Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-16
A UNIQUE MAGAZINE
Patent Office Gazette Only
One of Its Kind.
NOT A MONEY-MAKER
COSTS UNCLE SAM A QUARTER OF
A MILLION ANNUALLY.
Circulates AL Over the World and is
Invaluable to It's 1000
Subscribers.

e I'VE believe that we have the widest
circulation of any publication in the Unit ed
States"
Such a statement one would naturally
expect from the manager of the advertis-
ing section of one of the monthly maya
zines or the head of the circulation depart
ment of lurid yellow daily; but it did not
come from either class. 1t was simply the
modest avowal of Mr. J. w. Babson, chief
Of the division of issue and gazette of the
patent office, when he was asked for facts
as to the circulation of the Official Gazette
Of the patent office. Figures were what
the inquirer demanded however, and Mr.
Babson coughed alphabetically as he an
swered:
THE widest circulation, I said. We print
only 1000 copies of the Gazette"
One familiar with the claims of the adj
vertising men connected with the big mag
azines. weeslies and dailies would laugh ut
the claim of Mr., Babson when supplement-
ed by such a statement as to the actual
number of copies published, yet he was
not varying from the truth in any particu-
lar There is probably no publication in
the world which has wide a circulation
as the Patent Office Gazette. There are
many papers that print and sell a million
copies of every issue whose owners would
pay many dollars they print copies If
their journals could be distributed as i'm
partially in every section of the civilized
world as this particular publication Of the
patent Office is distributed. The profits
that would accrue from the advertising to
be gained in this manner would be simply
enormous.
But that is only one of the features of
the Gazette that is unique In the world Of
publishers. 1t is larger than any weekly
or monthly published in this country. the
last issue, that of July IL, containing 800
illustrated pages, besides editorials and in
.dices. Of this number of pages every inch
of space was devoted to advertising some
particular thing in which the publisher,
the United States, has absolutely no pro-
prietary interest of any kind whatever,
and from the sale of which it can derive
absolutely no direct benefit. That is not
all of the strangeness of this strange peri
odical All its advertising is absolutely
free of charge to the advertiser. 1t would
not be profitable sort of a publication for
a private firm to issue. 1t has editorial
aggregate. about $4,000 per year; the pho
photographic work in connection with its
illustrations cost last year $500, and the
bill for the printing amounted to $1,000,
making total cost of publication $3.50. 800.
The subscription price is So per year, so
that with it's 1000 copies the income from
subscriptions, the only income 1t could
have, could not be more than $4,000 under
any circumstances, and as 1t happens its
paid subscription list does not contain more
than 900 names, the bulk of the remain
ing 400 copies being distributed free Of
charge. So it would seem that the pub
fishers of this remarkable magazine lost
last year S221 500 and created proportion
ate deficit annually every year of the thir-
ty-two it has been published in its present
form.
The Patent Office Gazette is however. one
of the most valuable of the government
publica lions and the persons Interested In
that class of literature know that 1t is
worth far more to the country than the
paltry quarter Of a million 1T costs. The
value of the Gazette Is not to be estimated
In mere figures, it Is said because it is the
only means that exists for introducing to
the public the new children, in the form of
Inventions that are born of old mother
necessity, as represented by the industrial
and economic conditions. 1t is through the
Gazette first of all, that the people are
made acquainted with the ingenious con-
trvances and devices that have emanated
from the inventive minds of the world
which tend toward the progress of civili-
zation and the reduction of the cost of pro-
duction. Thomas A. Edison and Alexander
Graham Bell received their first taste of
publicity through the columns of this peri
odical and thousands of labor-saving de-
vices have been brought to the attention of
men who had money to manufacture and
put them on the market through this valu-
able publication. In the Gazette the gov
eminent of the United States takes the
form of proud father showing and eX-
planning to his friends and neighbors some
remarkable production of his children. 1t
is one of the quiet ways in which Uncle
Sam advertises the greatness of his people.
Gen M. d. Leggett. commissioner of pat
ents from 1871 to 1874. was the originator
of the Gazette in its present weekly form.
For about twenty years prior to the publ
cation of the weekly bulletin the office had
been in the habit of issuing annual reports
| of the patents issued and the decisions
| of the commissioner. 1t was found that
these reports did not accomplish the good
| It was intended they should, because the
matter did not reach the persons interest
| ed in time to be of any great value. There
fore Commissioner Leggett decided to make
| a change and on January 8, 1872 the first
| issue of the weekly gazette was published.
| In this issue Commissioner Leggett printed
an editorial on the first page in which he
stated
1.-The principal contents of the Gazette
will be a list of all inventions patented in
the United States, accompanied with tran
script of the claims, the names and resi-
dences of the patentees and with appropri-
ate induces, list of designs patented, of
disclaimers filed and trade marks regis
tered. list of all pending applications for
the extension of patents and of all extent
sions granted, decisions by the commission
er of patents current decisions of the
courts In trade mark and patent causes
and such miscellaneous matter, including
changes In the rules of Office practice, modi-
fcation of the patent law, special legisla-
ton Affecting particular patents and kim