IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS, COUCHES, AND CHILDREN'S COTS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Dickinson, of Smethwick, in the County of
Stafford Manufacturer, and Edward Cooke, of Smethwick aforesaid,
Manager of Works, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS, COUCHES, AND
CHILDREN'S COTS."
Sealed the 17th April 1863, and dated the 31st October 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Dickinson and
Edward Cooke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 31st October 1862.
· We, GEORGE DICKINSON, of Sinethwick, in the County of Stafford, Manu-
facturer, and EDWARD COOKE, of Smethwick aforesaid, Manager of Works,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS, COUCHES, AND
·CHILDREN'S COTS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, in constructing corner joints for metallic
bedsteads, couches, and children's cots in the following manner:-Upon that
portion of the pillar at which the corner joint is to be made we make or fix a
ring or annular shoulder having on its edge a vertical rim extending partly
round the said ring or shoulder. Above the said ring or shoulder the pillar is
screwed, and a screw nut works on the said screwed part. That part of the

page_text: joint connected to the sides of the bedstead or other frame consists of a flat bar
of iron bent at right angles, the bent part of the bar being curved to a semi-
cylindrical figure so as to fit one half of the rod or pillar. This part of the
joint is placed upon the pillar, the curved part being within the vertical rim
on the shoulder, and the screw nut is screwed upon the said part, it is thereby
held down within the vertical rim and secured to the pillar.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in ornamenting metallic bedsteads, couches,
and children's cots in the following manner-We take pieces of glass, either
cut or moulded on one or both sides into the figure of a series of prisms, the
We insert and fix pieces of glass
said prisms being either convex or concave.
of the kind described in the centre of the foot piece or on other parts of the
bedstead, couch, or cot which are to be ornamented.
The figure of the pieces of glass we employ gives great glitter or brilliancy
to the bedstead. couch, or cot.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Dickinson and Edward Cooke in the Great. Seal
Patent Office on the 23rd April 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
DICKINSON, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Manufacturer, and
EDWARD COOKE, of Smethwick aforesaid, Manager of Works, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said George Dickinson and Edward Cooke, Her special licence that
we, the said George Dickinson and Edward, Cooke, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such, others as we, the, said, George, Dickinson
and Edward Cooke, our, executors, administrators, and assigns, should,
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ORNAMENTATION. OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS,
COUCHES, AND CHILDREN'S. COTS," upon the condition (amongst others), that
we, the said George Dickinson and Edward Cooke, our executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals,

page_text: or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was 'to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW :YE, that we, the said George Dickinson and Edward Cooke,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:---
Our Invention consists, firstly, in constructing corner joints for metallic
bedsteads, couches, and children's cots in the following manner-Upon that
portion of the pillar at which the corner joint is to be made we make or fix a
ring or annular shoulder having on its edge a vertical rim extending partly
round.the said ring or shoulder. Above the said ring or shoulder the pillar is
screwed, and a screw nut works on the said screwed part. That part of the
joint connected to the sides of the bedstead or other frame consists of a flat
bar of iron bent at right angles, the bent part of the bar being curved to a
semi-cylindrical figure so as to fit one half of the rod or pillar. This
the joint is placed upon the pillar, the curved part being within the vertical
rim on the shoulder; and the screw nut is screwed upon the said part; it is
thereby held down within the vertical ŕim and secured to the pillar.
part of
Our Invention consists, secondly, in ornamenting metallic bedsteads, couches,
and children's cots in the following manner :-We take pieces of glass, either
cut or moulded on one or both sides into the figure of a series of prisms, the
We insert and fix pieces of glass
said prisms being either convex or concave.
of the kind described in the centre of the foot piece or on other parts of the
bedstead, couch, or cot which are to be ornamented.
.
The figure of the pieces of glass we employ gives great glitter or brilliancy
to the bedstead, couch, or cot.
Having explained the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which the same is
to be performed.
.
.We will describe and illustrate the manner in which our Invention is to be
performed by reference to the construction of a metallic bedstead and to the
ornamentation of a portion of a rail- of a metallic bedstead, from which
description and illustration the application of our Invention to couches and
children's cots will be readily understood.
Figure 1. represents in plan a metallic bedstead provided with corner joints
constructed according to our "Invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the

page_text: same, and Figure 3 is an elevation of one of the pillars without the frame of
the bedstead; Figure 4 represents in section on a larger scale a portion of a
pillar and frame of the bedstead, Figure 2; Figure 5 is a modification of this
part of our Invention. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1;
2, 3, 4, and 5. On each of the pillars a of the bedstead we cast or otherwise
fix a ring or annular shoulder b, the said ring or shoulder being situated on the
pillar at the place where the joint is to be made. The edge of the said ring or
shoulder 6 has a vertical rim 63 extending about half round the said ring as
best seen in the right-hand corner joints of the plan, Figure 1. A screw c is
made on the pillar a, a short distance above the ring b, and a nut d screws on
the said screw c, as represented; e, e, f, f, is the framing of the bedstead, the
ends e, e, of the side rails e, e, being bent at right angles to the other. portions:
The end rails f, f, are rivetted to the bent ends of the side rails e, e, to form
the rectangular frame, as represented. Portions of the bent parts e³, e³, of
the rails e, e, are curved to a semi-cylindrical figure so as to fit about one half
of the pillars a. The said bent ends of the side rails being placed on the rings
or shoulders 6, the semi-cylindrical portions of the said bent ends are made to
engage between the pillars a and the vertical rims 3 of the said rings or
shoulders b. By screwing home the screw nuts d the said nuts bear upon
the top of the semi-cylindrical parts of the rails and hold the said rails within
the vertical rims and thereby secure the framing of the bedstead to the pillars
In Figure 1, two of the screw nuts & are removed in order to exhibit more
clearly the manner in which the semi-cylindrical parts of the bent rails engage
between the pillars and the vertical rims on the said pillars. In order to
disconnect the frame of a metallic bedstead from the pillars of the same having
corner joints constructed according to our Invention, it is only necessary to
unscrew the nuts d a short distance up the screws c'and to, lift the rectangular
frame e, e, f, from off the rings or shoulders b; the frame is thereby separated
from the pillars. By our Invention the frame and pillars of the bedstead are
easily and expeditiously disconnected from and reconnected with each other,
and the parts of the frame do not require to be separated. In place of fixing
the bent ends of the frame to the pillars by means of nuts screwing on the
pillars and bearing on the top of the frame, the said bent ends may be held in
their places by means of pins or cotters passed through the pillars immediately
above the frame, after the said frame has been put in its place. Figure 5
represents in elevation a pillar with a portion of the frame fixed thereto in the
way just described. The part g of the pillar a above the ring or annular
shoulder 6 is in this case left plain instead of being screwed, and through the
said part g a hole is made into which a transverse pin or cotter his passed

page_text: after the frame has been put between the pillar a and vertical: rim 6. The
lower edge of the pin or cotter.h bears on the top of the curved part of the
frame and holds the said frame, firmly in its place. Instead of making those
portions of the joint. which engage with the pillars.from the side rails of the
frame as illustrated in: the Drawing separate, bent parts may be employed;
and the side and end rails connected by rivetting to the said bent parts.
.
Figure 6 represents a front elevation of a panel or portion of a foot rail of
a metallic bedstead ornamented according to our Invention. In the centre
of the ornament i of the panel we insert and fix a piece of glass k, cut or
moulded on one or both sides into a series of prisms, or the figure produced
by grinding or moulding prismatic faces at right angles to one another so as
to form a series of triangular facets: ; The said prism-shaped piece of glass k
is fixed in the frame of the ornament i by pins / in the following manner :-In
the top and bottom of the frame into which the glass k is to be fixed semi-
circular recesses are made, and semicircular recesses are also made in the top
and bottom of the glass ornament k. When the glass ornament k is put in its
place the semicircular recesses therein come opposite those in the frame of
the ornament i, and by passing pins / through the openings formed and rivetting
the said pins the prism-shaped ornament is securely fixed in its place in the
central ornament i. Prism-shaped ornaments may also be fixed in the centres
of the ornaments m, or other parts of the panel if desired. The said prism-
shaped ornaments give great glitter or brilliancy to the parts to which they
are applied. Two or more of the ornamented panels, Figure 6, are used in
the construction of a foot rail or a head rail in the ordinary way. We do not
limit ourselves to any particular figure of the prism-like ornaments which we
employ, nor to their position on the bedstead, couch, or cot to be ornamented.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our Invention;
but we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, the improvements in the construction of the corner joints of metallic
bedsteads, couches, and children's cots, herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making
on the pillars of the said articles rings or annular shoulders having vertical
rims extending partly round the said rings or shoulders, between which pillars
and vertical rims portions of the frame of the article fit, the said frame being
securely held in its place by means of nuts screwing on the pillars and bearing
against the said frame, or by pins or cotters passed through the said pillars.

page_text: • Secondly, the improvement in the ornamentation of metallic bedsteads;
couches, and children's cots, herein-before described and illustrated in Figure 6
of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, ornamenting the foot rails or
head, and foot rails and other parts of bedsteads, couches, or cots, by means of
pieces of glass cut or moulded on one or both sides into the form of a series
of prisms or crossed prisms or other figures, whereby reflecting facets may be
obtained..
In witness whereof, we, the said George Dickinson and Edward Cooke,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-second day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-three
!
GEORGE DICKINSON. (L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW..
EDWARD COOKE.
(L.S.)