Letter Copying Press. (open access)

Letter Copying Press.

Patent for a new and improved copier. This design consists in "the combination of the dampening-roller . . . with the smoothing-roller at one side of and in close proximity to it and situated between said dampening-roller and the roll of paper, and the roller journaled in the standard, and the smoothing-rollers placed at one side and beyond the rollers . . . and journaled in brackets . . . whereby the paper is evenly and smoothly moistened before the copy-paper is applied and both are kept smooth during the process of copying" (lines 90-104).
Date: March 12, 1889
Creator: Thompson, Charles Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Locking Latch. (open access)

Locking Latch.

Patent for a new and improved latch. This design consists "[i]n a latch, the combination, with the sliding-bolt, tumblers having their forward ends provided with hooks or right-angled projections adapted to engage studs upon the bolt, and the lever operated by the bolt and having its forward end adapted to engage with the tumbler of the supplementary lock having its operating mechanism connected to the lever" (lines 68-76).
Date: July 12, 1881
Creator: Rand, Anders
System: The Portal to Texas History
Weather and Fire Strip for Box Car Doors. (open access)

Weather and Fire Strip for Box Car Doors.

Patent for a new and improved weather and fire strip for box car doors. This design "relates to an improved device for closing the space between the rear edge of the doors of box-cars and the side of the car, so as to prevent sparks or water from entering through the space and damaging the goods in the car" (lines 9-14).
Date: June 12, 1883
Creator: Nichols, George B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spark Arrester. (open access)

Spark Arrester.

Patent for a new and improved spark arrester. This design "consists in the construction and arrangement of devices by means of which the sparks are extinguished and the cinders distributed on the road-bed, while the fine dust is delivered into the ash-box" (lines 19-23).
Date: September 12, 1882
Creator: Nichols, George B.
System: The Portal to Texas History