1929 New York Public Library Index: Looking for the Real Old Asbestos Articles and Patents.
The discussion book today is not light reading and most people will never need it. However, experts doing a deep dig to search for articles and insomniacs awake at 3 a.m. might find it of value.
Specifically, the 1929 Index of asbestos containing material then possessed by the New York Public Library. This includes a listing of the asbestos related patents in the U.S, Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. If you are interested, I have scanned the document to: https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1929-NY-Library-Asbestos-Index.pdf.
Just for the fun of it, Number 446 on page 23 says that asbestos was found in Arizona by 1920. And, if you ever need to know the fusing point of asbestos (whatever that is), just ask the librarians at the New York Public Library to pull for you Number 472 on page 24. Good to know.
So, let’s go to the Great Britain patents beginning on page 56. Numbers 1261 through 1484 identify the various patents originating from our friends on the eastern side of the pond. Number 1438 on page 61 seems interesting as they discuss coating asbestos articles with metal. I am curious as to the benefit of having a metal coating on the outside. Number 1471 on page 62 discusses using asbestos in “waterproof” composition for roads; I suspect that some of the older rural roads in Great Britain may still have a little asbestos residue. Number 1391 on page 59 discusses a 1904 patent on powdered asbestos; probably was a good idea at the time, but now makes me cringe.
I am surprised at the age of some of the patents. The first one issued to Great Britain in the index is Number 1261 on page 56 from 1853 for an asbestos lamp wick. I would not have expected a patent as early as 1853. The first patent in the United States is Number 1076 on page 51 from 1868 for a roofing compound. Canada’s earliest is Number 1561 on page 65 granted in 1873 for a fiber separation process.
Let me know if you find this of interest. I have set it up so that you may download the Index should you like. Please reach out to me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com or leave a comment should you have a question. Thanks. Marty
4 Responses
Wow – if you think about the man hours that would have gone into just compiling this document in 1929!
Brian: Imagine that being typed on a manual typewriter, proof read, and corrected? I suspect that asbestos had to be a very important topic for them to put together all of the articles and the patents from the various countries.
Dejligt indlæg, jeg har delt det med mine venner.
Translated: “Nice post, I have shared it with my friends.”
Thank you. Marty
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