A CERTAIN ENGINE OR MACHINE, CONSISTING OF DIVERS PARTS, TO BE APPLIED AND USED FOR SPLITTING, CUTTING, PARING, SHREADING, OR DIVIDING HIDES, SKINS, AND LEATHER IN LENGTH AND BREADTH, SEVERING THE FLESH SIDE FROM THE GRAIN SIDE, PARTING THE WHOLE SUBSTANCE INTO TWO OR MORE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS; AND ALSO FOR CUTTING, SAWING, SPLITTING, OR DIVIDING, AFTER THE LIKE FORM AND METHOD, WOOD, CORK, BONE, HORN, IVORY, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES WHICH MAY BE REQUIRED TO BE CUTT, SAWED, SPLITT, OR DIVIDED IN LENGTH AND BREADTH
Year: 1777

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, THOMAS
CROWLEY, of Camomile Street, Currier and Leather Cutter, sendeth greeting.
WHEREAS His Sovereign Majesty King George the Third, by His Royal
Letters Patent under His Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the seventeenth year of His reign,
reciting, amongst other things, that the said Thomas Crowley had, by his
Petition, represented to His said Majesty that, by great study, labour, and
expence, he, the said Thomas Crowley, had invented and brought to
perfection "A CERTAIN ENGINE OR MACHINE, CONSISTING OF DIVERS PARTS, TO BE
APPLIED AND USED FOR SPLITTING, CUTTING, PARING, SHREADING, OR DIVIDING
HIDES, SKINS, AND LEATHER IN LENGTH AND BREADTH, SEVERING THE FLESH SIDE
FROM THE GRAIN SIDE, PARTING THE WHOLE SUBSTANCE INTO TWO OR MORE DIFFERENT
DIVISIONS; AND ALSO FOR CUTTING, SAWING, SPLITTING, OR DIVIDING, AFTER THE
LIKE FORM AND METHOD, WOOD, CORK, BONE, HORN, IVORY, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
WHICH MAY BE REQUIRED TO BE CUTT, SAWED, SPLITT, OR DIVIDED IN LENGTH AND
BREADTH;" His said Majesty did give and grant unto the said Thomas Crowley,
his executors, administrators, and assigns, His said Majesty's especial licence,
full power, sole priviledge and authority, that he, the said Thomas Crowley,
his executors, admors, and assigns, and every of them, by himself and them-
selves, or by his and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others
as he, the said Thomas Crowley, his executors, adiñors, and assigns, should at
any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-

page_text: after during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend his said Invention, within that part of His said
Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His Dominion of Wales,
and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as to him, the said Thomas
Crowley, his executors, adññiors, and assigns, or any of them, should in his or their
discretions seem meet, and that he, the said Thomas Crowley, his executors,
admors, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and enjoy the whole profit,
benefit, commodity, and advantage from time to time coming, growing,
accruing, and arising by reason of the said Invention, for and during the term
of years therein mentioned, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said licence,
powers, priviledges, and advantages therein-before granted or mentioned to be
granted unto the said Thomas Crowley, his executors, admors, and assigns, for
and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years from the date of
the said Letters Patent next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be compleat
and ended, according to the Statute in such case made and provided; in which
said Letters Patent is, amongst other things, contained a proviso that if the
said Thomas Crowley should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of his said Invention, and in which manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under his hand and seal, and cause the same to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within four calender
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that
then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever
thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, anything
therein-before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding, as
in and by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had, doth more fully
and at large appear.
NOW THESE PRESENTS WITNESS, that, in pursuance of the said
Letters Patent, and in conformity to the proviso therein contained, the said
Thomas Crowley hath described and ascertained, and by these Presents doth
fully and particularly describe and ascertain, the nature of his said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by the Figure or Draft of
the said Invention, with the references thereunto, as above written (distin-
guished by the Second Construction, and as herein-after mentioned), that is
to say:
The leather, being fixed on Figure 3, as above described, and placed on the
table D, and put under the edge of the knife, and screwed down to the table,
as before also described, then, by turning round the handles I, I, fixed to the
spindle of the wheels in Figure 2, which move the pinion and crank, to which
crank is fixed the rod K, which is fastened to the knife by the hinge B in

page_text: Figure 2, as above described, motion is given to the knife, which moves
backwards and forwards from one of the pillars marked H to the other in the
sockets above mentioned, the grain side of the leather, as cut, being drawn
from under the knife, in manner before described, and the flesh side turning
upwards before the edge of the knife; or the movement of the knife may
be
effected by means of a horse, water, fire, air, &c., as occasion may require;
which is a full description of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is performed. Any other substances to be cut, sawed, splitt, or divided,
may be done in the same manner as herein-before mentioned concerning
leather, instead of a knife using a saw or such other instrument as may be
best adapted to the particular work required to be done.
And the said Thomas Crowley hath also described another engine or
machine by which the same kind of work may be performed, distinguished by
First Construction, by a Plan or Figure thereof above described or delineated.
The nature and design of the Invention is, to seperate the flesh side from the
grain side of the leather, and thereby save the flesh side, which was before
made scarce any use of, being generally burnt for fuel, and render the same fit
for such uses and purposes to which the grain side hath been applied. The
operation by which the same is performed is either by the action or pressure
of some tool or instrument against or on the substances to be divided, or the
action or pressure of the substances against or on the tool or instrument,
or by the mutual action or pressure of both, each against or on the other.
In witness whereof, the said Thomas Crowley hath hereunto set his hand
and seal, this Twenty-third day of August, in the seventeenth year of
the reign of our said Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace
of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the
Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand seven
hundred and seventy-seven...
REFERENCE TO THE MACHINE DESCRIBED AS THE FIRST CONSTRUCTION.
A, the knife, which is fastened in the frame B, B, which frame is fastened
to the ploughs M, M, and the ploughs are fastened to the planes N, N.
C, C, are the handles by which the whole figure is moved backwards and
forwards. D, D, are two pullies, thro' which pass two cords, having weights
thereto, as in the Figure represented, which help the motion. The screws
which connect the knife frame with the ploughs are regulated according to the
thickness of the substance to be cut.
Figure 2. E, E, are two blocks, containing livers chasms, between which
the leather is placed. G, G, are two screws, by which said blocks are brought

page_text: together or seperated. H, H, H, H, are two rollers, over which the leather
passes when cut down to the chasms I, I, a weight being fixed to each side of
the leather to pull it down. J, J, are two chasms, at the bottom of which are
fastened the plates J, J, and in each of which are placed the Figure 3, having
3 springs round the pins, as in the Figure represented, on the top plate of
which act the ploughs in Figure 1. K, K, are two boards, represented by
Figure 4, on which boards are fastened finiers, as o, o, between the thicknesses
of which the leather is placed; and the knife A, Figure 1, passing between
the surfaces of said finiers, divides the leather, leaving the grain side between
the thickness of the finiers in one block, and the flesh side between the thick-
ness of the finiers in the other block. On the opposite side of the chasms,
wherein the boards K, K, are fixed, are fastened springs, which act against
the boards K, K, so that as the knife is pressed into the leather it forces the
boards K, K, against the springs, which of course give way to the action of
the knife.
REFERENCE TO THE MACHINE DESCRIBED AS THE SECOND CONSTRUCTION.
Figure 1. D, a long plain table, in the middle of which, on each side, is
placed a strong perpendicular pillar, Figure H, braced together, as in the
Plan. A, Figure 1, a knife, the ends of which move in sockets placed in the
two pillars H, H. B, Figure 1, one end of the knife A, to which the hinge B
in Figure 2 is made fast. C, C, in Figure 2 fastens to C, C, in Figure 1 on
cach side one of the pillars, so as to fasten the whole Figure 2 to Figure 1.
I, I, two handles fixed to the spindle of the wheels in Figure 2, which move
the pinion and crank represented in Figure 2, to which crank is fixed by a
joint the rod K, the turning of which handles I, I, gives motion to the knife
A, Figure 1, or the movement of the knife may be effected by means of a
horse, water, fire, air, &c., and in any direction, as occasion may require.
Figure 3 is a plank or stone, which is hollowed out from b, b, b, b, according
to the thickness the grain side of the leather is intended to be left when sepa-
rated. At the top of the hollow is fixed a row of points, marked L, L, on
which one end of the leather is fastened when placed in the hollow. a, a, are
hooks fixed in at the end of the Figure 3. The leather being thus fixed, the
whole of Figure 3 is laid on the table D, and put under the knife A till the
leather meets the edge.
Figure 4 is a plank or stone, which is placed upon the leather when fixed in
Figure 3, and screwed down to the table D by the claws E, E, in Figure 4 on
each side the table, and the screws E, E, in Figure 1 on each side the table.
F, a piece of strong cloth placed upon the table D, behind the knife, one end of

page_text: which is fastened to the hooks a, a, in Figure 3, when placed under the knife,
and the other end fastened to a roller at the end of the table D, which roller is
turned round by the wheel and pinion in the Plan, Figure 1, moved by the
handle G, and which draws the whole of Figure 3 from under the knife as the
leather is seperated, with the grain side in the hollow, the flesh side turning
up before the edge of the knife.
Inrolled the Twenty-fifth day of August, in the year above said.