Resource Type

Clothes Pin. (open access)

Clothes Pin.

Patent for a new and improved clothespin. This design "has for its object to provide an improved pin that can be readily adjusted to any desired position upon the line, and which can be turned at any desired angle to clamp the clothes. The pin is constructed, preferably, of resilient wire—preferably galvanized or otherwise treated to prevent rusting of the same—and may be made in various sizes. [The design] form[s] the pin with an eye or ring portion, through which the line is passed, and with two sets of arms—one set having its two portions parallel with each other" (lines 11-22).
Date: August 26, 1890
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Velocipede. (open access)

Velocipede.

Patent for a new and improved velocipede. This design "has relation to that class of velocipedes in which the rider is suspended within a large wheel impelled by a frictional contact between the inner periphery of the same and the driving wheel" (lines 8-12). With this design, "by the increased size of wheel, not only is speed gained, but the same may be propelled with greater ease over rough or smooth roads and with greater comfort to the rider, in that the jolt is less, and yet at the same time all the benefits arising from this class of exercise are obtained" (lines 27-34).
Date: August 5, 1890
Creator: Akers, William P.
System: The Portal to Texas History