Combined Shade and Current Bracket Support and Shade-Guide. (open access)

Combined Shade and Current Bracket Support and Shade-Guide.

Patent for a combined shade and curtain bracket support and shade guide, which makes shades roll up straight rather than catching on edges and tearing.
Date: March 8, 1910
Creator: Hoxworth, Edwin
System: The Portal to Texas History
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
Copy-Holder. (open access)

Copy-Holder.

Patent for certain new and useful improvements in copy holders, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 27, 1900
Creator: Scarborough, George Moore
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Saw Buck and Drag Saw. (open access)

Combined Saw Buck and Drag Saw.

Patent for a new and improved saw-buck and drag-saw. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the saw-buck having cross-piece, the swinging arm pivoted to and laterally movable on said cross-piece, the upper-end of said arm being provided with a slot, the saw, the saw-carriers . . . having spindles, the forward-carrier being provided with a tenon, and the saw-frame pivotally mounted on the spindles of the saw-carriers" (lines 74-82).
Date: March 22, 1887
Creator: Nitsche, John Emil & Kowalewsky, August
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bin. (open access)

Bin.

Patent for a new and improved bin. This design consists in "[t]he combination of a casing having bearing blocks or shoulders, a tilting bin located in said casing and provided with a sloping top, and an automatic cover placed loosely in the casing above the shoulders and provided on the under side, near its front edge, with a cleat fitting within the upper part of the bin, whereby said cover is adapted to close the upright bin and limit its forward movement when opened" (lines 7-16).
Date: March 6, 1888
Creator: Hunter, Edward T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Evaporative Cooler. (open access)

Evaporative Cooler.

Patent for an evaporative cooler/refrigerator that is cooled by the evaporation of water with ventilating tubes to maintain the air condition in shelves. Water is adapted to move through a "cloth, flowing downwardly therethrough and being evaporated therefrom to thereby effectually cool the articles disposed within the refrigerator" (lines 28-31). This patent includes illustrations
Date: March 10, 1914
Creator: Henderson, Thomas A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Gun Firing Mechanism. (open access)

Automatic Gun Firing Mechanism.

Patent for an automatic gun firing mechanism intended to protect gardens, orchards, and fields by scaring off birds and other animals that destroy crops through automatic discharge of a firearm at predetermined intervals.
Date: March 18, 1913
Creator: Steinocher, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Carbureter Attachment. (open access)

Carbureter Attachment.

Patent for a carbureter attachment.
Date: March 19, 1918
Creator: McDonald, James A. & Harris, James H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ice-Holding Device. (open access)

Ice-Holding Device.

Patent for a device to hold ice upon running-boards of vehicles (lines 10-11.) This device is flexible in use (it can be pulled up to reveal the ice, and put back out of the way), simple in design, and cheap to construct.
Date: March 21, 1922
Creator: Barton, Warren D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Trunk-Strap. (open access)

Trunk-Strap.

Patent for an "efficient and inexpensive" (lines 13-14) trunk strap, including instructions and illustration. The strap is comprised of adjustable sections, the free ends of which hook into angular plates on the bottom of the trunk.
Date: March 28, 1916
Creator: Hall, James T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wave-Motor. (open access)

Wave-Motor.

Patent for a new and useful wave motor, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 27, 1900
Creator: Walker, James C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wave-Motor. (open access)

Wave-Motor.

Patent for a wave motor that gathers and stores power from the full force of the waves in their rise and fall. The motor operates a drive shaft.
Date: March 6, 1894
Creator: Walker, James C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Valve Gear For Pneumatic Cotton-Feeders. (open access)

Valve Gear For Pneumatic Cotton-Feeders.

Patent for a new and improved valve gear for pneumatic cotton feeders, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 27, 1900
Creator: Williams, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tractor (open access)

Tractor

Patent for an improved tractor where the "propelling force is delivered through traction blocks...(lines 11-12)."
Date: March 22, 1921
Creator: Aerl, Van Vivian
System: The Portal to Texas History
Water Distilling Apparatus (open access)

Water Distilling Apparatus

Patent for a water distilling apparatus. This invention is designed for condensing steam into distilled water. Additionally, the design is meant to separate empyreumatic gases from the water vapor during the distillation process. Illustration included.
Date: March 5, 1907
Creator: Lazenby, Robert S. & Lazenby, Henry C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Touch Regulating Attachment For Pianos (open access)

Touch Regulating Attachment For Pianos

Patent for a touch regulating attachment for pianos. This invention regulates the touch of the instrument to effect the tension or stiffness of the keys. Illustration included.
Date: March 29, 1904
Creator: Harriss, Langdon & Kendall, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Trolley-Pole. (open access)

Trolley-Pole.

Patent for a trolley pole, which attaches easily to the wire and can be placed on it by the operator without him leaving his station on the trolley.
Date: March 16, 1909
Creator: Barr, George T., Sr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Package-Tie. (open access)

Package-Tie.

Patent for a tie that fastens the ends of a string together for the purpose of securely wrapping packages, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 23, 1915
Creator: Forsgard, Edward F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oil Can. (open access)

Oil Can.

Patent for a new and improved oil can. This design "consists in the combination, with an oil-can, of a wire passing loosely through the nozzle and into a tube secured on the bottom of the can within the said can. The outer end of the wire is curved, and part of the wire is finely grooved or roughened" (lines 13-18).
Date: March 27, 1883
Creator: Campbell, James A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gun-Stock. (open access)

Gun-Stock.

Patent for an improved wooden stock for firearms which combines maximum lightness and strength, may be produced at reduced cost, and is adapted for convenient and advantageous manipulation for defensive purposes.
Date: March 27, 1906
Creator: Cole, William F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gun-Barrel. (open access)

Gun-Barrel.

Patent for improvement in small firearms. The gun combines a cylindrical breech and with an elliptical bore in order to increase the projectile’s impact and stabilize its trajectory. The invention uses an ordinary ball cartridge, improving upon an earlier patent by the inventor. Detailed explanation and illustrations included.
Date: March 4, 1902
Creator: Cole, William F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Type-Writer Attachment (open access)

Type-Writer Attachment

Patent for a type-writer attachment.
Date: March 31, 1903
Creator: King, William V.
System: The Portal to Texas History
End Cap, Tie, and Seal for Cylindrical Cotton-Bales. (open access)

End Cap, Tie, and Seal for Cylindrical Cotton-Bales.

Patent for an end cap, tie, and seal for cylindrical cotton-bales. The cap has a flat end with cylindrical edges and a draw wire in its hem. It extends nearly to the ends of the bale, and the edges go over the ends of the bale.
Date: March 12, 1895
Creator: Campbell, Louis Wilbur
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire Clay Heater. (open access)

Fire Clay Heater.

Patent for a new and improved fire-clay heater. This design "consists in an improved fire-log burner for oil or other fluid or gaseous inflammable substances, said burner being in form of a tube or hollow cylinder, and made of 'fire-clay,' and provided with numerous jet or burner passages in its periphery, and filled with comminuted asbestus or other analogous absorbent or capillary fluid-conducting fire-proof material . . . The object of [the] invention is to provide a practically-operating and fire-proof fire-log for heating steam-boilers, stoves, grates, fire-places, and for other analogous uses" (lines 17-30).
Date: March 5, 1889
Creator: White, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History