Patents of invention in The Gazette

telephone sketch

In 1852, the Patent Law Amendment Act simplified the procedure for obtaining patents of invention. One office was created for the UK, rather than different systems for England, Wales and Scotland.

Until October 1852, when The Patent Office (now the Intellectual Property Office) was set up, the Court of Chancery had been responsible for safeguarding intellectual property rights. 

The Gazette received a crop of paid insertions as a result of the act. Patents pending and issued (and sometimes made void through non-payment of stamp duty) document anything from Picard’s ‘improvements in the manufacture of cravats’ in 1877 (Gazette issue 24535) to ‘indestructible paving’ and ‘an instrument for ascertaining the existence of gold in the earth’ in 1852 (Gazette issue 21382).

Here are some of the better-known inventions around the time of the act:

1849 Screw propeller, Francis Pettit Smith (Gazette issue 21048)

Along with John Ericsson, Smith was inventor of one of the most significant advances in marine engineering. As a boy he had developed great skills in model boat-making and took particular interest in their means of propulsion. He worked as a grazing farmer on Romney Marsh, later moving to Hendon in Middlesex, and was a self-taught engineer. Smith was awarded a knighthood in 1871 (Gazette issue 23763). 

'Francis Petit Smith, formerly of Hendon, in the county of Middlesex, Farmer, for an Invention of an Improved Propeller for Steam and other Vessels.'

1856 Synthetic dye, William Perkin (Gazette issue 22790)

Until the discovery of synthetic alternatives, most natural dyes were derived from plants, shellfish or insects – an expensive form of extraction. The rapidly expanding textiles industry required large quantities of cheaper materials. Perkin, aged just 18, discovered that alcohol extracted a purple colour ('mauveine') that readily dyed silk. There was concern that Perkin was too young to obtain a patent, but it was nevertheless granted. He received a knighthood in 1906 (Gazette issue 27937).

'To William Henry Perkin, of Seymourville, Sudbury, in the county of Middlesex, for the invention of "improvements in the manufacture of Coloring matters suitable for dyeing and printing.'" 

1860 Linoleum, Frederick Walton (Gazette issue 22738)

This durable floor and wall covering was invented as a cheap substitute for a rubber composition. Walton gained inspiration from observing the skin produced by oxidized linseed oil that forms on paint. He was a prolific inventor, amassing 88 patents.

‘To Frederick Walton, of the British Grove "Works, Chiswick, in the county of Middlesex, for the invention of "improvements in the manufacture of fabrics for covering floors and other surfaces, and in the apparatus employed therein."’

1865 Bessemer process, Henry Bessemer (Gazette issue 21855)

Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor and engineer, held at least 129 patents between 1838 and 1883. He developed the first cost-efficient process for the manufacture of steel in 1856. Bessemer was knighted for his contribution to science on 26 June 1879 (Gazette issue 24739).

‘To Henry Bessemer, of Queen-street-place, New Cannon-street, in the city of London, Civil Engineer, for the invention of "improvements in the manufacture of malleable or bar iron and steel."’

1874 Self-disinfecting water closet, Jabez Burns, Charles Higgins and William Higgins (Gazette issue 24087)

Their innovation was to make the pipe that fills the toilet basin squirt sideways over a bar of soap, disinfecting the basin. Patents from outside the UK also featured in The Gazette, usually received by patent agents. 

‘NOTICE is hereby given, that the petition of Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices… Patent Agent, praying for letters patent for the invention of “certain improvements in basins for waterclosets,” - a communication from Jabez Burns, a person resident at New York, Manufacturer, Charles Stanton Higgins, and William Burd Higgins, two persons resident at Brooklyn, New York, Manufacturers, both of the United States of America was deposited and recorded in the Office of the Commissioners’

1876 Telephone, Alexander Graham Bell (Gazette issue 24420)

Bell is credited with the invention of the first telephone that could transmit indistinct, voice-like sounds.

‘And William Morgan-Brown, of the firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton-buildings, London, and. 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris, has given the like notice in respect of the invention of "improvements in electric telephony (transmitting or causing sounds for telegraphing messages), and telephonic apparatus." A communication to him from abroad by Alexander Graham Bell, of the University of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, Professor of Vocal Physiology’

1877 Steam turbine, Charles Algernon Parsons (Gazette issue 24502)

Parsons was an engineer who brought revolutionary improvements in the use of steam. He received a knighthood in 1927 for services to scientific research and its application to industries (Gazette supplement 33280).

‘And the Honorable Charles Algernon Parsons, of Connaught-place, in the county of Middlesex, has given the like notice in respect of the invention of “improvements in steam engines.”’

1877 Bicycle gears, James Starley (Gazette issue 24507)

Starley, considered the father of the bicycle industry, invented the differential gear for his Salvo tricycle, later to be used in the back axle of every car. Starley, with William Hillman, also patented the all-metal Ariel bicycle, a lightweight, modern bicycle, which marked the beginning of bicycle manufacturing in Britain. In 1874, he filed a patent for a new tangent-spoke method (Gazette issue 24188) using alternating spokes, which are used to this day. Previous to his bicycle endeavours, Starley invented and patented many different kinds of sewing machines.

'3388. And to James Starley, of Coventry, in the county of Warwick, Mechanician, for the invention of "improved means for transmitting motive power to the driving wheels of traction engines, velocipedes, and other self impelled vehicles."

1878 Grout tension bicycle, William Henry James Grout (Gazette issue 24631)

Grout was an inventor and manufacturer of bicycles who devised, among other innovations such as adjustable spokes, a portable bicycle. The Grout Portable was a penny farthing with a frame that split into two, and a larger wheel that could be dismantled into four pieces and placed into 'Grout's Wonderful Bag' and carried on a train.

‘And William Henry James Grout, of the Tension Bicycle Works, Watson-street, Stoke Newington, in the county of Middlesex, Engineer and Bicycle Manufacturer, has given the like notice in respect of the invention of "improvements in bicycles, tricycles, and other velocipedes, and in receptacles for the same.’

The National Archives holds original records of patents of invention and related specifications (‘the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed’) granted between 1617 and October 1852. 

See: The National Archives guide to patents of invention

Pictured: Bell's early sketch of a telephone