Invalid Chair
Needle Case (photographs courtesy of eBay)
Design Representation
Design Details
Needle Case Type: |
Figural |
Patent/Registered to: |
W. Avery & Son - Redditch |
Patent/Design Representation #: |
Ornamental Class1: Metal: #323923 (Provisional #1533 registered May 14, 1878) |
Patent/Design Registration Date: |
July 23, 1878
|
Location of Patent/Design Registration: |
The National Archives (TNA) - Kew, UK |
Reference #: |
TNA Representation - BT 43/44/323923
TNA Register - BT 44/4/323923 |
Dimensions: |
5.1 x 9.5 x 7 |
Material: |
Brass |
Name Variations: |
W. Avery & Son - Redditch |
Other Variations: |
Bath Chair |
Additional Photographs
Side and top views
Top open and bottom views
Top detail and bottom signature detail
Facts
During the Victorian period wheeled chairs like the one pictured below were very popular with the disabled and the elderly as well as the
wealthy. These chairs were made of wicker or a combination of wood, metal, cloth and glass and came in several different varieties.
They were used most often at spa towns and seaside resorts to move people from one area to another.
History
Although the first records of wheeled chairs being used to transport people appeared in China in the 3rd century BCE, it wasn’t until
around 525CE that we find drawings of them on Chinese artwork. About 1750 a three-wheeled chair consisting of a small carriage mounted
on two wheels beneath a seat with a smaller wheel in front was created by John Heath of the town of Bath in the UK. As a result the
chair became known as the ‘bath chair’. It was pushed from behind and contained a rod that connected to the front wheel which allowed
the occupant to steer the vehicle.
Miscellaneous
In 1849 the company Leveson & Sons was founded in London and they became one of the leading producers of bath and invalid
chairs. Illustrated advertisements appeared in many health related Victorian books and journals where up to 6 different models were
pictured.
