Old Nobles Brace

In a Project Gutenberg book, Woodworking Tools 1600–1900. I found a plate #44 with an illustration of a brace, this is the authors note on that brace " The complete break with the medieval, however, is seen in a drawing submitted to the Commissioner of Patents in 1865 (pat. 51,660) by Milton V. Nobles of Rochester, New York. Nobles' creation was of thoroughly modern design and appearance in which, unlike earlier types, the bit was held in place by a solid socket, split sleeve, and a tightening ring (fig. 44). " Interested, I went to DATAMP and looked up the patent where it states that the patent was never in production. This threw me a bit because I have one. My question is does anyone else have a brace with this bit holding mechanism? Was the mechanism actually in production? The brace I have is all iron except the pad which is wood with a brass bearing. I just checked and it is marked in tiny letters NOBLES-MFG CO and PAT. DEC. 10, 1865 The actual Patent date is Dec. 19, 1865 so the 0 could be a 9. If nothing else it appears that this brace was in production. Here are some photos and a pdf of the Patent Document.

Update: It appears that there were many of these braces made. You can read more at Sandy Moss's website where there are some good pictures and historical information. I received a very prompt reply from Jeff Joslin Co-director of DATAMP who updated their entry. As always there is a great and friendly group of people out there in old tool land that are willing to share what they know. I now know more of the history surrounding my old brace which will add to my enjoyment while using it as well as provide interesting background to share when I am demonstrating.