Prototype "Marchant Collapsible Chair"

Prototype and scale model of the "Marchant Collapsible Chair for Invalids and Children", a unique wheelchair designed and constructed by T.J. Marchant, Tiptree, Essex, 1937-1939, awarded the Founders Silver Medal at the Inventors' Exhibition, London, 1939, with contract for, and transcript of, a short BBC broadcast by the inventor, February 1939, and other ephemera

The ‘Marchant Collapsible Chair for Invalids and Children’ was a unique wheelchair designed and constructed by Thomas Marchant of Tiptree, Essex. This is a prototype of that chair. Mr Marchant created the collapsible chair for his disabled wife between 1937 and 1939. It was small enough to fit into a car and easily assembled. Marchant claimed it was ‘very useful for flats, small houses, hospitals and ambulances.’ Together Mr and Mrs Marchant used the chair on caravanning holidays and family trips. It was awarded the Founders Silver Medal at the Inventors' Exhibition held in London in 1939.