Patent models index

This two-volume catalog consists of four indexes providing information on more than ten thousand patent models housed throughout the National Museum of American History's collections. These nineteenth century artifacts are the original models submitted to the United States Patent Office by their inventors. In Volume 1, the Listing by Patent Number sorts the NMAH patent models chronologically by the issued patent number. The Listing by Invention Name organizes the patent models alphabetically by the name of the invention. In Volume 2, the Listing by Inventor organizes the NMAH patent models alphabetically by the inventor's last name. The Listing by Residence sorts the patent models by residence of the inventor at the time of patent issue by country, state, and city. The patent number is a unique number that ties all of the indexes together. Issued by the Patent Office at the granting of a patent, the number links the model to its patent specification. The terminology used is consistent with the Subject-Matter Index of Patents for Inventions Issued by the United States Patent Office from 1790 to 1873, compiled by Mortimer D. Leggett, Commissioner of Patents in 1874.