top 10 tools for artists and designers - patents of charming, curious and useful tools for creative people ..................................................................................................
	top 10 tools for artists and designers throughout history soceity has been obsessed by fads and phases, the next ‘big thing’, useful improvements and apparently innovative inventions. the history of patents is generally considered to have started in italy (venetian statute, 1474, issued by the republic of florence). new and inventive devices, once put into practice, had to be communicated to the republic in order to obtain legal protection against potential infringers. in this period protection was for 10 years only. a similar concept to patents was already used by the ancient greeks. yet, in recent history no country in the world has issued as many patents as the united states. today, the united states patent and trademark office grants over 180,000 patents a year. last month google introduced its new patent search feature, allowing users to browse through ca. 7 million US patents from 1790 to 1996. after enjoying many hours trawling through the huge database of ideas, we are happy to present you with our ten top patents of charming, curious and useful tools for creative people, some of which were invented over a century ago. you can follow the links for each of the patents to learn more about them. --- 1. improvement in scrap-books by samuel clemens the book's pages are coated with adhesive substances, (fig 1) applied only at intervals or (figure 2) entirely covered. it is only necessary to moisten so much of the leaf as will contain the piece to be pasted in (more or less how stamps work). --- patented: april, 1873 google patent research --- 2. sketching equipment by charles d. austin the idea is to provide the artist with an alternative for a motif in life size proportions, when a still life, physical model or landscape might not be available. for his training activities, the sketching artist sees a stereographic image as if the subject is located in fron of him and his drawing board. --- patented: february, 1945 google patent research --- 3. wet canvas carrier by ruel pardy tolman the idea is a simple adjustable frame for supporting pictures, mirrors and similar objects of different sizes, to be used for wall suspension and as a free standing frame. march 1934. google patent research --- patented: may, 1909 google patent research --- 4. adjustable picture frame by n.j. horwitt and m. katcher the idea is a simple adjustable frame for supporting pictures, mirrors and similar objects of different sizes, to be used for wall suspension and as a free standing frame. --- patented: march 1934 google patent research --- 5. cover canvas holder by patrick mc donough the idea is to accomodate different sizes of artwork to be arranged within the cover of an artist’s box. an x-shaped guideways and a 4 headed bolts carrying a washer and a thumb-nut. january, 1899. google patent research --- patented: january, 1899 google patent research --- 6. panel book by florence christensen the panel can be adjusted to different positions and may serve as a lid or cover to overlie the palette. --- patented: february, 1916 google patent research --- 7. combined business card / label by frances miller butterworth part of the business card can be easily removed and pasted on a different object such as artwork, books... --- patented: may, 1942 google patent research --- 8. adjustable finder by alexander f. newlands and ernst fosbery the idea is an adjustable view finder to define the proportions best adapted for the picture. by holding this feature between the eye and the subject the artist sees the subject through the vision opening. more or less of the subject may be included if he holds the tool nearer or farther from the eye. before beginning the picture, he can easily define the best portion, framed by the 2 ruler components. --- patented: march, 1927 google patent research --- 9. hand holder for artist tablet by w.c. shimoneck a compact, folded or rolled tablet design, where the body of the tablet holder is composed of pliable material, such as leather or canvas. it is held stretched by means of a collapsible frame formed of light metal bars. --- patented: march 1898 google patent research --- 10. pencil pocket at the end of a book by j.g. shaw the idea is loop or pencil pocket which makes also the back of the book more strong and durable. august, 1885. --- patented: august, 1885 google patent research --- more... top 10 gadget patents: hilarious pencil attachments the pencil is often the first means of putting an idea down on paper. see how designers and inventors have sought to improve this basic tool in our compilation of pencil attachments... --- ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? -------