Padlock. (open access)

Padlock.

Patent for a new and improved lock. This design is "to provide a padlock having a two-part locking-bolt, each member thereof having separate and independent action and being operated by different means, each unlocking device being guided by a scale . . . [Also,] to so construct and organize the parts of a key padlock that the combination upon which it is operated may be readily and quickly changed, and to provide the key with a simple movable index which may be shifted to . . . indicate the proper point to which the key must be turned in order to successfully operate the lock" (lines 13-29).
Date: August 27, 1889
Creator: Richards, Augustus, Sr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stove-Damper. (open access)

Stove-Damper.

Patent for stove-damper by using “a damper-valve which not only subserves the usuall function of an ordinary cooking-stove damper which works over the smoke-exit flue, but also acts as a draft regulating device to provide for regulating the draft the damper is thrown to a closed position.” (Lines 19-26) Illustration is included.
Date: November 27, 1900
Creator: Witcher, John C.
System: The Portal to Texas History