The Armour Archive

My daughter is in a wheelchair.

I was just wondering if anyone had seen or had any good ideas about wheelchair Camouflage?

Does anyone have any good ideas, or seen any good ideas, have pictures of something you've seen when people are dealing with a wheelchair at an event.

Personally? I wouldn't bother camoflaging it. I have always thought some of the "camoflage" attempts I have seen were FAR worse than just having the obviously modern thing in plain sight to begin with, especially something as obviously necessary as a wheelchair.

However.. I would imagine some form of wheelchair had been invented by the end of period.. perhaps covering the obvious shiny "new" components with a woodgrain or woodcolored fabric?
(I do not KNOW one had been invented.. but think I saw an illustration once of something much like it).

Maeryk
(just my opinion!)

There were 'invalid' chairs in the 16thC. They don't look that different from some of our adjustable chairs (deck chairs, etc). I'm not sure if they had wheels on them. Philip II of Spain had one.

I think trying to make it look like wood would work very well. King Phillip II of Spain had a wheeled chair (looked like a chair with a footrest on casters), and that was 1595. The earliest recorded use of a wheelchair as we think of it was 1300 BCE in China, so there pretty much had to be medieval wheelchairs.

Some ideas for making the chair look 'period':

cover the metal with wood patterned shelf paper

rout some balsa wood slats to cover the spokes

cover the seat and back with a brocaded fabric

Just some thoughts, good luck!

I agree with Maeryk, most times attempts to "camoflage" a necissary items like a wheel chair don't work. And I seriously doubt anyone will think less of your daughter or you for not doing so. If they do, they are not playing the same game as you.

However, if you really want to do something I would try something simple but functional.

Perhaps making a fabric "slip cover" that fits around the seated portion but will allow the wheels to move freely? Another option is to have "flaps" that can hang down over the wheels from the slip cover to hide them. They could be easily rigged to fold up or role up to allow access to the wheels when she is moving from one place to another.

This type of option is easily donned and then taken off to allow her to use the chair in Mundane life with little problem.

Just a thought.

depending on her reason for needing the chair, you might be better off just making a period (or period-esque) one out of wood than trying to hide something like that.

There's an illustration of King Phillip II's chair here if you want to try something similar.

As one of the other replies said, it depends on what she needs the chair for. That said at one of my regular living history events we have a guy who had a severe stroke some years ago who has a small cart that is pulled by small children whenever he needs to move around the manor. It has to be added that most of the time he remains in a chair in the bakehouse and lets others come to him so I guess my answer to your question would be a comfortable chair for sitting still and a cart for moving around.
Maredudd