Old Ben Pearson 979 window bow information

[Wade Phillips]

Ted - Thank you so much for your reference to the book "Roy Hoff Tells It Like It Is".

Roy Hoff was a great man and knowing Roy would want me to tell it like it is,... here goes...

While apparently Folberth’s patent was the earliest center shot that Roy was aware of…

Numerous center shot bows were patented long before Bill Folberth was awarded his 1933 bow patent, the first of several bow patents that were granted to Folberth.

Center shot bows were patented well before Roy Hoff was born in 1903…

I have one of Folberth’s 1933 center shot bows and the associated patent.

While Folberth’s 1933 bow patent is center shot, it has only a rest at the bottom, no adjustment at the side.

Other earlier center shot bows patented from 1879 to 1931, have various setups for rest, angled support, side adjustment.

Later today, I will try to post some of these center shot bows that precede Folberths’ 1933 patent.

By the way…

Bill Folberth did not invent the windshield wiper. Manual windshield wipers existed years before Folberth invented his version of Automated windshield wiper.

[Wade Phillips]

Phil – I have no idea how much difference there was in the angle used on the 2 bows? I don’t own a Gaskell bow nor one of the offset handle Ben Pearson T/Ds. If you send me yours, I will be half way there to owning both. Just joking, I have way too many bows already and should be offering to send you some.

In 1790, our founding fathers established The United States Patent Office by the authority granted in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution.

They were farsighted enough to realize that granting inventors exclusive rights to their inventions for limited times, would promote interest and encourage others to later expand on previous ideas.

I would guess most of the larger archery manufactures kept up with the latest patents that were granted in their industry and looked for ways to improve or change the products.

The fact that Ben Pearson may have “borrowed” a previous idea probably means that Pearson either paid royalties to Gaskell or that Gaskell’s patent was NOT written “tight” enough to prevent Pearson from making his offset handle. It is also possible that Gaskell found out about Pearson’s offset handle, asked for royalties, and Pearson stopped production. Lots of this sort of thing went on in the archery industry.

Being a US Patent holder (in the  field of fiber optics, not bows or archery), and having a 34-year career with a company that held thousands of patents, it is probably not surprising why I hold a special interest in patents. Reading patents is much like taking a sleeping pill for many bowmen, but to a few, patents are interesting and provide a unique insight into the history of some archery equipment.

The patent system is one of many things that made our country so great for so many years.

[Wade Phillips]

Ted - This is being posted not to discredit Roy Hoff's statement you cite above, but simply an attempt to accurately recount historical facts.

This link has a brief history of the windshield wiper. It includes details of wipers that preceded Folberth's and the type that replaced his remarkable invention.

   http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2747  

What the link does not state, is that after Folberth sold his automated windshield wiper company in 1925, during the following two decades, he developed some of archery's most significant advancements in bow design that were made up to that point (and beyond for several years).

[Wade Phillips]

Originally posted by Ted Fry:
I do know that FW Peters ( Salem OR bowyer) had an early center shot bow called the whitbow that was a metal riser you shot through the middle with changeable wood limbs, who was first for the center shot?

Ted - Do you know the specific date(s) of manufacture of the FW Peters T/D that you mentioned?

Also regarding your question... "who was first for the center shot?" -  Who was first would depend on the criteria used to define the bow.

If we use your criteria - metal riser - shoot through the middle - changeable wood limbs… here are two that precede Folberth’s 1933 patent...

As I mentioned earlier, there are many center shot bows that precede Folberth's 1933 patent, and at least one that precedes the 1879 Wright & Thorne, but these are two of the most creditable of their respective periods.

Colin J. Cameron – Patent Granted in 1932… - Adjustable angled rest, adjustable side plate, adjustable center shot sight.

   

Wright & Thorne - Patent Granted in 1879… Fixed Rests.

   

[Wade Phillips]

For comparison to the above 1879 & 1932 Patent Illustrations...

Ted - This is Fig 2 & Fig 3 of Folberth's patent that gave cause for Roy Hoff to make the statement that you referenced in the first paragraph of your post on August 14, 2009 12:25 PM .

William Folberth - Patent Granted Sept. 12, 1933...

 

[Ted Fry]

No worries Wade , just sharing of ideas and knowledge. The envelope with the FW Peters advertisement I have is 1932 on the postmark so I am sure its in that area of time as well .
I dont have a scanner or I would post the page.
The Whitbo is very similar to the one by Cameron and very close to the Wright and Thorne, there must be slight difference in all of them to not have patent infringement issues.

[Wade Phillips]

Ted - It was great that you brought up Roy Hoff's book, Folberth and the windshield wiper. It sparked a lot of other information to surface.

For my part, I'm just trying to accurately record historical facts.

The only proper way to record historical facts is to go to, and cite, the original source documents or photographs from the era when those events took place.  

I'm certain the 1879 Wright & Thorne Patent expired well before Cameron or JW Peters began working on their Takedowns.

I know I have seen FW Peters hand printed name on some artifact or document. It is neatly printed and slightly italicized. Just can not place where I have seen it. Now you know how bad my memory really is, that is the best reason to go to the original documents from the era when the events occurred.

Does your FW Peters look anything like this TD? It has a D cross section, which is not visible in my very poor photograph.

 

[Ted Fry]

Wade here is a picture of the paperwork for the ad that FW Peters was working on, I had to take a picture rather than scan. This was in a large envelope with promo photos as well, dated 1932

[Ted Fry]

Here are the photos, notice the bottom right, this is a postcard of Grover Gouthier and Chet Stevenson that reads on the back " to FW Peters from Grover Gouthier and my pal Chet Stevenson of Eugene Ore.
The photo to the left of that is FW Peters with the handle of a Whitbo, sorry for the flash glare.The rest are other people ( unidentified ) shooting his bows. What I would give to have all the arrows leaning up against the garage door in the top photo