AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MANIFOLD WRITING
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MANIFOLD WRITING."-A communica-
tion from abroad by Mr. Joseph Charles Thomas Devaux, of 29, Boulevart
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd April 1862.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MANIFOLD WRITING," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved manifold writer, for obtaining copies
of documents or papers, letters, music, figures, designs, plans, and for other
similar purposes, by means of a single penholder, bearing at one time on
several sheets of paper. The copies may also be obtained in triplicate by
suitable arrangement of the apparatus.
The apparatus and its accessories forming the subject of the present
Invention consist, 1st, of a desk or table of any desired form, forming a
support for the hand; 2udly, an improved holder for steel or other pens,

page_text: which may be of any suitable form; 3rdly, of an improved inkstand, forming
an indispensable adjunct to the penholder, as does the latter to the desk or
table.
As I have mentioned, the latter may be of any suitable form and arrange-
ment, the object being to cause several different sheets of paper to present
at one time a sufficient portion of their surfaces for tracing the necessary
lines or marks thereon at a given moment; the sheets of paper have a
regular movement imparted to them in such manner as to continually
present fresh surfaces to be filled up in succession. For this purpose in
the top of an ordinary writing desk, I make two or more parallel slits, each of
sufficient width to allow of a sheet of paper passing through; these sheets are
held by gripping parts one for each sheet, attached to a slide running in guides
on the inner sides of the desk, and are first inserted from the underneath through
one of the slits, and then down through the next slit, so arranged as to leave a
sufficient surface exposed for writing on between the slits, and the same for
the remaining sheet for sheets. The slide before mentioned is connected by
'bands or cords to a cross shaft, at the front end of the desk near the writer;
this shaft projects outside the desk, and is furnished with a handle and ratchet
and pawl; the delivery of the paper is effected by rotating the shaft by means
of the handle to the desired extent; which acts on the slide and grippers in
connection therewith, so as to draw in a certain amount of the paper each time
a line is completed by the writer, where it is immediately held by the ratchet
and pawl until the new space is filled with writing, and so on. Small friction
rollers may be placed in the interior of the desk, to facilitate the delivery of
the paper.
The improved penholder of this Invention, for producing the double or
triple copies, is formed of a stem having two or three pen nibs, arranged at
suitable distances on the holder, like the prongs of a fork, in such manner that
when the hand is placed in position on the desk, the nibs carried by the
prongs, which are of unequal length, shall all be in contact with the different
separate strips of paper, and trace on each the lines, characters, or writing
desired.
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The inkstand although but an accessory, still forms an indispensable part of
the Invention; it may be made of any of the usual forms, and has an elliptical
or rectangular opening of sufficient size to enable all the pens to dip into the
ink at one time.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st October 1862.
r
.: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
-Patent Agent, send greeting.
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by, Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me; the said: William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William
Clark; my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
ținie agree, with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
APPARATUS FOR MANIFOLD WRITING," a communication from abroad by Mr. Joseph
Charles Thomas Devaux, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, in the Empire of
France, Civil Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said
William Clark, 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 William Clark, do. hereby declare, the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be. particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to an improved manifold writer, for obtaining, copies
of deeds, documents, or papers, letters, music, figures, designs, plañs, and for
other similar purposes, by means of, a single penholder, bearing at one time on
several sheets of paper. The copies may also be obtained in triplicate, by a
suitable arrangement of the apparatus..
.1
The apparatus and its accessories forming the subject of the' present
Invention, consists, 1st, of a desk or table of desired form forming, a support

page_text: .
for the hand; 2ndly, of an improved holder for steel or other pens, which may
be of any suitable form; 3rdly, of an improved inkstand forming an indispen-
pensable adjunct to the penholder, as does the latter to the desk or table.
As I have mentioned, the latter may be of any suitable form and arrange-
ment, the object being to cause several different sheets of paper to present at
one time a sufficient portion of their surfaces for tracing the necessary lines or
marks thereon at a given movement; the sheets of paper have a regular move-
ment imparted to them, in such manner as to continually present fresh surfaces
to be filled up in succession.
The improved penholder of this Invention, for producing the double or triple
'copies, is formed of a stem, having two or three pen nibs arranged at suitable
'distances on the holder, like the prongs of a fork, in such manner that
when the hand is placed in position on the desk, the nibs carried by the
prongs, which are of unequal length, shall not be in contact with the different
separate strips of paper, and trace on each the lines, characters, or writing
desired.
.
The inkstand, although but an accessory, still forms an indispensable part of
the Invention; it may be of any of the usual forms, and has an elliptical or
rectangular opening, of sufficient size to enable all the pins to dip into the ink
at one time.
The arrangement of this apparatus it will be understood may be of various
kinds, and the mechanism may also be modified in several ways.
I will
however here limit myself to describing the arrangement which appears to
me most preferable, and to serve as an example illustrative of this In-
vention.
The desk is made in two parts, the one part being used for writing on,
while the other part contains the mechanism or working parts. The desk is
furnished with two or more narrow slits at the upper part, the surfaces or
tablets between being used for writing on, and furnished with pads for that
purpose; the slits are of sufficient width to allow of a passage for the sheets of
paper, on which the writing is to be inscribed. The two separate sheets of
paper, being placed on each of the tablets, are there held by a small metal rod
forming a spring; for giving a sufficient tension to the paper, so as not to
require the application of the left hand during the work of filling each page;
under the upper tablet is placed a wire, which holds the sheet of paper
at a sufficient distance to prevent it touching the writing on the other
sheet, which passes underneath. A plate of sheet iron fixed under the
tablet obliges the sheet passing over this: tablet to lodge under the first part
of the desk.

page_text: The second part containing the mechanism, is furnished with two gripping
parts, intended to grasp the two end of each sheet of paper. One of the
sheets passes under the first part of the apparatus forming the desk, and the
other towards the second part containing the mechanism between the two
grippers. When the first two lines have been written, at the same time at a
suitable distance apart, which may be judged by the eye, or indicated by a
mark placed on the right side of the sheet on the upper tablet, the sheets are
drawn by means of a button head on the end of a shaft, on which are mounted
pinions gearing in an endless chain, passing over small rollers fitted at the
bottom of the desk..
The two grippers for drawing the sheets of paper are maintained in their
position by guides or pins running in a guide fixed to each side of the desk.
A frame is fitted to the desk, with a binding screw, and gripper for holding an
original writing in front of the of the writer, in cases where copies are required
to be made.
"
This Invention is represented in the accompanying Drawings, where Fig. 1
shows a front elevation of the desk; Fig. 2 a central vertical section of the
same; Fig. 3 shows in detail the first arrangement of grippers. Fig. 4
shows in detail a second arrangement of same; Fig. 5 shows in'detail and
elevation a pen holder with two nibs. In these Figures the same letters of
reference indicate the same parts seen in different positions.
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a, desk, properly so called for writing on; this desk may be made of all
sizes and of different materials, such as wood, metal, cardboard, hardwood;
india-rubber, composition, or of other materials; b, tablets, which may be made
either square or cylindrical, hollow, or otherwise; they are furnished at the
upper part with a pad c, for giving elasticity and facilitating the action of the
pen; this pad c, may be of cardboard, oil cloth, india-rubber, or other material;
d, e, openings for the passage of the sheets of paper; f, g, metallic rods,
securing the paper on each tablet, so as to keep it stretched, and facilitating
the writing; these bars serve at same time to give more regularity to the
movement of the paper; h, metallic plates, furnished with two pinions or
guides i, sliding in grooves.j,j; k, l, grippers, which are united together by
means of metal plates h, h. These grippers or holding parts are represented in
detail at Fig. 3; they are formed of two bars m and n, united by guide pins o
which permit of their movement; one of these bars is hollowed on the inside,
the other projects so as to correspond therewith; springs o', o', are placed
between the two bars, which cause them to open automatically, when the rod P
turns by means of key.q; this rod p turns in bearings r, and carries eccentric

page_text: discs s, which open or close at will the two bars m & n. Fig. 4 shows a
modification of the nipper, the jaws m and n of which always open automati-
cally by the effect of springs, while they are shut or closed by two levers t and u
actuated by a screw. v; the two-levers t and u, raise the pins x and y, fixed to
the lower jaw, which is also raised.
1, 2, are sheets of paper, represented in red in the Drawings; 3 button
head for turning 'the axis, 4 of the bevil wheels 5, 5;. 6, 6, rollers, fitted on
the desk, and furnished with thumbscrews. 7, 7, whereby to change their
position, and to exert suitable tension on endless chain 8, 8, which passes over,
the wheels 5 and rollers 6; these chains 8, 8, are actuated by means. of hooks
to the arms of the grippers; 9 rods for supporting the chains 8, 8; 10,
sheet iron plate, for facilitating the, introduction of the paper carried by a
rod 11; 12, frame, fixed on the desk by means of thumbscrews 13, 13; this
frame serves to hold an original writing to be copied in duplicate, which is
secured in position by means of a clip 14; 15, cross pieces, for 'strength-
ening the desk; on which are fitted rollers 16, 16; whereby the desk may. be
easily moved about; 17, index, for marking and measuring the distance
between the lines in writing.
:
The whole being disposed as represented in the Drawings, the action of the
apparatus is easy to be understood.. I will suppose as shown in the Drawing
an apparatus is constructed to contain a double copy of any document or
description in writing. I take two sheets of paper which is to receive. the
writing, and grip their upper parts between the two nippers. I pass the
first sheet 1 through, the opening a of the desk, and I secure the top of this
sheet, after having passed it through opening e to the nipper k. The second
sheet 2 is introduced through opening e, and passes between the two nippers k,
while the upper end passes over the edge of the desk, and is fixed in the
jaws m, n, of the upper nipper k.
When the sheets are thus secured by their upper edges in the nippers k,
I place the rods f, g, thereon. In this way the jaws k, being brought to the
top of the desk, each of the sheets of paper 1 and 2, presents on the surface
of the desk a small band of paper; on which to write with a penholder
with two. nibs, as represented in Fig. 5; at the termination of the first
line, the button head 3 is turned with the left. hand, which imparts a move-
mént of rotation to the axis 4 of the wheels 5, and consequently produces
á rectilinear movement of the chains 8;, which draws the nippers or pin-
cers k together with the sheets of paper. The button is turned a sufficient
number of times to advance the paper to the extent desired, according as it is

page_text: wished to have the lines more or less apart. This advancement of the paper
may be judged by the eye, or according to a scale 16, placed at the side of the
upper sheet of paper.
When the second line is terminated, I proceed in the same manner as before
until the sheet is finished. The time for placing the sheets in the apparatus is
very short, a half-minute suffices for persons a little experienced. As to the
time necessary for displacing or putting the paper in motion, it is not worthy
of mention, as it is only equivalent to that required for passing from one line
to another.
In a word a copy involves two different operations, while a writer in dupli-
cate is himself his own copyist. Again, it is easy to recognize the writing
effected with this apparatus, from its being exactly similar on the two sheets,
in fact forming a manual daguerrotype.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of perform-
ing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,
First, the improved desk or writing apparatus, herein described and repre-
sented in the Drawings, without confining myself to the precise form and
dimensions of the parts of which it is constituted.
Secondly, I claim the improved penholder with several nibs necessary for
this apparatus.
Thirdly, I claim the improved inkstand necessary for the penholder with
several nibs.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WCLADIZ