IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHAIRS, BEDSTEADS, AND OTHER ARTICLES TO SIT OR RECLINE ON
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Hallen Cottam and Henry Richard Cottam,
of Saint Pancras Iron Works, Old Saint Pancras Road, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CHAIRS, BEDSTEADS, AND OTHER ARTICLES TO SIT OR RECLINE ON."
Sealed the 17th July 1860, and dated the 20th January 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hallen Cottam
and Henry Richard Cottam at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th January 1860.
We, GEORGE HALLEN COTTAM and HENRY RICHARD COTTAM, of St. Pancras
Iron Works, Old St. Pancras Road, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CHAIRS, BEDSTEADS, AND OTHER ARTICLES TO SIT OR RECLINE ON," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of chairs,
bedsteads, and other articles to sit or recline on. For these purposes in the
manufacture of chairs in order to their being more suitable to be used as
bedsteads, the chair is formed in the following manner :-The back, seat, and
legs of the chair, which are of metal, or other suitable material, are jointed or
fixed together in any convenient manner, and to the front of the seat one or
more frames are hinged, so as to fold up into the chair, as in some chairs
heretofore manufactured. The arms of the chair in place of being fixed to the

page_text: back and side rails, as is usual, are fixed to the frame hinged to the seat of
the chair, in such manner that when folded for use as a chair the arms come
in a proper position to act as arms to the chair, but when unfolded, the arms
come towards, and when desired, down to the floor, and form legs to the frame
to which they are attached; or in place of the arms being fixed to and forming
part of the frame which is directly hinged to the front of the chair, they may,
when more than one folding frame is employed for the bottom of the bed, be
fixed to a frame at a distance from the seat, by preference the third frame
from the chair, so that when the whole of the frames are folded into the chair,
the arms come into a suitable position and act as arms, but when unfolded for
the purpose of being used as a bedstead, the arms come below such frame, and
when desired, they, or parts of them act as legs to such frame.
In chairs and bedsteads constructed according to our Invention, the original
back part of the chair in all cases acts as the head or head rail of the bedstead,
and the back may be either fixed, or it may be arranged to incline if preferred,
the back however is always maintained in position, whether upright or inclined,
by fastenings independent of the arms, so that the back can be held up in its
place when the frame carrying the arms is unfolded from the seat of the chair,
and in this respect it differs from chairs before constructed, in which the arms
are attached to a folding frame, and serve when the frame is folded on to the
seat to support the back, but when the frame is unfolded, the back falls down
and forms the end bottom frame at the foot of the bed, and the head rail is
formed by a small frame which turns up from one of the folding frames. In
some cases it is convenient to mount one only of the arms on a folding frame,
and to attach the other to the back and seat, as heretofore.
In making garden and other chairs, and other articles to sit or recline upon
in order to accommodate more than one sitter, the seat is made with a folding
frame or frames hinged to one or both sides, and to unfold laterally, in which
case the arms may be fixed to the folding frames, so as to come towards, and
when desired, down to the ground to act as legs when the frames are unfolded.
Heretofore in constructing the framed head and foot rails of metallic
bedsteads it has been usual to make them flat. Now, part of this Invention
consists in making the framed head and foot rails of a metallic bedsteads of a
curved or bent form in the horizontal section; and in order to accomplish this
object more conveniently, the parts which are to go together to make a curved
framed head or foot rail are first bent to desired horizontal curve or bend,
and are then laid together and retained in the required curved form, the
"chills" to form the cast joints in place of being in a horizontal plane, as
heretofore, are placed on a curved form or frame according to the curvature:

page_text: or bend of the intended frame of a foot or head rail, or so out of a horizontal
plane when casting, as to bring them into proper positions to have cast therein
the metal joints which are to combine the several parts together; and in
making the framed back and head rails we make the framing to descend
below the side rails. This arrangement allows of the length of the side
bearing rails or angle iron being reduced, and the stiffness of the frame is
thus increased.
Heretofore in making the joints for the side rails of metal bedsteads the
parts which come together have been of a conical form, a male cone fitting a
female cone. Now, part of this Invention consists in forming these parts of a
cylindrical form, that is, a male and a female cylinder in combination with two
incline planes one on the cast joint, and the other at the end of the rail, the
parts when thus constructed on coming together are more firm and steady in
their holding than when conical joints are used. These cylindrical joiuts in
combination with two incline planes are cast in "chills," in a similar manner
to that in which the conical joints have heretofore been made.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Hallen Cottam and Henry Richard Cottam in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th July 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GE
HALLEN COTTAM and HENRY RICHARD COTTAM, of Saint Pancras Iron Works,
Old Saint Pancras Road, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said George Hallen Cottam and Henry Richard Cottam, Her special
licence, that we the said George Hallen Cottam and Henry Richard Cottam,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
George Hallen Cottam and Henry Richard Cottam, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHAIRS, BEDSTEADS, AND
OTHER ARTICLES TO SIT OR RECLINE. ON," upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that we, the said George Hallen Cottam and Henry Richard Cottam, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their
hands and seals, 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 I, the said Henry Richard Cottam, on behalf of
myself and the said George Hallen Cottam, 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:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of chairs,
bedsteads, and other articles to sit or recline on. For these purposes in the
manufacture of chairs in order to their being more suitable to be used as
bedsteads, the chair is formed in the following manner :-The back, seat, and
legs of the chair, which are of metal or other suitable material, are jointed or
fixed together in any convenient manner, and to the front of the scat one or
more frames are hinged, so as to fold up into the chair, as in some chairs
heretofore manufactured. The arms of the chair in place of being fixed to the
back and side rails as is usual, are fixed to the frame hinged to the seat of the
chair, in such manner that when folded for use as a chair the arms come in a
proper position to act as arms to the chair, but when unfolded, the arms come
towards, and when desired, down to the floor, and form legs to the frame to
which they are attached; or in place of the arms being fixed to and forming
part of the frame which is directly hinged to the. front of the chair, they may,
when more than one folding frame is employed for the bottom of the bed,
be fixed to a frame at a distance from the seat, by preference the third frame
from the chair, so that when the whole of the frames are folded into the chair
the arms come into a suitable position and act as arms, but when unfolded, for
the purpose of being used as a bedstead, the arms come below such frame, and
when desired, they, or parts of them act as legs to such frame.
Figure 1 is a side view of a chair bedstead constructed according to our
Invention. a is the back of the chair; b, the seat frame; and c, the legs
thereof, they are all fixed together as in chairs heretofore constructed; d is a
frame jointed to the front of the seat frame, as is shewn; this frame is able to
fold within the scat frame, as is shewn by the dotted lines, and it has notches.
d', d', formed in it on each side, into which the cross bar c on the frame b
then enters. The frame d bas arms formed on it, as is shewn, and these arms

page_text: when the frame is in the position shewn by the full lines come towards the
ground, and they may (although they are not so shewn in the Drawing) be
made sufficiently high to come down to the ground and serve as legs. e is a
frame jointed to the front of the frame d, and which, when folded, packs
within it. The frame e is furnished with folding legs at the front, as is
shewn; the joint between the frames & and e is rendered stiff in an upward
direction by suitable stops, to give the necessary rigidity to the frame in the
space between the front legs c of the chair and the folding legs f. The
framo g, shown in red lines, is one which may be added to the front of the
frame e to give greater length to the bed; it can be folded upwards and
within the frame b. The frame g is, as shewn, furnished with arms, and when
it is used the frame d is made without arms; the notches f₁, f, of the frame
drop on to the cross bar c' when the frame is folded for a chair. In this chair
the cushion for the seat is made moveable, so that it may be lifted to allow
the frames to be folded in. The back of the chair need not be fixed, but may
be made to incline, as in chairs heretoforo made.
In chairs and bedsteads, however, constructed according to our Invention,
the original back part of the chair in all cases acts as the head or head rail of
the bedstead, and the back, whether it be fixed or arranged to incline, is
always maintained in position by fastenings independent of the arms, so that
the back can be held up in its placo when the frame carrying the arms is
unfolded from the seat of the chair, and in this respect it differs from chairs
before constructed, in which the arms are attached to a folding frame, and
serve when the frame is folded on to the seat to support the back, but when
the frame is. unfolded, the back falls down and forms the end bottom frame at
the foot of the bed, and the head rail is formed by a small frame which turns
up from one of the folding frames. In some cases it is convenient to mount
one only of the arms on a folding frame, and to attach the other to the back
and seat, as heretofore. Figure 2 is a side view of a chair bedstead so con-
structed. In this case the back a, seat frame b, and legs c, are arranged as
before. To the seat and back, however, one of the arms is permanently fixed,
the other arm is, as before, fixed to the frame d, which is also furnished with
folding legs. The cushion for the seat of this chair is fixed in a frame g
jointed to the back of the chair at g'; this frame lifts, in order that the frame
d with its legs may be folded in underneath it. The parts are shown at
Figure 3, as they would appear when the two frames & and g are raised, as in
folding and unfolding. The frame d when folded in rests on the cross bar c',
and the seat frame descends between the two arms, and rests in front on the
other cross bar c..

page_text: In making garden and other chairs, and articles to sit or recline upon, in
order to accommodate more than one sitter, the seat is made with a folding
frame or frames hinged to one or both sides, and to unfold laterally, in which
case the arms may be fixed to the folding frames, so as to come towards, and
when desired down to the ground, to act as legs when the frames arc. unfolded.
A front view of a seat so constructed is shown at Figure 4 as it would
appear when folded; this chair has one side frame only. Figure 5 is a front
view of the same seat unfolded; it will be seen that this is, in fact, an
ordinary chair without arms, with a flap hinge to it on one side, to which arms
are fixed, and when the flap is folded over, as is shown at Figure 4, these arms
serve as the arms of the chair, which will then accommodate one person.
When the flap is turned over, as is shown at Figure 5, the arms serve as legs
to the flap, and a seat without arms of sufficient size to accommodate two
persons is obtained.
Heretofore in constructing the framed head and foot rails of metallic
bedsteads it has been usual to make them flat. Now, part of this Invention
consists in making the framed head and foot rails of metallic bedsteads of a
curved or bent form in the horizontal section; and in order to accomplish this
object more conveniently, the parts which are to go together to make a curved
head or foot rail are first bent to the desired horizontal curve or bend, and are
then laid together and retained in the required curved form; the "chills" to
form the cast joints in place of being in a horizontal plane as heretofore, are
placed on a curved form or frame according to the curvature or bend of the
intended frame of a foot or head rail, or so out of a horizontal plane when
casting, as to bring them into proper positions to have cast therein the metal
joints which are to combine the several parts together, and in making the
framed back and head rails we make the framing to descend below the side
rails. This arrangement allows of the length of the side bearing rails or angle
iron being reduced, and the stiffness of the frame is thus increased.
Figure 6 is a plan of the head, foot, and side rails of a bedstead, the head
and foot rails being constructed as above described, the Drawing shows the
'curved form given to them. In producing such head and foot rails, it is
preferred to fix the lower parts of each of the chills or moulds in which the
ornaments are to be cast down on to a surface formed to correspond with the
head or foot rail to be produced; then having laid metal rods previously suitably
bent therein, the upper parts of the chills are placed and firmly clamped on
the lower, and while the bars are thus held, the ornaments which are to serve
to hold them together are cast in the chills. Figure 7 is a front view of a
head or foot rail of a bedstead, showing the framing thereof descending below

page_text: the level of the side rails, by which arrangement such head and foot rails may
be rendered more ornamental than heretofore, a greater space being given for
the developement of a pattern. This part of the Invention is applicable both
to flat head and foot rails of the ordinary description, and to curved rails, such
as the Drawing shows.
Heretofore in making the joints for the side rails of metal bedsteads, the
parts which come together have been of a conical form, a male cone fitting a
female cone. Now, part of this Invention consists in forming these parts of a
cylindrical form, that is, a male and a female cylinder in combination with
two incline planes, one on the cast joint, and the other at the end of the rail.
Figure 8 is a plan, and Figure 9, a side view of a joint so constructed.
the end of one of the side rails of a bedstead, the end thereof is bevilled, as the
Drawing clearly shows. At its extremity is formed the cylinder a'; and a² is
a stem connecting the cylinder a' with the body a of the side rail; b is a joint
piece cast on one of the corner posts, it terminates in an incline at b¹, and
has a cylindrical recess b² formed in it to receive the cylinder a¹ of the side
rail a, the parts when thus constructed on coming together are more firm and
steady in their holding than when conical joints are used. These cylindrical
joints in combination with two incline planes are cast in "chills," in a similar
manner to that in which the conical joints have heretofore been made.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Richard Cottam, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty..
HENRY RICHARD COTTAM. (L.S.)