Drawers and Pantaloons. (open access)

Drawers and Pantaloons.

Patent for new and improved pants. This design consists in "[a] pair of pantaloons, each leg of which is composed of a single piece, having the two edges and extended from the crotch to the foot of the leg, said extended portions being lapped one upon the other and united by the double lines of stitching, one in front and the other in rear of the usual line of the inside seam, whereby the leg is given a double thickness on the inside, and a smooth unbroken surface, adapting them to be worn in the saddle with comfort" (lines 16-26).
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Blake, Samuel Diggs
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bustle. (open access)

Bustle.

Patent for a new and improved bustle. This design consists in "[a] bustle consisting of a single piece of wire bent in spiral form, and bent at its ends to form loops to which are secured straps . . . having a buckle, and the elastic strap secured to the strap and engaging a buckle on the strap" (lines 85-90).
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Davis, Charles Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Animal Power. (open access)

Animal Power.

Patent for a new and improved engine. This design has a "tread-wheel on which the animal is placed, and which is provided with a cog-wheel on its under side to mesh with a pinion placed on one end of the crank-shaft, a connecting-rod which is attached at one end to the crank and at the other to a pivoted lever . . . a second connecting-rod which is fastened to the upper end of the pivoted lever . . . a balance-wheel, and the main driving-shaft provided with a number of arms, each one of which carries a planet-wheel for the purpose of moving around a fixed wheel" (lines 15-29).
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Yarbrough, Ezekel James & Kyker, John Marshal
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device For Illustrating the Transposition of Musical Scales (open access)

Device For Illustrating the Transposition of Musical Scales

Patent for an improvement in machines for transposing musical scales in which a marked and perforated original scale is run over the machine and automatically transported, with levers and rods to mark the sharps, flats, and other information.
Date: July 28, 1885
Creator: Neill, John, Frances
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Stalk Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Stalk Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved stalk cutter. This design consists in "[t]he frame mounted upon sled-runners and provided with braces, draft pole, and knives, in combination with the rake having check-bar, the sliding bar, connecting bar, and lever, all co-operating" (lines 89-92).
Date: July 28, 1885
Creator: Woodard, James A.
System: The Portal to Texas History