| Thesis #1: Is the CD 100 Surge "REQ." really an embossing error?
I first posed this question to John & Carol McDougald, Bill Meier, Shaun Kotlarsky, and Bob Stahr on December 7, 1999.
Although "REQ." is still considered to be an error, I believe it may have been intentional. First, let's examine the four known embossings:
| (F-Skirt) |
(R-Skirt) |
ID |
SURGE
REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. |
BABSON BROS. CO.
CHICAGO U.S.A. |
010 |
SURGE
T.M. REQ. PAT. PEND |
BABSON BROS. CO.
CHCIAGO U.S.A. |
020 |
BABSON BROS. CO.
CHICAGO U.S.A. |
030 |
SURGE
T.M. REQ. PAT. PEND
[Blotted out embossing] |
BABSON BROS. CO.
CHCIAGO U.S.A. |
040 |
Observations:
1. Three different embossings (and up to three different molds) used "REQ." Hemingray was fairly good about catching errors from mold to mold; you don't see more than two molds of the same style with the same misspelling produced by Hemingray, with the exception of this one.
2. It is assumed that "REQ." is a misspelling of "REG.", an abbreviation of "registered." Yet if you compare embossing [010] with [020-040], the context is not the same. "REQ." only appears with "T.M. REQ. PAT. PEND" and "REG." only appears with "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." So far no embossing has been found with "REQ. U.S. PAT. OFF.", which would clearly demonstrate an embossing error.
3. The letter "Q" doesn't appear anywhere else on the insulator. Embossing errors of this type are usually where the engraver put the wrong letter next to a similar letter or sequence (such as "PETTICOAY" after just embossing "MAY" or "HEMINGRAY", for example.) To mistake a "Q" for a "G", then, when there is no other "Q" to be found, seems unlikely. Unless the engraver was reading from a piece of paper, where a lowercase "g" and "q" could be confused. But this seems even more of a stretch.
4. "PAT. PEND" signifies that a patent has been applied for. This embossing, then, predates "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.", which signifies that the patent had been registered with the U.S. Patent Office.
Conclusion:
Therefore, since "REQ." has been found embossed on up to three different molds, and "REQ." never appears in the same context as "REG.", and "T.M. REQ. PAT. PEND" predates "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.", I propose that "REQ." is an abbreviation for either "requisitioned" or "requested", to coincide with a pending patent. Thus, "T.M. REQ. PAT. PEND" could be translated as "Trademark Requested/Requisitioned, Patent Pending."
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