Patent Folding Table Model

A miniature Table Model, probably of walnut and beech, made to demonstrate its folding action.

The design makes good use of hinges to enable it to flat pack without the removal of bolts or locking catches. The underside of the laminated top has three bars of varying widths with one fixed to the underside of the top. The middle bar is hinged to it with the third bar hinged to the middle and the back apron rail. The two pairs of legs are hinged to the back rail and at the point of their side rails. This system of hinges allows the back rail to be lifted up and towards the front rail with the three bars folding to lie on top of each other. With the legs lifted away from the fixed front rail, which holds their position, they can be folded inwards to meet each other and lie against the underside of the top.

The top of the table is made of two boards glued together and has a paper label noting 'Patent 707524'. Our research has not discovered the inventor of this table or even proved if a patent was ever issued.

The model has the look of a Farmhouse table from the second half of the 19th century. It is difficult to be sure of the timber used as the table has been coated in a dark shellac. The design is clever in that there are no removable parts but the table folds comprehensively. Late 19th Century.