1839, Jacob Pratt's Patent Model of a Silk Reeling, Spinning, and Twisting Machine
date: label: model constructed
content: before 1839-10-12
label: patent date
content: 1839-10-12
name: label: inventor
content: Pratt, Jacob
notes: label: Description
content: Reeling, Spinning, and Twisting Silk Machine Patent Model
label: Description
content: Patent No. 1,367, issued October 12, 1839
label: Description
content: Jacob Pratt of Sherborn, Massachusetts
label: Description
content: Pratt is an example of an inventor who thought he had a more complicated original invention than he actually had. In his patent application file, his specification makes four claims. Out of those four, only one was approved by Charles M. Keller, the patent examiner, and that claim was for using a trough of zinc. The trough held spools of silk fibers prior to spinning and was filled with warm water, which kept the fibers from sticking together.
label: Description
content: The Journal of the Franklin Institute, 1840, commented: “Its construction is, in general, similar to such as is well known, and is not claimed as new . . . No particular reason is given for making the troughs of zinc, and we suppose that copper would do equally well; but from the special mention of this metal we were led to look for some ground of preference to it.”
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Massachusetts
topic: label: classified
content: Patent Models
label: classified
content: Invention
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Patent Models, Textile Machinery
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Patent Models
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Janssen, Barbara Suit. Patent Models Index
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T11426.020
label: accession number
content: 89797
label: catalog number
content: T11426.020
label: patent number
content: 001367
objectType: label: Object Name
content: silk reeling, spinning, and twisting machine
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (mechanisms material)