AN IMPROVED PROJECTILE
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I.
ISAAC DICKSON, of Chester Street, Grosvenor Place. in the County of
Middlesex, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS, in consequence of a communication made to me by a
certain foreigner residing abroad, and discovery by himself, I am in
possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROJECTILE;" and whereas
His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of
December, in the ninth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Isaac Dickson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial license that I, the
said Isaac Dickson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Isaac Dickson, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and also in all His said

page_text: Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the said Invention; in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Isaac
Dickson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be enrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within two calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Isaac Dickson, do hereby describe the nature of the said Invention
to consist in a gun or fowling piece, the lock, touch-hole, and breech of
which slide by means of a telescope movement into the stock, which is
made to assume an angular position for the shoulder or rectilinear
position with the barrel, at pleasure, for that purpose, and which said
improvement is more particularly applicable to that which is commonly
called a cane or walking stick gun; and in further compliance with the
said proviso, J, the said Isaac Dickson, do hereby describe the manner
in which the said Invention is to be performed by the following
description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1, is a section of the said Invention, showing the improve-
ment as applied to a cane or walking stick gun. A, is the barrel; B,
the breech, which it will be observed has the touch-hole at the end
instead of at the side, and is made to receive a copper cap; C, is the
hammer, acted upon by the spiral spring D; the piece of steel forming
the hammer is coloured blue, which at once shows its shape, and it will
be seen that at the end E, of the hammer is a small catch or notch
which takes on to a corresponding catch or notch at F, which is the
trigger, formed of two parts F, and G; the part F, is hung on a pivot,
and is supported in its proper position by the spring H, while the
part G, is kept steady by the top spring I, which acts like the spring at
the back of a pocket knife; J, is a small spring to throw out the

page_text: part G, which would otherwise, muder certain circumstances which will
be hereafter explained, remain folded up in the hollow space under the
part F. All these parts which constitute the lock are inclosed in the
tube K, K, which it will be seen extends from L, to M, and within
which there is another tube N, for the spiral spring to butt against at.
one end, and supported at the other by the solid end piece O. The
dotted parts P, P, show the instrument used to bring the hammer to
full cock, there being no half cock required in this Invention. It is
hardly necessary, after looking at the Drawing, to state that there are
corresponding apertures in the tubes K, and N, and in the hammer
at Q. to allow this instrument P, to act. By drawing the instrument l',
back in the direction of the arrow the notch E, on the hammer will
be drawn on to the notch F, on the trigger, and the hammer will be at
full cock; a, is an aperture through which to put the copper cap on;
e. is an aperture for it to drop through after the gun has been fired,
and i, is a boss to hold the screw of the spring that acts from it; R, is
a joint piece or strong piece of metal to form with O, the joint T, and
when O, and R, are held in a straight line, as here shown, the whole of
the parts herein-before described from U, to V, may be pushed into the
tube S, S, which forms the stock in the manner of a telescope joint.
The stock S, S, is composed of two tubes one within the other, and the
inner one has a slot in its upper side, which serves as a guide groove for
the piece R, to slide in, and which not being quite cut out at the outer
end serves for a stop, and shown at W. When the pieces R, and O.
are not held in a rectilinear position the stock turns on the joint T, and
drops to the angle shown by the dotted lines. The parts colored pink,
which are seen above, below, and passing through the piece R, are for
the purpose of keeping the stock more steadily at the angle when once
it has dropped to that position, and are as follows:-X, is a strong steel
spring, which, when the stock drops to the required angle, leaves the
notch on the piece O, which is here shown to be in, and falls into the
notch immediately below it, which brings it to rest upon the head of
the pin Y, and while in this position the stock cannot be moved from
the proper angle it has assumed till the spring push pin Z., is applied
against the pin Y, which pushes up the spring X, and the stock may

page_text: then be again brought into a straight line with the barrel to allow of its
sliding with the telescope movement into the stock, as before explained;
t, is a screw passing completely through the piece R, to secure the
spring X, and Z.
Figure 2, is a full length view, on a smaller scale, of a cane gun on
the improved plan. This view represents the part K, containing the
lock drawn out of the stock S, and the stock dropped to the proper
angle for firing from the shoulder. The trigger G, which will be
pushed up into the hollow space under F, as before alluded to, by the
movement into the stock, when drawn out again will be thrown into the
position here shown by the force of the spring J, which position is just
far enough for the ffinger to get hold of it and pull it to the proper
position for ffiring, in which second position it is held by the action of
the spring I.
Figure 3, is the ramrod which I propose to use with the said
Invention when applied as a cane gun, but it is evident many other
kinds may be adopted; the one here shown is intended to be kept in
the barrel of the gun when not about to be fired, in which case one
end of it is made to serve the purpose of a ferrule, which adds to the
cane like appearance of the instrument when the lock, touch-hole, and
breech is slid into the stock, as shown at Figure 4, which represents
the said Invention when made to assume the form of a cane or walking
stick.
Now whereas various cane guns have been heretofore invented, but
not with stocks which can be placed at a proper angle for the shoulder
when fired, and replaced in a rectilinear direction with the barrel when
used as a cane or walking stick, in manner aforesaid. And whereas no
gun or fire-arm has ever been made heretofore with the lock, touch
hole, and breech inclosed in a tube having a telescope movement into
the stock, as herein-before described. And whereas great advantages
are derived from the peculiar construction of the Invention herein-
before described as regards the lightness and consequent portability of
it, combined with the convenience of taking aim or sight when applied
to the purposes of a cane or walking stick gun, but more especially as
regards the preservation of the lock, touch-hole, and breech from the

page_text: weather, damp, or accidental discharge by the telescope movement.
Therefore I do hereby claim as the said Invention the sliding move-
ment in manner of a telescope aforesaid, together with the joint T, and
the parts immediately connected with it, by which I am enabled to
bring the stock to the proper angle for the shoulder, or to form a
rectilinear position with the barrel for the purposes of the telescope
movement, at pleasure. And such the said Invention being to the best
of my knowledge and belief entirely new, and never before used within
that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, His said Dominion of Wales, or Town of
Berwick upon Tweed, nor in any of His said Majesty's Colonies nor
Plantations abroad, I do declare this to be my Specification of the
same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth
comply in all respects fully and without reserve or diguise with the
proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained,
wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege
to the said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Dickson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.
ISAAC (L.s.) DICKSON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Third day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1829, the aforesaid Isaac Dickson came before
our said Lord the King, in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Inrolled the Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine