• Born: 3 Aug 1825, New Britain CT
• Marriage (1): Julia Ann Buell on 14 Oct 1850 in Brooklyn NY
• Marriage (2): Sarah Elizabeth White about 1875 in Brooklyn CT

  General notes:

Silversmith

  Events in his life were:

• He was a partner circa 1840-1870 with George J., James D. and Edmund Howe Bard in New York City NY as BARD BROTHERS, gold pen manufacturers with a shop at 101 Williams Street and a factory at the corner of Front and Pearl.

• Advertised in the Massachusetts State Record and Yearbook, 1850,

• He appeared on the 1870 census taken at New York City NY, listed as a gold pen dealer.

• He was a partner on 1 Feb 1873-1 Feb 1900 with George Whitfield W. & John Henry Mabie and Henry Hobart Todd in Brooklyn NY as MABIE, TODD & BARD.

• Tradecard, c 1875
  Private Collection
  

• He was issued patent number 221,904 on 25 Nov 1879
  
  JONATHAN SPRAGUE BARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.
  
  IMPROVEMENT IN FOUNTAIN-PENS.
  
  Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,904, dated November 25, 1879; application filed September 8, 1879.
  
  To all whom it may concern:
  Be it known that I, Jonathan Sprague Bard, of the city of New York, in the comity and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens and Fountain Attachments for Pens, of which the following is a specification.
  The object of my invention is to provide a simple fountain attachment which may be applied to pens for the purpose of retaining ink and feeding it properly to the nib of the pen, and which shall not render the pen less flexible, or interfere with its action in any way.
  My invention consists in a fountain attachment for a pen, consisting of a spoon or plate shaped on one side so as to conform to the shape of and fit against the upper side or back of the pen, and provided with means for hinging it in position on the back or upper side of the pen.
  It also consists in details of construction to be hereinafter explained.
  In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a pen having a fountain attachment embodying my improvements secured thereto, and Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section through such pen and attachment.
  Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.
  A designates a pen, which maybe of the ordinary form or material, and B designates a spoon or plate attached to the upper side thereof.
  The spoon or plate B is shaped upon its under side so as to conform to the shape of and fit against the back or upper side of the pen, and is here represented as slightly shorter and narrower than the nibs of the latter. It is so attached to the pen that it rests upon its upper- side, exerts no pressure on the latter except the pressure due to its weight, and hence the flexibility of the pen is not materially affected by it.
  A supply of ink is held between the spoon and the upper side of the pen, and thence passes downward to the point of the pen and keeps it supplied.
  Other means than those here shown maybe employed for securing the spoon to the pen ; but I prefer to attach it by means of a hinge, and a very simple form of a hinge is here represented.
  The spoon is provided at each side with lugs or prongs a, which are inserted in holes upon the sides of the pen. At its broad end the spoon is represented as somewhat larger than the pen, leaving a small space between the two, and the elasticity of the spoon enables it to be expanded laterally and removed from the pen for cleaning, or to enable the pen to be used without it.
  I am aware that a spoon or plate has been hinged or pivoted to the under side of a pen, so as to hold a supply of ink between its upper side and the under side of the nibs of the pen, the spoon or plate being kept from falling by atmospheric pressure as long as there is a sufficient supply of ink between it and the pen; and I am also aware that a feeding device has been clamped or rigidly secured to the top of a pen so as to hold the ink between it and the pen. These I do not claim as my invention.
  What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is—
  1. A fountain attachment for a pen, consisting of a spoon or plate shaped on one side so as to conform to the shape of and fit against the back or upper side of a pen, and provided with means for hinging it in position on the back or upper side of the pen, substantially as specified.
  2. The combination, with the pen A, of the spoon or plate B, shaped to conform to the shape of and fit against the back or upper side of the pen, and provided with prongs a, inserted in holes in the sides of the pen, substantially as specified.
  
  J. Sprague Bard
  
  Witnesses:
  Edwin H. Brown
  Chandler Hall

• Tradecard, c 1880
  Private Collection
  

• He appeared on the 1880 census taken at Brooklyn CT, listed as a silversmith.

Jonathan married Julia Ann Buell on 14 Oct 1850 in Brooklyn NY. (Julia Ann Buell was born on 12 Mar 1830 in Litchfield CT and died on 27 Sep 1863 in New York City NY.)

Jonathan next married Sarah Elizabeth White about 1875 in Brooklyn CT. (Sarah Elizabeth White was born on 28 Oct 1835 in Brooklyn CT.)