John Clark of Pontiac, Michigan was granted letters patent for a his lathe parer on August 12, 1884. Clark's lathe design has several unique features that he describes in his letters patent.

"My invention relates to an improvement in apple paring, coring, and slicing machines; and it consists, first, in combination, with the screw-shaft, of a pivoted cam or locking device which will allow the shaft to be drawn back at any time without the necessity of the operator touching the cam, and which cam will sink into place from its own weight when the shaft is pushed forward and turned; second, in a paring-knife which consists of a sharp edged metallic ring having a recess through its bottom for the peeling to pass through, with metallic guard, which is placed inside of the knife for the purpose of regulating the thickness of the peeling, the guard being provided with sutable stops upon its under side for preventing the knife from becoming diplaced; third, in the arrangement and combination of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter."

The most important part described "hereinafter" being the paring knife incorporated into a third class lever that is forced outward as the apple is rotated forward. A spring applies a force on the third class lever that keeps the circular blade pressed against the apple as it follows the fruit's irregular surface, removing the skin.

In 1888, the September 27 issue of The Iron Age reported that the Henry C. Hart Manufacturing Company of Detroit, Michigan makes the "Standard Apple Parer, which has been on the market for several years." The Clark Hardware Company and the Henry C. Hart & Co. shared the same factory in the early 1880's. In 1884 Henry Chittenden Hart (1847-1909) combined the buisness into the Henry C. Hart Manufacturing Company, which seems to have existed up to 1899 (Henry C. Hart).

References

Clark, J., inventor, Apple-Parer, 1884 Aug. 12. US303490.

Hardware. The Iron Age Sep. 27, 1888, p. 482.

'Henry C. Hart'. Safe Bank Collector, accessed 24 May 2020:
http://www.safebankcollector.com/henry-c-hart-manufacturing-company

Thornton, D. 1997. Apple Parers. Sunnyvale, California: Off Beat Books, p. 173.