US Patent No. 248,408, granted 18 October 1881 to Francesco Daina of Bergamo, Italy, for a device that joins new filaments to a silk thread while it is reeled from cocoons. A notched, grooved wheel or flier with a hollow spindle catches a fresh filament, and a fixed curved knife cuts off the loose end so the thread stays even and free of nibs. The patent has a drawing sheet (Figs. 1-7), a specification describing a three-groove and a single-groove version, and two claims.