You rarely ever come across antique iron beds that were used as a bunk beds in the 1800’s. Iron beds were at their zenith back in the 1800’s. The military found them to be the most practical form of bed for large groups of service people. They were easily assembled and disassembled. The iron bunk beds used in the service made it more manageable for large groupings of service personnel to be accommodated in half the amount of space.
The only draw-back were the potential problems with the side rails and the old springs. It was said to be more like sleeping in a hammock, than on a bed. They were all the rage back then, so the thought that constructing the ever popular double into a twin size bed…… but in a bunk bed configuration, would be a real winner.
What is even more rare than finding an iron bunk bed configuration, is to find one that wasn’t of a totally Austere / Institutional design…… sparse being the optimal word. Strictly utilitarian.
Although most beds that ended up as twin bunk beds had next to no castings and few vertical supports, I have seen ones that surprisingly had some curves and even scrolling. I have to believe these were constructed for girls schools or college dorms in girls schools.
Iron beds came in all shapes and sizes. But iron bunk beds were more scarce than any ever produced. If you find one……. hang on to it.
I hope you’ve found this blog informative . I invite you to revisit my website
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