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Short Takes
| A Guide to United States Patents for Windmills and Wind Engines, 1793–1950 (Bibliotheca Molinologica, vol. 18). By T. Lindsay Baker; ed. by A. Clyde Eide. Watford, Herts., England: The International Molinological Society, 2004. 121 pp., illus., index. $27.50 pb (ISBN 92-9134-024-3).
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T. Lindsay Baker has for years been the leading expert on the use of wind power in America, especially on the Great Plains. This volume—clearly a research guide more than a historical account—provides further evidence of his love for the subject.
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In the opening pages of the volume, Baker briefs readers on the nature of patents, the changing nature of the American patent system, and wind power's history in the United States. He then suggests how readers might use the guide to access U.S patents on wind engines on the Internet. These topics take up 5 pages total.
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Most of the remainder of this 120-page volume consists of a chronological listing of American patents dealing with windmills between 1793 and 1950. Each patent is identified by date, patent number, very brief descriptor (e.g. "wind mill," or "improvement in windmills" or "steel-tower bracket"), name of inventor, and the city and state in which the inventor resided. An index of patentees follows the patent list, enabling the user to access the list by inventor as well as by date.
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| While the printed Guide will be of use to windmill scholars, it would have been more useful had the author provided the contents of the guide in CD database form as an attachment to the printed version. |
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