1802 snow bird from house on Michael Korns, Sr. farm

This photograph shows what is known in Somerset County PA as a "Snow Bird". Snow birds are used to retain ice and snow on a roof so that they don't slide off and cause bodily harm. During a recent trip to Germany, I found that devices having similar function are called "Snow Fangs" there. This snow bird fell from the roof of the house on the Michael Korns, Sr. home, and belongs to a descendant. It was made in Pennsylvania and bears an 1802 patent date that is wrapped around the central hole of the cast iron section. I attempted to obtain a copy of the patent from the U.S. patent office, but found that most of the patents from 1802 were destroyed by fire, and only 2 apparently survive. The patent office did publish a list of early patents (the list apparently survived the fire), and curiously, I couldn't find this particular patent among the patents that issued during 1801-1803.

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