What is a Jenny Lind Crib?
Jenny Lind was a Swedish-born opera singer. Her full name was Johanna Maria Lind, and she lived from 1820 to 1887. Her beautiful voice earned her the name “The Swedish Nightingale”. In 1850 Lind traveled to the United States as part of a concert tour promoted by P.T. Barnum, of Barnum & Bailey’s Circus fame. She was extremely popular and became America’s first big celebrity. Soon, many products, ships and chapels were named after her. However, the most lasting of these has been the ‘Jenny Lind Crib’. It is said that during her tour of the U.S., Lind slept in a bed with turned posts or spindles. So, cribs with turned posts became known as Jenny Lind cribs, and they are still known as such today. Jenny Lind cribs tend to be simple designs with drop sides and turned, knobbly legs and posts, and are sold by many different manufacturers.
