British advertising patents collection, 1887-1904

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Summary

Creator:
Great Britain. Patent Office
Abstract:
The British Patent Office was established in 1852 to analyze, approve, and record patent applications and patent rights. It operated as a division of the Department of Trade and Industry. In 2007 the name changed to the Intellectual Property Office. Collection consists of patent applications received by the British patent office between 1887 and 1904 which appear to have been removed from bound volumes such as "Patents for Inventions." Each application included an attestation from the applicant; a description of the design and function of the innovation; and usually a set of drawings for any mechanisms involved. The bulk of applications originated in Great Britain, but applications were also submitted by American, Australian, Belgian, French, German, and Swedish inventors. Applications address a range of advertising applications (direct mail, newspaper, outdoor, point of sale, postal stationery, retail, matchbooks and other specialty and novelty items, vending machines) that involve innovations relating to display boards and cases; lettering and typography; lighting and projected images; shop window fixtures; and sign construction. Inventors and patent clerks represented in the collection include Alfred Boult; Arnold Fraenkel; Elihu Thomson; Emanuel Spitzer; Frederick Rawson; Frederick Vine; John Frederick Marshall; Levi Yaggy; Richard Henry Brunton; and William Phillips Thompson. Several women inventors are also represented: Allison Bell Lennox; Emily Hand; Florence Chinnery; Josepha Schielle; and Sarah Jane Rollason. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History and the Kevin P. Reilly Sr. Outdoor Advertising Archives.
Extent:
0.6 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13124

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of patent applications received by the British patent office between 1887 and 1904 which appear to have been removed from bound volumes such as "Patents for Inventions." Each application included an attestation from the applicant; a description of the design and function of the innovation; and usually a set of drawings for any mechanisms involved. The bulk of applications originated in Great Britain, but applications were also submitted by American, Australian, Belgian, French, German, and Swedish inventors. Applications address a range of advertising applications (direct mail, newspaper, outdoor, point of sale, postal stationery, retail, matchboxes and other specialty and novelty items, vending machines) that involve innovations relating to display boards and cases; lettering and typography; lighting and projected images; shop window fixtures; and sign construction. Inventors and patent clerks represented in the collection include Alfred Boult; Arnold Fraenkel; Elihu Thomson; Emanuel Spitzer; Frederick Rawson; Frederick Vine; John Frederick Marshall; Levi Yaggy; Richard Henry Brunton; and William Phillips Thompson. Several women inventors are also represented: Allison Bell Lennox; Emily Hand; Florence Chinnery; Josepha Schielle; and Sarah Jane Rollason.

Biographical / historical:

The British Patent Office was established in 1852 to analyze, approve, and record patent applications and patent rights. It operated as a division of the Department of Trade and Industry. In 2007 the name changed to the Intellectual Property Office.

Acquisition information:
The British advertising patents collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from ABE Books in 2024.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, Feb. 2025; Accessions described in this collection guide: 2024-0064.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically by year and numerically therein.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], British advertising patents collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1045j