IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FOLDING CHAIRS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Miller Brown and Thomas Brown, of 165,
Piccadilly, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
FOLDING CHAIRS."
Sealed the 18th January 1856, and dated the 15th October 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Miller Brown and
Thomas Brown at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 15th October 1855.
We, JAMES MILLER BROWN and THOMAS BROWN, of 165, Piccadilly, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF FOLDING CHAIRS " to be as follows:-
This Invention is more particularly applicable to folding chairs where the
fabric or material constituting the back and seat is suspended from the upper
part of the back, and fixed to the front rail of the seat; and the object of
the improvements is so to form and arrange the two frames, of which such a
chair is constructed, as to enable them to pack away in a less space or length
than heretofore; for which purpose, the upper part of the frame constituting
the back is made when out of use to fold by the side rails, of which the back
frame is composed, being each made with a joint which will admit of its folding,
and it is preferred to use a joint which will only fold in one direction, and by

page_text: an extending portion (retained in position by a pin or bolt) give stability to
the upper part of the back. In like manner the lower part of the frame,
which supports the seat and upholds the chair at the back, may be similarly
formed to fold at the lower part thereof.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Miller Brown and Thomas Brown in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 11th April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
MILLER BROWN and THOMAS BROWN, of 165, Piccadilly, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
James Miller Brown and Thomas Brown, Her special licence that we, the
said James Miller Brown and Thomas Brown, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as, we, the said James Miller Brown and Thomas
Brown, 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 MANUFAC-
TURE OF FOLDING CHAIRS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
James Miller Brown and Thomas Brown, by an instrument in writing under
our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should par-
ticularly 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 James Miller Brown and Thomas
Brown, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention is more particularly applicable to folding chairs where the
fabric or material constituting the back and seat is suspended from the upper
part of the back and fixed to the front rail of the seat; and the object of the

page_text: improvements is so to form and arrange the two frames, of which such a chair
is constructed, as to enable them to pack away in a less space or length than
heretofore; for which purpose, the upper part of the frame constituting the
back is made when out of use to fold by the side rails, of which the back frame
is composed, being each made with a joint which will admit of its folding, and
it is preferred to use a joint which will only fold in one direction, and by an
extending portion (retained in position by a pin or bolt) give stability to the
upper part of the back. In like manner the lower part of the frame, which
supports the seat and upholds the chair at the back, may be similarly formed
to fold at the lower part thereof.
Having thus stated the nature of our said Invention, we will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same..
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view of a chair constructed according to our Invention
when opened out for use; Figure 2 is a front view thereof; Figure 3 shows a
plan of the chair when folded, in order to its being packed away, and occupy
the least possible space; Figure 4 shows an edge view of the chair when
folded.
a, a, is the fabric which constitutes the back and seat of the chair; it is
fixed at the top rail 6 of the back of the chair, and is also fixed to the front
rail c of the seat of the chair; which mode of forming the back and seat of a
chair by a suspended. fabric or of leather is not new, and, separately, is not
claimed under this Patent. d, d', is the frame which forms the back of the
chair. This frame is in two parts, capable of folding at the joints d³, where
the parts and d¹ are connected together by pin joints. And in order that the
upper frame d' may be made to assume a more upright position than the lower
frame d, the pins d³ can be caused to hold the frame d' in the position shewn
by dotted lines. e, e, is the frame to which the front rail c is fixed. This
frame e is made in two parts, and hinge-jointed, so as to admit of folding when
the chair is to be packed.
We would remark that the combination of frames d, d', and e, with a sus-
pended fabric to form the back and seat of a chair is, when the frames are
not made to fold, similar to 'chairs made and sold by us under a previous Patent,
and the improvements therein are, in respect to making such like chairs,
capable of folding, as herein shown and described. f, f, are the arms, which
are connected to the frames d, e, by pin joints g, 9, 9. The inclination of the
back d, d', may be varied by moving the pins h, h, into different holes.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that what we claim is, the
combination herein described of the parts of a folding chair.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Miller Brown and Thomas
Brown, have hereunto set our hands, and seals, this Seventh day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
six: