Topic: 1866 whatzit-- Paperweight? magnifier? ID = Cover for medallion paperweight

[Anonymous]

Ian — 58492 signal for railroad draw bridge looks very interesting.

Yes, that and the lamps are on my shortlist.  I've since read 58492 and it's mostly to do with interlocking the signal and the draw bridge such that the bridge cannot be raised (or rotated) without the signal first being given, and likewise preventing the signal  from being withdrawn while the bridge is open.

My invention relates to the signals which indicate when the bridge is open, and which are relied on to avert most deplorable accidents.

The signal devices are a red ball (or red expanding umbrella-like device) for day-time use, and ordinary lanterns in red and white for night-time use.   No mention of glass, optics, or anything aside from generic "lanterns".  This doesn't seem like a fit, alas.

Will keep looking.

--ian

[Bernard C]

Ian — ... and now for something completely different.   Channel 4 television here in the UK has recently launched a new and fascinating series of short links between advertisements and programmes.   These are set in unlikely situations.   The scene looks slightly odd.   As the camera pans round this scene all the components gradually interlock to form a "4" and then unlock into randomness again.

One of these is formed from electricity pylons, complete with glass insulators.   You would love it.   I can't find it on the Internet.   You might.

Bernard C.  

[Connie]

What about these:

58396 coffee pot
58518 coffee pot

When I first saw the piece, I thought about the glass domes on the top of perculators.

[ian.macky]

58396 coffee pot
58518 coffee pot

No go, they're just coffee pots.  Checked all three lamps too, they're just lamps.  This is not the first time I've looked at every single patent for a given date and found no match for an item claimed to be patented that day.  Don't know what to make of this.  Is it possible it's not US?

American inspired "4"s include skyscrapers (New York?), and a roadside diner.

Sounds like an optical illusion sculpture, an impossible 3D shape like an Escher drawing, but only looks right from one position-- from any other angle you can see it's not a continuous object.  Alas, I gave up TV years ago, don't miss the 99% drivel, but do miss the occasional 1% of good stuff.  I miss NOVA mostly.  The Secret Life of Machines was good-- was that what it was called?

Well, my whatzit is definitely a whatzit.  I will put it in my whatzit gallery and throw it open to the universe.  I think it's a desk magnifier for small objects, not just flat stuff.

Question:

What is the standard form of patent embossing on UK glass?  Is it "Registered" instead of "Patented"?

--ian

[Frank]

Registered is only used for design protection and unlike patents needs regular renewals. Items would be marked with Regd. Diamond or the word Regd. or Reg. No. or Registered and a number or not.

Patented items could have Patent, Patent Applied For, Patent Pending or Patent followed by a number.

Patent dates could be the patent application date or the patent approval date and possibly one or two other dates could be used. Prior to about 1920 UK patents were numbered from 1 annually and are often noted as 1905/123 for example.

That is all from memory so might not be 100% accurate nor complete.

[ian.macky]

Frank-- so, "PAT<super>D</super> OCT 2<super>ND</super> 1866" is a reasonable-looking embossing for UK glass?  [Nuts, HTML superscript is not working.]  I've experienced the old each-year-starts-over-at-1 UK system, it's pretty painful.  --ian

[Bernard C]

Ian — as I said before, your whatzit's patent lettering could well be a UK patent, or a patent from other bits of the old British Empire; suggest Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, and South Africa if you get no joy from London, although 1866 seems to me to be rather early for all of them.   I think you might find that all of these old bits of Empire relied upon the London Patent Office then.

And, while on the subject, what happened to the two Hayward design registrations I told you about early last year? — I can't find any mention on your Hayward pages.   Did the email go walkabout?   Do you want it again?   I know you received the Edmonton insulators registrations okay including the third, unknown registration.

HTML is not available on this board, despite it saying that it is.   However, the &... and &#... character actors work fine, but only once.   If you edit your reply you have to put them back in again.    This is useful for square brackets in samples of BBCode, showing others how to use it.

Bernard C.  

[ian.macky]

I think you might find that all of these old bits of Empire relied upon the London Patent Office then.

Alas, alack, "Due to technical problems accessing images concerning specific patents, we have reluctantly had to suspend the GB esp@cenet service until further notice."  I checked the other esp@cenet databases and they turned up 0 records for date 18661002, which smells suspicious.  If only I had a set of Woodcroft abridgements!

Bernard, as to the two Hayward design registrations, I think they are gone.  When I got laid off at work, they only gave me a couple hours to vacate my computer and it wasn't nearly enough time.  I lost the bulk of my email, and only saved what had been filed on my home computer.  I couldn't find that mail in my prism glass folder, so it must have been still at work.  Could you possibly re-send?  Sorry for the trouble.

Yes, I did receive the Edmonton insulator registrations, and passed them along to the insulators mailing list, but your original mail on that topic has been black-holed too.  :evil: !()#$! :evil: work  :evil:   Am trying to recover my original mail from the ICON archive now.

Presumably BBC code just is a simple mapping to HTML?  Can it be modified?  Easy enough then to add [super][/super].

--ian

[Frank]

Hi Ian,

Modifying the BBCode is possible but not really do able here. That requires time and geekery. Better spent on glass! REGd gets the message across :|

The esp database only really covers from 1920 so it needs an actual visit to the patent office to get the earlier ones. Although some earlier ones are on there and it is on and off line with great monotony. Sometimes you can find US, German and French patents for an invention but not their UK equivalent and others vice-versa.

[Bernard C]

Ian et al —

Found this in the Collins Dictionary and Encyclopaedia of Ornithology, 2nd edition, 1992:

falcon(n)ier, f. -iere — 1. An individual involved with the conservation and/or management of falcons for reasons other than the sport of faconry (q.v.), such as bird pest control on farmland, airports, and in towns and cities.

— 2. (m. form only) An artificial nesting platform, typically a two sided box with a retaining ledge or rim on the other two sides, placed high on buildings in towns or on poles on farmland by a falconnier (q.v. 1.) to encourage resident breeding populations of falcons.   Also an insulating base for such a platform when positioned atop electricity supply cable poles to prevent nesting debris causing power loss.

Bernard C.