Buttonhole Cutter or Shears. (open access)

Buttonhole Cutter or Shears.

Patent for a buttonhole cutter or shears, which has an adjustable stop for creating buttonholes of different sizes.
Date: March 17, 1908
Creator: Barr, George T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Fire-Kindler (open access)

Automatic Fire-Kindler

Patent for an automatic fire kindler which can be put on a timer and start a fire in a stove with a bundle of matches inserted into the device ahead of time.
Date: November 17, 1908
Creator: Bates, Samuel F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nutcracker. (open access)

Nutcracker.

Patent for a nutcracker that can crack all kinds of nuts, with relatively little force, on appropriate surfaces like tables. The Patent includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: November 17, 1914
Creator: Fort, Foster W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automobile Block. (open access)

Automobile Block.

Patent for improvements to automobile blocks, specifically employed for pulling automobiles from muddy or other places where the power of the car cannot be utilized. The patent is for a small, portable device that can be conveniently carried in the vehicle.
Date: January 17, 1922
Creator: Schaudies, Charles E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Knee Pad and Protector. (open access)

Knee Pad and Protector.

Patent for a new and improved knee pad. This design consists in "the combination of a body or main portion, padding contained therein, a re-enforcing piece secured to the said main portion, and a spring interposed and bearing between said main portion and re-enforcing piece . . . [a] cap-piece for knee-protectors slitted from its opposite edges . . . forming flaps, combined with connections for securing said flaps to the body of the cap-piece" (lines 72-81).
Date: May 17, 1887
Creator: Ridgill, Angus G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lawn-Mower Sharpener. (open access)

Lawn-Mower Sharpener.

Patent for a new device that improves lawn mower sharpeners, including illustrations. It is a detachable device that attaches directly to the lawn mower and sharpens the blades while in use.
Date: October 17, 1922
Creator: Lancaster, Edmund Banning
System: The Portal to Texas History
Jar. (open access)

Jar.

Patent for a jar for thick semi-liquids such as mustard, which has a discharge spout in the side that allows the contents to be used without taking off the lid of the jar.
Date: August 17, 1909
Creator: Barr, George T., Sr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Door-Checks. (open access)

Improvement in Door-Checks.

Patent for "a device for holding the doors in open position, which is readily applied to the door and worked without noise or jamming; and the invention consists of a holder or knob, with recessed front end, attached to the base-board, and of a counter-sunk door plate or case provided with a rubber block, that binds on the recessed part of the holder to retain the door in open position." (Lines 10-18) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 17, 1877
Creator: Francis, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improved Power-Apparatus for Vehicles (open access)

Improved Power-Apparatus for Vehicles

Patent for "improvements to powered vehicles with combined rim-wheel(s) in combination with a truck(s), resting upon the inner and lower part of the rim, and supporting a carriage-body or frame, crank-shaft. with one or more pinions, and guide-rollers." (line 8)
Date: August 17, 1869
Creator: Dillaha, J. G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Metal-Pipe Joint (open access)

Metal-Pipe Joint

Patent for a metal-pipe joint.
Date: February 17, 1903
Creator: West, Gustavus Hannibal
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nutcracker (open access)

Nutcracker

Patent for Nutcracker
Date: October 17, 1916
Creator: Fort, Foster W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gasoline separator (open access)

Gasoline separator

Patent for Gasoline separator
Date: October 17, 1916
Creator: Cobb, John Olen
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire-Grate. (open access)

Fire-Grate.

Patent for a simple and efficient fire-grate that is meant "to be set in a wall between two rooms and capable of being reversed to enable either room to be directly heated by a fire" (lines 11-13).
Date: December 17, 1895
Creator: Birkhead, James C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate-Fastener (open access)

Gate-Fastener

Patent for latches for swinging gates. Illustrations included.
Date: September 17, 1912
Creator: Pochyla, Adolph A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary-Razor (open access)

Rotary-Razor

Patent for rotary razors that includes a rotating blade that approaches and passes over the skin to avoid cuts or scrapes. The blade on the razor is tilted too far out to cause cuts and scrapes, yet it provides a sufficient shave.
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Jones, Sidney P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rail-Joint. (open access)

Rail-Joint.

Patent for improving railway rail joints "without the use of fish plates or clamping bolts" (lines 12-13) and for quick and secure assembly "by any person without previous skill or knowledge" (lines 24-25).
Date: August 17, 1920
Creator: Fenske, Paul J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Seed Cotton Elevator (open access)

Seed Cotton Elevator

Patent for a gin-feeder cotton elevator. This grain elevator features a cotton trunk that helps to sort the grain.
Date: January 17, 1900
Creator: Harris, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Engine. (open access)

Rotary Engine.

Patent for a rotary steam engine, which allows the piston to move more freely in the engine.
Date: September 17, 1907
Creator: Walker, James C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Truck (open access)

Truck

Patent for truck, or dolly, used in movement of packages.
Date: October 17, 1916
Creator: Hall, James T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Perforating Mechanism for Cylinder Printing-Presses. (open access)

Perforating Mechanism for Cylinder Printing-Presses.

Patent for a perforating mechanism for cylinder printing-presses that is simple and automatic. It produces "lines of perforations at any required distance apart and of any desired length in paper or cardboard at the time of printing thereon the forms for checks, draft, bills, notes, tickets or other printed or lithographed matter" (lines 12-17).
Date: April 17, 1894
Creator: Kellner, Eugene
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Cleaner and Distributer. (open access)

Cotton Cleaner and Distributer.

Patent for improvements on cotton cleaners and distributors, specifically means for pneumatically raising cotton, cleaning the dirt from said cotton, and releasing quantities of cotton collected in the distributor.
Date: September 17, 1901
Creator: Seifert, John W.
System: The Portal to Texas History