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Sofa Baths and Other 19th Century Oddities: The Era of Patent Furniture

The 19th century produced some of the most unusual furniture ever made. Chicago's Bruschke and Ricke made a sofa bath. That's right - a combination bathtub and sofa! It was advertised as the "common sense invention of the age." It never quite made it, but if you have one you can get a good price at Christie's or Sotherby's. The same can be said for Charles Hess' bedroom piano of 1866, a marvel that contained a bureau, two closets and a wash basin. Hess claimed that the multiple components added "considerably to the piano's reverbertory power."

The Patent and Trademark Office granted patents for these pieces and the name "patent furniture" was coined to describe them. Today, of cousre, patents are not granted on such items.

Probably the most celebrated patent was filed by William Wooten, invetor of "cabinet secretaries and Rotary Office Desks." A forerunner of modern filing systems, the Wooten provided proviate, organized spaces in which owners and managers could store their papers. Wooten's "Cabinet Secretary" had as many as 110 compartments - pigeonholes, shelves, drawers - all hidden behind two large doors. There was even a mail slot. They were considered status symbols.

Patent furniture started to lose its appeal after the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, when American's taste shifted from the ornate to the simple.

Although the era of patent furniture was short-lived, its influence lives on. The next time you see a fold out sofa, remember - the sofa bath preceded it.

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