What follows are photographs of actual U.S. Patent models owned by Birmingham resident, Gary Kohs. He purchased them when Uncle Sam decided to clean out the area where they had been stored for generations. During the 19th Century, working models of this nature were required to accompany ALL Applications for U.S. Patents. Even today, the Commissioner of Patents may request a model if the submitted application doesn't adequately explain the way a particular device should look or operate.
Here is the patent for a very early hand operated washing machine. It looks as though it would require at least as much energy to operate as an old fashioned washboard.
This is the actual model of the washing device which was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office during the early years of the Civil War.
The unique valve gear invented by George Henry Corliss made his engines more efficient than those manufactured by others. Even though his design was widely copied, the majority of stationary engines used in American factories during the latter part of the 19th Century were built by The Corliss Steam Engine Company. The firm even produced a giant engine, 40 feet high, which powered all of the mechanical exhibits at the 1876 Centennial World's Fair in Philadelphia. It actually drove line shafts totalling more than a mile in length!