Today in 1897, US Patent 589231 A was issued, an invention of Jacob Fred Theurer, assigned to the Pabst Brewing Company, for his “Bung Branding Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention pertains to a machine for branding bungs, the construction and operation of which, together with its advantages, are set forth in the following description, reference being made to the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. 2, an end elevation, part of the chain being removed and the pistons shown in section; Fig. 3, a top plan view, and Fig. 4 a sectional view of the branding-dies and the heating device.

The object of my invention is to construct a machine for branding a series of bungs at one time and to present the bungs to the dies in successive series.