Object Details
- patentee
- Wooton, William S.
- transfer
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- inventor
- Wooton, William S.
- Description
- William Wooton from Richmond, Indiana, received a U.S. patent for an improved school desk. Patent no. 87386 was issued on March 2, 1869.
- This patent was an improvement on Patent No. 83896. By improving the brace and the mechanism for locking, Wooton designed a way to fold the seat and desk together noiselessly. The desktop folds up completely to form an additional backrest. The mechanism for locking the desk is claimed in the patent by Wooton as well. The model is made of polished dark wood and has metal hinges. There is an indent for placing pencils, and underneath the desk there is storage.
- William Wooton was born in 1835. He joined George H. Grant & Company after John P. Allen died in 1868. In 1870, Wooton formed the Wooton Desk Company after he won a five-dollar prize for a school desk at the Indiana State Fair in 1868. His best known invention was patent 155604, the Wooton’s Patent Cabinet Office Secretary. In 1884, he retired and became a preacher. He was known for introducing a revolutionary type of furniture into the business world during the Industrial Revolution. Most museums have "The Desk of the Age” in their collection. A 94-page book, published in 1983, by the Indiana State and Oakland Museums, is devoted solely to the history of the Wooton Desk Company and the evolution of the 19th century office. William Wooton died in 1907 at the age of 72. His last name is often spelled Wooten however the patent specifications clearly spell his last name Wooton as does the advertising for the company.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- 1869
- associated date
- 1868
- patent date
- 1869-03-02
- ID Number
- CL.249602.581
- catalog number
- 249602.581
- accession number
- 249602
- patent number
- 87,386
- Object Name
- school desk
- model
- desk model
- Object Type
- Patent Model
- Physical Description
- metal (overall material)
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 7 1/2 in x 9 1/2 in x 7 in; 19.05 cm x 24.13 cm x 17.78 cm
- referenced in patent specifications
- United States: Indiana, Richmond
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Education
- American History Education Collection
- Cultures & Communities
- Patent Model School Seats and Desks
- National Museum of American History
- subject
- Education
- Patent Models
- Record ID
- nmah_660961
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-0a23-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
