Snapshots of the Past

Patent Office, Washington, D.C. - examiners at work – Historic Print

Patent Office, Washington, D.C. - examiners at work, 1869 — antique engraving
Patent Office, Washington, D.C. - examiners at work, 1869. Antique engraving from the Washington DC collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Patent Office, Washington, D.C. - examiners at work, an antique engraving rich in period detail. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Patent Office, Washington, D.C. - examiners at work

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Examiners at their desks, with the models and records of inventors around them, are the subject of this 1869 wood engraving of the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. The illustrator Theodore Davis made the sketch that the engraving follows, and it appeared in *Harper's Weekly* that year. By the late 1860s the Patent Office, housed in a monumental Greek Revival building, held a large and growing collection of patent models and was a busy center of American invention, so the picture shows the clerical work behind new machines.

Created / published1869
Medium1 print : wood engraving.
SubjectsWood engraving after sketch by Theodore H. Davs. Illus. in: Harper's Weekly, v. 13 (1869), p. 445. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Artists, Publ. I.; Inventions--Patents; DC, Wash.--Bldgs., US Govt.; Civil Service; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,350 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-136366

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