Patents for inventions

[ColinBignell]

It sounds as if, given the expense of applying for a patent, it was only something that you would consider doing if you thought you would make some money out of it rather than thinking "I've had a clever idea so I'd better patent it just on the off-chance". This does suggest that filing the patent would have been part of some kind of definite business plan rather than something speculative.

Many decades ago, browsing through Glasgow University Library, I came across a book of Victorian patents that never got further than the drawing board. They were fascinating and there were many of them. Inventing and patenting things seems to have been a hobby for the well to do.

[staffs_vic]

Thank you Colin, that's very interesting.

I'm not sure that Edwin would necessarily have counted as one of the well-to-do - his father had a reasonable-sized farm but also a lot of children to take care of - but he did style himself as "gentleman" on the patent application.

I wonder whether part of the purpose of taking out this patent may have been a statement that he belonged to the somewhat better-off classes - a gentleman inventor rather than someone who had to work hard for his living?

[q98]

On 10 January 1940, my paternal grandfather was granted Patent GB516755 titled "Improvements in or relating to fire extinguishing or preventing systems for ships". Family lore tells it was appropriated by the Government for the War effort and no financial compensation was paid. One wonders if it was ever produced.

[ColinBignell]

Thank you Colin, that's very interesting.

I'm not sure that Edwin would necessarily have counted as one of the well-to-do - his father had a reasonable-sized farm but also a lot of children to take care of - but he did style himself as "gentleman" on the patent application.

I wonder whether part of the purpose of taking out this patent may have been a statement that he belonged to the somewhat better-off classes - a gentleman inventor rather than someone who had to work hard for his living?

Researching some of my 16th Century relatives, who described themselves as Yeomen, I found an article that said that Yeoman were socially the equivalent of Gentlemen. Both owned land, but, while the Yeoman worked it, the Gentleman lived off an income from it.