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Figure 7. — Beds were disguised as bureaus, sofas, settees, and presses by William WooUcy of New York, and 

 patented on October 3, 1831 (restored patent 6783X). 



of January 17, 1835, Morris wrote: 



The ostensible design ... is to accommodate travellers by 

 land and water, but more especially on Steam and Canal 

 Boats; being calculated for a safe conveyance of all such 

 articles as are commonly conveyed in Trunks, either by 

 land or sea, affording the proprietor at the same time, not 

 only a comfortable bed on which he may repose at night 

 . . . but the means of saving himself and property in case 

 of accidents, such as the sinking or burning of the Boate, in 

 which he is travelling, by floating, himself and Trunk, to 

 shore, by means of cork provided for that purpose. 

 But Morris does not stop here. The merits of his 

 creation as a bed and a settee were still to be con- 

 sidered: 



Likewise the Berth . . . when unfolded is the length of a 

 common bed, and designed to be used in Offices, Colleges, 

 and shops, being a neat and convenient piece of furniture. 

 The settee is also a neat and convenient piece . . . and when 

 used as a seat, it occupies but half the space of a common 

 settee . . . and is designed for the use of private families, 

 or in Cabins of Steamboats and other crafts, affording a seat 

 by day and a bed at night. 



Sickness and indisposition continued prevalent in 

 American society and this, too, is reflected in the 

 applications for patents. No doubt the constant 

 presence of ill health and prolonged periods of re- 

 covery stimulated the designer of sickroom accouter- 

 ments; if not, then the humanitarian spirit of the day 

 surely did. Regardless of motive, the patentees claimed 

 the saving of "much expense as well as room" to be 

 the greatest advantage of their furniture. Ideas to 

 improve the lot of the invalid abounded and inno- 

 vators usually camouflaged the true identity of their 

 masterpieces by mechanically converting them to 

 more or less conventional types when not in use. 

 Williain VVoolley of New York City constructed the 

 most appealing sickroom furniture and was in addi- 

 tion, a prolific designer of secret beds and convertible 

 sofas for ordinary purposes. One of the earliest of 

 Woolley's patents, a design for a "Secret Bedstead," 

 detailed methods of hiding beds in "Presses, Bureaus, 

 Sofas, etc." or in fact, in any object of sufficient size 

 (fig. 7). Between 1830 and 1838 Woolley obtained 



UNITED STATES P.ATENTS NEW USES FOR OLD IDE.A.S 



117 



