Bliss’s Patent American Taffrail Log–which was introduced around 1871 and which received a medal at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876–was based on the inventions of Captain Truman Hotchkiss, a sea captain living in Stratford, Connecticut. This example incorporates two features designed by John and George H. Bliss in the late 1870s. One is a register with three dials that read tenths of a mile, ten miles, and 100 miles. The other is a rotator designed to prevent sea-weed accumulation. It was probably made before 1884 when the Bliss brothers obtained another patent for a further improved rotator. Ref: T. Hotchkiss, "Nautical Log," U.S. patent #45,042.
T. Hotchkiss, "Screw Propeller," U.S. patent #63,520.
J. & G. H. Bliss, "Ships’ Logs," U.S. patent #178,261.
J. & G. H. Bliss, "Rotators for Ships’ Logs," U.S. patent #208,061.
