Since 1836, the United States Government has issued patents giving the inventor or others to whom the rights to the patent have been assigned (assignors) "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. 

Initially, only "utility" patents were issued. Often referred to as mechanical patents, utility patents focus on "inventions" in the true sense of the word. Utility patents relate to the way an article or invention is used and works. Examples of utility patents include Thomas Edison's invention of the incandescent light bulb and Henry Warren's invention of the synchronous electric clock motor. They focus more on the internal workings or structure of an invention than on the aesthetics of the design. Nevertheless, drawings supporting utility patents often show the ornamental design of the object. 

In 1843, the government began to issue separate "design" patents to cover the visual ornamental characteristics embodied in, or applied to, an article of manufacture. A design patent may relate to the configuration or shape of an item, to the ornamentation applied to its surface, or to a combination of the two. 

In addition to utility and design patents, the government issues "Plant" (patents with a "PP" prefix) "Reissue" (patents with an "RE" prefix) and "Statutory Invention Registration" (patents with and "H" prefix) patents.

To identify patents for individual designers and companies, I reviewed both the original index card files--which contain an alphabetical listing of patents by patent holder (designer) and assignor (typically the company that produced the item)--and the annual volumes of patents published by the Patent Office. These volumes, in addition to listings by patent holder and assignor, contain listings by product type. These sources provide a complete record of patents awarded to individual designers, but is somewhat less complete for companies. This is because not all inventors and designers "assign" the rights to their patents to a company.  

The results of my research are available in a series of booklets. These 5-1/2" by 8" booklets are available for individual industrial designers, selected companies, and specific types of products, such as clocks and cocktail shakers.  Finally, in the coming months I will be adding booklets covering automotive designs.

For each patent, the original patent drawings are shown together with information on the date the patent application was filed and approved, the inventor, and the company or individual to whom the rights to the patent were assigned.  Although I focused primarily on design patents, I have included a listing of all utility patents issued to the selected designers and companies. Whenever utility patent drawings showed the ornamental design of the object, I included in drawing in the booklet.