Patent for Greeting Card with Motion System

I've done a bunch of post this year about Hallmark's new line of hand-cranked animated greeting cards. First, there was the batch I bought and posted. Another gallery of animated cards came courtesy of a kindly reader. A video of one of the best cards also turned up. Thanks to Joe Freedman, The Automata / Automaton Blog was first to offer an online exclusive look at the inner workings.

Joe's thirst for knowledge uncovered another fascinating item: the patent for the animated greeting cards. Titled GREETING CARD MOTION SYSTEM WITH MODULAR DESIGN, the patent is full of diagrams...many depicting card designs I have yet to see on the store shelves. (Note: There are some new designs out for Halloween, 2008!)

Some automata of old were patented, but it must not have proved to be worth the effort. Many designs were not patented and the European makers of the last century copied each other with abandon.

Check out the full online version of the patent for the GREETING CARD MOTION SYSTEM WITH MODULAR DESIGN.

[ Thanks to Joe Freedman of The Sarabande Press! ]

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