Picture - Marking plate for the “Bramwell Feeder”

This picture is of a patent marking plate I have. The plate includes the name “Bramwell Feeder” (not shown in the picture). Out of curiosity, I conducted some quick and dirty internet research in an attempt to learn more about the apparatus marked by this plate. A Google search for the exact phrase “Bramwell Feeder” gives two (related) results pointing to United Textile Machinery. According to its website, the company is:

The largest & most diversified textile dealer in the United States.
Specializing In The Locating And Selling Of Your Machinery & Equipment Needs.

I visited the pages from the Google search, and a few more in the company’s domain. This quick review made it clear that the machine on which this plate was attached was some type of textile weaving apparatus, with the “Bramwell Feeder” somehow feeding a material into the machine.

To confirm, I searched the USPTO trademark database. The phrase “Bramwell Feeder” gave no results, but “Bramwell” was a sure hit. The mark was registered on October 8, 1907 to GEORGE S. HARWOOD & SON, a firm in Boston, for FEEDERS FOR FEEDING FIBROUS MATERIALS TO THE FOLLOWING MACHINES: CARDING-MACHINES, GARNET-MACHINES, PICKING-MACHINES, WASHING MACHINES, DRYING MACHINES, AND BLOWERS.

The registration indicates that the Bramwell mark was first used in commerce in 1878. Interestingly enough, the first patent date listed on the plate is 1879. The mark is now dead, but was renewed as recently as 1967.

Someday I’ll have to track down the patents…