Collyrium. (open access)

Collyrium.

Patent for a mixture for an eye-water; ingredients, proportions of the ingredients and instructions on how to prepare the mixture are included. No illustration.
Date: March 7, 1882
Creator: Templeton, Absalom
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shearing and Punching Machine. (open access)

Shearing and Punching Machine.

Patent for punches and shears combined to cut metal longitudinally.
Date: July 3, 1888
Creator: Echols, Christaphor Columbus
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cuff Holder. (open access)

Cuff Holder.

Patent for a new and improved cuff holder. This design "is chiefly to render cuffs hitherto buttoned to shirt-sleeves as readily attached or buttoned to coat-sleeves, in order that they may be removed from the wearer's person together with the coat to prevent the cuffs being soiled; and its object is also to avoid unbuttoning and buttoning cuffs to the shirt by means of the usual cuff-attaching buttons" (lines 24-32).
Date: November 10, 1885
Creator: Atkin, Samuel T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Attachment for Wheel-Cultivators (open access)

Attachment for Wheel-Cultivators

Patent for a new and useful improvement in attachments for wheel cultivators, including description and illustrations.
Date: May 17, 1887
Creator: Brown, William R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for a new and improved churn. This design consists in "the staff-head having the slot . . . and opposite inside grooves, in combination with a dasher-stem head conforming to the recesses in the head and carrying a spring in an upper cavity thereof, a plunger having its toe resting upon said spring, and operative mechanism" (lines 77-83).
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: Catchings, Thomas Jefferson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Andiron (open access)

Andiron

Patent for improvements to andiron or "fire-dogs".
Date: July 5, 1887
Creator: Steele, Oliver
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn Planting Attachment for Plows. (open access)

Corn Planting Attachment for Plows.

Patent for a new and improved corn-planting attachment for plows. This design "consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such an attachment, which may be secured to the rear end of the beam of a common breaking-plow, having a wheel running in the furrow operating the dropping mechanism" (lines 22-28).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Aten, Frank L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn Planting Attachment. (open access)

Corn Planting Attachment.

Patent for a new and improved attachment for planters. This design consists in "the combination of a standard having a seed box at its upper end provided with a longitudinal groove in the upper side of the bottom, and with slots in the end walls registering with the groove and having an arm projecting laterally from the lower end, a wheel journaled upon the said arm, a seed-slide in the groove, a bell-crank fulcrumed upon a rearwardly-projecting bracket of the box, a connecting-rod pivoted to the wheel and to the rear arm of the bell-crank, and a connecting-rod pivoted to the upper arm of the bell-crank" (lines 41-53).
Date: March 20, 1888
Creator: Aten, Frank L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Barrel Truck. (open access)

Barrel Truck.

Patent for a new and improved barrel cart. This design "is to provide an improved barrel rack or truck which can be conveniently and easily loaded and transported from place to place; to provide means for assisting in loading the barrel or receptacle on the truck and for retaining the same on the truck against danger of accidental displacement while the truck and its contents are being moved or transported, and to provide an improved truck which shall be very simple, strong, and durable in construction, thoroughly effective in operation, and cheap and inexpensive of manufacture" (lines 14-26).
Date: July 13, 1886
Creator: Williams, William Preston
System: The Portal to Texas History
Turbine Wheel. (open access)

Turbine Wheel.

Patent for a new and improved turbine wheel. This design eliminates water friction and alleviates pressure on suspended buckets, causing them to last longer.
Date: August 17, 1880
Creator: Hallenbeck, Matthew L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Letter Tie. (open access)

Letter Tie.

Patent for a new and improved clasp for letters. This design calls for wire or sheet metal to be shaped into a suitable size and shape for letters, including tabs on the ends to snap together to fasten the letters. This eliminates the need for twine or string, which reduces the flammability of the packages.
Date: May 3, 1881
Creator: Price, James N.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Kneading Machine. (open access)

Kneading Machine.

Patent for a new and improved kneading machine. This design consists in "the elevated upright rollers having grooves near their lower ends, of the tray or receptacle having the surrounding ring or track entering the said grooves of said rollers and supporting said tray in an elevated position" (lines 73-78).
Date: November 23, 1886
Creator: Hughes, James F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Treadle Power. (open access)

Treadle Power.

Patent for a new and improved treadle power. This design "consists of a pair of treadles contrived [so] that the operator may stand erect and operate the machine . . . together with contrivances whereby the operator may at the same time apply the power of the hands and arms to assist the legs when greater power is required, and for relief of the legs when less power is required. By enabling the operator to stand erect and apply the weight of his [or her] body to the treadles by a natural walking motion . . . he [or she] can apply greater power and continue a longer time with less fatigue" (lines 7-20).
Date: February 26, 1884
Creator: Greene, George A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ventilating and Adjustable Rain Proof. (open access)

Ventilating and Adjustable Rain Proof.

Patent for a new and improved rain-proof cap for chimneys. This design "is to provide a . . . rain-proof or chimney tube for receiving that part of a stove-pipe that projects above the roof, which rain-proof is so constructed that pipes can be held in the same at different inclinations. The invention consists in a rain-proof formed of a conical tube held on the roof, in the upper end of which conical tube the upper end of the stove-pipe is held. A hood is held on the upper end of the stove-pipe" (lines 8-18).
Date: July 22, 1884
Creator: Atkin, Samuel T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Cup for Stove Pipes. (open access)

Water Cup for Stove Pipes.

Patent for a new and improved water-cup for stove pipes. This design "relates to water cups or vessels arranged on the outside of stove-pipes, and whereby the heat of the pipe of the stove is made to evaporate the water for the purpose of imparting moisture to the air of the apartment containing the stove and so improving the healthiness and pleasantness of the atmosphere of the room" (lines 8-15).
Date: March 3, 1885
Creator: Atkin, Samuel T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ventilating Chimney. (open access)

Ventilating Chimney.

Patent for a new and improved ventilating chimney. This design consists in "the combination, with the smoke-flue, of the ventilating-flue, the thimble provided with outwardly-projecting lugs and inwardly-projecting apertured lugs, the plate provided with a central aperture and with a flange having notches, and the screws passed through the plate into the apertured lugs" (lines 16-23).
Date: March 24, 1885
Creator: Atkin, Samuel T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Well Bucket Fixture. (open access)

Well Bucket Fixture.

Patent for a new and improved well-bucket fixture. This design "is to provide for the ready opening of the valve for entrance into the bucket of water or other fluid, and the closing of the same when the same bucket has been sufficiently supplied; also securely to hold the parts together as against loosening in consequence of frequent usage; and it consists in the detailed construction, combination, and arrangement of the parts" (lines 11-19).
Date: September 21, 1886
Creator: Atkin, Samuel T. & Steele, Oliver
System: The Portal to Texas History
Well Bucket. (open access)

Well Bucket.

Patent for a new and improved well-bucket. This design consists in "the cylinder or body, the flaring bottom rim or hoop provided on its inner surface with suitable screw-threads, and also having on its lower peripheral portion diametrically-opposed lugs or projections, the perforated bottom pieced provided with suitable threads upon its peripheral portion, the upper curved or arched guide-arm having a central perforation and provided with screw-threaded ends having shoulders bearing against the upper side of the bottom of the bucket, said ends also passing through perforations" (lines 39-50).
Date: August 28, 1888
Creator: Van Hook, John Lloyd
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mechanical Movement. (open access)

Mechanical Movement.

Patent for a new and improved mechanical movement. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the vertical post or upright having guideways formed therein, and the horizontally-disposed shaft having the pinion secured thereon, of the slidable block or frame, the rack-bars pivotally secured to the lower end thereof and having oppositely-projecting teeth, and the spring connected to the lower ends of said rack-bars" (lines 68-75).
Date: October 9, 1888
Creator: Kincaid, James W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Manufacture of Hydraulic Cement and Lime. (open access)

Manufacture of Hydraulic Cement and Lime.

Patent for improvement in“the manufacture of hydraulic cement or lime form rotten or decomposed limestone” (lines 66-68).
Date: February 8, 1881
Creator: Dimelow, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow-Carriage. (open access)

Plow-Carriage.

Patent for new improvements on plow-carriages design including illustrations.
Date: December 21, 1880
Creator: McNorton, John Tomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Means for Securing Corks. (open access)

Means for Securing Corks.

Patent for "an improvement in means for securing corks in bottles, flasks, and jugs" (lines 10-12) including illustrations.
Date: March 13, 1888
Creator: Kincaid, James W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Trace Carrier. (open access)

Trace Carrier.

Patent for a new and improved back-band buckle and hook. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the buckle formed with the central cross-bar having the teeth and having the side hooks and having the outwardly-projecting tongue formed with the transverse aperture at its lower end, of the hook-plate formed with the reduced upper ends and the hook at its lower end having the opposite slots, and the locking key" (lines 14-21).
Date: May 1, 1888
Creator: Crockett, Edward R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the plow-body having slots formed with an enlargement at their forward ends near the lower edge of the mold-board, and having a laterally-projecting lug upon the landside near the point, of a detachable share and point having inwardly-projecting headed studs for engaging the slots in the mold-board, and having a perforated landside flange fitting upon the lug at the landside of the body" (lines 64-73).
Date: June 30, 1885
Creator: Snow, Abner
System: The Portal to Texas History