Collector: Alan Rothschild
Location: Private Residence
Featured items: washing machines, an alcohol still, a billiard-table cushion, an oscillating berth, a life-preservation capsule, a lifeboat, a rowing machine, a combination bootjack and burglar alarm, an early hearing aid--dubbed "the ear trumpet," a vegetable fiber to simulate hair growth and a pigeon starter
Details: Throughout history, more than 6 million U.S. patents have been issued. The sheer vastness of the number is a testament to America's can-do spirit. These artifacts are tangible examples of that entrepreneurial ingenuity.
So what's a patent model? It is a miniature working version of an invention. From the opening of the U.S. Patent Model Office in 1790, through much of the 1800s, patent models were a requirement for any inventor hoping to get a patent and retire early. Patent-model collector Alan Rothschild says that these models are some of the finest examples of Americana that one can acquire. Each model represents the hopes and dreams of an individual--it was their dream to get rich, and in some cases, it happened. Rothschild owns two modern-day patents himself, and roughly 4,000 antique patent models. Each example in his collection was issued a U.S. patent, tagged by the patent office, and beginning in 1836, assigned its own number. Periodically to get a patent, an inventor would just have to come up with a modification to an existing invention.
Examples include washing machines. The primary change from model to model was the agitation system--the way the clothes were moved around in the tub. In all of these cases, the heated water had to be transported to the tub, but someone came up with a better idea. Rothschild shows a model invented by J. B. Woolsey in 1869 that is very similar to the other ones, except the tub is lined with metal and there is a firebox underneath the tub and an attached smokestack. In this manner, the water could be heated in the tub.
Occasionally those good ideas led to vast wealth, and Rothschild's collection contains some very recognizable names, including the legendary piano maker Steinway, an alcohol still patented in 1875 by the Beam family, as well as a billiard-table cushion designed by tire maker B. F. Goodrich in 1880. Most inventions never made anyone rich or famous, and only a small percentage were ever actually manufactured.
Rothschild's collection includes the following inventions, which were utilized on ships:
- An oscillating berth is a model for a bed suspended on a pendulum of sorts that would stay level in the roughest of water.
- A marine safe that was invented in 1876 and made from a buoyant material, in which a ship's passenger could lock his valuables in the event of a disaster.
- A model for a life-preservation capsule, which was airtight and designed to hold eight people, would simply float off the deck as the ship became submerged.
- For the first-class passenger, we see a model, patented in 1867 by J. Foster, for a lifeboat formed from two velvet-upholstered couches. Provisions are stored underneath, and oars are attached to the back of one of the couches.
Most models were made, not by inventors, but by patent model makers--a profession back in the 1800s. Since each model is one-of-a-kind, Rothschild says that putting a value on them is difficult. When they do come up for sale they are costly, ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars each. Good things really do come in small packages--patent models that is!
You think that rowing machine used at the gym is a new idea? Well, think again because back in 1867, B. F. Brady came up with just that--a model for an exercising apparatus that simulates a boat by employing spring-mounted oars.
The purpose of some of the models in Rothschild's collection is a little difficult to discern. Examples are the following:
- A combination bootjack and burglar alarm gadget--one end holds a boot, and the other end when cocked and placed by a door makes a sound to alert the traveler if the door is opened. It is the only traveling boot jack/burglar alarm to have been invented.
- Other unusual inventions in Rothschild's collection include an early hearing aid, dubbed "the ear trumpet," and a certain vegetable fiber to simulate hair.
- A pigeon starter invented in 1875 and designed to look like a cat, pops up from a crouching to a standing position and was used to frighten caged pigeons into flight for a target shooter. The device was never manufactured.
They're not all Edison's, but that's not the point. According to Rothschild, it's the unbridled exuberance of the inventor that should be celebrated. For now, Rothschild's patent models are displayed in his house and packed away in his basement, but one day, he hopes to create a national patent model museum, so that these artifacts can be put on stage for America to enjoy.
