Barbed Wire Collection Display, Patented 1874-1916
Add to SetSummary
Inventors received hundreds of patents for barbed wire during the late 1800s. Some innovators created strands of fencing with sharp metal points cut into the wire; others incorporated small wire spurs twisted and attached to the wire to create a painful barrier. Each inventor believed their variation made the best fencing to keep livestock out of crop fields or confine them to pastures.
Inventors received hundreds of patents for barbed wire during the late 1800s. Some innovators created strands of fencing with sharp metal points cut into the wire; others incorporated small wire spurs twisted and attached to the wire to create a painful barrier. Each inventor believed their variation made the best fencing to keep livestock out of crop fields or confine them to pastures.
Artifact
Showcase
Date Made
1874-1916
Creators
Dodge, Thomas Hutchins, 1823-1910
Washburn, Charles G. (Charles Grenfill), 1857-1928
Upham, James Humphreys, 1820-1904
Creator Notes
Barbed wire patented 1874-1916.
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
89.4.13
Material
Wood (Plant material)
Metal
Paint (Coating)
Color
Red
Orange (Color)
Blue
White (Color)
Black (Color)
Dimensions
Height: 42 in (Closed)
Width: 22 in (Closed)
Length: 5 in (Closed)
Inscriptions
on left display board: WAR WIRE / ENGLISH WORLD WAR I WIRE 1916 / KOREAN LIGHT GAUGE LONG BARBS / "OUCH" / MODERN SPRING STEEL WAR WIRE / U.S. MODERN TAPE TWISTED / U. S. MODERN PARALLEL HARD STEEL LINE / GERMAN MADE TAPE TYPE FLAT WIRE / KOREAN EXTRA LARGE FOUR POINT WIRE / GERMAN MODERN MILITARY WAR WIRE / on right side display board: VARIOUS / UPHAM'S "SNAIL BARB" PAT. 1883 STERLING, ILLINOIS / M. SHINN'S 'TWISTED OVAL' LOCK BARB 1881 BURLINGTON, IOWA / POOLER-JONES THREE-POINT BARB PAT. 1876 SERENA, ILL. / REYNOLD'S "NECKTIE" 4 POINT 1878 MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA / GLIDDEN'S TWO SQUARE LINE PAT. 1874 DEKALB, ILLINOIS / UNION PACIFIC 1-ROUN 1-SQUARE PAT. 1874 J.F. GLIDDEN / HORSE WIRE "DOUBLE HALF HITCH" TWO LINE / BAKER'S "FLAT BARB" 2 LINE PAT. 1883 DES MOINES, IOWA / SCUTT'S "CLIP" FLAT BARB PAT. 1885 JOLIET, ILLINOIS / BRINKERHOFF-MARTELLE "COMBINATION" AUBURN, N.Y. / SALISBURY'S "LOOP" TWO POINT 1876 DEKALB, ILL. / WATKIN'S "LAZY PLATE" PAT. 1876 JOLIET, ILLINOIS / LAZY PLATE LARGE AND SMALL LINE TWISTED / HAISH'S WALKING CANE WIRE PAT. 1875 DEKALB, ILL. / NADLEHOFFER'S [sic] PARALLEL TWISTED JOLIET, ILL. handwritten on side: WAR WIRE / VARIOUS