Clothes-Pounder. (open access)

Clothes-Pounder.

Patent for new and useful improvements in Washington Pounders by "having a series of concentric cones between the sides of which communication is had through apertures to carry away steam, and affords a suitable circulation of the water and air through the clothes." (Lines 17-22) Illustration is included.
Date: December 15, 1896
Creator: Toler, Henry Wilson.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Distilling Wood. (open access)

Apparatus for Distilling Wood.

Patent for improvements in wood distillers "wherein the liquids of the woods are extracted by subjection in a closed heated chamber or retort and carried by vaporization through the process of distillation to condensation" (lines 18-22).
Date: December 24, 1889
Creator: Spangler, Samuel H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Catamenial Applicance (open access)

Catamenial Applicance

Patent for a catamenial appliance that can be worn like an apron. In conjunction with a "napkin the device can prevent outer garments from stains during or prior to menstruation" (p. 1, lines 10-15)
Date: December 29, 1914
Creator: Myers, Jennie C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for improvements in churns that are made with an actuating motor, including illustrations and instructions.
Date: December 18, 1917
Creator: Waller, Charles Floyd
System: The Portal to Texas History
Adjustable Attachment for Freight-Car Doors. (open access)

Adjustable Attachment for Freight-Car Doors.

Patent for a mechanism that creates "an adjustable attachment for freight-car doors, for preventing sparks and other objectionable matter from getting into the cars, and means for operating the attachment that is adapted for use in securing the door in different positions of adjustment, and for connection with the body of the car by means of a seal-support, in order that the fixed adjustment of the door cannot be changed without breaking the seal" (lines 12-21).
Date: December 28, 1886
Creator: Duzan, Thomas H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Toy Wagon (open access)

Toy Wagon

Patent for "invented a new and useful Toy Wagon" (lines 5-6) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 6, 1892
Creator: Douthit, Albert Gilbert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Planter, Chopper, and Cultivator (open access)

Planter, Chopper, and Cultivator

Patent for "a combined planter and cultivator, including a cotton-chopper" (lines 11-12).
Date: December 23, 1890
Creator: Murdock, Joseph Lafayette
System: The Portal to Texas History
Reel for Measuring Bagging, &c. (open access)

Reel for Measuring Bagging, &c.

Patent for a new and improved cloth-measuring machine. This design "consists in the peculiar arrangement of a spool or roller from which the stock is taken, a wheel upon which it is wound from the roller, a cutting board or table, and a measuring-wheel, whereby . . . handling, measuring, and cutting bagging, matting, carpets, and other goods . . . may be effected in a simple and convenient method" (lines 11-19).
Date: December 7, 1880
Creator: Le Roy, Charles Jerome
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shovel-Plow. (open access)

Shovel-Plow.

Patent for the improvement of shovel plows "to so construct and arrange the several parts of the device that they may be easily and quickly adjusted to adapt the implement to different kinds of work," (lines 17-20) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: September 9, 1890
Creator: Kersh, Thomas E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railway Cattle-Guard. (open access)

Railway Cattle-Guard.

Patent for a railway cattle-guard meant to be used "where the track of a railroad passes between the adjacent ends of fence-sections; and the invention seeks to provide elevated pricking-points in connection with adjacent guides inclining toward such points to direct the legs of the stock to such points so the latter will prick the lags at or above the top of the hoof" (lines 9-16).
Date: December 3, 1895
Creator: Jack, Harvey M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Engine (open access)

Rotary Engine

Patent for a rotary steam engine with an improved steam cylinder.
Date: December 3, 1912
Creator: Lawrenson, Judge Peck
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seal-Press (open access)

Seal-Press

Patent for "invented a new and useful Seal-Press" (lines 5-6) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: December 6, 1892
Creator: Douthit, Albert Gilbert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Derailing Device. (open access)

Derailing Device.

Patent for a derailing device to stop trains from colliding with one another by derailing the oncoming train.
Date: December 24, 1907
Creator: Clegg, William Owen
System: The Portal to Texas History