Patent and Trademark Resource Centers are excellent places to conduct research on historically significant patents, trademarks, inventions and inventors. PTRC librarians specialize in tracking down materials of this nature. The Orono PTRC has many books and other materials intended to assist historians, genealogists, and the like, in finding very old patents, trademarks and related information.
In addition, the Patent and Trademark Resource Center Association website has a listing of websites, databases, spreadsheets, and other tools specifically for conducting research of a historical nature.
Below (and in the column to the right) are some of the materials you can find at the Orono PTRC.
Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology by 
A Century of Innovation: twenty engineering achievements that transformed our lives by 
Historical First Patents: the first United States patent for many everyday things by 
Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame
The innovators: the engineering pioneers who made America modern by The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs and Biologicals
The Patent Office Pony: a history of the early Patent Office by 
Science and Technology Firsts by 
Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries : all the milestones in ingenuity--from the discovery of fire to the invention of the microwave oven by Subject-Matter Index of Patents for Inventions Issued by the United States Patent Office from 1790 to 1873, Inclusive by Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology by A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives by 
Inventing the 19th Century: 100 Inventions that Shaped the Victorian Age, from Aspirin to the Zeppelin by Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries: : All the Milestones in Ingenuity, from the Discovery of Fire to the Invention of the Microwave Oven by 
The Patents of Summer!
This is a fun video slide show of patents related to summer activities, including swimsuits, sandals, toys and games.
