Both
handles were made from unidentified hardwood:
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The steel rule
die left very fine marks reading: Pat. Nov. 1st,1859 Extended.
All the rest is completely illegible.
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William A. Ives had been in the throes of an interference action
with James Swan over the design of dies for making auger bit in the
early 1870's, and this may have influenced his choice for the markings
on the present brace.
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B&D-92
Not for Sale
The
manufacturer's
marks claim that the brace was patented Nov. 1st, 1859,
but there was no patent resembling this brace granted on Nov.1, 1859
except that by Nelson Spofford. The brace actually follows a
combination of the two patents by William A. Ives, No.'s 195,373 and
202,548, shown below. Figure 2 of 195,373, and Figures 4, 6 & 7 of
202,548 are the key features.
Spofford's patent bears no resemblance to the Ives patents, but by
acquiring the rights to the reissued Spofford patent, Ives could use
the patent date as cover for the design of this brace until the two
patents below were confirmed.
Header of U.S. Patent No. 25,984
as reissued May 7,1878:
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