Construction of Privy-Vaults and Apparatus for Use Therewith. (open access)

Construction of Privy-Vaults and Apparatus for Use Therewith.

Patent for "a new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Privy-Vaults and Apparatus for Use Therewith"(lines 4-6)" to insure cleanliness in around privy-vaults and to prevent accumulations therein, especially in localities where water is not easily available"(lines 9-12), instructions and illustrations included.
Date: February 2, 1886
Creator: Carrico, Thomas W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Boot (open access)

Boot

Patent for a boot design that contains a counter-support of coil springs while also being inexpensive, durable, and efficient.
Date: October 2, 1888
Creator: Benson, Henry L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Air Compressor for Deep Well Pumps. (open access)

Air Compressor for Deep Well Pumps.

Patent for a new and improved air-compressor. This design "relates to improvements in air-compressing mechanism for the purpose of pumping for forcing from deep wells and performing similar work; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of a larger and smaller air-cylinder, and the combination therewith of mechanism to force the air from the larger into the smaller cylinder to increase the air-pressure in the latter" (lines 22-30).
Date: August 2, 1887
Creator: Adams, John R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wrench. (open access)

Wrench.

Patent for a new ratchet-wrench with "improved construction and combination of parts" (lines 26-27), including illustrations.
Date: February 2, 1886
Creator: Rettberg, Ernest Frederick & Ellis, Charles Carroll
System: The Portal to Texas History
Velocipede (open access)

Velocipede

Patent for new and useful improvements to the class of velocipedes "in which the rotation of the propelling-wheel is produced by the oscillation of a rocking-chair" (lines 24-26).
Date: July 2, 1889
Creator: Rullmann, John D. & Eckenroth, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Method of Working Hydrated Volatile Refrigerating Agents, and Apparatus for Ice Making and Refrigeration. (open access)

Method of Working Hydrated Volatile Refrigerating Agents, and Apparatus for Ice Making and Refrigeration.

Patent for a new method of working hydrated volatile refrigerating agents and a new refrigerator. This design "involve[s] the use of such highly volatile matters as are capable of hydration — as, for instance, ammonia, that being the refrigerating agent preferable to all others . . . [and] is a simplification in the mode of operation, and in apparatus which enables the employment of comparatively unskilled labor, the production of apparatus at comparatively low cost, and the working of the ammonia-gas at comparatively low pressure, thus obviating the dangers" (lines 13-24).
Date: August 2, 1881
Creator: Rose, Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History