Gala of Vanities

In 1882 the English engineer James Marshall found a way of giving his ailing wife some relief: a mattress containing springs in bags which guaranteed a level of comfort never previously reached.

John Nolon and Frederick James decided to promote Marshall’s revolutionary mattress in Great Britain, and in 1901 they founded the Marshall Sanitary Mattress Company in London; it was subsequently renamed Vispring, with the Vi- at the beginning signifying the Roman numeral for six, being the number of springs in each bag.

Recognition arrived almost immediately, and in 1911 the White Star Line asked Visping to provide the beds for the 39 suites and 350 cabins in First Class of their most famous vessel, the Titanic. Even since then, success and prestige have gone forward hand in hand.

Every Vispring mattress is hand-made in accordance with the client’s specifications, and owing to the bespoke service it is possible to request a bed which adapts itself to the most original shapes and needs.

The springs in each mattress are a fundamental element in guaranteeing a delicate balance between robustness and elasticity. They are produced in-house, inserted into calico cotton bags and set out in a honeycomb pattern. The shape and tension of the springs is highly important for comfort and, with a single, double or triple layer of them, nine degrees of tension and 58 types to choose from, the possible combinations are more or less infinite.

At the beginning, Vispring upholstered its mattresses with horse hair but subsequently moved on to more refined materials, such as cotton, Shetland wool, silk and, finally, the finest vicuña. Each material confers differing benefits and thereby ensures that the mattresses satisfy even the most demanding of clients.

Owing to its meticulous approach, since 1901 Vispring has been producing the world’s best mattresses, raising sleep to heights never previously known.

Plymouth, January 2018