Improved. Type for Italics.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 12th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 13th Feb., 1892
PROVISIONAL STEUERATION.
Improved. Type for Italics.
I, HEINRICH FLINSCH, of Frankfort on Maine, Germany, Proprietor of the
Type Foundry Flinsch, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
With printing type for italics or hand-writing in which the letter has to assume
an inclined position corresponding to handwriting, the difficulty occurs that many
of the letters, on account of their inclined position project to the right and left
beyond the rectangular type body, which does not occur with ordinary printing
type.
Various means have been employed for overcoming this difficulty, the most used
of which consists in supporting the overhanging parts of the letter against damage
by means of inclined or vertical supporting parts. This, protection is however, as
is well known, of doubtful value, as notwithstanding the supporting parts, only, a
slight pressure is sometimes required for breaking off such overhanging parts
together with their support.
I have already many years ago endeavoured to give the necessary support to the
overhanging parts by vertical supports cast on the body of the type, which in their
turn were supported in corresponding recesses in the contiguous type; such a con-
struction has been recently described in the German Patent No. 54,388.
This arrangement has however not proved advantageous because already the
slightest amount of dirt, portions of ink, or slight deformation of the edges and
corners were sufficient to prevent the correct fitting of the type into each other, and
consequently produced irregularity of the printing surface.
It is obvious that a remedy for the difficulty in question might have been provided
by making the entire body of the type of an oblique or parallelogram cross section
instead of a rectangular one, but such an arrangement has on the other hand the
disadvantage, that in closing up a line of such type the inclined surfaces of the
separate type easily become shifted relatively to each other, and, in addition,
the composition is rendered much more complicated.
According to my present invention I obviate all these difficulties by imparting
to the type two different cross sections, the lower part being of the ordinary rect-
angular section, while the upper part is of a parallelogram form. This construction
may be represented as consisting of an ordinary rectangular type, the top part of
which, while retaining its perpendicular form, has been twisted round on its vertical
axis to an angle corresponding to that required for the italic type.
Between the rectangular vertical lower part and the vertical top part the con-
nection is formed by an oblique or twisted middle part, having almost the same
geometrical section as the upper and lower parts, and consequently possessing the
same strength.
A very slight decrease of thickness is made in the oblique part, having only for
its object to provide a small space between such intermediate parts of two contiguous
types, so that the oblique faces thereof cannot come in contact, thus avoiding the
inconvenience previously referred to.
The vertical top parts and the vertical bottom parts of the contiguous types, on
the contrary, come into close contact, so that the complete line of type can be
readily and accurately closed up.
Dated this 25th day of Mov 1891
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Type for Italics.
1, HEINRICH FLINSCH, of Frankfort on Maine, Germany, Proprietor of the
Type Foundry Flinsch, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
With printing type for italics or handwriting in which the letter has to assume
an melined position corresponding to handwriting, the difficulty occurs that many
of the letters, on account of their inclined position project to the right and left
Deyond the rectangular type body, which does not occur with ordinary printing
type.
Various means have been employed for overcoming this difficulty, the most used
of which consists in supporting the overhanging parts of the letter against damage
by means of inclined or vertical supporting parts. This protection is however, as
is well known, of doubtful value, as notwithstanding the supporting parts, only a
slight pressure is sometimes required for breaking off such overhanging parts
together with their support.
I have already many years ago endeavoured to give the necessary support to the
overhanging parts by vertical supports cast on the body of the type, which in their
turn were supported in corresponding recesses in the contiguous types; such a con-
struction has been recently described in the German Patent No. 54,388.
This arrangement has, however, not proved advantageous because the slightest
amount of dirt, portions of ink, or slight deformation of the edges and corners were
sufficient to prevent the correct fitting of the types into each other, and consequently
produced irregularity of the printing surface.
It is obvious that a remedy for the difficulty in question might have been
provided by making the entire body of the type of an oblique or parallelogram
cross section instead of a rectangular one, but such an arrangement has on the
other hand the disadvantage, that in closing up a line of such type the inclined
surfaces of the separate type easily become shifted relatively to each other, and, in
addition, the composition is rendered much more complicated.
According to my present invention I obviate all these difficulties by imparting
to the type two different cross sections, the lower part being of the ordinary rect-
angular section, while the upper part is of parallelogram form. This construction
may be represented as consisting of an ordinary rectangular type, the top part of
which, while retaining its perpendicular form, has been twisted round on its vertical
axis to an angle corresponding to that required for the italic type.
Between the rectangular vertical lower part and the vertical top part the con-
nection is formed by an oblique or twisted middle part, having almost the same
geometrical section as the upper and lower parts, and consequently possessing the
same strength.
A very slight decrease of thickness is made in the oblique part, having only for
its object to provide a small space between such intermediate parts of two contiguous
types, so that the oblique faces thereof cannot come in contact, thus avoiding the
inconvenience previously referred to.
The vertical top parts and the vertical bottom parts of the contiguous types, on
the contrary, come into close contact, so that the complete line of type can be
readily and accurately closed up.
Fig. of the accompanying drawings is a perspective view of an italic type
according to my invention,
Fig. 2 is a plan, Fig. 3 is an edge view, Fig. 4 is a sectional plan on the
line a b of Fig. 3,
Fig. 5 is a side view and Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on the line c d of Fig. 5.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
An italic printing type having its lower part of rectangular section and its
upper part, on which the character is formed, shaped as a parallelogram inclined
to the lower part and connected thereto by a twisted part supporting the
character throughout its whole length, substantially as described.
Dated this 12th day of January 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.