The Portland daily press., 1877-09-28
Correspondence Press.l
The Patent Office Fire.
Nature of ihe Loss-ModeIs DESTROYED
Information for Inventors.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 1877.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 1877.
The thousands of inventors whose applica-
tions for patents are pending before the q. s,
Patent office are doubtless in "a state OF sus-
pense as to the conditions of their cases, and
desirous of knowing the actual damage result
ing from the fire.
Your correspondent Ihas made very careful
examination of the various rooms, and is glad
to be able to say that the injuries will not after
two or three days interfere with the transac-
tion of new business inlits regular order before
the Bureau There will doubtless be delays in
attending to pending cases, and in some in
stances the inventors will in all probability
have to furnish new papers, as among the
thousands which were moved Monday. some
were undoubtedly lost
While the fire was at its height and when it
seemed as if the entire contents of the build
Ing would suffer, the officers directed the
renewal of the more important papers which
were carried in baskets, cloths, and otherwise.
many droppinglby the way and being trampled
underfoot and with the water and debris on the
floors and stairs. In attempting to restore the
returned documents many will doubtless be
mislaid and only recovered by thorough search.
Other matter has sbeen seriously injured by
water which in most respects has proved more
disastrous than the fire. But the actual mum
Der of papers lost, destroyed or missing will in
comparison with the hundreds of thousands on
file prove to be very few.
The class that has suffered most is that per-
tanning to agriculture, plows, drills, cultivat-
ors, seeders etc.; The papers being exposed to
the greatest danger were removed and scat
tered, while every model in this class, except
few in the examiners room, were destroyed.
The same may be said as to the models,of reap
ers and harvesters, of churns, and everything
in any way connected with agriculture, farm
ing &c.
The papers relating to electrical apparatus,
measuring machines, clocks and philosophical
instruments will probably suffer loss from re-
movai, also those relating to household furni-
ture, upholstery, mirrors etc., apparel and
fine arts, hydraulics, education, fencing, games
and toys, iewelry, laundry, music, photography
and water wheels. The destruction among the
models was much greater, fully one-half or
about 10000 of the models in the building
having been totally destroyed. All the
models of all classes which related to appli-
cations waiting the payment of the final
Government fee of $50 were lost. Also very
many models relating to pending applications.
In addition, most of the models relating to the
following classes were destroyed: Baths, by
drants, hydraulics, bee-hives, belts and rvets,
brakes. gins, bridges, brushes and brooms
hardware, (partly) carpentry, vehicles,
casting, cutlery, dairy, excavators, fences
grinding and polishing, agriculture, horse-shoess
journals, metal working, nets, nails, needles and
pin,spresses (hay aud cotton railways, (partly)
roofing, sheet metal, valves, screws, wood
working.
The original. .drawingsls of all patents issued
September 11th were, it is believed, all de-
stroyed, as also numbers of other original
drawings belonging to recent issues and old
drawings.of which. .tracings were being made.
While the less thus. .entailed is great aud in a
sense irreparable, it will probablyAwork COM
paratively little.iDjury to individual applicants
except in isolated cases. With the exception
of the officers in chargesof the classes of Agri-
culture, Hydraulics, Eectrcity, Fine Arts,
and Household Furniture, all are at their desks
aud by the end of the week the entire force
will be at work as usual Q. E. FOSTER.