William Smith C.E. Patent Office Document Signed 1855 with Partial Seal during Queen Victoria's Reign. The Victorian Era witnessed rapid industrialization, urbanization, and reforms, transforming Britain into a modern industrial society. With that astonishing rapid growth in manufacturing, engineering and the like, patents for new inventions were aggressive. William Smith (Civil Engineer) was a prominent patent agent who operated his own patent office, "The Artizan Patent Office and Designs. His business served as a private agency assisting inventors with the complex process of drafting specifications and securing intellectual property protections from the official British government patent authorities. Smith has signed boldly in large script on verso.
Smith here obtained the patent for Edwin Pugh for a "Safety Alarm and Signal Apparatus". Further on the addendum significantly protects his rights. Patent documents come with what is a very large, cumbersome, but quite impressive wax seals with the Great Seal of the Realm of Queen Victoria. Seal is still attached with the original braided cord however the bottom third is lost to time. The vellum documents are pristine and easily read.
Estimated Value $600 - 1,000
Statesmen
