Combination Level. (open access)

Combination Level.

Patent for a new and improved combination level. This design "is broadly to provide a combined carpenter's and surveyor's level of a cheap, simple, light, and durable form, and adapted for use as a carpenter's plumb and level or a surveyor's level interchangeably without the removal or change of any of its parts; and to this end in consists in the conformation and arrangement of parts" (lines 19-26).
Date: June 12, 1883
Creator: Sands, James Harley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Tent and Bed. (open access)

Combined Tent and Bed.

Patent for improvements in the construction of a combined folding bed and tent.
Date: June 19, 1883
Creator: Perez, Mitchel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bale Tie. (open access)

Bale Tie.

Patent for a new and improved bale tie. This design "consists of a short thin plate of metal having two tongues . . . fronting each other, said plate being pivoted at one end to the bale-hoop . . . the other end of the bale-hoop being passed under the tongues and drawn tightly around the bale, the expansion of the bale on the hoop causes the respective ends to pull on the respective ends of the tie-plate . . . so as to grip the edges of the end passed between the tongues and hold it firmly" (lines 7-19).
Date: July 24, 1883
Creator: Arnold, Abbott
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cap. (open access)

Cap.

Patent for a new and improved cap. This design calls for "an adjustable pillow, which can be used when desired, and folded up out of the way when not in use. To accomplish this . . . the cap [has] an air-tight sack or pillow, which can be inflated when needed, and when not in use the air can be withdrawn and the pillow folded up out of the way in the top of the cap" (lines 25-32).
Date: December 18, 1883
Creator: Wood, William E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combination Implement for Sealing Packages and Railroad Cars. (open access)

Combination Implement for Sealing Packages and Railroad Cars.

Patent for a new and improved implement for the sealing of railroad cars and packages. This design "consists of an implement combining all the tools necessary for rapidly and easily sealing railroad-cars and packages with the ordinary wire or tin seals, and of the [novel] particular construction" (lines 9-13).
Date: January 2, 1883
Creator: Miller, Theodore E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cot. (open access)

Cot.

Patent for a new and improved cot. This design is for a cot that, "[w]hen it is desired to pack the cot for transportation the flexible bottom is first removed from the frame, after which the latter is taken apart and the pieces thereof placed compactly together in a bundle with the flexible bottom. In this cot there are no pivot-joints to become worn or get out of order, and should any of the separable pieces become broken or damaged they can be readily replaced" (lines 47-56).
Date: January 23, 1883
Creator: Martial, Antoine William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press (open access)

Baling-Press

Patent for a new press for baling cotton and hay that is "simple, durable, and convenient," including illustrations.
Date: May 1, 1883
Creator: McIver, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay and Cotton Press. (open access)

Hay and Cotton Press.

Patent for a new and improved baling press. This design is for "[a]n improved device for retaining a compressed bale in its condensed state after the follower is withdrawn, which consists of pawls pivoted in holes in the sides of the press-box and projecting toward the rear end of the press-box . . . [and] [t]he combination, with the follower rack-bar, the pinions, the shafts, having suitable pulleys, adapted to be connected by belts, of two clutches, and a centrally-pivoted lever having [a] handle, whereby the power may be reversed without changing the direction of the drive-shaft" (lines 71-83).
Date: March 6, 1883
Creator: Hampton, John Andrew
System: The Portal to Texas History
Removable Can Top. (open access)

Removable Can Top.

Patent for a new and improved removable lid for cans. This design "consists of a can top or protector to be fitted over the top of the can which has had one of its heads cut out in such a manner that the contents of the can can be easily and conveniently removed and, should it be desired, the life and usefulness of the can prolonged at a trifling expense" (lines 24-30).
Date: December 25, 1883
Creator: Grainger, Charles J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a plow with a convex moldboard and a landside, or shoe, which in combination acts as a turning plow and subsoiler.
Date: June 12, 1883
Creator: Kennedy, George Finlay
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design "consists in the combination, with a draw-head, of an L-shaped lever pivoted in the same and provided at its angle with a lug, which L-shaped lever has a coupling-pin suspended from the end of the long arm, and has its short arm passed into an aperture in the inner end of a bar sliding in the bottom of the draw-head, whereby when the lug is depressed the coupling-pin will be raised and the bar in the draw-head will push the link out from the end of the draw-head" (lines 7-17).
Date: June 12, 1883
Creator: Appell, Charles E.
System: The Portal to Texas History