Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Closet and Bed Patent Model
Closet and Bed Patent Model
Closet and Bed Patent Model

Closet and Bed Patent Model

Period1870
Place MadeBath, Maine, U.S.A.
MediumBasswood, brass, cotton, cotton batting
Dimensions12 × 9 × 5.75 in. (30.5 × 22.9 × 14.6 cm)
SignedA partial printed label can be seen along one side of the bed frame, reading "Patented April ---- / BY / Wm. KE---- / Bath ----."
ClassificationsBeds and Cradles
Credit LineMuseum Collection
Object number1987.515
DescriptionA patent model of a closet and bed, constructed of dark stained basswood. The rectangular cabinet features two front doors, shaped skirts, and a low backsplash along the back top. The cabinet model is fitted with a number of built-in features, including a hinged mirror set into the top of the cabinet, which opens with a small ring handle. Along the left side of the cabinet is a narrow fold-up table or surface serving as a nightstand, along with a small drawer near the back left. The cabinet front appears as two hinged doors, which open to reveal shallow storage space with shelves. The entire front panel and doors open to reveal a fold out bed, hinged in the middle, with folding legs and two blue ticking stripe mattress pads that fit into the sides of the bed frame.
Curatorial RemarksFolding beds have been in existence for centuries. Today, these space-saving items are often known as "Murphy beds," after inventor William Lawrence Murphy (1876-1957), whose 1900 patent for a folding bed surpassed earlier similar inventions. the Historical Association has a folding bed dating from about 1750, possibly made in Monmouth County. The earliest patent for a folding bed seems to have been awarded in 1838 to Z. C. Favor for his "wardrobe bedstead," patent no. 668. Post-Civil War patents for folding beds were numerous, in part reflecting the shift of populations from farmhouses in rural areas to apartments in city centers, where the need for folding, space-saving furniture was in high demand. Some of the combinations were decidedly odd, such as the "piano-couch-bureau" of around 1867. From 1790 to 1880, anyone seeking a patent was required to submit a scale model of the invention in question. Patent model makers advertised their skills across the country. While some model makers signed their work, many did not. It is possible that, as a ship's carpenter, William Kelly made his own patent model for submission.NotesWilliam Kelly (sometimes appearing as Kelley) was born in or around 1835 in New Brunswick, Canada. He emigrated to Bath, Maine, sometime before 1865. He married Druscilla Scott and the couple had two sons. Kelly lived in Bath on Russell Street from about 1867 to about 1887. William Kelly was listed at this address with a variety of occupations: ship carpenter, book agent, and simply "agent." Kelly's occupation in the 1870 Federal Census was noted as "carpenter," while the 1880 Federal Census listed him as "Patent Rights." In 1870, Kelly received patent No. 102012A for his "Improved Closet and Bed." The description in part notes that the compact unit included "closet, washing apparatus, mirror, writing-desk, and drawer," in addition to a two-part bedstead with mattress and a shallow two-door closet. Kelly noted in his application that "my arrangement of the above enumerated, their compactness, number, convenience, and accessibility, surpass any invention now in use." The patent model in the Association's collection includes all of Kelly's improvements and storage novelties, including the original pair of stuffed ticking mattress pads. It is unknown whether Kelly's Closet & Bed was ever produced commercially. His date of death in unknown. His wife, Druscilla Scott Kelly, died in Savannah, Georgia, in 1905.
Collections