"You do ask some interesting questions and I'm sorry I do not have a total answer for you. It is definitely not a Washington Mortuary product and I doubt if it was a Bomgardner product. It is definitely a body removal cot and the wheels were added to assist on stair ways. The spring suspended bottom was a Bomgardner detail and the radius on the side arm bends resembles Bomgardner. The hinge system is not like any of Bomgardners. It would help to know if it was steel or aluminum tubing as Bill Kleever at Washington Mortuary was the first to ever use aluminum to my knowledge. Early aluminum tubing was only made in iron pipe sizes and this appears to be 1" which would measure closer to 1 3/16"outside dimension. I would also estimate the time frame after 1946 if I had to guess, using war surplus tires. The fabrication of the foot end (small tube drilled into larger tubes) was never used by Bomgardner. I'm inclined to think it was the product of one of the early funeral coach builders, i.e. Eureka Coach, Meteor Motor Car, A. J. Miller, National Coach, Superior Coach, Memphis Coach etc., who occasionally made equipment to help sell their vehicles. The other possibility would be either Royal Bond, Inc. or Frigid Fluid Co., embalming fluid manufacturers, who also made some funeral home equipment early on. The wheel is similar to the wheels on some of Frigid's old cemetery trucks. As you can see I don't have a total answer, just some ideas. "