Dunham Honeycomb Foundation Machine, 1881-1890

Mrs. Frances "Fannie" A. Dunham of De Pere, Wisconsin, patented this foundation press to aid honeybees with building comb. The machine pressed beeswax into a prefabricated comb. This theoretically freed bees from some of the labor and honey required to build honeycomb. Instead bees could create a more uniform comb (building from the prefabricated parts), a product more appealing to consumers buying honey.