Most of the patents prior to 1836 were lost in the December 1836 fire. Only about 2000 of the almost 10000 documents were recovered. From an 1830 issue of the Journal of the Franklin Institute: “For an improvement in Making Combs; Eli Sperry, New Haven, Connecticut, October 10. A quilled back comb is to be made of wood, the grain running with the teeth of the comb; a tube of metal, the bore of which exactly fits the back of the comb, is then drawn over it, and cemented or not, as may be thought best; there must, of course, be an opening along the tube to allow for the thickness of the teeth of the comb. The claim is to “the hollow wire tube.”

(To be filled in.)