Patent Model of a Copy Holder

Benjamin F. Nutting's ingenious design for an adjustable manuscript holder demonstrates nineteenth-century solutions to everyday problems. The cast-iron device features a tilting arm that pivots on a threaded screw mechanism, allowing readers to position documents at optimal angles relative to light sources. Patent No. 155202 reflects the era's mechanical ingenuity and Nutting's dual career: a pioneering American lithographer since 1826, he later turned to practical invention. The model exemplifies how industrial design addressed the needs of scholars, clerks, and students working with paper documents before the electric lamp became standard.