Way back in 1869, inventor Charles Guidet noticed that the paving stones used in New York City streets were placed too tightly together in densely packed rows, as seen on the right.
The cobblestones were supposed to wear better that way but the actual result was that draft animals, notably horses, couldn’t get their hooves to grip on the slick surface. This was important in warehouse and industrial districts like SoBro where horses struggled under heavy loads and needed especially dependable traction.
Guidet attempted to claim control over a new paving process that fanned the stones out, creating spaces between them so the animals could get a grip. He then packed the gaps with “bankrun”, a kind of compacting gravel to hold everything together.
It worked so well he patented it, filing papers stating his version of this “pavement offered a firm foothold for animals, provided a relatively smooth surface for the wheels of vehicles, and was constructed in such a manner that the blocks would remain firmly in place.” (Guidet 1870 patent no. 4106).
Trouble was, the City of Brooklyn had already begun copying his method, so he sued and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court.
Alas, his cobble-suit went down the drain.
The City of Brooklyn argued in its defense that “the general idea of paving with cobblestone had been in use before Guidet had patented it, and that Guidet did not actually ‘invent’ the method in any event.”
The Supreme Court ruled that his patent “was simply carrying forward the old idea, and doing what had been done before in substantially the same way but with better results. The change was only in degree”, it ruled, “not a true innovation and consequently not patentable.“
Lincoln Avenue by the river was opened awhile back to reveal the original paving stones right under a layer of modern asphalt.
Look around. Cobblestones are everywhere in the South Bronx.
Guidet must be pissed. lol
1966
No comments:
Post a Comment