IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEWING THE BACKS OF BOOKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BINDING THE SERIES OF NUMBERS OR SEPARATE. SECTIONS OF A BOOK OR VOLUME TOGETHER
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Garrett Tongue, of the Firm of Tongue &
Birkbeck, Patent Agents and Engineers, of 34, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEWING THE BACKS OF
BOOKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BINDING THE SERIES OF NUMBERS OR SEPARATE.
SECTIONS OF A BOOK OR VOLUME TOGETHER."-A communication from
abroad by Henry Graham Thompson, of New York, United States
of America.
Scaled the 31st March 1868, and dated the 10th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Garrett Tongue
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th January 1868.
I, JOHN GARRETT TONGUE, of the Firm of Tongue & Birkbeck,
Patent Agents and Engineers, of 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEWING THE BACKS OF
BOOKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BINDING THE SERIES OF NUMBERS OR SEPARATE
SECTIONS OF A BOOK OR VOLUME TOGETHER," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the arrangement of mechanism cr
apparatus suitable for sewing the backs of books in order to bind the.

page_text: screws.
series of numbers or separate sections of the book together in place of
sewing them by hand with a needle and thread as ordinarily practised.
For this purpose a series of needles are mounted in a vertical position
upon a table or platform supported on a frame or stand. The needles are
held in position at their lower ends in a grooved plate or bar so as to be
capable of adjustment, being fixed therein by a clamping plate and set
The stems of the needles pass up through a plate forming part
of the table which is capable of being moved up and down by means of
lever arms fixed upon an axis below, to which motion is given from time
to time as required to raise or lower the plate. The upper surface of the
plate is accurately divided with lines which correspond in distance apart
with the saw cuts or divisions made in the back edges of the sections of
the book to be sewn together. The upper ends of the needles are formed
with eyes, which project a short distance above the edge of the stationary
part of the table upon which the successive sections of the book are
placed in the operation of sewing. At one end of the row of needles (by
preference on the right) a horizontal rod or bar is mounted so as to move
freely to and fro in guides. This rod or bar is formed with a barb, hook,
or point near the end at a short distance from the first needle in the row;
before the bar is moved to carry a loop of the sewing thread to the
opposite end of the row of needles, so as to place it over the last needle in
the row, which is formed with a hook to retain the loop when placed over
it, this hook is so formed as to be retained within the eye of the needle
by a spring and shoulder thereon (or it may be otherwise attached to the
needle), but is capable of being removed when the needle and thread is
being drawn through to complete the sewing operation. The horizontal
rod or thread carrier is constantly borne to the right hand by means of a
weighted cord attached thereto, and is moved from end to end in front of
the row of needles by means of a treadle connected by a cord passing
over a pulley and attached to the thread carrier bar. The sewing thread
is wound on a bobbin supported on the table, the thread being conducted
through suitable guides to the first needle of the row on the right,
through the eye of which it is threaded to commence the operation of
sewing, which is as follows:-The moveable plate at the commencement
of the operation is placed on a level with the fixed part of the table, and
the end of the thread is passed trough the eye of the first needle on the
right hand, and retained by the operator. A number or section of the
book, to be, sewn, previously cut, at suitable distances apart on the. back.

page_text: edge, as is well understood, is then opened out flat, and the openings in
the back edge are passed over the tops of the needles, one half of the
number or section being supported upon the fixed portion of the table,
and the other part or half upon the moveable plate. The treadle is then
depressed by the foot, which causes the hook or barb on the thread
carrier to enter the loop (formed by the thread in eye of the first needle);
and carry it to the opposite end of the row of needles, the loop being
delivered on to the last needle in the row, where it is retained by the
hook attached thereto. The delivery of the loop on to the needle is
effected by means of a fixed incline or cam surface upon the table, under
which the forward end of the thread carrier bar passes rising over the.
incline on its return movement, the end of the bar being so formed that
the loop is carried over the top of the needle, at which point the end of
the bar descends from off the incline or cam surface, so as to deliver the
loop on to the needle. The thread carrier having moved back to its
former position, the part of the number or section of the book resting on
the fixed part of the table is folded over the tops of the needles on to the.
moveable part of the table, which is then lowered so as to place the upper
surface of the number on a level with the fixed table, the thread
through the needle being raised on to the upper surface of the book.
Another number or section is then laid over the needles as before, and
the thread carrier is again moved so as to carry a fresh loop across on to
the left-hand needle, as before. When the whole of the series of
numbers or sections forming the book or volume have been thus operated
upon the hook in the left-hand end needle is removed, and the several
needles are threaded with lengths of thread, which on raising the table to
remove the sewn book are drawn through the series of numbers or
sections, and serve as tie threads to the loop threads previously introduced
therein, as previously described. The amount of movement of the thread
carrier bar may be varied by an adjustable stop thereon to suit various
sizes of books to be sewn thereby, and the number of needles employed
may also be varied.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said John Garrett Tongue in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 10th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GARRETT TONGUE, of the Firm of Tongue and Birkbeck, Patent Agents
and Engineers, of 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-first
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Garrett Tongue, Her special licence that I,
the said John Garrett Tongue, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Garrett Tongue, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR SEWING THE BACKS OF BOOKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BINDING THE
" a
SERIES OF NUMBERS OR SEPARATE SECTIONS OF A BOOK OR VOLUME TOGETHER,'
communication to me from abroad by Henry Graham Thompson, of New
York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Garrett Tongue, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Garrett Tongue, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the arrangement of mechanism or
apparatus suitable for sewing the backs of books in order to bind the
series of numbers or separate sections of the book together in place

page_text: a transverse vertical section, and Figure 4 a plan of a machine for
sewing or binding together the series of numbers or separate parts of
a book constructed according to this Invention.
a, a, a, are needles or instruments mounted in a vertical position
and secured upon the upright 6' mounted on the platform 6 which is
supported upon the frame or stand 62. The needles a, a, a, are held
in position at their lower ends in a grooved clamping plate or bar a³
so as to be capable of adjustment, the clamping bar and needles being
secured by means of set screws a. The stems of the needles a, a¹, a³,
pass up through holes in a plate c which is capable of being moved
up and down by means of lever arms c¹ and the lever handle c* fixed
upon the axis c³ to which motion is given from time to time as required
to raise or lower the plate c. The upper surface of the plate c is
accurately divided with lines as shown which correspond in distance
apart with the saw cuts or divisions made in the back edges of the
sections of the book to be sewn together. The plate c is attached to
the sliding rods c which are guided through apertures in the bar a³,
the spring c pressing against the rods c' so as to guide the plate cat
all times against the vertical surface of the upright 6'; the motion of
the axis is communicated to the rods c and plate c by means of
connecting rods ce. The upper ends of the needles are formed with eyes
which project a short distance above the edge of the upper surface of
the stationary worktable 6 upon which the successive sections of the
book are placed prior to the operation of sewing. At one end of the
row of needles (by preference on the right) a horizontal rod or bar d
is mounted so as to move freely to and fro in guides d¹, d', attached
to the part of the frame, as shown. This rod or bar d is formed with
a barb hook or point d' near the end, the position of which is so adjusted
by means an adjustable stop d³ as to be at a short distance from the

page_text: first needle in the row before the bar is moved to carry a loop of the
sewing thread from the first needle a to the opposite end of the row
of needles so as to place it over the last needle a³ in tlie row which
is formed with a removeable hook to retain the loop when placed over
it. This hook is so formed as to be retained within the eye of the needle
by a spring and shoulder thereon, or it may be otherwise attached to the
needle; but the book is capable of being removed when the needles and
back or tie threads are being drawn through to complete the sewing
operation. The horizontal rod or thread carrier d is constantly borne to
the right hand by means of a weighted cord d' passing over a pulley d*
and attached to the bracket d' upon the rod d, and by means of the cord d
passing over pullies at d' and attached at one end to the bracket d'
and at the other end to the treadle de; the rod d is moved when required
from end to end in front of the row of needles. The sewing thread is
wound on a bobbin fupon the spindle f¹ fixed on the table b, the thread
being conducted first through the spring guide f* attached to the table b,
the thread is then passed through the guide & carried by the rod d, and
is then passed through the guide b* fixed to the table b³, from which it is
threaded through the eye of the first needle a from back to front to
commence the operation of sewing, which is as follows:-The moveable
plate c at the commencement of the operation of sewing is placed on a
level with the fixed part 6 of the table, and the end of the thread is
passed, as above described, through the eye of the first needle on the
right hand, and retained by the operator. A number or section of the
book to be sewn, previously cut at suitable distances apart on the back
edge, as is well understood, is then opened out flat, and the openings in
the back edge are passed over the tops of the needles, one-half of the
number or section being supported upon the fixed portion 6 of the
table, and the other part or half upon the moveable plate c; the
treadle ds is then depressed by the foot of the operator, which causes
the hook or barb d' on the rod d to enter the loop (formed by the thread
in eye of the first needle a) and carry it to the opposite end of the row of
needles, the loop being. delivered on to the last needle as in the row, where
it is retained by the hook attached thereto. The delivery of the loop
on the needle is effected by means of a fixed incline or cam surface g
upon the table 63, under which the forward end of the rod d passes, so
as to carry the loop under the hook of the last needle a², and the rod d
rises over the incline on its return movement, the end of the rod d

page_text: being so formed that as the rod d returns the loop is carried over the
top of the needle a, at which point the end of the rod d descends from
off the incline or cam surface, so as to deliver and leave the loop upon
the needle a. The rod or thread carrier d having moved back to its
formed position, the part of the number or section of the book resting;
on the fixed part of the table is folded over the tops of the needles;
on to, the moveable part c of the table, which is then lowered, so as to
place the upper surface of the folded number on a level with the fixed
table 6. The thread through the needle being raised on to the upper
surface of the book, another number or section is then laid over the
needles, as. before, and the rod or thread carrier d is again moved, so as
to carry a fresh loop from the right-hand needle a across on to the left-
hand needle a, as before. In folding over each successive number
care must be taken that the threads forming the loop carried from the
needle a and laid over the needle a are retained on that side of the
needles a¹ nearest the operator.
When the whole of the series of numbers or sections forming the
book or volume have been thus operated upon, the hook in the left-hand
end needle a is removed, and the several needles a, a', and a² are
threaded with lengths of thread, and on raising the table c to remove the
Bewn book the lengths of thread are drawn by the needles a, a³, through
the loops, and by the needles a¹ at the back of the loops folded within
the series of numbers or sections, and serve as tie or "back" threads
to the loop threads, so as to bind the series of numbers or separate
sections of the book together.
The amount of movement of the rod or thread carrier d, as above
described, may be varied by an adjustable stop thereon, and a larger
or smaller number of needles may be employed and placed nearer
together or farther apart as may be desired to suit the various sizes of
books to be sewn.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which the same is carried into practice, I would remark that the
arrangement and construction of the parts may be greatly varied
without departing from the true character of the Invention; but what I
claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The arrangement and combination of parts and instruments
constituting the machine or apparatus for sewing the backs of books for

page_text: the purpose of binding the series of number or separate sections thereof
together, substantially as herein shown and described in reference to
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly. The application and use of the series of needles a, a¹, a²,
and the rod or thread carrier d in the manner and for the purpose
substantially as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Garrett Tongue, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
JOHN GARRETT TONGUE. (L.S.)