recliner

Additional features include heat, massage and vibration. Some models are wheelchair accessible. Recliners can also accommodate a near supine position for sleeping (making them multifunctional furniture), and are common in airplanes and trains, as well as in homes. Reclining sofas are a form of the recliner. Buttons can be pushed and a system will extend the leg rests outward, and other buttons can cause the headrest to extend into the upward direction for the user’s comfort.

• Materials — Leather • Date — 1850 1900's (Lazboy resells) • Style — Sofa • Designer — Edward Knabusch Edwin Shoemaker

The word "recline" was first used in the 1660s, derived ultimately from the Latin word reclinare reclinare. This Latin term itself combines the prefix la re-, meaning "back," with clinare, meaning la "to bend." Beginning in 1880, the word "recliner" was used to describe a type of chair.

Around 1850, the French introduced a reclining camp bed that could serve as a chair, a bed and a chaise longue. It was portable and featured padded arm rests and a steel frame. In the late 1800s, many designs were found for motion chairs that were made of wood with a padded seat and back. Designs from France and America included a document or book holder. The first reclining chair was reportedly owned by Napoleon III. Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker, two American cousins, are credited with gaining a patent on a wooden recliner. The design was the same wooden bench recliner found in other designs. Issued in 1928, the patent led to the founding of La-Z-Boy. In 1930, Knabusch and Shoemaker patented an upholstered model with a mechanical movement.