heads. There were shovels and tongs of iron, and doubtless, in many cases, of brass. In some of the houses, the backs of the chimneys were of the former metal.[1] A large chafing-dish was used at times for heating the chamber. The floor was frequently protected by carpets, some of which were of stout leather, some of stuffs highly figured and colored.[2] There were printed linens for the windows and printed cottons for the chimneys. In some of the houses, the walls of the chambers were hung with tapestry.[3] There were screens, escritoires, and clocks of various and often of costly patterns.
The respective value of the various articles in the numerous chambers did not differ in a very striking degree. In this respect, the appraisements of the contents of the rooms in the residence of Thomas Stratton of Henrico, a planter whose estate was fairly representative, was probably not exceptional; the furniture in one chamber above stairs was set down as worth thirty-two pounds sterling; in another, thirty-seven; that in the principal apartment on the ground floor, thirty-nine.
