Patent Resources
The authority to issue patents is granted by the U.S. Constitution, in Article 1, Section 8, which states “[The Congress shall have Power] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. The first act regulating patents was passed on April 10, 1790, and the first U.S. patent was issued on July 31, 1790, to Samuel Hopkins.
Records of the Patent and Trademark Office: National Archives
History of the Patent System: hearings before the Committee on Patents, 1912
The Patent Office Pony: A History of the Early Patent Office