Ever since UO Digital Arts professor, Craig Hickman, published Apparatus, his clever homage to US Patent Gazette drawings, I’ve been obsessed with browsing the patent archives for long lost product ideas. I’ve amassed a large collection of patent illustrations, primarily focusing on bags, garments and bicycling gear. Here’s a recent, favorite find: a special jacket designed for pruners featuring a “pocket construction for the reception of a pruner’s foldable saw, whereby the saw may be readily placed therin or removed therefrom, the pocket being suitably reinforced to resist wear, and to protect the wearer from contact with the teeth of the saw.”

Given the current chic for axes, knives and hatchets, I’m surprised that a company has not reissued this garment, breaking up the chore coat monotony of hand and chest pockets.  Make mine in gabardine or canvas duck, please!