Rare Victorian Est. 2008 · The Curator's Archive
Research No. 605

Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed

Originally published

BedDeskRenaissance RevivalVictorianFolding

Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed
Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed
I was contacted by a Rare Victorian visitor about a Shupe & Noble bed that they would like to sell and I thought it would be good to share with everyone for two reasons: 1) the maker is known and is not one that I've run across before, and 2) it is one of those contraptions that the Victorians seemed to have loved to conjure up. This Renaissance Revival bed/desk was made some time after the last patent date of 1881 (there are apparently 3 total patents: '77, '78, and '81). I'm not sure what will happen to your belongings when you open the bed and the drawers are upended face down to the floor. The bed is for sale for those who might be interested. Use the contact page on the menu above.

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Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed
Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed
Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed

6 comments

  1. woodwright
    You wrote: "I’m not sure what will happen to your belongings when you open the bed and the drawers are upended face down to the floor." I'm betting the drawers are false fronts as is the door and C-roll. I'd bet none of them actually work and it is just there to look like a cylinder roll desk when not in use, but it actually only functions as abed. woodwright
    1. JOe Wiessinger
      I agree with Woodwright. I have seen "pianos" that open into beds and obviously, there is no room for the action, strings or sound board in the contraption. Just looks nice and gives the impression that the owner is an erudite, educated person when infact, he is just a lazy person who wants all to believe he is something he is not. Fun stuff.
  2. woodwright
    Maybe Victorian convertible furniture is where Hasbro came up with the idea for "Transformers"?
  3. Valerie
    How interesting! I must admit that I've never seen one of these before. While I do agree that there is an element of the practical in such a bed, I do also see a great deal of Victorian whimsey. Why can't we make interesting stuff like this today?
  4. English Classics
    OK, so why are we calling it a "Climax" bed? Depending on the owner, I suppose that could be a very apt name, but I imagine that's not what whoever named it had in mind.

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