Obed Hussey, Who, of All Inventors, Made Bread Cheap
History
Obed Hussey, Who, of All Inventors, Made Bread Cheap
Harvesting machinery; Hussey, Obed, 1792-1860
Mr. McCormick also said to the Board: "If my claim be made out as so far
appears from the evidence presented, it will be observed (as I think)
that nothing will be left of Mr. Hussey's claim to which he is entitled,
and all the improvements he has added since his patent have, I believe,
been taken from mine." Reference is no doubt had to the effect that
Hussey, in some of his machines, used only a single drive wheel and
balanced his machine thereon. He confessed that he never received
profits from his first patent until after twelve years of study, and
never should have realized anything from the invention but for later
improvements, and he continues as follows: "If then it shall appear that
I am the original inventor of all the leading and important principles
of the invention, is it wrong that I should ask for reciprocal benefits
for myself, who alone have brought them into being? Mr. Hussey's prior
patent stood in Mr. McCormick's way, but its inventor raised no voice
against the extension of McCormick's rights unless his prior rights
became endangered. The honors due Mr. Hussey were not lessened by the
Commissioner of Patents when treating of a competitive claimant to have
invented the reaper.
[Sidenote: Not McCormick's Inventions]
Mr. McCormick took out a third patent in 1847 covering inventions shown
by the statement of Leander and others to have been the invention of the
_father_ or _some one else_. An application was made for the
extension of this patent. It then became necessary that the applicant
show that he had not reaped the benefits he believed himself entitled to
through his monopoly for the term of the patent.
[Sidenote: Neither Brilliant nor Extraordinary]
The value of the second patent that of 1845, may be gathered from the
words of the Commissioner of Patents: "The invention of 1845, considered
in itself, and examined in presence of the reaping machine as then in
successful operation, both in Europe and America, can scarcely be
regarded as brilliant or in any degree extraordinary."
The Commissioner further said:
[Sidenote: An Efficient Machine]
"It was a conviction of the inefficiency of the machine that led the
applicant to make his invention of 1847, which, by a modification of
pre-existing elements, provided an advantageous location for the raker's
seat. Upon this his fame as an inventor rests, and to this is his reaper
indebted for the triumphs it has achieved. This seat had been previously
known in at least nine patented reapers; but it had not been well
placed, and an appropriate location for it was, up to 1847, an
acknowledged desideratum. Whatever, however, may have been the value or
the success of the reaper as improved in 1847, such value or success can
exert no influence in determining the issue under discussion."
The Commissioner further said, referring to the 1847 patent:
[Sidenote: McCormick's "Invention" Valueless]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account