Patent Model

Name/Title

Patent Model

Entry/Object ID

1946.31.4

Description

Patent model of an evaporator. The model consists of a tinned copper tray separated into 12 compartments. The center divider lists to the side, creating unequal compartments. There are four oval wire handles on the long sides near the corners.

Use

From 1790 to 1880, the US Patent Office required a three-dimensional working model to demonstrate each new invention.

Context

Model for patent number 98,816, issued to Abner Tolles of Perkinsville, Vermont, on January 11, 1870 Label from an exhibit: "Model of an apparatus for evaporating saccharin and other solutions. Abner Tolles and Almon Durkee Tolles. Weathersfield and Royalton. 1870 Abner Tolles was born in Weathersfield on July 30, 1823, and died May 27, 1880. Almon was his nephew. The Tolleses' invention allowed for a continuous evaporation of sap, prevented back flow, and kept scum and foreign matter in the first compartment as the refined liquid moved from one compartment to the next."

Acquisition

Accession

1946.31

Source or Donor

Gilbert, Orville Rundle (1906-1989)

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Artist

Tolles, A.

Date made

1870

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Model, Patent

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Model

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Other Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Width

3-1/2 in

Depth

5/8 in

Length

9-1/2 in

Material

Metal, Copper, Tin

Relationships

Related Places

Place

Village

Perkinsville

Town

Weathersfield

County

Windsor County

State/Province

Vermont

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America