Found this in a high recovery area garden. Building collapsed in the location. It is embossed with Made by E Carver & Co, Bridgewater Mass. Possibly a Motorcycle vin number on the tag. Should I clean it? Thanks for looking.
Wrightdigger,
Great discovery on the cotton gin info. That info did not come up when i searched for E Carver. So now the patent numbers are patent dates not patent serial numbers. That made this a better find than first thought. Thanks.
So, I am at work surfing the internet on a real computer and I found the American Textile History Museum site with the following notice:
Important Notice
The American Textile History Museum has closed. As a courtesy, this online catalog will remain active through 2018. However, all collections have been transferred to other institutions:
The bulk of the ATHM Osborne Library: Cornell University Library. Contact [email protected].
Insurance maps: Osher Map Library.
Trade catalogs, trade sheets, and trade cards: The Henry Ford.
The remaining collections have been dispersed to museums and charitable organizations across the country. Please refer to the ATHM website for further information.
Bummer that the museum closed. But I also checked the website and you could research at Auburn University Libraries.