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Then & Now
Escalator – Scala + Elevator
Escalator – Scala + Elevator
An escalator is a conveyor type transport device that moves people. It is a moving staircase with steps that move up or down using a conveyor belt and tracks keeping each step horizontal for the passenger. The first patent relating to an escalator-like machine was granted in 1859 to a Massachusetts man for a steam driven unit. On March 15, 1892, Jesse Reno patented his moving stairs, or inclined elevator as he called it. In 1895, Reno created a novelty ride at Coney Island in USA from his patented design, a moving stairway that elevated passengers on a conveyor belt at a 25° angle.
The escalator as we know now was later re-designed by Charles Seeberger in 1897, who created the name 'escalator' from the word 'scala' which is Latin for steps, and the word 'elevator' which had already been invented. Seeberger, together with the Otis Elevator Company, produced the first commercial escalator in 1899 at the Otis factory in Yonkers, New York. The Seeberger-Otis wooden escalator won first prize at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle in France.
Seeberger sold his patent rights for the escalator to Otis Elevator Company in 1910, who also bought Reno's escalator patent in 1911. Otis then came to dominate escalator production, and combined and improved the various designs of escalators.
According to Otis, "In the 1920s, Otis engineers led by David Lindquist combined and improved the Jesse Reno and Charles Seeberger escalator designs, and created the cleated, level steps of the modern escalator in use today. Over the years, Otis dominated the escalator business, but lost the product's trademark. The word escalator lost its proprietary status and its capital 'e' in 1950 when the US Patent Office ruled that the word 'escalator' had become just a common descriptive term for moving stairways.”
Linoleum – Oil-based Flooring
Linoleum – Oil-based Flooring
In 1860, rubber manufacturer Fredrick Walton invented linoleum, the floor and wall covering often used in Victorian homes. Three years later, Walton received a British patent for his invention. He was inspired to invent linoleum as a cheap substitute for the more expensive rubber composition called Kamptulicon. In fact, Walton got the idea for this product by observing the skin produced by oxidised linseed oil that forms on paint.
The name linoleum comes from the Latin word linum, which means flax, and oleum, which means oil. Linoleum is made of linseed oil, pigments, pine rosin and pine flour. It is manufactured by oxidising linseed oil and adding the other ingredients to form a thick mixture called linoleum cement. According to Columbia University Press, "Linseed oil is exposed to the air in a succession of thin
films until it is of a rubbery consistency, or it is thickened by heating until it becomes a spongy mass, after which it is ground, mixed with pulverised wood and other ingredients, and then applied to the foundation and rolled smooth. The final process is a thorough seasoning in drying rooms."
Together with inventor Fredrick Thomas Palmer, Fredrick Walton went on to invent Anaglypta and Lincrusta. These are two forms of Victorian era embossed wall coverings. Lincrusta is made of a linseed oil mixture and Anaglypta is made from cotton pulp.
The Scottish flooring manufacturer Michael Nairn introduced the inlaid patterning of linoleum. It was later replaced in popularity by vinyl floor coverings of the 1960s. However, it is now making a comeback.
