The Patent Drawings - Interesting Ideas

These aren’t just any drawings of bottle-cap people. These are diagrams filed in support of patent number D217,277.

The design patent was issued April 21, 1970, to George Kasperan Jr. of Rockville, Connecticut, for his “Snack Server.” This patent record is the only official document I’ve been able to turn up about these figures, despite extensive research.

Kasperan’s exact role in the invention of the bottle-cap figure is unclear. The figures, after all, were being made years before the patent’s filing in 1969 — absolutely as early as 1961, and almost certainly well back into the ’50s. (Dealers have a tendency to date them older than that, but most examples were made no earlier than the 1960s. Many are from the ’70s, when, presumably, they were being built in infringement of Kasperan’s claim.)

A patent on figures of this design was issued in 1970 to George Kasperan Jr. of Connecticut. This figure bears a label with patent number D217,277, as do many similar figures

It’s possible that Kasperan, who died in 2016, waited to file his patent until long after he came up with the idea for the figures. Or perhaps he simply patented a variation on an existing invention.

The style of figure shown in the drawings is one of the two most popular variations. The other had an incised rectangular body rather than a tapered one. The figures that bear a “patent pending” or patent number sticker are even more radically tapered than the figure shown in the drawings.

Someday perhaps a dated set of instructions or a kit will turn up. In the meantime, you can review the patent document here and read more about bottle-cap art here.