IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFA SPRINGS, USEFUL FOR SPRING- STUFFED UPHOLSTERY WORK GENERALLY, AND IN THE ADAPTATION THEREOF TO MATTRESSES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Bacon Finnemore, of Easy Row,
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFA SPRINGS, USEFUL FOR SPRING-
STUFFED UPHOLSTERY WORK GENERALLY, AND IN THE ADAPTATION
THEREOF TO MATTRESSES."
Sealed the 11th January 1854, and dated the 12th July 1858..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Bacon
Finnemore at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 12th July 1858.
I, JOSEPII BACON FINNEMORE, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFA SPRINGS, USEFUL FOR SPRING-
STUFFED UPHOLSTERY WORK GENERALLY, AND IN THE ADAPTATION THEREOF
TO MATTRESSES" to be as follows, viz. :-
This Invention consists in forming the springs termed sofa springs
used for spring-stuffed upholstery with loops, eyes, or openings thereon
or attached thereto on the top and bottom circles thereof, through
which the usual webbing may be passed so as to secure the springs to

page_text: the same without sewing (which latter is the method hitherto practised).
In adapting these springs to mattresses the webbing is secured to
the springs as above, and the webbing is then passed over a frame,
which is jointed and secured at the corners, the two ends of the
webbing being secured together by buckle, buttons, or other fastener,
and at top of this a thin palliasse is to be placed, which may at any
instant be detached from the frame and springs, the frame disjointed,
the webbing removed from the springs, and the whole packed into a
small compass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Bacon Finnemore in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 12th January 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOSEPH BACON FINNEMORE, of Easy Row, Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seventeenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joseph Bacon Finnemore, Her special
licence that I, the said Joseph Bacon Finnemore, my executors,, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Bacon
Finnemore, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENT IN SOFA SPRINGS, USEFUL FOR SPRING-STUFFED
UPHOLSTERY WORK GENERALLY, AND IN THE ADAPTATION THEREOF TO MAT-
TRESSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph
Bacon Finnemore, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the sai
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: 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 I, the said Joseph Bacon Finnemoro, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :
The nature of this Invention, as I have already described the same
in the Provisional Specification filed on the said Twelfth day of July,
consists in forming the springs termed sofa springs used for spring-
stuffed upholstery with loops, eyes, or openings thereon or attached
thereto at the top and bottom circles thereof, through which the usual
webbing may be passed so as to secure the springs to the same with-
out sewing, which latter is the method hitherto practised. And in
adapting these springs to mattresses by securing the webbing to the
springs, as above stated, which webbing is then passed over a frame,
which is jointed and secured at the corners, the two ends of such
webbing to be secured by buckle, button, or other fastener, and on
top of the whole a thin palliasse or mattrass is to be placed, which
may at any instant be detached from the frame and springs, the frame
disjointed, the webbing removed from the springs, and the whole packed
into a small compass. And in order to the better exemplification of
my said Invention, and particularly as to what manner the same is to
be performed, I have annexed hereto a Sheet of Drawings illustrating
the manner of performing the same, which I will now proceed to
describe by the words, figures, and letters following, that is to say:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1, shews a form of spring constructed according to my said
Invention, and for convenience I have shewn the four loops of this one
spring added thereto in each of the several manners that I have found
may be adopted; thus, that at A, is formed in one of the circles of the
spring (A',) by a kink or twist of the same. B, is formed by turning
over the two ends of the loop, which in this case is a piece distinct

page_text: from the spring, and thus fastening it on to the spring. C, is also a piece
distinct from the spring, and secured thereto by clips or clasps. D. is
similar to C, but differs in having one clip or clasp only..
Fig. 2, shews a partial plan view, and Fig. 3, a partial side elevation
of a number of these springs placed together in the manner which I
prefer in order to form a mattress. For this purpose I take four laths
of wood, iron, or other material marked a, a, to form the two sides and
the two ends, and I also take four angle pieces b, b, made of wrought
iron or such material as may be found suitable for strengthening
the corners, and after placing the laths upon the angle pieces I affix
the latter to the former, one to each corner of the frame, by the clips
or cases c, and d, of iron or other suitable material, the same being for
the purpose of keeping the laths and angle pieces truc and in place, and
to serve as a support and holdfast to keep them together.
Fig. 4, is a plan view of the ends of two laths, the angle pieces and
clips being removed to shew how the laths fit together at the corners.
Fig. 5, shews two corresponding views of one of the angle pieces b,
detached from the other part.
Fig. 6, shews two corresponding views of one of the clips c, detached
from the other parts; and Fig. 7, shews two corresponding views of
one of the clips d, detached from the other parts.
In the Figures 2, and 3, the springs are marked m, and I secure
them in their intended positions upon the frame by means of straps or
bands n, n, which I pass through the loops or eyes of the springs and
around the laths or framing in the manner represented, and I secure
the ends of the straps or bands by means of buckles o, o, or any other
suitable fastenings. In some parts of the said Figures the bands are
removed, and in other parts both the bands and springs are removed in
order to show the construction of the mattress more clearly. It is to be
understood that although I have not represented. it in the Drawings, I
intend to employ an ordinary thin palliasse or mattress in forming my
improved mattress, placing or covering the said palliasse or mattress
over the framing and springs and bands, and, if preferred, such palliasse
may have a small vallance or curtain projecting from its lower edge

page_text: for covering the sides of the framing and springs, and for securing the
palliasse to the framing or the bed on which it may be placed by tacks
or in any other convenient manner.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,
the improvements in the construction of sofa springs, useful for spring-
stuffed upholstery generally, by forming thereon or adding thereto loops,
eyes, or openings for lacing through, and the adaptation of the same
to mattresses.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Bacon Finnemore, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
four.
JOSEPH BACON FINNEMORE. (L.S.)