Year: 1888

page_text: EVAN WILLIAMS, Cabinet Manufacturer of 99 Dean Street Soho London W. and
JULIUS REUBEN MARTIN JACOBY of 99 Dean Street, Soho London W. Cabinet
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an Improved apparatus for holding a number of Books,
Pictures, or other articles, in such a manner, that any one can be easily brought into
view (and in the case of Books) any one can be read from without closing the others.
This apparatus can be made with or without a writing desk attachment for taking
notes on &c.
In carrying this invention into practice we construct a number of desks A as
shown in the accompanying drawing, which desks are hung at the sides between two
disks B which are connected together by an axle C which revolves on a stand D.
The desks are hung in such a manner, that they remain at the same angle, as the disks
are revolved, so that by revolving the said disks, one desk after the other is brought
to the front, in a position to read from or view, with great ease. E represents the
writing desk attachment.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Revolving Reference, Reading, or Exhibiting Stand.
EVAN WILLIAMS Cabinet Manufacturer of 99 Dean Street Soho W. and JULIUS
REUBEN MARTIN JACOBY Cabinet Manufacturer of 99 Dean Street, Soho W. do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to an improved apparatus for holding a number of Books,
drawings, paintings, photographs or other articles, in such a manner that any one can
be easily brought into view and in the case of Books, any one can be read from
without closing the others, so that studying is much facilitated, as the student can
refer from one book to another with the greatest possible ease.
This apparatus can be made with or without a writing desk attachment for taking
of notes &c.
Our apparatus as we prefer to construct it consists of a number of swinging desks
as shown at A in drawings accompanying the provisional specification to which
drawings all the letters herein after used refer.
We consider four or five a convenient number of desks for this apparatus, but
it can be made with any reasonable number of desks according to requirements.
Attached to each desk on opposite sides are either shaped ends, or pieces projecting
upwards at right angles to the desk, so that a swing joint can be attached to them,
at such a height upwards and distance from the top of the desk that when the
desks hang freely from these joints it slopes at a convenient angle to read from or
view.
The desks are connected by the before said swinging joints at equal distance from
each other, and from the centre, to two discs B which are connected together by an
axle C which revolves on a stand D. So that as the discs B are revolved, one desk
after the other is brought to the front in a position to read from or view with great
ease.
Instead of the discs B, the desks can be attached as before described to arms or
bars projecting from either end of the axle C which arms would correspond in number
to the number of desks in the apparatus, that is, one arm at each end of the axle C
for each desk.
We construct the axle C hollow in the centre, so that a metal bar can be inserted
through its entire length. One end of this bar is firmly attached to one side of the
upright forming the supporting stand, and the other end is passed through the opposite
upright, and has a screw tapped on it, to receive a thumb nut. By turning of this thumb
nut, the two uprights are pressed against the sides of the revolving discs or arms so
that the revolving discs or arms with axle attached and carrying the swinging desks,
can be ajusted to the required stiffness or fixed in any position by the tightening of
the before said thumb-nut.

page_text: The stand can be made any height, so that the apparatus can either be made to
stand on the ground or be placed on a table as required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. The hanging of the swinging desks between two discs, or from a double series
of arms connected together by an axle so that, as the discs or arms are revolved the
desks attached swinging freely on their swing joints, remain at the same angle and
are brought one after the other to the front without disarranging the Books or
Papers &c. that may be placed on them substantially as described.
2. The arrangement of tightening and Fixing the revolving part of this apparatus,
by means of the hollow central Axle, revolving on the fixed metal bar with the thumb
nut ajustment, substantially as described.