Wire Stretcher. (open access)

Wire Stretcher.

Patent for a new and improved wire stretcher. This design "consists in the combination of a slotted lever provided with points at one end to catch against the side of the post and a hook over which one end of the chain is fastened, a sliding frame, a reel or drum, pawls, a guiding-pulley, a wire or chain, to which the clamp is secured, and a chain for fastening the stretcher to the post . . . [it] is to provide a slotted handle a sliding frame . . . so that when the strain of the wire being stretched is brought to bear upon the frame it will tighten" (lines 13-26).
Date: July 26, 1887
Creator: Dunbar, William E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ant Trap. (open access)

Ant Trap.

Patent for a new and improved ant trap. This design consists "[i]n a device for catching ants, the combination, with an open frame, of the end piece or trough, having a concave bottom and overturned edges" (lines 84-87).
Date: March 29, 1887
Creator: Haines, Samuel Alfred
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shoe Upper Blank. (open access)

Shoe Upper Blank.

Patent for a new and improved shoe-upper blank. This design "relates to an improvement in blanks for the uppers of what are known as 'plow-shoes,' wherein a fly is folded over the instep and secured upon the side of the shoe by means of a tongue and buckle. The object of [the] invention is to provide a durable, inexpensive, and comfortable shoe which will be largely free from stitching and will have a neatly fitting and pleasing appearance" (lines 7-16).
Date: October 4, 1887
Creator: Skinner, John Leary
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Compressor (open access)

Cotton Compressor

Patent for Cotton Compressor. "This invention relates to apparatus for compressing bales of cotton and for similar purposes." (lines 11-13).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Taylor, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lever Scraper for Cleaning Plows. (open access)

Lever Scraper for Cleaning Plows.

Patent for a new and improved lever scraper for cleaning plows. This design "relates to improvements in plows, the object being to remove quickly and readily from the mold-board the earth which, in plowing stiff, waxy, or greasy soils, adheres thereto; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of a scraper-blade and of the actuating mechanism therefor" (lines 9-15).
Date: November 8, 1887
Creator: Tucker, Argyle W.
System: The Portal to Texas History