I came across this very interesting example of home-grown enterprise in the city.
It epitomises the trend for the population to think out of the box, as is the modern on-message phrase, although back in the day it was an essential pre-requisite to putting food on the table for the family and keeping the workforce in gainful employment.
The company in question was the timber merchants and manufacturers, Laverack and Goddard.
They were founded in 1872 by Herbert Laverack and later joined by Edward Goddard and eventually established themselves in Drypool, Hull which lies just to the east of the Old Town.
Amongst their range of products and services the company advertised, in 1914, what we would recognise today as a "flat-pack" or self assembly kit. It was not the usual item of furniture or domestic embellishment but as the title of this piece alludes to it was a rather boxy type affair- in fact it was a coffin.
Of course it will have been targeted at Undertakers rather than as an off the shelf purchase for the general public although if on a budget and with a loved one to intern then the general retail sector could not be fully discounted.
This is the advert placed in the press and other publications, in this case from a Business Directory for that year. It's timing was not on the basis of insider knowledge as on the date of publication the events that were the catalyst for the first world war may not yet have unfolded. It was late June when the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand took place in Sarajevo.
The product was evidently well crafted giving options on the type of wood, either Oak Deal as a quality finish or plain pitch pine. The term "kerfed" refers to a groove or notch which will have been routed out in the Drypool Factory to make assembly by the end user, or rather the next to end user that bit easier.
It is a shame that the advert does not have any price information.
Fast forward to 1920 and the same enterprising company have branched out into another line of manufacturing.
It is another self assembly product and the same principles of 1 lid, 2 sides and 2 ends applies but this time expanding into the larger and more user-friendly box shape of a bungalow.
It is ironic and also an indictment of failures of successive UK Governments to address the shortage of decent homes that even 100 years ago there was a need for emergency measures to put a roof over the heads of those heroes returning from the war and for their families.
Laverack and Goddard came up with quite a pleasant looking bungalow of their own design utilising their time served skill and intimate knowledge of crafting with wood.
For the price of £575 or around £18000 in today's money you could have the means to erect a detached residence of 820 square feet external area (76 square metres) with a porch, vestibule, parlour, inner corridor leading to a kitchen with a pantry, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. The toilet was off a small side verandah alongside the coal bunker.
The unique selling points were its portability enabling it to be easily moved, ease of assembly requiring a minimum amount of skilled labour, a warmer and drier living environment than conventional brick and the structure being 50% stronger than most of the competing wooden houses on the market.
I have not to date come across one of these on my travels for work in East Yorkshire but most are unlikely to have survived the ravages of time, changes in lifestyle, tastes and amenities not to mention that being portable they may just have taken themselves off elsewhere when no-one was looking,
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