The Beehive & Bee Equipment Patent Archive

The patented pursuit of the perfect hive

19th century beekeeping

Technical patent drawing showing seven figures of a wooden beehive: a top plan view with rows of boxes labeled E and circular entrances, a front view with notched side extensions, an inverted bottom view showing internal ledges and grooves, a tall vertical cross-section revealing stacked honey boxes E with moth trap strips F, two smaller sectional views showing paired boxes divided by a transparent partition c,d and strap m, and a perspective view of a single grooved moth trap strip with alternating inlet holes g.Bee HiveB. D. Sanders · October 27, 1857Patent drawing showing an angled perspective of a multi-tiered wooden bee hive stand with numbered stacked frames and hive sections, alongside smaller cross-sectional detail views of the joists, cross pieces, and a single cubic hive section.BEEHIVEJohn Jacobs · September 25, 1860Patent drawing sheet showing seven labeled figures of a wooden beehive, including exterior perspective views with sliding doors, an interior sectional view revealing the miller-trap and brood chambers, a removable brood-comb frame, and a corrugated-top surplus-honey box.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.Leonard Parker · April 28, 1863Patent drawing sheet showing an open wooden beehive with lifted lid revealing comb sections and a slatted moth-trap floor, alongside detail views of a comb-holder frame, a sliding swarming-guard block, and a reversible entrance-protector with swinging bars.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESEdward Kretchmer · November 13, 1866Patent drawing showing a circular top-view gear-driven rotating frame (Fig. 1) above a side-section view (Fig. 2) of a barrel-shaped tub containing a wire-gauze comb holder suspended from a central spindle, with a simple rectangular comb frame shown separately below.IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING HONEY FROM THE COMBL. L. Langstroth and S. Wagner · January 15, 1867Patent drawing of a wooden bee-hive with a square main box, a removable glazed surplus-honey box on top holding double comb-frames, and detailed cross-sections of separators and comb-frames labeled with letters A through K.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESP. J. Severson · February 25, 1868Patent drawing of a wooden beehive with a peaked roof, showing an exploded perspective of the bee-chamber with sliding frames, a honey-cap above, and side ventilator slats, alongside smaller detail views of the moth-chamber tubes, sliding ventilator boxes, and bee-entrance slide.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESJ. J. Frey and A. J. Frey · March 23, 1869Patent drawing showing three views of a wooden bee hive with a moth trap base: a front vertical section (Fig. 1), a side vertical section with hanging comb-frames (Fig. 2), and a horizontal top-down section showing frame slots (Fig. 3), all labeled with reference letters A through Z.IMPROVEMENT IN MOTH-TRAPS FOR BEE-HIVESLeroy Gates · March 18, 1873A cross-sectional line drawing of a rectangular wooden trap box mounted beside a bee-hive wall, showing a smaller box with a circular decoy tube and conical funnel leading into the main chamber, two labeled holes (d and e) at the back for bee entry and honey odor, and a shallow water-filled drawer at the bottom to drown moths.IMPROVEMENT IN MOTH-TRAPS FOR BEE-HIVESIris Hobson · May 19, 1874Patent drawing of a wooden swarm box with a wire-mesh top, an angled entrance tube fitted with wire pickets and a hinged door, internal shelves for bees to cluster, and a slip-door at the far end, shown in side elevation and horizontal section views.IMPROVEMENT IN SWARM-BOXESAndrew Harbison · February 1, 1876Patent drawing of a tapered glass tumbler package with a central comb-foundation strip and surrounding hexagonal honeycomb cells, shown in section, bottom view, and completed elevation.IMPROVEMENT IN FILLING PACKAGES WITH COMB-HONEYCharles O. Perrine · April 18, 1876An isometric line drawing of a long wooden bee-house with a gabled roof, its side wall removed to reveal four stacked rows of small hive compartments, each with its own door, handle, and bee entrance, alongside a plan view and a close-up perspective of individual pocket compartments.Improvement in Apiaries or Bee-HousesWilliam Erwin · September 10, 1878Patent drawing of a cylindrical centrifugal honey extractor showing a hand-cranked vertical shaft turning a rectangular skeleton frame with hinged wire-cloth comb baskets swinging outward, plus a top view of the four-armed rotating basket assembly and a side view of a honeycomb frame.CENTRIFUGAL HONEY-EXTRACTOR.George W. Stanley · September 23, 1884Patent drawing of a wooden drone-bee trap box showing two circular wire-cloth trap chambers above a perforated sliding panel, with a third cross-sectional figure showing the trap mounted onto a beehive with internal partitions and tubes.DRONE-BEE TRAP.Henry Alley · November 11, 1884A cutaway perspective drawing of a cylindrical honey extractor showing an internal polygonal wire basket with hinged comb pockets around a central rotating shaft, plus a plan view from below showing the pulley and cord linkage connecting the pockets.CENTRIFUGAL HONEY-EXTRACTOR.Oliver Perry Squier · December 9, 1884Patent drawing of a wooden beehive with a cutaway board showing a rectangular escape tube fitted with hanging guard-fingers between the brood and storage chambers, plus detail views of the escape case and board opening.BEE-ESCAPE FOR HIVES.Granville H. Ashworth · April 19, 1892Patent drawing of a hand-cranked centrifugal honey extractor showing a barrel-shaped vessel with a rotating frame holding wire-netting comb baskets, gears, sprocket chains, and a crank handle on top.CENTRIFUGAL HONEY-EXTRACTOR.Charles W. Metcalf · November 22, 1892Patent drawing showing a centrifugal honey extractor with a tall cylindrical vessel, a hand-crank mechanism at top, internal shafts and comb baskets connected by belts to a central reversing pulley, and two circular plan views showing the diamond-shaped drum and basket arrangement.CENTRIFUGAL HONEY-EXTRACTOR.Oscar Melvan Hill · March 28, 1893Patent drawing of a boxy centrifugal honey extractor with a crank handle on top, an X-shaped internal frame holding two wire mesh honey baskets, and a detailed star-shaped plan view of the triangular drive plate and connecting rods below.CENTRIFUGAL HONEY-EXTRACTOR.James Richard Hawkins · July 18, 1893