[otd] 9 May 1928 - Traffic lost to rail - feathers

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

I wonder if Sumtache was French, a derivation/corruption of 'sans tache'? 'Tache' being French for 'stain'.

[broadgage]

I don't suppose there's much of a market for feathers now (as opposed to down). What were they all used for: mattresses? Golf balls?

Stuffing feather mattresses, pillows and cushions. Feather mattresses are still used today, but are not popular, having been displaced by spring and or foam types.
Feather pillows and duvets remain popular.
Down is often considered to be better, but is much more expensive. A basic feather pillow can be purchased for about £5 and is IME^▸ (in my experience) far superior to synthetic types. Can be composted when no longer serviceable, unlike synthetic materials.

[Bmblbzzz]

Leading us even further away from rail, but Featherbed Lane seems a reasonably common name for rural lanes. I've yet to encounter a Duvet Road or Eider Way – though I'm sure someone will come up with an example now.

[stuving]

Leading us even further away from rail, but Featherbed Lane seems a reasonably common name for rural lanes. I've yet to encounter a Duvet Road or Eider Way – though I'm sure someone will come up with an example now.

A feather bed was specifically a mattress, but that sense of 'bed' isn't really used any more.

[Bmblbzzz]

Well, you wouldn't make a bed frame out of feathers. A motorcycle frame, on the other hand...

[broadgage]

What we now call a bed base, bed frame or simply a bed, used to be called a bedstead.

What we now call a mattress used to be called a bed, and was placed atop the bedstead. For example a feather bed, or or a horse hair bed. Straw was used by the poor. A bedslip was a washable cotton cover into which the bed was inserted to keep it clean.

[Bmblbzzz]

You've reminded me that one of the first films I ever saw was Bedknobs and Broomsticks.