Partly-printed DS, three pages, 11.25 x 14.25, June 7, 1829. A patent issued to Elijah Skinner “for a new and useful improvement in the common wooden knob called the improved commode knob.” Signed at the bottom of the first page by Jackson, and countersigned by his secretary of state Martin Van Buren as well as Attorney General John MacPherson Berrien.
Second and third page bears a lengthy detailed description of the improvement reading, in small part: “I, Elijah Skinner…have invented a new useful improvement in the common wooden knob called the ‘improved commode knob’ for the purpose of more acceptably bringing it into use for drawers of furniture & other purposes, & that the following, I think, is a full & exact description of the construction & application of the said knob as improved by me.” Bound in between the signed patent and the description is an 8 x 5 color sketch of the knob. In very good condition, with heavy intersecting folds, one through a single letter of each signature, and scattered toning, soiling, and wrinkling. The white wafer seal is worn but mostly intact, and the original red ribbon holding the three pages together is present, but faded.
Three months after taking the oath of office as the seventh president of the United States, Jackson found himself hard at work with the nation’s business—which at the time included issuing patents. Ever since George Washington signed legislation establishing the US patent system, the presidency and the world of inventing have been forever entwined, either directly or indirectly. To be sure, Skinner was among the more prolific inventors of the era, holding multiple patents in addition to the furniture knob mentioned here. An always-desirable document bearing a pair of presidential signatures. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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