Flexible Ruler Invented by Frank G. Hunt

Frank G. Hunt of Buffalo, N.Y., designed this flexible steel rule for drawing straight lines on curved surfaces, such as those of ledger books. The rule has no scales, but it has a small round metal handle in the middle of the front. Nine rectangular clips on the back hold several layers of paper covered by a metal rectangle. The middle clip is marked: EXP. ACC'T. F. G. HUNT (/) PAT'D. FEB.25.02 (/) BUFFALO, N.Y. Hunt distributed the rule via the Hunt Ruler Company in Buffalo at least as late as 1920. By 1922, he had passed away but the firm was expanding.

References: Frank G. Hunt, "Flexible Ruler" (U.S. Patent 694,061 issued February 25, 1902); "Buyers' Reference Bureau: Rulers: Metal or Steel," The American Stationer and Office Outfitter 86, no. 18 (May 8, 1920): 102; "Hunt Ruler Company Expanding," Office Appliances 36 (July 1922): 49; Buffalo Historical Society, "Buffalonians More or Less Noted, Who Died in 1922," in Reports of the President and Secretary (Buffalo, 1923), 46.

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