Blog - Alan Rothschild

This is the How Christian F.T. Steinway’s Inventions Revolutionized the Piano Industry

December 26, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

Christian F. T. Steinway’s Invention for Capodastro Frames for Piano Fortes set the bar for piano design.

Steinway Pianos

In 1853, Steinway & Sons was formed. Operations began in a rental loft at 85 Varick Street in New York City. The Steinway business was a family affair, with father, Henry Engelhard Steinway, working as both a master cabinet maker and a master piano builder. Doretta, the eldest daughter, was the star salesperson, sometimes offering to give free piano lessons to prospective buyers in order to close a sale. Christian Friedrich Theodore Steinway was the eldest son of five boys and three girls.

How One Patent Changed The Future of Hawaii

December 18, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

Dominis’ patent papers claimed a new instrument for measuring sails

What does the patent for measuring sails have to do with the Governor of Hawaii? Read on…

Who was John Dominis?

John Dominis was a ship captain who arrived in New England from Trieste in 1819. As the captain of a trading vessel out of Boston Harbor, he did a great amount of business in China, and also in the fur and salmon trades on the Pacific coast. Dominis moved with his wife and young son, John Owen, to Honolulu in 1837. In 1842, he received a patent on an instrument for measuring canvas for ship sails. He signed the application “John Dominis of the Sandwich Islands.”

This is the Reason the Civil War Changed the Field of Military Surgery

December 11, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

The Jewett Artificial Leg was the artificial leg that the state of North Carolina provided to its soldiers after the Civil War.

Excerpted from Inventing a Better Mousetrap: 200 Years of American History in the Amazing World of Patent Models

How The Civil War Changed Military Surgery and Orthopedics

The Civil War changed the fields of military surgery and orthopedics. The powerful, destructive and more accurate weapons of this conflict did more damage to the human body than ever before, resulting in not only more injuries, but injuries of a more critical nature. Wartime surgeons had little understanding of sterilization and post-surgical infection, so amputation was commonplace. Wounded soldiers taken from the battlefield were given whiskey, or when available, opium.

England’s First Woman of Technology and Why She Matters

December 5, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

England’s first woman of technology, Henrietta Vansittart, and how her invention revolutionized ship propeller design, excerpted from Inventing a Better Mousetrap: 200 Years of American History in the Amazing World of Patent Models

England’s First Woman Engineer

No woman epitomizes the idea of the new woman inventor more than Henrietta Vansittart (1833-1883) of Richmond, England. Henrietta is known as England’s first woman engineer, and her improvements in propeller design is probably the most important nautical invention by a woman of the 19^th century.

How Did This One Man’s Ingenuity Save Thousands of People?

November 27, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

Dr. Forrest Bird- A National Treasure! Forrest Morton Bird, M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., D.S. (1921- 2015) Aviator, innovator, entrepreneur, scientist, professor, physician, veteran, Renaissance Man

(Dr. Forrest Bird, the inventor of the medical respirator and an Inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, wrote the Foreword to Inventing A Better Mousetrap: 200 Years of American History in the Amazing World of Patent Models.)

One Man Who Made a Difference: Dr. Forrest Bird

Dr. Bird became a pilot at an early age due to the encouragement of his father, a World War I pilot. Bird met many significant people responsible for shaping this country’s history. He met Orville Wright and Henry Ford. Ford came to his father’s clambakes each Memorial and Labor Day and was impressed by 12 year old Forrest’s building of homemade tractors out of Model T Ford car parts.

This is the Reason Stephen Whitman Changed Candy History

November 18, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

Inventor Stephen Whitman’s (Yes, The CANDYMAN Whitman) 1875 Patent Model for Casting Confectionery. November 16, 1875 Stephen F. Whitman of Philadelphia, PA is awarded Patent# 169,935 for a Machine for Casting Confectionery.

(Excerpt from Inventing a Better Mousetrap: 200 Years of American History in the Amazing World of Patent Models by Alan and Ann Rothschild

Whitman’s Confectionery Machine

Whitman’s machine for manufacturing confectionery used a steam-filled box surrounding the body to heat the pre-molded batch which was to be poured into multiple vessels located on the top. The underside had funnel-shaped apertures where different types of molds could be attached to cast the confectionery. A lever controlled a sliding gate underneath to control several streams of material simultaneously.

The Creation of the US Patent Office

September 19, 2016 by Alan Rothschild

The Creation of the US Patent Office

It is April 10, 1790. President George Washington has just signed a bill to create the United States Patent Office. For the first time in American history, the right of an inventor to profit from his or her invention is recognized by law. Previously, privileges granted to an inventor were dependent upon the prerogative of a monarch or upon a special act of a legislature.

The Constitution

The Constitution ( Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8) empowers Congress:
“Congress shall have the power to promote the Progress of Science and useful arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”