Editing Patent model (section)

== United States Patent Office's collection of models ==
[[File:Patent Office model room 1861.jpg|thumb|Cases of patent models on view at the U.S. Patent Office in 1861|alt=]]
The United States Patent Office used to publicly display the models of approved patents.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/brh2003004938/PP/ Old Patent Office]</ref> This collection of models suffered two major fires- one in [[1836 U.S. Patent Office fire|1836]], and another in [[1877 U.S. Patent Office fire|1877]].  The 1877 fire destroyed 75,000 patent models.<ref>[http://www.patentmodel.org/about/history Timeline of the USPTO Patent Model Collection]</ref>

In 1908, the Patent Office donated just over 1,000 patent models to [[Smithsonian Institution|United States National Museum]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Suit Janssen|first=Barbara|date=2010|title=Patent Models Index: Guide to the Collections of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution: Listings by Patent Number and Invention Name, Volume 1|url=https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/9697|journal=Smithsonian Contributions to History and Technology|volume=54|hdl=10088/9697 }}</ref> The remaining models were packed and moved several times before Congress chose to dissolve the collection in 1926. The Smithsonian Institution was allowed to choose first from the remaining models; accessions from the Patent Office now form part of the collection of over 10,000 patent models at the [[National Museum of American History]].<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Patent Office 1877 fire.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the 1877 fire at the U.S. Patent Office, which destroyed 75,000 patent models]]
Many models were sold off by the patent office in 1925 and were purchased by Sir [[Henry Wellcome]], the founder of the Burroughs-Wellcome Company (now part of [[GlaxoSmithKline]]).   Although he intended to establish a patent model museum, the [[Wall Street crash of 1929|stock market crash of 1929]] damaged his fortune; the models were left in storage.   After his death, the collection went through a number of ownership changes; a large portion of the collection—along with $1,000,000—was donated to the nonprofit United States Patent Model Foundation by Cliff Petersen.  Rather than being put into a museum, these models were slowly sold off by the foundation.   Much legal wrangling, purchasing, and re-selling ensued.<ref name="PatentModel.org" /> A comparatively small number of models (4,000) were the property of the Rothschild Patent Museum until 2015, when they were transferred to [[Hagley Museum and Library]], forming a part of the museum's collection of patent models. With over 5,000 models, the Hagley's is the largest private collection, and second in size only to the Smithsonian's.<ref name="USPTO" /><ref name="PatentModel.org">[http://www.patentmodel.org/history.html PatentModel website]</ref><ref>[http://www.hagley.org/librarynews/museum-collection-rothschild-patent-model-collection Hagley Museum and Library press release]</ref>