“The Flying Comet”
In 1868, Howard Tilden applied to patent “the flying comet,” a toy bow gun for children. His application states, “the object of my invention is to provide for...
The Gatling battery gun
Richard J. Gatling submitted an application for a patent for his battery gun on March 8, 1865. In his application, he claims that the gun can shoot at least 200...
The incandescent light bulb
On January 27, 1880, The Patent Office granted Thomas Edison’s patent for the “electric-lamp.” His patent was an improvement on electric lamps, not the...
The kinetoscope
In 1891, Thomas A. Edison submitted a patent application for a kinetoscope, more commonly referred to today as a motion picture camera. Edison wanted to "do for the...
The Landlord’s Game
Lizzie J. Magie, of Brentwood, Maryland, submitted this drawing of her improvement of game-boards in 1904. The object of the game was to amass a much wealth and...
The stapler
Henry Ruskin’s 1944 patent for the staple magazine and feed is still familiar to people today. Ruskin attempted to construct a simple and compact stapler. In his...
The type-writing machine
In 1868, C. Lantham Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soule received a patent for their improved type-writing machine. In their application, they wrote that...