IMPROVEMENTS IN 'BRACING OR CONNECTING THE ANGLES OR CORNERS OF CHAIRS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES OF CABINET FURNITURE."
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Cowan, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Cabinet Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
'BRACING OR CONNECTING THE ANGLES OR CORNERS OF CHAIRS, AND OTHER
LIKE ARTICLES OF CABINET FURNITURE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Cowan at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
November 1859.
I, JOSEPH COWAN, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Cabinet
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BRACING OR CONNECTING THE ANGLES OR CORNERS OF CHAIRS, AND OTHER
LIKE ARTICLES OF CABINET FURNITURE," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists mainly in the use of a peculiarly simple form of
metalic "brace" in place of the wooden blocks or "braces" now used to make
good the angle joints of chairs, couches, and other like articles. To apply this
Invention to, say, a chair cut from a bar of, say, round, or other suitably
shaped iron or other metal, four pieces of, say, about eight or nine inches
long then turn down, say, about one inch at each end to an angle of 90°, and
directly parallel with each other. Take an unblocked chair in frame (that is
to say, before it is upholstered or bottomed), place one of the metal braces

page_text: across one of the angles of the horizontal frame with the points downwards,
give it a smart blow at each end, which will mark the place the frame is to
be bored, which is done with a suitable bit or gimblet for the reception of the
horns of the metal brace; then form grooves in the upper surface of the
horizontal frame to receive the horizontal transverse portion of the brace in
contact therewith, so that it may be flush with the top of the frame when
driven home, which is to be done by a mallet or other means. By applying a
metal brace in like manner to each corner of the horizontal frame of the chair,
a good and perfect job will be effected, and at a much less cost of time and
labour than by the present method of wood blocking.
This Invention will be found particularly useful for furniture made for
export, as by fitting the side rails of the chairs, and so forth perfectly, but
without glue, they may be taken to pieces for convenience of carriage, and
on their arrival at their destination, they may be put together for use by
comparatively unskilled labour. In some cases it may be found advisable to
jag the horns of the braces to prevent them being drawn out when once
driven home, and in others the horizontal portion of the braces may be pierced
with holes for the insertion of nails to secure them in position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Cowan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
COWAN, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Cabinet Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Ifer heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Joseph Cowan, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Cowan, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Joseph Cowan, my 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
BRACING OR CONNECTING THE ANGLES OR CORNERS OF CHAIRS, AND OTHER LIKE

page_text: ARTICLES OF CABINET FURNITURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Joseph Cowan, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 Joseph Cowan, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being bad to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in Bracing' or Connecting the Angles
or Corners of Chairs and other like Articles of Cabinet Furniture," consists in
the use of the simple form of metallic brace herein-after described instead
of the ordinary wooden blocks or braces hitherto in use, and in the mode
herein-after described of applying such brace to the article of furniture. The
brace is formed out of a bar of round or other suitably shaped iron or other
metal, being first cut of the required length, then turned down at each end,
such turned ends forming horns at right angles, or nearly so, to the remaining
portion of the said length of bar. One of these braces is applied to the
article of furniture in frame (that is to say, before it is upholstered or
bottomed,) across each angle of the horizontal frame by its horns being
inserted and driven into holes prepared to receive them, grooves being also
formed in the frame, so that each brace when driven home may lie therein
about flush with the upper surface of the frame. In this manner the corners
of chairs or other furniture may be readily braced or connected by merely
inserting the horns of the braces in the holes of the frame, and driving the
braces home into the grooves. In some cases it may be found desirable to
jag the horns of the braces to prevent their being drawn out after they have
been driven home.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by the
aid of the accompanying Drawings, in which is represented a chair frame with
the braces applied.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a plan or horizontal view of a chair frame before it is upholstered
or bottomed; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same; Fig. 3 represents a
portion or one corner of the frame without the braces; Fig. 4 represents a

page_text: brace alone; Fig. 5 represents the same with jagged horns. In these several
Figures the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
In
a, a, is the frame; b, b, are the braces, having horns c, c, which are inserted
in the holes d, d, the braces when driven home lying in the grooves e, e.
order to apply the Invention, it is sufficient to place a metal brace across each
angle of the horizontal frame a with the horns c, c, downwards, then to give
the brace a smart blow at each end, which will mark the places where the
holes d, d, are to be made. The grooves e, e, are then to be formed in the
frame. By this means the frame, or the several portions thereof, will be
prepared for the insertion of the braces, which may be done and the required
bracing completed either at once or at any future time in the manner described
above. It will hence be seen, that frames may be thus prepared, then
taken to pieces and exported, and afterwards braced or connected by merely
inserting and driving home the braces. I would remark, that although I
have represented in the Drawings the application of the brace to the frame of
an ordinary chair, yet the same may be applied to other articles of furniture,
as, for instance, to the claws or legs of loo tables, also in a curved form to
easy chairs.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that what I claim as
of my Invention is, the bracing or connecting of the corners of chairs and
other articles of furniture by means of metal braces of the form described,
and applied in the manner described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Cowan, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOSEPH COWAN. (L.S.)
Witness,
JOHN FAIRCLOUGH,
No. 1, Leece Street, Liverpool,
Upholsterer and Cabinet Maker.