Seth Boyden was an American inventor. Boyden perfected the process for making patent leather, created malleable iron, invented a nail-making machine, and built his own steamboat. He is also credited with having invented a cut off switch for steam engines and a method for producing zinc from ore. At the time of his death, he told friends that he had, even at that time, enough experiments on hand to last two whole lifetimes.
Seth Boyden
Statue of Boyden in Newark's Washington Park
Site of Boyden's workshop
Patent leather is a type of coated leather that has a high-gloss finish.
A men's black patent leather shoe
Patent leather shoes
Riding boot from 1910–1920s