The US is among the first developed countries to adopt the patent system with its own distinctive features, such as the mandate on the submission of a model with a patent application. In 1790, then-President George Washington signed the first patent legislation in American history, requiring patent applicants to submit patent models of their inventions, along with patent descriptions and drawings. At that time, the American patent system was the only one in the world that required the inventors to simultaneously satisfy three conditions for patent application. The main reason was that the patent examiners back then could not understand the patent principles merely through the descriptions and drawings. In the meanwhile, to impress the patent examiners and have a better chance of success, the applicants would invite expert craftspeople to produce exquisite models. In this context, these patent models are tangible representations of practical ideas and works of art.
More than 60 patent models of the 19th century from the USA for this exhibition are from the collection of Hagley Museum and Library. The exhibits are displayed in six sections, namely, engines, transportation means, mining, printing, light industries, as well as daily life, giving a panoramic view about the technological advances, inventions and creations of the country in diverse fields during the 19th century.