Patent Specifications (abridged)
1857 On the Order of the Commissioner of Patents, Eyre and Spottiswoode started publishing abridged specifications of patents so as to make the information widely available without the reader having to incur the cost of purchasing the all of the full specifications. The abridgements were published in subject-related volumes (under each head of patent) under the editorship of B. Woodcroft to start with.
Volumes available on the internet include:
Part 1: Preservation of Food (1857) [1]
Steam Culture; Aids to Locomotion (1858) [2]
Fire-arms and other weapons, ammunition and accoutrements (1859) [3]
Printing (1859) [4]
Plating or Coating metals with metals (1862) [5]
Subject matter index including synopsis of classes of patents (1863) [6]
Printing, including production of copies on all kinds of materials, Volume 2 (1870) [7]
Preparation and use of tobacco (1870) [8]
Paints, colours and varnishes (1871) [9]
Umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks (1871) [10]
Air, gas and other motive power engines (1873) [11]
Railways (1873) [12]
Mining, Quarrying, Tunnelling and Well-Sinking (1874) [13]
Preparation of india-rubber and gutta percha (1875) [14]
Grinding grain and dressing flour and meal (1875) [15]
Carriages and other vehicles for common roads (1880) [16]
Oils, fats, lubricants, candles and soaps: 1877-1883 (1893) [17]
Aeronautical: 1815-1891 (1893) [18]
Gas distribution: 1877-83 (1893) [19]
Labels, badges, coins, tokens and tickets: 1877-83 (1893) [20]
Pipes, tubes and hose: 1877-83 (1893) [21]
Sewage, treatment of, including manure: 1877-83 (1893) [22]
Stoves, ranges and fireplaces: 1877-83 (1893) [23]
Umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks: 1877-83 (1893) [24]
Air and gases, compressing, exhausting, moving and otherwise treating: 1884-8 (1896) [25]
Casks and Barrels: 1884-9 (1896) [26]
Cards and card cases and the like: 1884-8 (1896) [27]
Cooling and ice making: 1884-8 (1896) [28]
Metals and alloys: 1884-8 (1896) [29]
Steam Engines: 1884-8 (1896) [30]
Registering, indicating, measuring and calculating excepting signalling and indicating by signals (1897) [31]
Air and gases, compressing, exhausting, moving and otherwise treating: 1888-92 (1898) [32]
Electric lamps and furnaces: 1889-92 (1898) [33]
Furniture and Upholstery: 1889-92 (1898) [34]
Leather: 1889-92 (1898) [35]
Metals and alloys: 1889-92 (1898) [36]
Stoppering and bottling: 1889-92 (1898) [37]