Bed (Grahams Magnetic)
A magnetic contrivance, similar to the baquet, made use of
by James Graham, eighteenth-century physician and magnetist
of Edinburgh, Scotland. His entire house, which he dubbed the
Temple of Hygeia and opened in 1779, was of great magnificence,
especially the room with the magnetic bed. The bed itself
rested on six transparent pillars; the mattresses were
soaked with oriental perfumes; the bedclothes were of satin in
tints of purple and sky blue. A healing stream of magnetism,
as well as fragrant and strengthening medicines, were introduced
into the sleeping apartment through glass tubes and cylinders.
To these attractions were added the soft strains of hidden
flutes, harmonicons, and a large organ. Use of this celestial
couch was said to sooth shattered nerves and was allowed only
to those who sent a written application to its owner and enclosed
£50 sterling
