Patent Drawings as Printables

You may recall that I opened my Printables Shop a little over a year ago, and I have been having so much fun creating printables for everyday inspiration and seasonal decorative fun.

Recently I started turning patent drawings into decorative printables, and am just amazed at what I find when looking at patent drawings. When you think about it, everything we use in our daily lives was invented by someone, and they undoubtedly patented their invention.

If you watch Shark Tank, one of the first things the Sharks ask the inventor of the product is whether or not they have a patent. And people have been patenting their ideas for a long time. The first patent issued in the U.S. was in 1790, and even centuries earlier in other countries.

So it is quite an interesting education to peruse patent drawings, especially those from the 1800s and early 1900s. The drawings are beautiful, and even the handwriting and signatures on those early patents are more interesting than on modern patent drawings.

With all these beautiful drawings, I decided to turn some of them into wall art printables. I really like patent drawings for kitchen items. Here’s an example of the printables I’ve created from these types of patents:

A coffee press:

A coffee mill: (This one is from 1870!)

An egg beater:

A blender:

And a cocktail shaker:

 

There are patents for beauty items also.

Like an eyelash curler!

Or a lipstick tube:

How about a corset?

Or a sewing machine?

 

There are also beautiful maritime-themed patent drawings.

Like a nautical telescope:

An anchor:

Or a fishing reel:

 

There are also board game patents.

Like Monopoly:

 

There are also many musical instrument patents.

Like a piano forte:

Or a cornet:

 

There are equestrian patents.

Like saddles:

 

Interesting items used in daily life.

Like an umbrella stand:

Even drinking fountains: (BEAUTIFUL ONES, at that!)

Cameras:

Fountain pens:

And electric lamp bulbs:

I’m not sure I could ever run out of fascinating patent drawings to turn into printables. I’m still looking through the early 1900s! It will take me a really long time to look through everything there is to see. I’ve decided I really like the style of everything patented up through the 1960s.

After the ’60s, the drawings seemed to take on a more computerized, sterile feel. The hand-drawn patents of the earlier years have far more character for my taste.

I’m constantly adding new patent drawings to the shop, so check back often. I’d love for you to take a look at all the patent drawings I have in there now. They are digital downloads, so all you do is print them out, frame, and enjoy!

You can shop them all here. Let me know what you think!

And I’d love for you to follow me on Pinterest!