AN IMPROVED INKSTAND AND APPLIANCES TO BE USED
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED INKSTAND AND APPLIANCES TO BE USED
."-A communication from abroad by
IN
CONNECTION
THERE WITH.
Seth C. Catlin, of Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.
Sealed the 26th March 1872, and dated the 23rd October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 23rd October 1871.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED INKSTAND AND APPLIANCES
TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," a communication, to be as
follows:-.
This Invention relates to an inkstand so constructed that by adjusting an
air vessel liquid may be fed to a sponge cup, and ink and mucilage caused
to rise in the reservoirs containing the same. It also relates to a sponge

page_text: 1
cup and penholder which may be used associated with the members of
the inkstand or separately therefrom.
The inkstand has a conveniently formed base and top in which the
several vessels for holding the inks, mucilage, sponge, and other matters
are placed. In the centre of the stand is a water reservoir of a
cylindrical or other suitable shape having an open top, whereas the
lower end is closed water-tight and secured to the base. In the contre
of the said reservoir is a tubular or other air chamber having an open
top, while its lower end protrudes through the bottom of the reservoir
and opens into an air chamber under the base. In the annular chamber
or reservoir is fitted an air vessel consisting of a simple glass cylinder
having an open bottom and an air-tight top. In the top of the vessel
is secured a screw, which depends therefrom into the air chamber,
passing through a nut hung on trunnions. The tubular air chamber
and the several ink and mucilage vessels have tubes whose ends enter
the side of the inkstand-vessels. The opposite ends are attached to stop-
cocks. To the outlets of the cocks are attached tubes or conductors.
The cocks are operated by rods which reach above the top of the stand.
The sponge cup is put in communication with the water reservoir by
a conduit.
The ink and mucilage vessels consist of two parts, viz., an outer shell
constituting the reservoir or fountain in which the fluid or mucilage is
held, and an inner funnel-shaped part constituting the cup into which
the pen is dipped. The aforesaid tubes open into the reservoir or
fountain near the top thereof and above the fluid, and therefore
have no communication with the dip cup within the reservoir or
fountain.
Any required number of reservoirs or fountains and cups may be used
for various purposes with different colored liquids.
The penholder consists in part of a circular or other shaped glass cup
. or stand having arranged around on the inside thereof a series of vertical
semicircular chambers or niches open at the top, which may rest upon
a ledge or shoulder. The said cup has a lining or curb extending from
the top to the floor of the stand, in the lower edge of which is cut a
series of openings that may correspond in number with the chambers,
and by means of which the said chambers communicate with the well of
the stand fitted with a sponge whereon to wipe the pen.

page_text: The pens when not in use are inserted point downward in the mouth
of the chambers, thereby immersing them in the water, which will keep
the ink left upon the pen from drying. The capacity of the stand for
holding water may be increased by forming around the base of the stand
a hollow moulding or enlargement in direct communication with the
lower end of the niches.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-third day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thercafter during..
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED INKSTAND AND APPLIANCES TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THERE-
WITH," a communication to me from abroad by Seth C. Catlin, of
Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my exccutors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification:-
This Invention relates to an inkstand so constructed that by adjusting
an air vessel liquid may be fed to a sponge cup, and ink and mucilage
caused to rise in the reservoirs containing them. It also relates to a
sponge cup and penholder, which may be used associated with the
inkstand or separately therefrom.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side view of the said inkstand; Figure 2 is a top view,
and Figure 3 a transverse vertical section of the same; Figures 4, 5,
and 6 shew detached portions; Figure 7 is a side view of the sponge
cup and penholder, which may or may not be used in association with
the inkstand; Figure 8 is a plan or top view of the sponge cup and pen-
holder; Figure 9 is a vertical section of the same; Figure 10 is a plan
or top view illustrating a modification of the said inkstand; Figure 11
is a side view of the same. Like letters indicate the same parts in the
several Figures.
A, B, Figure 1, represent the base and top of the stand in which tho
several vessels for holding the inks, mucilage, sponge, and other matters,
are placed, and of which C, O, are ink reservoirs, D a mucilage vessel,
and E a sponge cup, a top view of which is shewn in Figure 2. In the
centre of the stand is a water reservoir F of a cylindrical or other
suitable shape having an open top, whereas the lower end is closed
water-tight and secured to the base A. In the centre of the said
reservoir F is a tubular or other air chamber G having an open top,
while its lower end protrudes through the bottom of the reservoir,
and opens into an air chamber H under the base A. In the annular
chamber or reservoir F is fitted an air vessel I, consisting of a simple
glass cylinder having an open bottom and air-tight top. In the top
of the vessel I is secured a screw J, which depends therefrom into the
air chamber G, passing through a nut a hung in the open tube at the
upper end on trunnions. The tubular air chamber G is in open com-
munication with the air chamber H, and the several ink and mucilage
vessels have tubes K, Figures 1 and 3, whose ends enter the side of the

page_text: inkstand vessels, as shewn; the opposite ends are attached to stop-
cocks L, detached views of which are shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6,
whereof Figure 6 is a vertical section. The lower ends of the cocks
are fixed in the top of the base, as shewn in Figure 3, and communicate
with the air chamber H. To the outlets c of the cocks are attached the
tubes or conductors K. The pins or keys d of the cocks are operated
by rods M inserted therein, and which reach above the top of the stand
and terminate in a handle N, whereby the stop-cocks are opened and
closed for the purposes herein-after shewn.
The sponge cup E is put in communication with the water reservoir
by a conduit O, Figure 3, one end of which opens directly therein
through the bottom; the opposite end opens into the sponge cup
through the tube P, by which a free communication is established
between the cup and reservoir, as shewn in Figure 3.
The ink and mucilage vessels consist of two parts, viz., an outer
shell A', constituting the reservoir or fountain in which the fluid or
mucilage is held, and an inner part B', Figure 1, constituting the
cup into which the pen is dipped; the said cup B' is in shape similar
to an inverted funnel, the lower end being open and terminating near
the bottom of the reservoir, which when containing ink is immersed
therein, while the upper end or the mouth of the cup is hermetically
connected to the upper part of the shell or reservoir, and forms the
mouth of the ink and other vessels. As before stated, the ink and
other vessels are put in communication with the air chamber G by
means of tubes K, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, in which it will be
seen that the aforesaid tubes open into the reservoir or fountain near
the top thereof and above the fluid, and therefore have no com-
munication with the dip cup within the reservoir fountain.
Having described the construction and arrangement of the several
parts of the inkstand, the practical operation of the same is as
follows: In order to operate the air vessel I, and cause a pressure
of air upon the fluids in the reservoir, and thereby force them into
the dip cups for use, water or other suitable liquid is poured into the.
sponge cup E, which finds its way through the conduit O into the
annular water reservoir F, and packs the lower end of the air vessel I
air-tight. Now on opening the stop-cocks L by means of the rods M,
thereby establishing a free communication between the reservoir C and
the air chamber H, which may be readily done by the handles N, air

page_text: may be forced into the reservoir directly upon the fluids by revolving
the air chamber or vessel I in the proper direction to work the screw J.
into the nut, which will draw the air vessel I down, forcing the air
therefrom into the several reservoirs C, D, thereby causing the ink
and other liquids to rise more or less in the dip cups as the pressure
exerted may be varied; the said cups may be entirely emptied by a
reverse rotation of the air vessel, hence it will be obvious that the
pressure of the air upon the liquids is increased or diminished as
may be desired. A new charge of air may be supplied to the air
vessel by simply revolving it to the left, and it can be entirely
shut off from the reservoir by closing the cocks. The cocks being
two-way cocks the air chamber can be ventilated by turning them to
the left.
It will be obvious that by this arrangement and operation of the air
vessel all the liquids or any portion of them may be forced from the
reservoir into the dip cups for use, and that the sponge is sure to bo
always wet, as the ink, mucilage, and other liquids cannot be used
without water being in the reservoir, hence every time the ink and
other liquids are forced into the dip cups, water is forced into the
sponge cup and the sponge charged therewith.
Any required number of reservoirs or fountains and cups may be used
for various purposes with different coloured liquids.
The
The following is a description of the sponge cup and penholder herein-
before referred to, and which as aforesaid may be used in connection
with the ink and other reservoirs above described, or separately there-
from, in the capacity of a sponge cup and penholder, and for this
it is a neat and desirable article of writing desk furniture.
purpose
object of this part of the said Invention is to provide a neat and
convenient stand in which to insert the pens when not in use, and at
the same time have the pens immersed in water in order to prevent
the ink therein from drying, and also to clean the pen with the wet
sponge.
E, Figure 7, represents the penholder, which consists in part of a
circular or other shaped glass cup or stand having arranged around the
inside thereof a series of vertical semicircular chambers or niches F,
open at the top and extending down to the bottom of the inside, as
shewn in Figure 9; they may however reach but part way and rest

page_text: upon a ledge or shoulder. G', Figure 9, is a lining or curb of metal or
other suitable material extending from the top to the bottom of the
stand, in the lower edge of which is cut a series of openings a', which
may correspond in number with the chambers F, and by means of
which the said chambers communicate with the well H' of the stand
fitted with a sponge I' whereon to wipe the pens. It will be obvious
that in this arrangement of the chamber and sponge well the water
poured into the well will rise up and fill the chamber, the water flowing
therein through the openings a' in the lower edge of the lining, hence
the chambers or niches will be kept full so long as the well and sponge
are charged with water.
The pens when not in use are inserted point downwards in the mouth
of the chambers, and thereby immersed in the water, which will keep
the ink left upon the pens from drying thereon, hence they are always
kept clean and in condition for use by the action of the water and
sponge; moreover, the ink will readily flow from the pens at once, and
thus avoid the necessity of moistening the pen and cleaning it from dry
ink before using it in the ordinary way; and should the pen need wiping
the sponge is conveniently at hand for that purpose, the surface of the
sponge above the stand being always charged with water. The capacity
of the stand for holding water may be increased by forming around its
base a hollow moulding or enlargement indicated by the dotted line e,
Figure 7, which is made hollow and in direct communication with the
lower end of the niches, which in that case should reach but part of the
way down, and which moulding opens into the well. This device or
stand for holding the pens and the sponge on which they may be wiped
is neat in appearance and convenient in practice and use, and may
be used in immediate association with a set of inkstands forming an
integral part of the set, or it may be used singly as a penholder and
wiper.
In Figures 10 and 11, E' represents a dish having fluted or cor-
rugated sides. In said dish is loosely fitted a cover E', having a central
cup E to hold a sponge I' on which to wipe the pon; said cup is open at
both ends, and its lower end does not rest upon the bottom of the dish,
but is a little distance therefrom. The cover rests on shoulders inside
the dish. C. C. are two ink bottles placed within the dish between its

page_text: dipping the pen through two holes in the cover corresponding in
distance and size to the mouth of the ink bottles. When said bottles
are not in use their mouths are covered by turning the cover E' of the
dish around. A little knob f is intended for this purpose. By the use
of the dish cover for this purpose special stoppers for the ink bottles are
not required. The spaces F¹ are for holding the pens when not in
usc.
Water is supplied to the sponge by pouring it into the dish
through the pen holding spaces F; it will find its way to the sponge
under the cup, and will run into the sponge by capillary attraction.
Having thus fully described the nature of the said Invention as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
First. The herein-described pen and sponge holder, consisting of the
cup or stand E, having arranged around the inside thereof a series of
vertical chambers or niches F¹, having a curb G reaching partly or
wholly to the floor of the well, and having in the lower edge thereof
a series of openings a¹, whereby said chambers are put in communica
tion with the well or sponge cup I', substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
Second. The adjustable air chamber I, screw J, adjustable nut a,
air tube K, and reservoirs O, D, constructed and arranged to operate
in the manner described and for the purpose set forth.
Third. The adjustable air vessel I, annular water reservoir F, tubular
air chamber G, reservoirs C, D, and dip cup B', arranged and operating
conjointly in the manner substantially as described and for the purpose
specified.
Fourth. The sponge cup E and annular water reservoir F, con-
structed and arranged substantially as described and for the purpose
set forth.
Fifth. The adjustable air chamber I and water reservoir F, in com-
bination with water or other suitable liquid, for the purpose of making
an air-tight packing between said chamber and reservoir, substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. Two-way cocks L in combination with the air chamber H,
tubes K, and reservoirs C, D, substantially as and for the purpose

page_text: Seventh. The herein-described inkstand, consisting of the dish E³,
sponge cup E, ono or more ink bottles 0, 0, cover E', and pen-
holes F', substantially in the manner as described and for the purpose
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-second day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-two.
Witness,
EDWARD C. JACKSON.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)