For more than 200 years, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been responsible for recording all patents. Many of these, including drawings of inventions such as Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, Cyrus McCormick's reaper, and Thomas Edison's electric lamp, are now part of the National Archives’ vast holdings. The designs presented here—of curious inventions, household products, design trademarks, and scientific and technological improvements—demonstrate the creativity and ingenuity of the American people and their government as they worked to build a great nation.