IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO IRON AND OTHER METALLIC BEDSTEADS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Howard Busby Fox, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO IRON AND
OTHER METALLIC BEDSTEADS."
Sealed the 16th April 1862, and dated the 22nd October 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Howard Busby Fox
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd October 1861.
I, HOWARD BUSBY. Fox, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE
TO IRON AND OTHER METALLIC BEDSTEADS," to be as follows (that is to say):-
This Invention is intended to obviate a very general objection to iron and
other metallic bedsteads, in consequence of their want of harmony with other
articles of chamber furniture.
These improvements consist in adopting and applying wooden footboards
and wooden cornices to iron and other metallic bedsteads, and in the case of
French bedsteads also a wooden headboard, and in some cases it is proposed
to attach false or hollow covering posts to the footboard and also to the head-
board in the case of, French bedsteads...
This Invention can be applied to iron or other metallic bedsteads as now
commonly made; but in some cases: it is preferred to construct the metallic
bedsteads to admit of the more ready adaptation to, the application of particular
designs in the woodwork.

page_text: To apply this Invention to, say, a half-tester iron bedstead as now commonly
constructed, take a wooden footboard similar to those generally applied to
wooden bedsteads, and attach the ends to the two iron footposts by metallic
clips or hooks, which take into eyes formed on or attached to the inner sides
of the posts, and to insure additional stability short dowel pins projecting up
from the bottom stock frame may be used, which take into holes in the lower
edge of the footboard; or dowel pins may be attached to the lower edges of
the footboard, and take into suitable holes formed in the frame to receive
them.
The side attachments may be dispensed with by attaching a demy-hollow
wooden post on each end of the footboard, and slipping them loosely on to the
head of the metal posts, by which arrangement the whole of the upper parts of
the slender metal posts above the frame of the bedstead is concealed from view,
and even if discernable the false posts may be extended below the bed frame,
so as to conceal the lower part of the posts by forming a curtain piece, having
about a three-quarter face to the front. An obvious advantage too in these
arrangements is, that the footboard, or the footboard and hollow false posts
(when both are used), may be readily removed by a domestic, thereby giving
great facility for cleaning.
In some cases it is preferred to give the lower end of the bed frame such a
contour that the ordinary footposts and footboard when connected together
may be attached to the outside of the lower part of the bed frame, to which
they may be connected by two or more ordinary thumbscrews; in this
arrangement the upper parts of the bed posts are dispensed with, and the
metal legs placed a little distance from the ends of the bottom stock of the
bed frame.
It will be readily seen that in a French bedstead the same as now commonly
constructed, the same plan is equally applied to the head of the bedstead.
In applying wooden cornices to the testers of iron and other metallic
bedsteads, it is proposed to form the several parts of the cornice in one piece,
so that it may be placed on or fitted to the present metal tester rails, and to
which they may be fastened by thumbscrews, or in any other convenient way,
but in most cases it is believed it will be found more desirable to merely place
them loosely on the top of the tester rails, where they can be held in position
by forming a groove on the under side of the cornice to receive the tester
rails, or by having merely a flanch projecting down one side of the tester
rails; the object of this arrangement being that the wooden cornice can be
readily taken down at pleasure for cleaning or other purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Howard Busby Fox in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HOWARD
BUSBY Fox, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Howard Busby Fox, Her special licence that I, the said
Howard Busby Fox, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Howard Busby Fox, my executor's, 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO IRON AND OTHER METALLIC
BEDSTEADS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Howard
Busby Fox, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Howard Busby Fox, 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 (that is to say):-
This my said Invention is intended to obviate a very general objection to
iron and other metallic bedsteads, in consequence of their want of harmony
with other articles of chamber furniture.
These my improvements consist in adopting and applying wooden foot-
boards and wooden cornices to iron and other metallic bedsteads, and in the
case of French bedsteads also a wooden headboard; and in some cases I
propose to attach false or hollow covering posts to the footboard and also to
the headboard in the case of French bedsteads.
This
my I said Invention can be applied to iron or other metallic bedsteads
as now commonly made, but in some cases I prefer to construct the metallic

page_text: bedsteads to admit of the more ready adaptation to the application of particular
designs in the woodwork.
To apply this my said Invention to, say, a half-tester iron bedstead as now
commonly constructed, I take a wooden footboard similar to those generally
applied to wooden bedsteads, and attach the ends to the two iron foot posts by
metallic clips or hooks, which take into eyes formed on or attached to the
inner sides of the posts, and to insure additional stability short dowel pins
projecting up from the bottom stock frame may be used, which take into holes
in the lower edge of the footboard, or dowel pins may be attached to the lower
edge of the footboard, and take into suitable holes formed in the frame to
receive them, or they may be applied in any other convenient way.
:
The side attachments may be dispensed with by attaching a demy-hollow
wooden post on each end of the footboard, and slipping them loosely on to the
head of the metal posts, by which arrangement the whole of the upper parts
of the slender metal posts above the frame of the bedstead is concealed from
view, and even if desirable the false posts may be extended below the bed
frame, so as to conceal the lower part of the posts, by forming a curtain piece
having about a three-quarters -face to the front. An obvious advantage in
these arrangements is, that the footboard, or the footboard and hollow false
posts, when both are used, may be readily removed by a domestic, thereby
giving great facility for cleaning.
In some cases I prefer to give the lower end of the bed frame such a
contour that the ordinary foot posts and footboard when connected together
may be attached to the outside of the lower part of the bed frame, to which
they may be connected by two or more ordinary thumbscrews; in this
arrangement-the upper parts of the bed posts are dispensed with, and the
metal legs placed a little distance from the ends of the bottom stock of the
bed frame.
、
It will be readily seen that in a French bedstead the same as now com-
monly constructed, the same plan is equally applicable to the head of the
bedstead.
In applying wooden cornices to the testers of iron and other metallic bed-
steads, I propose to form the several parts of the cornice in one piece, so that
it may be placed on or fitted to the present metal tester. rails, and to which
they may be fastened by thumbscrews, or in any other convenient way, but in
most cases I believe it will be found more desirable to merely place them
loosely on the top of the tester rails, where they can be held in position by
forming a groove on the under side of the cornice to receive the tester rails,
or by having merely a flanch projecting. down one side of the tester rails, or

page_text: metal hooks may be used to support the wooden cornice; the object of this
arrangement being that the wooden cornice can be readily taken down at
pleasure, for cleaning or other purposes.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood,
I have hereunto annexed Drawings in partial illustration of one modification
of the practical application of my plan of connecting the facing boards to the
sides of the bed stocks, and which mode is equally applicable for attaching the
wooden head and footboards to metallic bedsteads; and also one modification
of my Invention for fitting wooden cornices to metallic bedsteads. Like letters
and figures marked thereon are used to denote similar parts.
Figure 1 is a partial side elevation of one leg of an iron bedstead with the.
stock joint cast upon it in the ordinary way, and to which is attached one of.
my improved side facing plates of wood; and Figure 2 is a top view of the
same; Figure 3 is an elevation of the metallic plate, which I screw on to the
side facing plates of wood, and to the head and footboard for attaching them
to the bedstead; and Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the same, taken from
a to b, with a section of the leg of the bedstead to which it is attached;.
Figure 5 shows the side elevation of the top of one of the head posts of a half-
tester bedstead, which I prefer to form from L-shaped or angle iron or
other in place of the round metal now commonly used, and which is shown
fitted with an iron tester rod ready to receive the wooden cornice; Figure 6
shows wooden cornice applied to the tester; and Figure 7 is a vertical
transverse section of the wooden tester cornice, iron tester rod, and metal
curtain rod.
A is a partial side elevation of one leg of a metallic bedstead; B, the
corner block, to which are jointed the horizontal stocks in the ordinary way;
C, a short stud on the top of the corner block, on to which fits the collar on
the end of D, a short horizontal arm springing from the side of E, a metallic
plate, screwed on to the inner side of the wooden side plates and the head and
footboards, and from the lower inner side projects F, a distance stud, to insure
the vertical position of the head and footboards, and the side covering plates;
G, a thumbscrew passing through the leg of the bed, and taken into H, a
binding screw hole in the plate (E); I, screw hole for attaching the wooden
side plates and head and footboards thereto; K, the upper end of a head post
of a half-tester bed, which I prefer to construct from L or angle metal, by
which means I get a stiff and light standard; L, a metallic tester rail attached
to the top of the post by M, a vertical screwed rod on the top of post, and
N, a thumbscrew nut; O, a small metal bracket for supporting the tester;

page_text: P, the wooden cornice of the tester; Q, the rod for the rings of tester
curtain.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and how I believe the same may be best carried into practical effect,
I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise
details or relative proportions herein-before described and set forth, as it will
be readily seen that the same may be considerably varied without departing
from the Invention; but what I do claim as new, and my Invention is,
applying to iron and other metallic bedsteads, wooden footboards and head
boards and wooden cornices, and so forth, substantially and in the manner
and for the purposes herein-before described, or any mere modification of
the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Howard Busby Fox, have hereunto set
my hand and affixed my seal this Twenty-first day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
HOWARD BUSBY (L.S.) FOX.