I don't have the exact answer about when those folding attic ladders came into being, but here's a loose answer: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140118061921AAUSdAi or this patent on Google: https://www.google.com/patents/US2572281?dq=attic+stair&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU...

The folding ones will not fit all attic hatches (beam placement may be non-uniform) or the space on the floor beneath it may not allow it (walls/interior door frames, etc.)

My house was built in 1910. The attic hatch is big enough, but the configuration of the floor under the hatch prevented a fold down staircase because the hatch was too close to the exterior wall, and if we flipped the hatch hinges to the other side, the stairs wouldn't line up to fit through an interior doorway.

We had a regular ladder with a pull rope on it. And if you did not place the ladder correctly, it could fall to the 2nd floor while you were up in the attic, or while you were on it.

After my fire, they removed the particle board ceiling in my basement. Once you see the underside of the 1st floor, there is a smaller hatch that used to be used to access the basement before a real set of stairs was installed.

Sharon from New Jersey