(SCIENCE & ENGINEERING.) Ezra Weld. Patent exploitation license for an early American washing machine. Party printed document, signed twice by Elias Weld and witnesses. 2 pages, 12 x 7 inches, on one folding sheet; minor wear at intersection of folds, minor foxing. Rowley, MA, 18 March 1800 The first American patent was issued in 1790, and the number issued in following years was modest. Patent holders would attempt to capitalize by licensing their new discoveries to manufacturers across the country. The first American patent for a washing machine was issued to Nathaniel Briggs in 1797. Less is known about the second washing machine patent, issued to Ezra Weld of Braintree, MA on 26 June 1799. The original patent papers have long since been lost to fire. However, Weld had contract forms printed to set forth the terms of his standard agreement.
Offered here is one of Weld's license agreements for "the exclusive right and liberty of making, using, and vending to others to be used, his new and useful improvement, called Lavater and Wringer, for the washing and wringing of clothes." The license was granted by Weld's son Elias Weld (1772-1863) to Captain James Chute of Rowley, MA for a period of 14 years "in the towns of Rowley, Ipswich, Gloucester, Hambleton [Hamilton], Manchester, Wenham, and the parish of Byfield"--a large portion of Essex County north of Salem. For these rights, Chute paid a fee of $214 on 18 March 1800.