The History of The Pilates Reformer
Copyright Library of Congress, photo by John Vachon
Written by Elaine Ewing
Early Patents in Germany
Joseph Pilates officially developed his invention, the Reformer, in the early 1920s. At the time, he had recently been released from the Isle of Man internment camp and had returned to Germany and was working as a boxing instructor and teacher of physical culture. He wanted a machine that would provide resistance to assist his students through movements he designed that would require less manual work on his part as the teacher, and at the same time would improve their quality of movement and life.
In 1924, he filed a patent for his “Body Exercise Machine”, which was an early version of the reformer with some notable differences. The apparatus included a rolling carriage, though it showed two different examples of its design. One example showed the carriage on the floor without a frame, with wheels under it and attached to a wall unit. When not in use, the carriage could fold up onto the wall. (Figure 1) Or, the carriage could sit up on a frame that stood high from the ground (Figure 2).
In the patent, Joe mentioned that the apparatus could work with a “weighted rope, springs, elastic band, air pressure, or the like”. We can see these examples in both patent images here.
Figure 2: Original Patent Drawing for the “Body Exercise Machine”
By the time Joe was granted his patent for the Body Exercise Machine in 1926, he was also marketing what he called the “Universal Reformer” around the Hamburg area where he lived at the time. At this point, its unclear as to whether the Universal Reformer and Body Exercise Machine were the same or different apparatus. (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Original German Advertisement for the “‘Pilates’ Universal Reformer”
One reason why this is questionable is that Joe was advertising that he had a patent for the Universal Reformer before he was actually granted the patent for the Body Exercise Machine. He also gave them both two different names. However, its still possible that the Body Exercise Machine and the Universal Reformer were actually two different versions of the same apparatus.
The Universal Reformer more closely resembled the Reformer we use in Pilates today, and unlike the Body Exercise Machine, the carriage was attached to the frame with up to 7 springs. But like I said above, the two also had similarities. In particular, they both had incorporated a rolling carriage, a fixed headrest, and shark-fin shaped shoulder blocks.
Another highly notable similarity between these pieces is that neither had leather straps or handles. The work was entirely based on whatever could be done without straps.
During this time period, Joe Pilates was not only the sports trainer for the Hamburg Police, a boxing teacher, and a teacher of self-defense, but he was also attempting to find customers for his Universal Reformer. He placed a few advertisements in the local newspaper looking to hire salesmen to help sell the Universal Reformer to people such as “any sportsman, private individual, doctor, or sports club”. It’s fascinating to learn who, over 100 years ago, Joe Pilates envisioned as being interested in his apparatus. (Figures 4 & 5)
Figure 4: German advertisement for a Reformer Salesman
Figure 5: English translation
In 1925 Joe Pilates made his first trip to the United States to file for what would also be his first patent in the US for the Body Exercise Machine. He went on to patent the Body Exercise Machine in additional countries such as France, Austria, England, and Switzerland. It’s interesting that he was patenting the Body Exercise Machine so methodically yet the drawings of the equipment did not resemble the Universal Reformer that he marketed simultaneously.
The Clawfoot Reformers at 939 8th Avenue
After Joe established his studio at 939 8th Avenue in New York City in 1926, he began to market his Universal Reformer through other gyms and physical culturists (Figure 6), along with a chart of exercises, and took photos of himself demonstrating how the apparatus was used and what it could do for you.
Figure 6: (1928) Joe Fox was a former boxer who owned a gym on West 136 Street in New York City that contained “the famous Pilates Universal Reformer”.
Sometime between the years 1926-1929 details of Universal Reformer began to take shape. The apparatus was given straps and handles, he settled on using a total of 4 springs, and the footbar could be adjusted between the up and down positions. The shark-fin shoulder blocks and non-adjustable headrest still remained.
1929 marked the year when the signature clawfoot legs were given to the reformer, making for a more ornate, furniture-like look. It is also during this time that we also begin to see the Long Box appear as an accessory, increasing the number of exercises that could be done on the apparatus. (Figure 7)
Figure 7: The Universal Reformer in 1929
By 1930s, the Universal Reformer finally took its form that Joe would keep for the next 30 years. This was when he painted the trim on the reformer silver. This combination of wood tones and silver paint would continue to be a tradition of Joe’s on not only his reformers, but throughout the equipment around the studio (Figure 8)
Figure 8: The final look for the Universal Reformer (1956)
In the 1940s, Joe found another way to find people to purchase his Universal Reformer. He began working with Atlas Athletic Equipment Company in St. Louis, Missouri to manufacture, advertise, and distribute his equipment. However, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence at this time that the reformers sold well through Atlas. In only a few years, the business relationship ended. (Figure 9)
9: 1940s Atlas Athletic ad for equipment, including Pilates equipment such as The Universal Reformer.
Joe continuously used four wooden reformers in his studio between the late 1920s to around 1960. The four reformers were basically identical but there was one reformer that had a distinct difference. This particular reformer had a horizontal, metal bar that could attach and detach from the side of the reformer, and that could be used during the Splits series for balance and transitions. This same reformer also had one other unique feature- the entire top edge of the frame was totally flat (Figure 10).The other three reformers had a curved edge at the footbar end of the reformer, and the specific reason for the curved edge is still not fully understood. Was it decorative, or did it serve a functional purpose? Whatever the reason, it was not part of the design of the reformer with the metal Splits Bar so its possible that it didn’t serve a highly necessary, functional purpose. (Figure 11)
Copyright Library of Congress, photo by John Vachon
Figure 10: the flat edge of the reformer frame on the reformer that also used the Splits Bar
Copyright Library of Congress, photo by John Vachon
Figure 11: the other reformers in the studio had a curved edge of the frame on the footbar end
The Aluminum Reformers of the 1960s
Based on photographic evidence, Joe Pilates replaced his wooden reformers with aluminum reformers in what we believe to have been 1960. There is currently still a lot of unknown information about this major change in design. Who made these reformers? And why did Joe change them so drastically in the last decade of his life, after having used the Clawfoot-style reformer for so long?
This is an area of Pilates history that we are still in the process of researching, but one educated guess is that this change could have been a way for the studio to modernize its look from the old-fashioned look of the clawfoot reformers.
Another possible reason for switching from the highly detailed, wooden reformers to a more refined metal reformer could have been for ease in manufacturing. Perhaps Joe was yet again considering marketing his reformers for sale and needed a version that was easier to mass produce.
The updated features on the aluminum reformers could also have been design elements that Joe wanted to change after having worked with the older style for so long. Other than the material that the equipment was made from, the biggest change was in the size and shape of the shoulder blocks. They went from the large, shark-fin version (Figure 13) to a more refined, rectangular shape (Figure 14). While this change was very different aesthetically, it also really changes the way the body feels and positions itself throughout the workout. For this reason, its perplexing that Joe would personally chose to change something as significant as this.
Copyright Library of Congress, photo by John Vachon
Figure 12: The Sharkfin Shoulder Blocks
Figure 13: the 1960 style shoulder blocks that Joe switched to
Another change was in the design of the footbar. It originally started out as a simple, horizontal and non-adjustable, wooden bar, and by the time Joe made his clawfoot reformers the bar was metal with curved corners. Then, when the aluminum reformers were made, the corners of the footbar were made with a squared, welded edge.
Copyright Library of Congress, photo by John Vachon
Figure 14: the footbar with curved corners
Gratz Pilates and The Pilates Reformer
Joe Pilates passed away in 1967, and it was after that that Romana Kryzanowska began working with Donald Gratz at Gratz Industries to begin replicating and producing the aluminum Universal Reformer, as well as other apparatus.
The original arrangement was that Gratz would manufacture the reformers while orders were placed through Romana and The Pilates Studio.
During this time, and for many years more, Gratz worked with Romana to refine details about the reformer that made teaching and practice safer and easier without compromising the method itself. For example, the aluminum edge of the reformer frame was sharp and angular. Romana Kryzanowska and other teachers at the studio found that they were constantly and painfully bumping their shins against the edge while teaching. So, Gratz added a rubber trim that could be applied over the edge so that it would be smoother when the teacher made contact with it. (Figure 16).
Eventually, the rubber trim was discontinued when they replaced the sharp edge with a rounded metal edge, which eliminated the need to apply the rubber at all. (Figure 17).
Photo credit: Elaine Ewing
Figure 15: original rubber edging on a vintage Gratz reformer in Elaine Ewing’s collection, circa estimated early 1990s.
Figure 16:a current Gratz Reformer, with a rounded edge to the frame.
An additional change made to the reformer was for safety purposes and concerned the little metal ledge that the footbar kickstand rested upon when in the upright position. The way that Joe Pilates designed it, and the way that Gratz continued to make it for years later, was as a simple metal ledge that was almost just as wide as the footbar rest itself (Figure 18). This presented a danger if anyone accidentally lifted the bar while in use because there was nothing to keep the bar lodged into place.
Figure 17: original footbar ledge without the vertical safety edge on a vintage Gratz reformer in Elaine Ewing’s collection, circa estimated early 1990s.
The solution was designed by Sean Gallagher, who at this point had become the 5th owner of the original Pilates studio business and was also manufacturing reproductions of the original clawfoot reformers at the time. He came up with the idea to add a small, vertical edge to the ledge that would keep the kickstand safely in place throughout an entire workout. Once Gratz adapted the same design, using the Footbar became a safer experience. (Figure 19).
The Restoration of the Original Clawfoot Reformer
And what ever became of Joe’s original clawfoot reformers? Well, one of them stands today, fully restored and on permanent display inside Sean Gallagher’s Pilates Museum™ in Becket, Massachusetts.
This reformer has been fully restored by Sean Gallagher and Elaine Ewing and the labor of love that it took to bring it from an almost totally dilapidated state to full restoration is remarkable. (Figure 20)
Figure 19: One Of Joe’s Original Clawfoot Universal Reformers, from Sean Gallagher’s collection and on permanent display in the fully restored Pilates Gymnasium in Becket MA that was once Joe’s original property
When Sean first discovered this disregarded reformer in 1997 when he purchased what was once Joe and Clara Pilates original property, it was very water damaged but thanks to its original impeccable craftsmanship, structural integrity remained strong.
Sean and Elaine took great care in restoring it back as close to its original state as possible, and learned some fascinating historical details along the way. There were also several fun challenges during the restoration process, particularly when it came time to replace one of the handle hooks that was missing. Joe’s original design for the hook to hold the handles was simply a coat hook with one of the two hooks partially cut off so the handle would fit snugly when not in use, but it happened to be a very specific style and size (Figure 21). Over the course of a few months, we were able to source a vintage hook that was exactly the right size and shape so that the original red and metal handles could hang properly once again. (Figure 22)
Figure 20: the original coat hooks as handle hooks
Figure 21: one original coat hook and another sourced for the restoration project. Photo taken at Sean Gallagher’s collection and on permanent display at his Pilates Museum™ at Joe’s original property.
Pilates Reformers Today
Understanding the history of what is arguably the most popular piece of Pilates equipment of all time, the Pilates Reformer, is vital towards the preservation of the method itself.
Today, the Universal Reformer by Gratz is known around the world as the only reformer that can be directly traced back to Joe Pilates’ original metal reformers from the 1960s. And, thanks to the restoration and preservation of the original clawfoot reformer, we also have a deep understanding of the version that Joe developed his method upon for so many years. The Universal Reformer lives on through this work, and through our community practice and teaching as a whole- especially when using a Gratz Universal Reformer.
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