Two Wheeled Vehicle. (open access)

Two Wheeled Vehicle.

Patent for a new and improved two-wheeled vehicle. This design consists, "with the vehicle-body, the side springs secured thereto, and the bow-shaped brackets secured to said springs, of the axle and the shafts secured to the axle, the links pivoted to the axle and the said brackets and suspending the vehicle-body from the axle, the spring having its rear end secured to the vehicle body and provided with an eye at its front end, the cross-bar connecting the shafts, an eyebolt depending from the said cross-bar, and the adjustable link adapted to be lengthened or shortened" (lines 53-64).
Date: October 21, 1890
Creator: Harper, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insecticide. (open access)

Insecticide.

Patent for improvements in poisons for prairie-dogs, a “chemical compositions adapted to destroy vermin and more particularly prairie-dogs; but it may also be used to destroy many other sorts of vermin, including birds and insects.” (Lines 12-16) Ingredients and instruction of how to mix this compound are included. No illustration.
Date: July 28, 1891
Creator: Staples, David W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sulky. (open access)

Sulky.

Patent for improvements in sulkies by using materials such as curved springs, cross-bar and braces to support the body of the vehicle and making it rigid, with a sturdy frame, the sulky would vibrate freely in every direction. Illustration is included.
Date: July 28, 1891
Creator: Harper, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Generator for Acetylene Gas (open access)

Generator for Acetylene Gas

Patent for a new and improved generator for acetylene gas.
Date: November 16, 1897
Creator: Williams, Benjamin F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gearing For Bicycles. (open access)

Gearing For Bicycles.

Patent relating to "a new and useful improvement in gearing for bicycles and the like, and has for its object to so construct and arrange a device of this description as to avoid sudden shocks or jars which are occasioned by unevenness in the road-bed over which the machine is traveling, and also to enable the rider to exert a sudden force upon the pedals without straining the framework or wheels of the machine" (lines 9-18).
Date: August 17, 1897
Creator: Godfray, Ernest H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fountain-Pen. (open access)

Fountain-Pen.

Patent for a fountain pen that has a piston which suctions ink into the pen's barrel and feeds it to the pen-point. The pen will be sturdy with no loose parts.
Date: September 1, 1896
Creator: Rogers, William Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shot-Carrying Shell. (open access)

Shot-Carrying Shell.

Patent for "a cartridge-shell which shall clean the barrel of the gun each time one is discharged, thereby preventing the gun becoming foul or clogged," and "which can be employed for shooting shot at long or short range." (Lines 11-17) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: March 30, 1897
Creator: Williams, Benjamin F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Quilting-Frame for Sweing-Machines. (open access)

Quilting-Frame for Sweing-Machines.

Patent for a quilting-frame for sewing-machines that "a folding tripod which is adapted to support the quilting frame, by means of a swiveled pulley connected to the handle of the frame carrying the rollers, the said pulley running backward and forward on the upper surface of a horizontal shaft which is held by means of adjustable rods, to a parallel shaft which is slidingly held to the upper surfaces of two of the tripod strips" (lines 18-26). The invention can fold compactly for storage.
Date: November 27, 1894
Creator: Parsons, James A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Acetylene Gas Generator (open access)

Acetylene Gas Generator

Patent for "a new and useful acetylene-gas generator" (lines 5-6), including illustrations and instructions.
Date: April 26, 1898
Creator: Williams, Benjamin F.
System: The Portal to Texas History