday, I dedicate my post to a very funky looking rocker which was designed to suit an entire family. It is called the mammy rocker. I had it in my folder for a while, and when another one of these vintage furniture pieces came up on the local craigslist, I remembered the one in my folder and decided to make it this friday's feature.

These bench rockers were said to be very popular in the mid 1800's and until the late 1900's.

General Description: source: worthpointantique
Style: Early American; Type: Rocker/bench/settee; Time line: 1800- early1900s 



what's so special about this rocking bench?
A removable wooden spindle/plank shaped bar to rock a baby while you rock :-). This may be a common feature but I loved it and thought it was a design innovation born out of an ingenious necessity (still researching on the who and why?)

Fixing a bar/handle/plank makes it baby safe (at least looks like it)

image source: craigslist

Other super cool models...

Black painted wooden bench-style baby rocker with gilded painted floral design and safety enclosure.
 source: Provenance: Gemini Antiques, Bridgehampton, NY.


This one is a miniature with a drop down spindles
source: libx.bsu.edu
Mammy Rocker; Artist / Creator: W.P.A. Project, Indiana.
circa1939

Found another with a higher baby guard / railing
source: ecrater.com

Seller described it as:
Nice early, rare (mid 1800's) mammy's bench with its' original surface. Railing lifts out if you want just a regular bench all the way across. Dimensions are 48" long x 27" high and the seat is 16 1/2" deep. 



Before I say adios for now, here is another very unique mammy rocker 
source: ebay classifieds
Seller says: A rare mammy bench with a wooden childs' rocker for the child to sit / sleep in. A child could place her baby doll beside her to rock it. This would be great for a childs' room, or a nursery at church. 

Beautiful isnt it!!....

8 comments:

  1. This is so beautiful.....Thanks for sharing.:-)

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  2. Awesome :) Its the first time I am seeing something like this. Lovely lovely lovely...

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  3. Wow.. Ingenious design. The black one is very beautiful.

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  4. We got a (regular) rocker this week. Love it! :)

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  5. This is amazingly beautiful Sudha, a great find indeed!

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  6. Ooh I love the mommy baby rocker, such a great idea!

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  7. Oh thats super cool.. I've seen one of these in someones house in India.. I remember clicking loads of pics.. coz I tot it was super cool.. that she had a jhoola.. that you could sit on.. which converted to a baby cradle.. huummm.. I'll do a post on this soon..

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