Older patent drawings are often pieces of art. However, they are not just suitable for framing and hanging right "out of the box". Patent Drawings and filings go back to the early 1800s and even as early as 1790. Obviously, time has not been kind to many of these drawings and some have not feared too well. Often older patents have tears, missing pieces, smudges and lines. Many are also a bit crooked and not straight.

The Patent Drawings to Patent Art Process

The process to make an older patent into a piece of hang-able art is at times tedious. Yet, the results are worth it. I personally select the patents that I want to offer from the millions that have been filed since the U.S. Patent Office opened for business. The original has often many imperfection as you can see on the left side of the enclosed picture. I carefully clean up the original and remove as many imperfections as possible. However, not everything can be and should be removed and fixed. While I clean up the original and still strive to maintain the feel of the original older patent. After all you don't want to lose authenticity. I find that it is a fine balance to maintain. Patents drawings are often made up of several pages and drawings. In many cases I will combine drawings from different pages of the patent into one piece. This involves selecting the drawings that best represent the invention, making them fit together and still make it look right. It is not unusual to take several hours to prepare one of these pieces. Once the patent has been cleaned up and assembled from various sections I will then create variations of each patent with several different backgrounds. The different backgrounds include chalkboard, parchment and blueprint.