Author: Firnhaber, Edward
Title: Complete Specification. Improvements in Baby-Walkers (an American's Application for a British Patent)
Description: Redhill, Published for Her Majesty's Stationary Office, by Malcomson & Co. Ltd. 1899. First Edition. First edition; 10 x 7 1/4; self wraps, pp. [1], 2-3, [5]; illustrated with a small vignette at the top of first page and two photolithographed, reduced-scale plates from the original, manuscript engraving and drawing; faded stamp to top margin of first page; repairs to spine; in good to very good condition. A patent application for a bizarre contraption, it pertained to a baby walker on rails, invented by Edward Firnhaber - a Nebraska farmer and breeder of poultry. The walker consisted of an oval, elevated track - easily put together in sections and disassembled in one's living room - and a carriage with wheels, the latter moving along the track, with the child standing on the ground, holding on to the edges of the carriage, and moving along with it. According to Firnhaber, the system effectively contained (more precisely, trapped) the toddler, not allowing it to wander off, easily done with the free-moving walkers of his competitors, and thus keeping it safe from getting hurt, or getting underfoot of moms and nannies. The carriage also contained a seat in the back, allowing the kid to sit and rest, and a removable tray for toys, entertaining the child, while he/she was learning to walk. One could surmise from the document that a strong selling point for the system was the fact that the toddler would naturally lean his/her weight on the frame of the walker, thus preventing his/her legs from bowing outward and damaging the still-developing bones. Very good .

Keywords: Children, Inventions, Patents


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