Patent Model, Life and Treasure Buoy
date: label: Date made
content: 1858
label: patent date
content: 1858-04-17
label: patent date
content: 1858-04-27
name: label: patentee
content: Lee, Francis D.
label: inventor
content: Lee, Francis D.
notes: label: Description
content: This patent model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office by Francis D. Lee, an architect in Charleston, South Carolina, to illustrate his idea for a shipboard water tank that would float free of a sinking ship if drained in time. Passengers would cling to its exterior while a “treasure safe” suspended below the tank would save “bullion, mails, and other valuables.” If the tank itself sank, a smaller cork buoy would float out of the turret at the top to “mark the location of the lost treasure.” Lee’s first design of this invention was patented in 1857. This is the model for his revised version, also awarded a patent, in 1858.
label: Description
content: The model is made of brass and measures 5” square and 6” high. A collar faced in wood separates the buoy’s square upper portion from its pyramidal lower section. Aboard ship, the square portion would sit exposed on the open deck, while the inverted pyramid would extend below. A strongbox, now missing from the model, would attach to the very tip of the pyramid. In an emergency, crew would stand on the wood-faced collar and hold fast to the rope lifelines. One man would turn a handle on the buoy’s side to open the hatches in the faces of the pyramid and drain the interior of its store of water. A small amount of water would remain in the bottom of the tank to act as ballast. If all went well, the buoy and its passengers would float away from the foundering ship.
label: Description
content: In the 19th century, the U.S. Patent Office granted hundreds of patents for a wide variety of lifepreserving boats, rafts, clothing, and other gear. The surge in interest in lifesaving at sea was triggered by an increase in the number of passengers crossing the world’s oceans and by the expanded distribution of print media, which brought shipwreck details into more family parlors than ever before.
place: label: associated place
content: United States: South Carolina, Charleston
label: home of patentee
content: United States: South Carolina, Charleston
topic: label: Subject
content: Safety
label: related event
content: Expansion and Reform
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
label: See more items in
content: On the Water exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.308537
label: accession number
content: 89797
label: catalog number
content: 308537
label: patent number
content: 20,072
objectType: label: Object Name
content: patent model, life & treasure buoy
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: copper alloy (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (part material)
label: Physical Description
content: ferrous (fitting material)
label: Physical Description
content: textile (fitting, tag tie material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (card material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 in x 4 in x 4 in; 15.24 cm x 10.16 cm x 10.16 cm