REMINISCENCES, ETC, 251 



reason that they are indeed the children of our 

 brain. Many of our readers have doubtless noticed 

 the huge piles of what is called " leather board," 

 heaped upon the sidewalks and in the leather stores 

 of our cities. Seventeen years ago we made the first 

 sheet of the article ever produced in the United 

 States, or in the world. Noticing the immense 

 heaps of " leather scraps " (the worthless refuse of 

 shoe factories), which are seen in New England 

 towns, we conceived the idea, in 1854, of attempt- 

 ing to utilize them by disintegrating, or tearing 

 them injto fine shreds, and forming from the parti- 

 cles a cheap leather board which might serve many 

 useful purposes in the mechanic arts. An old pa- 

 per-mill, belonging to the late Mr. Flagg, of Exe* 

 ter, New Hampshire, was hired for the purpose of 

 experiment, and after surmounting many difficulties, 

 we succeeded, during the year, in manufacturing 

 several tons of the new article. As soon as the 

 problem was fairly worked out, it was allowed to 

 pass into the hands of other parties, who have since 

 carried on the manufacture upon an immense scale. 

 No patent protection was sought, and no remunera- 

 tion for our labors has ever been received. An 

 exclusive right to make this article, on a patent 

 protection, would have been worth a great many 

 thousand dollars. Although the production of the 

 " patent leather," as it is often called, has been of 



