In 1879 an eccentric jeweler from Iowa assembled;

• a jam spoon
• a sewing machine needle,
• a bent over screwdriver,
• old soldering pipes,
• some bent metal
• .... and screwed it all together on some blocks of wood!

Coupled with his own patented hand pumped air compressor he named it his;

"Paint Distributor"

for the painting of watercolours and for other artistic purposes.