Brass Carb 1884??

[Guest OldbrassCarb]

Hi, we're restoring a home around Princeton NJ and in excavations found an old brass carburetor. The only markings on it are a month/year a patent was applied for (PAT.APL'D. FOR 0784)

I'm assuming patent applied for July 1884.

im trying to identify who manufactured it and what vehicle it would have been on. 

Through a little research, I believe the first patent on a carburator came a year or two later than 1884.

with the way it was buried under a driveway and how it was positioned, the original cork disk (what I think are air float / choke mechanism) is intact!

 

any help in figuring out any bit of who/what/where on this would be greatly appreciated!

[CarlLaFong]

Much newer than 1884.

[Guest OldbrassCarb]

27 minutes ago, CarlLaFong said:

Much newer than 1884.

confusing since 1839 patent law allows for a 2 year use while under review. I'm assuming 'applied for' would be within the 2 years of review, but who knows what was going on then (or later).

 

we have found several more items that date into the late 1700's and much more from when the house was built in the 1840's... so it's not that this is particularly 'old' in the scheme of things...just trying to figure out what the original owners were driving or working on. They were British and had money. Also found a 4 digit NJ 1909 license plate... must have been something to have had a car in 09..!

[CarlLaFong]

In 1884, carburetors were mostly, surface, wick and other, now obsolete, devices. That is a spray type carburetor, which evolved into the modern carburetors that we saw on all cars, until the advent of FI. Daimler patented the spray carburetor in 1883 but it was not put into widespread use for a while. That carb looks like it is from the early teens, perhaps. I cannot explain the dates on the bottom, but a carburetor from 1884 would not look that modern

Edited June 24, 2017 by CarlLaFong (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I very much doubt that is a date... it is probably a patent application number. I expect I could find it if I had several hours to waste.

[Guest OldbrassCarb]

2 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

I very much doubt that is a date... it is probably a patent application number. I expect I could find it if I had several hours to waste.

Been searching patent office to no avail: https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/search-patents

it was common to mark pending applications as such "PAT. APL'D.FOR mmyy" in the 19 century and early 20th. 

 

Will keep looking

 

[carbking]

Absolutely speculation:

 

The "0781" could be a casting number for a "blank" casting (before the casting was machined).

 

Tillotson prefixed their casting numbers with a zero.

 

The arm on the float is consistant with the float arms used by Tillotson in the teens and '20's.

 

Tillotson usually used a die-cast bowl cover with the name Tillotson located on the bowl cover.

 

I would GUESS  Tillotson from maybe an Overland in the late teens.

 

Jon.

[Curti]

And Jon's guess is 99% accurate !