- Appendix A - Introduction (this file, below)
- Appendix A1 - Images of the Patented Patterns
- Appendix A2 - Images of the Patented Shapes
- Appendix A3 - Utility Patents
The files in this folder are not intended to replace the complete patents -- specifications (texts) and images -- that are available at the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site (USPTO). Rather, they contain only images (drawings or photographs). These have been converted from the large TIFF files that are available at the USPTO site to smaller, more manageable JPG files. No specifications are included.
Because Revi's compilation of patented patterns is arranged geographically, not chronologically, it can leave the reader with an incorrect impression regarding changes in cut-glass styles through the years. Here each folder -- Patterns (Appendix A1), Shapes (Appendix A2), and Utility Patents (Appendix A3) -- lists its patents chronologically.
When viewing an image one should make sure that one is viewing its size at 100%. Some software will automatically present an image that is less than 100%. If this is the case, be sure to change the setting to 100%; otherwise the image might be degraded.
The images in these patents were first printed by the writer using a laser printer. In this mode they fit on to standard sheets of paper. The images were then scanned and sized to a maximum width of 550 pixels (but usually about 300 pixels) or a maximum height of 425 pixels and saved as JPG files -- with very little loss of resolution. There was little point in scanning the patents' written specifications; they were saved only as hardcopy.
(For the writer's own use all of the complete patents were saved as hardcopies. The drawings and their written specifications were then placed in plastic sleeves for preservation. This has been found to be particularly useful when a patent has to be reviewed repeatedly and a computer is not available. Each patent also has its own 4" x 6" card that contains supplementary information, a system has also proved useful.)
Patterns (DP): Several designs that were originally incorrectly identified by others as cut-glass patterns are now known to have been designed for pressed glass. They have not, of course, been included this compilation which includes pre- and post-brilliant period patterns as well as those that were patented during the brilliant period, 1875-1920 (and which are analyzed in the patented2.htm file in Part 1.) Instructions for accessing the patents of patterns are given in Appendix A1.
Shapes (SP): These files, in the Appendix A2 file, include plain blanks as well as shapes that contain cut or engraved designs. In these latter cases it is assumed that the primary purpose of each of the patents is the shape of the item patented rather than the cut or engraved pattern shown on it (for example, Hoare's early "bouquet-holder" and the salad-dressing bottles by Hawkes and Sinclaire). But this point can be argued. Shapes that were designed for pressed patterns exclusively have not, of course, been included.
Utility Patents: Ten utility patents that relate to cut glass, to some degree, have been identified to date. They are summarized in Appendix A3. Because interest in these patents is relately slight, they have not been downloaded and scanned. The reader will have to access them himself, using the USPTO Web site.
Updated 1 May 2007