Hi. I'm Rich Beem. I'm a Chicago
patent attorney and I'm talking
about the collection of
valuable, original old patents
in my collection that are signed
by Presidents, Secretary of
State, and Attorney General of
the United States. This is one
of the most interesting items in
the collection. This is a patent
that was issued to Richard
Chappell on an invention of a
machine for dressing flax and
hemp. This was for making cloth.
The patent was signed by Thomas
Jefferson, as President of the
United States. It was also
signed by James Madison, as
Secretary of State and by Caesar
Rodney, Attorney General of the
United States. These are
original autographs on the
original, one of a kind
parchment document that was
given to the inventor. We know
that because the government's
copy burned down in the fire of
1836, when the old patent office
burned down while the new one
was being built. You can see the
discoloration, you can see the
fading of the ink, you can see
the creases, you can see how the
ribbon and the seal are faded.
Now other interesting parts of
this item include a miniature
portrait of the inventor. This
was Richard Chappell, the
inventor, and you can see the
old-fashioned - to our eye -
clothing, the up-turned collar,
the particular kind of tie that
he had, the vest, and the long
suit coat with the up-turned
collar. That was the popular
dress in that day, in the early
1800s. This patent was issued
in 1809. Now this part of the
patent is actually a model
of the cloth that was made
according to the invention and
it also happens to include a
family history. This is what is
popularly known as a sampler. So
the sampler was done by a young
person in the family and it
traces the family history. The
father was Dan Chappell, born in
1766. His wife was Experience
Wash. They were married in 1782
and they had these children:
Richard Chappell - who was the
inventor, was the eldest child.
He was born in 1783. And there's
a list here of his siblings.
And then there is - sadly - the
death of the first person in
this family who was Dan Chappell
that was the father of the
inventor Richard Chappell. So
this is an old, original patent
on a machine for dressing flax
and hemp. This patent was signed
by Thomas Jefferson, James
Madison, and Caesar Rodney.
Thank you for joining me for
this part of our tour.
I'm Rich Beem. Thanks!
