Governor for Cotton Gins and Cotton Gin Feeders. (open access)

Governor for Cotton Gins and Cotton Gin Feeders.

Patent for a new and improved governor for cotton gins. This design "consists, first, in the combination of an oscillating or movable roll-breast with a regulating attachment, whereby the size of the roll or the pressure of the cotton in the roll-box is made to regulate the feed to the gin to any desired degree; second, in forming a series of slots through the outer side of the roll-breast, so that the cotton seed may be discharged through the outer side of the breast, as well as in addition to the usual slot which is made through the bottom of the roll-box" (lines 15-25).
Date: May 10, 1881
Creator: Forbes, Lycurgus D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire Escape. (open access)

Fire Escape.

Patent for a new and improved fire-escape. This design "relates to that class of fire-escapes which embody a long sack or flexible tube mounted upon a frame adapted to be secured in a window and permit the passage of the occupants of the burning building to the ground through said sack or tube. The object of [the] invention is to provide a simple and improved fire-escape of this class which will possess advantages in point of inexpensiveness, ease of application, and general efficiency, and which may be conveniently transported and occupy but little space when not in use" (lines 8-20).
Date: May 29, 1888
Creator: Reimers, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine (open access)

Washing Machine

Patent for a washing machine so it can "provide a simple and improved device of this character, which can be efficiently operated" (p. 03).
Date: May 21, 1889
Creator: Fleischhauer, Louis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Cultivator. (open access)

Cotton Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the base . . . of the slotted plate secured thereto, the strip on the rear side of the said plate, the blade having apertures and threaded bolts for adjusting the said blade" (lines 96-100). It further consists in "rear cutters or scrapers on the landside" (line 1).
Date: May 1, 1888
Creator: Irwin, William H. & Hairgrove, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History