Patents

"S. F. Brooks' Patent Combined Ottoman Cradle, Patent Toilet Mirror, and Game Box. No. 110 Milk Street, Boston." A newspaper (see below) described Sylvanus F. Brooks (1832-1884) as "an eccentric and wealthy real estate owner" at the time of his death. His business card (above) suggests, however, that he was also an inventor who held a number of patents. According to the book published for The Ninth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association at Faneuil and Quincy Halls in the City of Boston, September 1860 (Boston: Geo. C. Rand and Avery, 1860), p. 81, Brooks displayed some of his work in the Cabinet Furniture and Upholstery section at the exhibition. The entry in the book simply indicates, "S. F. Brooks, Boston. Ottoman Cradle, Game Box and Mirror. A very neat and tasty contrivance." This confusing comment about a single "contrivance" seems to suggest that Brooks displayed only one item at the exhibition. But what exactly is a "Ottoman Cradle, Game Box and Mirror" and how does that relate to what's listed on his business card? After sorting through the information from the business card, the brief entry in the exhibition book, and some documents describing his patents (see links below), I was finally able to determine that Brooks actually listed three inventions on his card, entered all three in the exhibition, and received patents for each of them. To make sense of it all, I've collated the info below. Before Sylvanus F. Brooks died in 1884 due to a sudden "paralytic shock of the heart," as the newspaper luridly reported it, he came up with one final combo-invention. In 1876 he patented a "Combined Sled and Truck" (see link below) that had both runners for children's use as a sled in the snow and wheels for adult use as a horse-drawn truck for hauling heavy loads. Combined Cushion Settee and Cradle . U.S. Patent no. 27,964, dated April 24, 1860. . Listed as a "Patent Combined Ottoman [and] Cradle" on the business card and "Ottoman [and] Cradle" in the exhibition book. "The object of this invention is to combine a settee or cushioned stool and child's cradle in one and the same article of furniture in such a manner that the cradle may be transformed to an ornamental settee or vice versa, as may be desired without any additional attachment, or troublesome manipulations." Combined Looking-Glass and Drawer . U.S. Patent no. 27,965, dated April 24, 1860. Listed as "Patent Toilet [and] Mirror" on the card and "Mirror" in the book. "The object of this invention is to combine in a suitable manner with a hanging mirror, or looking glass, a draw[er] for holding toilet articles, such as pomades, perfumery, combs, brushes and such like articles that are generally used in conjunction with a mirror." Game-Box . U.S. Patent no. 28,733, dated June 19, 1860. Listed as "Game Box" on the card and in the book. "This invention is a novel constructed box for the purpose of holding game boards of a variety of descriptions, and protecting their faces [i.e., the surfaces of the boards] from injury in playing at the games, by a glass plate placed in the frame of the box." Combined Sled and Truck . U.S. Patent no. 185,014, dated December 5, 1876. "The object of my invention is to provide an improved combination sled and truck of simple construction, that may be readily used for either purpose, being adapted with equal facility for carrying large loads by horse-power, and in smaller scale for the use of children." ________ "Death of Sylvanus F. Brooks, " Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, Mass.), Saturday, October 18, 1884, p. 2: "Mr. Sylvanus F. Brooks, an eccentric and wealthy real estate owner in the lower Port, died suddenly of heart disease, on Monday last [October 13], at about 10.30 o'clock. He was seated in front of the bakeshop of Mr. J. C. Ludemann, when first taken ill, and fainted from the effects of a paralytic shock of the heart....Deceased was born in Boston in 1832, and came to live in Cambridge when but a child. He owned considerable property, and for some years past had been in the real estate business. He never married, and for the past few years lived at 359 Main street, where he had a furnished room. His brother, Mr. E. D. Brooks, [whose residence is No. 21 Lee street] is his only surviving relative."

"Travers American Hammock. Trademark. Patented July 29, 1879. New style, perfect in shape, beauty & strength; brass mounted, cardinal binding. Samples by mail, $3.00, postage, 50 cents. Hellerson." Vincent P. Travers, who was one of the officers in the company that manufactured Travers American Hammocks, held a number of hammock patents, but I haven't been able to locate one dated July 29, 1879. Perhaps the patent cited on this trade card was actually Improvement in Hammock-Supports (U.S. Patent no. 221,984), which the Patent Office approved a few months later on November 25, 1879.

The Bellevue Stratford, Phila., Pa. Talk through this disc. Hygiene Telephone Disc. A new one for each guest occupying this room. Talk through the Hygienic Telephone Disc and protect yourself from all germ disease. Replace when soiled. U.S. Patent, June 12, 1906. To put on, bend up small corner on line and slide on mouthpiece. Mfg. by Hygienic Telephone Disc Co., Phila., Pa. -------- Worrying about germs and the spread of diseases is nothing new, as this early twentieth-century "Hygienic Telephone Disc" demonstrates. Guests at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia could place one of these "Sani-Phone" discs--as they were also called--over the mouthpieces of the telephones in their rooms so they wouldn't contract tuberculosis or any other nasty bug. The discs used a wax paper-like film that was sandwiched between two layers of cardboard to keep germs away while letting sound through. For a 1912 advertisement that shows how the disc was placed on the candlestick telephones of the time, see Sani-Phone Hygienic Telephone Discs Ad, World Almanac and Encyclopedia, 1912 (Internet Archive) :

This Sani-Phone Hygienic Telephone Discs advertisement is a screen capture from the World Almanac and Encyclopedia, 1912 , p. xiv, which is available via the Internet Archive . For an example of a disc imprinted with a hotel's name, see Hygienic Telephone Disc, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa., 1906 :

See also the back of this handbill: Blowbell Clapper Horns, the Greatest Fun and Noise Makers (below). "If you can sell harmonicas you can surely sell Clapper Horns (Trade mark). A horn, a bell, a rattler, 3 in 1 for the price of one. U.S. Patents, Feb. 25, '08, March 31, '08. Other patents pending. Trade supplied by Albert M. Deichler, 20-22 Chestnut St., Lancaster, Pa."

See also the front of this handbill: If You Can Sell Harmonicas You Can Surely Sell Clapper Horns (below). "Blowbell Clapper Horns (Trade Mark), the greatest fun & noise makers procurable, are made with patent clapper, patent corrugated bell and knocker. Best quality tin and handsomely colored."

"E. R. Parker, manufacturer and dealer in new hardware specialties, 227½ Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, Pa. Parker's Patent Combined Clamp and Filing Guide." Handwritten in elaborate Spencerian script on the other side of this business card: "Presented by C. B. Winchell, Harrisburg, Pa." The illustration of "Parker's Patent Combined Clamp and Filing Guide" refers to a patent for an "Improvement in Saw-Clamp and Filing-Guide" (see below) that was issued to Edwin R. Parker in 1879. Improvement in Saw-Clamp and Filing-Guide . U.S. Patent No. 219,650, dated September 16, 1879. "Be it known that I, Edwin R. Parker, of Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and Improved Saw-Clamp and Filing-Guide . . . . The object in making this invention is to produce a convenient instrument or machine for clamping and holding the saw-teeth and guiding the file in filing all sizes of circular and mill saws of any gage, size, and shape of teeth, and whether the saw be on the arbor or removed therefrom; and the improvements consist, respectively, in the several devices, and in the combinations and sub-combinations, as hereinafter described and claimed."

"Presented by C. B. Winchell, Harrisburg, Pa." This inscription, handwritten in elaborate Spencerian script , appears on the reverse of a business card for "E. R. Parker, manufacturer and dealer in new hardware specialties, 227½ Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, Pa."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of pick your own (post a photo depicting your favorite theme from the past year) . As my favorite of the year, I'm choosing the theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?) . And among those formats, I'm selecting real photo postcard , as I did previously in March (see Foursome Flying over Long Beach, California, 1914 ). I took a quick look at my postings to the Vintage Photos Theme Park during 2023, and I discovered to my surprise that the majority of my weekly contributions -- more than thirty! -- were real photo postcards . This photo postcard, captioned "One Minute Churn, L. H. Chambers, Cumberland, Md.," shows Lorenzo Hazell Chambers (1877-1958) standing next to a mechanical butter churn . He has a wide grin on his face, and he's resting his left hand on top of the churn. Perhaps Chambers intended to use this card as an advertisement for selling churns (the One-Minute Churn Company solicited sales agents -- see the company's ad below), even though the photo quality is poor and the image seems quite cloudy. This real photo postcard is unused, without any address, message, stamp, or postmark. The Kruxo stamp box design on the other side suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1908 to 1910. Also printed on the verso: "The C. C. Bickert Post Card Co., Hagerstown, Md." The following advertisement for the patented One-Minute Churn appeared in Hardware magazine, April 10, 1905, p. 11. Butter in One Minute The only perfect milk and cream aerator churn in the world, making the best granular butter from sour or sweet cream in a minute -- which we guarantee -- is the One Minute Churn. Protected by 57 patents. Its construction is perfect in every detail. All parts interchangeable and carried in stock. Easy to run, holding 1 quart to 13 gallons. For farm and family use. Our Catalogue tells all. Mention Hardware . Agents wanted. Cable address: "Minute" or "Murphite" New York. I. M. Murphy, president. The One Minute Churn Co., Inc., 9 Old Slip, New York, U.S.A.