Joe V. Meigs' 1874 Desk and Seat Patent Model
date: label: date made
content: 1874
label: patent date
content: 1874-06-09
label: associated date
content: 1872
name: label: patentee
content: Meigs, Joe V.
label: transfer
content: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
label: inventor
content: Meigs, Joe V.
notes: label: Description
content: Joe V. Meigs from Lowell, Massachusetts, received a U.S. patent for an improved school desk. Patent no. 151898 was issued on June 9, 1874.
label: Description
content: This model is made of wood and cast iron. The desks are attached at the back and the seats face one another. They are mounted on a wooden platform. The patent stressed comfort and claimed the desk would, “avoid fatigue and distortion of the body.” His model is rather decorative with a diamond design, made up of metal bars that cross each other. The tops are made out of wood or iron but if iron is used he encouraged the metal to be japanned, enameled, or marbleized, adding further decoration. The desk is designed to be very practical, and the whole desk comes apart to be easily transported. There are two black seats curved and connected by cast iron. The two seats are facing one another and placed on a wooden base.
label: Description
content: Joseph Vincent Meigs was born June 17, 1840, into a prominent family from Nashville, Tennessee. His father was attorney, Whig state senator, and publisher, Return Jonathan Meigs. Joe V. Meigs created his first invention, a railroad coupling, at the age of fourteen. He became a patent lawyer, but his mechanical skills also allowed him to become a prolific inventor. He was granted twenty- two patents for various inventions including the school desk, a reclining chair, and automatic fishing pole. His family supported the Union during the Civil War, and in 1864 he took command as captain of Battery A of the 2nd Black Light Artillery Battalion U.S. Colored Troops. After inventing a breech-loading firearm, he was hired by the U.S. Cartridge Company, where he served as chief inventor. His most ambitious invention was a steam driven elevated monorail called the Meigs Elevated Railway, designed to improve rapid transit. A quarter mile of track was constructed in Cambridge, Massachusetts 1885-1886 to promote his design but construction delays, politics, and his distrust of the use of electricity for new designs impeded his success. He died November 14,1907 in Boston, Massachusetts..
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: referenced in patent specifications
content: United States: Massachusetts, Lowell
topic: label: general subject association
content: Education
label: classified
content: Patent Models
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
label: See more items in
content: American History Education Collection
label: See more items in
content: Cultures & Communities
label: See more items in
content: Patent Model School Seats and Desks
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CL.249602.593
label: catalog number
content: 249602.593
label: accession number
content: 249602
label: patent number
content: 151,898
objectType: label: Object Name
content: school desk
label: Object Name
content: model
label: Object Name
content: desk model
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 3/4 in x 7 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 9.525 cm x 18.415 cm x 8.255 cm