Lap-desk Patented By Housewife

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31000, 4 March 1966, Page 2

Lap-desk Patented By Housewife

When in bed last winter with a back ailment, a Christchurch housewife found it impossible to keep her book propped up. She shaped a piece of cardboard to tilt the book so that she could read it and began thinking about improvements for the makeshift stand. As a nurse, she realised that many people who have to lie on their backs or have difficulty using their hands must need some kind of book support. Students who read heavy books in bed or in an easy chair would also have the same need. The support would have to be very light in weight, small and comfortable to use. What she eventually evolved is a lap-desk, now being manufactured in Christchurch in a pretty pale blue polystrene. It sits on the lap to support a magazine, knitting pattern or book, leaving the hands free to knit or rest. Under the sloping top, with its ledge to stop the book from sliding off, is a compartment for holding knitting wool, spectacle case or any other odds and ends needed when sitting by the fire or in bed. One end of the compartment is walled in and acts as a base when the desk is picked up by the cut-out handle for carrying. The housewife, Mrs H. W. Mills, of 34 Rose street, Christchurch, searched re-

cords, found there was nothing like her lap-desk made in New Zealand and patented her invention.