Bed Bottom. (open access)

Bed Bottom.

Patent for a new and improved bed bottom. This design "consists in a spring-bed formed of two U-shaped spring-rods or frames formed by the rods, which frames have their end pieces crossed and secured at their free ends in the opposite ends of slates. To the longitudinal pieces of the spring-frames the side edges of a piece of canvas are secured, and spiral springs are secured on the slats below the canvas" (lines 11-19).
Date: April 21, 1885
Creator: Bentley, Travis C.
Object Type: Patent
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 improved construction and combination of parts of such a coupling, in which the link may be raised and supported at different heights for the purpose of coupling with cars of different height, or for the purpose of raising the link out of engagement with the hook of another draw-head" (lines 26-32).
Date: April 8, 1884
Creator: Lyons, Sidney
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Gin Feeder. (open access)

Cotton Gin Feeder.

Patent for a new and improved feeder for cotton gins. This design consists in "the combination, with the driving mechanism, of the alternating sections, the shaft or rod, loop-rods and staples, the crank-shaft, and hooked rods . . . [and] of the adjustable comb, the crank-shaft, hinge-connection, arm, and cross-bar" (lines 3-12).
Date: April 3, 1883
Creator: Nix, Manning Lafayette
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vehicle Wheel (open access)

Vehicle Wheel

Patent for Vehicle-Wheel. "I am enabled to produce a wheel which can be put together, taken apart, repaired, renewed or tightened, with no tools or appliances other than a wrench, and by persons wholly unskilled in the manufacture of wheels in the ordinary way." (lines 13-18)
Date: April 6, 1886
Creator: Horrne, Henry M. & Rutherford, John C.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vehicle-Wheel (open access)

Vehicle-Wheel

Patent for an improved wheel for vehicles, with description of parts and illustrations.
Date: April 6, 1886
Creator: Horrne, Henry M.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Windmill. (open access)

Windmill.

Patent for improvements to windmills.
Date: April 29, 1884
Creator: Witherspoon, Frank
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Fire-Escape Ladders. (open access)

Improvement in Fire-Escape Ladders.

This patent was created for the improvent of fire escape ladders. The inventor gives a comprehensive look at his invention via his image.
Date: April 17, 1878
Creator: Morris, James P.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Medical Compound (open access)

Medical Compound

Patent for "a compound to be used as a gargle or wash in the treatment of the mouth, throat, &c., when the mucous membrane of the said parts is affected by the use of tobacco, opium, or morphine, alcoholic drinks, &c., and also in cases of indigestion, dyspepsia, malarial, and typhoid fevers, &c. (lines 8-14).
Date: April 2, 1889
Creator: Roberts, Andre
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tire Tightener. (open access)

Tire Tightener.

Patent for a new and improved tire tightener. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the spokes, the felly, and the tire . . . of the plates, each provided with rearwardly-extending apertured portions, forwardly-projecting fingers, and semi-socketed portions on their lower faces, the upper face of the plate being straight, its lower face inclined, the upper face of the plate inclined, and the lower face thereof straight, whereby when said plates are fitted in place, they will wedge between the felly and the shoulder of the spoke, said socket portions adapted to fit over said shouldered portion of the spokes" (lines 8-21).
Date: April 29, 1890
Creator: Mayo, William Archer
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Machine. (open access)

Washing-Machine.

Patent for an improvement in washing-machines by using a novel arrangement of the rollers, the tub-supporting frame, the horizontal swinging rubber, and a series of closely arranged longitudinal spiral springs; so that “the pressure upon each separate article can be adjusted or regulated by the judgment of the [operator].” (Lines 12-14) Illustration is included.
Date: April 7, 1891
Creator: Bennington, William J.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harness-Saddle (open access)

Harness-Saddle

Patent for the "construction and combination of devices" (line 10) that serve as "an improvement in harness-saddles" (lines 8-9) for horses, with illustrations.
Date: April 26, 1887
Creator: Goodman, William Dave & Tuttle, Frank
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Elevated Railway. (open access)

Elevated Railway.

Patent for improvements in elevated railways: "provide simple means for regulating and adjusting the weight of the car so as to throw the preponderence thereof upon either the upper or the lower track or to equally divide the weight so that each track bear a like proportion" (lines 12-17).
Date: April 10, 1894
Creator: Anderson, Lee
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: C-660 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: C-660

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Waggoner Carr, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether Lamar County Hospital District has legislative authority to convey real estate to the county on which to construct a building to house various welfare agencies.
Date: April 15, 1966
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Artificial Fly Fish Hook (open access)

Artificial Fly Fish Hook

Patent for an artificial fly fish hook. Illustration included.
Date: April 27, 1909
Creator: Caldwell, Charley D.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vehicle-Wheel. (open access)

Vehicle-Wheel.

Patent for vehicle-wheels that "automatically" expand and contract (lines 8-10); including illustration and instructions
Date: April 24, 1900
Creator: Mabry, D. L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ironing-Table (open access)

Ironing-Table

Patent for "an ironing-table of this class which may be used independently of household furniture and like means of support and at the same time provide a construction whereby the board may be used independently of its supporting-stand" (lines 16-21).
Date: April 9, 1901
Creator: Perry, Charles Albert
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hydrocarbon-Stove (open access)

Hydrocarbon-Stove

Patent for a hydrocarbon stove that allows irons to be heated on it.
Date: April 23, 1912
Creator: Baker, Edward B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Machine. (open access)

Washing-Machine.

Patent for a new and useful washing machine.
Date: April 19, 1898
Creator: Roach, Henry B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Receptacle or Tank. (open access)

Receptacle or Tank.

Patent for receptacle or tank for underground storage purpose is to use metal to construct a tank for strength to resist the pressure upon its walls. To protect the tank from the corrosive action of the earth by lining the surface of a tank “with a protective coating composed of alternate layers of asphaltum and tarred-felt paper, a fabric layer imposed upon the outer layer of asphaltum, and a final layer of asphaltum covering the fabric.” (Page 2, lines 109-113.) Illustration is included.
Date: April 15, 1902
Creator: Stewart, Robert P.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fireproof Flue. (open access)

Fireproof Flue.

Patent for a fireproof flue that prevents the roof from being burned, where the stovepipe goes through the roof.
Date: April 25, 1911
Creator: Davis, George W. & Shipman, Abraham T.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Drafting-Pen. (open access)

Drafting-Pen.

Patent for a new drafting-pen which includes a tie member that unites and resists separation of the blades of a pen, yet the tie member is movable and allows the blades to separate.
Date: April 2, 1912
Creator: Smith, Edwin R.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse-Releaser. (open access)

Horse-Releaser.

Patent for a horse releaser constructed so that the shafts may be released when it is desired to detach a horse from a vehicle. It also provides an improved means of holding the shafts in place and preventing them from moving when it is not desired to release the shafts.
Date: April 8, 1913
Creator: Harris, Crawford & Harris, Eligah
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Tug-Clip. (open access)

Tug-Clip.

Patent for a new form of tug clip which will not damage the collar to which it is attached.
Date: April 14, 1914
Creator: Duncan, Walter B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Occurrence, Availability and Chemical Quality of Ground Water in the Cretaceous Aquifers of North-Central Texas: Volume 1 (open access)

Occurrence, Availability and Chemical Quality of Ground Water in the Cretaceous Aquifers of North-Central Texas: Volume 1

Report on the quality and availability of ground water in the cretaceous aquifers of north-central Texas. Includes maps, hydrographs, rainfall data, pumpage, and more.
Date: April 1982
Creator: Nordstrom, Phillip L.
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History