I can't give you the full answer to your question, however, as to this:
 
>Another version states that "pineapples" carved on the posts (I assume the mean the finials) of four-poster beds were removed if the visitor has overstayed their welcome. I think this last one refers to the >crosshatched elliptical decoration sometimes seen on rococo-style furniture.
 
Many southern two and four-poster beds have pineapple-shaped decoration.  Sometimes finials, sometimes carved into the headboard decoration.  Not just vaguely-pineapple-like ovals, but PINEAPPLES, the fruit, the whole shebang, leaves and all.  And I have seen plenty were the pineapple was not at all removeable.
 
My favorite myths to debunk when working as a docent in an 1860s New Orleans townhouse:
 
1. "petticoat mirrors": no, you can't check your petticoats in the mirror inset under a buffet/commode/whatever you call that thing.  The mirror stops a solid 5" above the ground, higher than a floor-length skirt.  And a lady with petticoats would have a maid who would tell her if her petticoats were showing before she walked out the door.
 
2. "closet taxes": I don't know about the rest of the country, but New Orleans (and French Louisiana)  never endured closet taxes.  There weren't closets in those houses because people just kept their stuff in furniture, and they didn't have acres of clothing like we do today. 
 
3. "people were shorter then".  In New Orleans, most people are *still* short.  We're French, Spanish, and Italian, for heavens'  sake.   We are not and never have been generally all that tall. Plus the bolsters behind the pillows (so you could sleep upright) make a modern-sized bed look shorter. 
 
Can't wait to hear the Real Story about Pineapples & Hospitality. 
 
Jill R. Chancey, Curator
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
PO Box 1108
Laurel, MS 39441
(601) 649-6374
www.LRMA.org
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----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Heidi Campbell-Shoaf
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 10:19 AM
Subject: pineapple question

This is a question for all you museum educators and curators out there. My Education Coordinator is presenting a session at our local historic sites consortium symposium about museum/historic house myths and will be explaining but mostly debunking the popular myths heard around the country, e.g. closets were taxed, firescreens kept people's wax makeup from melting, the second leading cause of death among women was catching on fire, etc.
 
She has come across one that is intriguing and wants to include it in her talk. There are apparently several versions of the "pineapple story" floating around. One, a pineapple was placed on a visitor's plate at mealtime if they had overstayed their welcome thereby giving them a signal that it was time to leave. Another version states that "pineapples" carved on the posts (I assume the mean the finials) of four-poster beds were removed if the visitor has overstayed their welcome. I think this last one refers to the crosshatched elliptical decoration sometimes seen on rococo-style furniture.
 
Has anyone heard these or versions of these? Do you have any suggestions on where it might have originated? We all know about the pineapple being a symbol of welcome and hospitality, when was this connection created?
 
 
Heidi Campbell-Shoaf
Curator
Historical Society of Frederick County
24 E. Church St.
Frederick, MD 21701
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