Stirrup. (open access)

Stirrup.

Patent for a new and improved stirrup. This design "has for its object to provide an improved stirrup wherein shall be combined lightness with strength, and wherein is provided a removable slipper and protector designed for use in winter" (lines 12-18).
Date: December 10, 1889
Creator: Turner, Ephraim M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lock Hopple. (open access)

Lock Hopple.

Patent for a new and improved lock-hopple. This design consists in "the combination of the semi-circular section provided at its free end with the latch-hook and concave edge, and the semi-circular section provided with the perforated projection for the attachment of the lap-ring, and with the lock" (lines 95-100). It further consists in "the partition, the cap-piece having the central key-opening, the journaled latch-hook having the end of its journal formed to fit in the recess in the end of the key, the curved double-arm spring, the lid, and the lid-stem having upon it a block provided with the shoulders" (lines 1-8).
Date: December 18, 1888
Creator: White, Elisha Lafayette
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-chopper. This design consists in "the combination, with the frame and wheels, of the axle, journal-boxes for said axle adjustable lengthwise of said frame, a gear-wheel on said axle adjustable longitudinally thereon, the shaft parallel with the axle, a plurality of gear-wheels of varying diameters on said shaft, a bevel-pinion also on said shaft, and an inclined shaft carrying the hoe and provided with a bevel-pinion engaging the pinion on the shaft" (lines 8-17).
Date: December 13, 1887
Creator: Marshall, Benjamin C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car-Seat. (open access)

Car-Seat.

Patent for improvement in regular car-seating (not baby car-seat) by enabling the seat to recline “like an ordinary sleeping-coach without the necessity of the upper berths required in a sleeping-coach.” (Lines 45-48) Illustration is included.
Date: December 14, 1886
Creator: Goelet, Edward B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Coffee Pot. (open access)

Coffee Pot.

Patent for a new and improved coffee pot. This design "has relation to that class of coffee-pots in which the body of the pot contains a cone-shaped chamber provided at the apex with a tube for the discharge of the boiling water as it passes through the same into a receptacle containing the coffee; and the object thereof is to improve the construction of this class of coffee-pots" (lines 12-19).
Date: December 29, 1885
Creator: Covington, Philip A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ink Blotter. (open access)

Ink Blotter.

Patent for a new and improved ink blotter. This design "is to facilitate the process and shorten the time of the [writer] in blotting of the ink from his [or her] writing. [The design] attain[s] this object by so constructing the blotter that when in use it is always attached to and worn upon the hand holding the pen" (lines 8-13).
Date: December 30, 1884
Creator: Smith, L. Starr
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pipe Wrench. (open access)

Pipe Wrench.

Patent for a new and improved pipe wrench. This design consists "[i]n a pipe-wrench, the bar or lever having a lower curved and serrated end, in combination with the pivoted arm having reversely-hooked ends, one of said curved ends having a greater curvature than the other said hooked end" (lines 59-64).
Date: December 2, 1884
Creator: Morrison, William S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Elevator. (open access)

Water Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved water elevator. This design "is to provide each bucket with a weighted back; also, in the manner of connecting the chains thereto, so that the necessity of the employment of a weighted wheel is obviated" (lines 20-24). This means that individual buckets may be removed and replaced, and construction becomes more durable and simple.
Date: December 28, 1880
Creator: Mayfield, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History