Blotter. (open access)

Blotter.

Patent for "a combined hand-blotter, ruler, paper-cutter, and pen-rack... especially for the use of book-keepers and accountants," (lines 12-15) with instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 14, 1891
Creator: Betts, Walter & Herbert, William B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Handling Lint-Cotton. (open access)

Apparatus for Handling Lint-Cotton.

Patent for an apparatus for handling lint-cotton that allows air to move freely without back pressure while putting the fiber into a bat. It has a "trunk into which a series of gins deliver, of a primary condenser having a high surface speed, so that it will rapidly remove the fiber and prevent the bat from building up of such thickness as to check the escape of air, and a second condenser having a slower surface speed and arranged to receive the lint from the first condenser and form it into a thicker bat" (lines 29-37).
Date: March 19, 1895
Creator: Campbell, Douglas M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plant-Protector. (open access)

Plant-Protector.

Patent for an adjustable shade that protects plants from direct sunlight while still allowing some light to reach the plant.
Date: March 14, 1893
Creator: Gruetzmacher, Louis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spool or Bobbin Holder. (open access)

Spool or Bobbin Holder.

Patent for a spool or bobbin holder that has a spindle with a flange on it, a retractable spring, an actuated catch, and a stem on the spindle.
Date: March 13, 1894
Creator: Homer, Arthur B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tire-Tightener. (open access)

Tire-Tightener.

Patent for improved tire-tighteners "capable of ready adjustment to contract and expand a tire, to permit the tire to be tightened when a wheel becomes loose in dry weather, and to expand in wet weather to prevent the same from becoming dished." (Lines 13-17) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 9, 1897
Creator: Rembert, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stirrup. (open access)

Stirrup.

Patent for "a stirrup having an improved turntable spring-support which will permit the stirrup to turn readily, so that the foot can assume any desired angle toward or from the horse and so that the stirrup will be yieldingly upheld, whereby certain advantages are attained in mounting, particularly when employed in connection with a wild or unmanageable animal." (Lines 14-21) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 16, 1897
Creator: Vann, George G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Engine. (open access)

Rotary Engine.

Patent for "improvements in rotary engines by which a flanged or bladed disk is made to revolve in a steam tight chamber or chest." (Lines 7-10) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 5, 1895
Creator: West, Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History