Fainting Couch

MediumWood, leather

Dimensions30 × 79 × 27 in. (76.2 × 200.7 × 68.6 cm)

ClassificationsFurniture

Credit LineGift of Warren Israel. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number85.1.1

Status

On view

Collections

Label TextThe black leather chaise lounge, commonly referred to as a fainting couch, was a significant fixture in the Victorian household. This elegant yet functional piece of furniture was designed to accommodate the needs of women who wore restrictive corsets. Reinforced with whale bone or metal and laced tightly, Victorian Era corsets dramatically reduced a woman's waist size by several inches. While this fashion was considered desirable, it often led to numerous health complications, including difficulty breathing, dizziness, and frequent fainting spells. The chaise lounge provided a convenient and graceful solution—allowing women to recline and recover when they felt lightheaded. A woman could delicately ease herself onto the couch, maintaining an air of poise and decorum. Beyond its association with fainting, this style of chaise lounge was also used for relaxation and brief daytime naps. These couches blended aesthetic appeal with practical use, offering a comfortable resting spot for those who wished to lounge during the day. In traditional multi-story homes, Victorians placed fainting couches strategically for easy access, often at the top of staircases, inside designated fainting rooms, or in the private quarters of women. In the Farm House Museum, however, the fainting couch is positioned in the Curtiss Library on the main floor just inside the front door. This placement is intentional, designed to recreate a 1910 interior photograph of the library, the only known surviving image capturing the Curtiss family's home during their residency. It is possible that Charles Curtiss used the couch for a more leisurely purpose— he may have found it to be a comfortable spot for reading, relaxing, or even napping during quiet moments in the library.

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