Patent Application by Joseph Page Woodbury of Boston for “Improvement in Arming War Vessels.”
Ephemera.
Price: $250
Woodbury envisioned a ship that could lower itself in the water when going into battle, presenting less of a target. A central trunk was to rise above the deck, from which rifles could be fired. Cannon below the waterline were intended to throw a “great bursting charge” into the opposing vessel. These guns were “not designed to be aimed, as they are intended to be used only when near the object to be assailed.” Details of how this was to be accomplished are spelled out in 12 folio sheets, following a pre-printed cover sheet, and by a large (28 x 21 inches) folding lithograph to which the 12 pages of manuscript description refer. Bound to this sheet of illustrations is a 9-page quarto-sized booklet with text printed by lithography, apparently from the French patent office, in which Woodbury repeats his description, this time in French. Woodbury actually secured a British patent for his invention in 1862, but he was better known for patenting improvements to a planing machine in America, and for the prolonged legal battle to profit from it. The cover sheet of the British document has parted at the fold, but is complete, with no loss. The French patent material is in excellent condition. In all, a good candidate for the Whacko Invention Hall of Fame. The lot
