Side View Standing, Without Top	Invention Top	Invention Side View Extended	Side View Not Extended	Screw and Nut
Side View Top	Homer Riggs, of Oxford , Connecticut, Top	Paper and Letter File, Patented Dec 12, 1865		Diagram of Invention Patent Design

Homer Riggs was born on April 30, 1837 in Oxford, CT. He married Mary Esther Davis of New Rochelle, New York. He served in the Civil War, where he lost an arm in battle. The date of his death is unknown. The pictures above depict a Paper and Letter File that he invented in 1865. This model is an authentic patent model from the 19th century U.S. Patent Office and is registered by the Library of Congress. A Patent Model was a exact replica that an inventor was required by law to submit to the U.S. Patent Office when seeking to patent an invention. The models were required for a very brief era, from about 1836 to 1890. The model above includes the original patent office patent tag that was hand-written when the patent was given. It displayed the patent number, patent date, inventors name and the name of the invention. The patent tag was attached to the model with a piece of thin red tape.
This invention was used to file paper and letters. It had a metal adjustable case that could contract or expand to fit any paper or letter size. The model above includes a diagram of the Patent's original drawing and specifications, which explained why the invention was new as well as how it works. It was primarily designed for the U.S. Post Office to make up packages of letters for transporting, but it could also be used by anyone who needed to file important  papers or documents.
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