IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES, CASH BOXES, JEWEL BOXES, AND OTHER SIMILAR RECEPTACLES FOR VALUABLE PROPERTY"
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Gardner, of No. 42, White Lion Street,
Pentonville, in the County of Middlesex, Safe Manufacturer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES, CASH BOXES, JEWEL BOXES,
AND OTHER SIMILAR RECEPTACLES FOR VALUABLE PROPERTY"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Gardner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th October 1872.
I, WILLIAM GARDNER, of No. 42, White Lion Street, Pentonville,
in the County of Middlesex, Safe Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES, CASH BOXES,
JEWEL BOXES, AND OTHER SIMILAR RECEPTACLES FOR VALUABLE PROPERTY," to be
as follows:-
My said Invention relates to contrivances whereby a safe, cash box,
jewel box, or other similar receptacle, may be safely secured upon the
floor or upon a table stand or other support in such a manner that it can
only be released or removed therefrom by a person having the proper
key. For this purpose I form in the bottom of the safe or box a
dovetailed groove, and affix to the floor, table, or stand a dovetailed plate
so fitted to the aforesaid groove that the safe or box may slide end wise
$

page_text: upon the same. Inside the safe or box I arrange spring bolts or rods,
which, when the lid or door is closed project through the bottom of the
said safe or box into holes formed in the aforesaid dovetailed plate, but
which are raised out of the said holes by their springs when the safe or
box is opened. For large safes which have the door in the front I
prefer to arrange the said spring bolts in combination with bevelled
surfaces or projections on the door so formed as to force the said bolts
down when the door is opened. In jewel boxes, cash boxes, and other
boxes whose door is on the top the said spring bolts are preferably passed
down through the ends of the box; the upper ends of the said bolts being
made to project into the proper position to be forced down when the lid
or door is closed. The said bolts may have any desired number of points
at their lower ends, a corresponding number of holes being formed in the
dovetailed plate for their reception. A jewel box, cash box, or other
box or case, which it may be desirable or necessary to carry from one
room to another, may have dovetailed plates for securing it in two
or more rooms so that wherever it has to be used it may be kept in
safety.
I prefer that cash boxes, jewel boxes, and the like should be provided
with both a spring lock an a safety lock. The said spring lock secures
the lid or door simultaneously with the closing of the same, then the
key is inserted, and the bolt of the other lock is thrown, the box
being thereby double locked. I prefer to use a thin flat key, but an
ordinary key may be employed if desired. I fit in the cover of the box
a hub or boss for the reception of the said key. The said hub has a
collar on the outside of the cover which prevents it being forced inward;
and in the part of the hub that extends inside the cover I make a
circular groove, into which I slide a metal plate. The latter is secured
by screws or rivets to the inside of the cover and prevents the removal of
The said plate
the hub by pressure applied to draw it out of the cover.
may be stamped or engraved with the maker's name and address and
with other marks. Instead of having the said plate I may use a nut or
pin for securing the hub.
It will be seen that when provided with the above contrivances the
securing of the box upon the dovetailed plate is effected by the act of
closing the box or safe, and when the same is opened it is also
released from the said plate, and may be removed therefrom by sliding
it endwise from the plate; but for despatch or express boxes, or in

page_text: other cases where the box has to be entrusted to the care of persons not
permitted to have access to the interior of the box, the spring bolts
instead of being opened and closed by the lid or door must be operated
by a special lock; I therefore arrange the said spring bolts at one end of
the case or box, and in the said end I secure a lock, which, by means of
its proper key, may be operated to cause the said spring bolts to project.
into the holes in the dovetailed plate, or to withdraw them from the
The locks for securing the door are fitted in the said cover as
above described, or otherwise arranged as desired. When the box or
receptacle has the lock for manipulating the spring bolts at one end the
said box or receptacle may be conveniently placed in a pigeon hole or
other recess provided with a dovetailed plate to fit the groove in the
bottom of the said box as above described.
same.
I pack the walls of safes with Roman or Portland cement mixed with
a small quantity of lampblack and water. This compound when placed
in the safe wet preserves the metal of the same and generates steam
when exposed to heat.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Gardner in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GARDNER, of No. 42, White Lion Street, Pentonville, in the County of
Middlesex, Safe Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Gardner, Her special
licence that I, the said William Gardner, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Gardner, 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

page_text: IN SAFES, CASH BOXES, JEWEL BOXES, AND OTHER SIMILAR RECEPTACLES FOR
VALUABLE PROPERTY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Gardner, 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 l'atent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Gardner, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification.
My said Invention relates to contrivances whereby a safe, cash box, jewel
box, or other similar receptacle may be safely secured upon the floor or
upon a table stand or other support in such a manner that it can only be
released and removed therefrom by a person having the proper key of
the said safe or box. For this purpose I form in the bottom of the
safe or box a dovetailed groove, and aflix to the floor, table, or
stand a dovetailed plate so fitted to the aforesaid groove that the safe or
box may slide endwise upon the same. Inside the safe or box 1
arrange spring bolts or rods, which when the lid or door is closed
project through the bottom of the said safe or box into holes formed in
the aforesaid dovetailed plate, but which are raised out of the said holes.
by their springs when the safe or box is opened. For large safes which
have the door in the front I prefer to arrange the said spring bolts in
combination with bevelled surfaces or projections on the door, so
formed as to force the said bolts down when the door is closed. In jewel
boxes, cash boxes, and other boxes where the door is on the top, the said
spring bolts are preferably passed down through the ends of the box;
the upper ends of the said bolts being made to project into the proper
position to be forced down when the lid or door is closed. The said bolts
may have any desired number of points at their lower ends, a cor-
responding number of holes being formed in the dovetailed plate for
their reception. A jewel box, cash box, or other box or case which it
may be desirable or necessary to carry from one room to another may
have dovetailed plates for securing it placed in two or more rooms, so
that wherever it has to be used it may be kept in safety.

page_text: transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1, and shews the box closed and
the spring bolts forced into their holes.
Figure 3 represents a safe or strong box with my Invention applied
to the same.
Figure 4 is an interior view of my improved lock; Figure 5 is a
similar view with the parts in a different position; Figure 5ª illustrates
the method of securing the said lock upon the door or cover.
Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9, show detached portions of the said lock herein-
after described.
Figure 10, shews the key for operating my improved lock.
Similar letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the Drawing :-
a is the body of the safe or box which may be made of malleable iron,
steel, or other suitable metal, and which is preferably made in one piece
instead of being jointed at the corners as in the ordinary construction of
these boxes; by constructing the box in this manner I am enabled to
give it a highly finished appearance, and moreover the rebate a' for the
reception of the cover is cast in the box instead of being formed by
rivetting pieces inside the same; is the door or cover which is also
constructed of iron, steel, or other suitable metal; a² is the groove in the
bottom of the safe or box, and c is the dovetailed plate. The said plate
is so fitted to the groove a² as to permit the box to slide easily upon the
plate without allowing any unnecessary slackness between the parts; d, d,
are the spring bolts. In Figures 1 and 2 it will be seen that these bolts
extend through holes at the ends of the box a through the bottom, and
that when the cover is down, as in Figure 2, the said bolts are forced into
the holes in the plate c, the box being thereby secured to the said plate;
but when the cover is raised the said bolts are withdrawn from the holes
by the spiral springs e, and the box is thereby released and may be
removed from the said plate.
I prefer that the cash boxes, jewel boxes, and the like, should be
provided with both a spring lock and a safety lock; I therefore construct
a lock as shewn in Figures 4 and 5. This lock has a spring bolt ƒ which

page_text: secures the lid or door & simultaneously with the closing of the same,
and then the key is inserted and the safety lock bolt is thrown, the
box being then double locked. I combine with the said safety lock bolt
a protector g'; the said protector is a lever which is pivotted at g' and
has two shoulders or projections g³, g'; when the door is locked the outer
end of the protector lies behind the shoulder g of the said bolt, as shewn
in Figure 5, and effectually prevents the forcing back of the same; by
pressure applied to its end when the tumblers are raised they act on the
projection and lift the end of the protector above the bolt, as shewn in
Figure 4, and the said bolt can then be retracted; but if the said
tumblers should be raised too high, as would probably happen in an
attempt to pick the lock, the protector g* falls over the inner end of the
bolt g, and the said bolt will be again secured. I use a thin flat key
hand fit in the cover of the box a hub or boss i for the reception of the
said key. The said hub has a collar on the outside of the cover which
prevents its being forced inward. And in the part of the hub i which
extends inside the cover I make a circular groove, into which I slide
a metal plate j. The latter is secured by screws or rivets to the inside
of the cover and prevents the removal of the hub i by pressure applied
to draw it out of the cover. The said plate may be stamped or engraved
with the maker's name and address and with other marks, or may have
a metal cover i* placed over it. The said lock is secured upon the cover
or door by dovetailing it between the pieces formed or fixed on the
said door; screws are passed through these pieces into the ends of the
lock, as shewn in Figure 5. In the safe shewn in Figure 3 the lower
edge of the door is bevelled or provided with a bevelled projection so
formed that when the door is closed the said bevelled part or projection
will force the spring bolt d down and secure the safe to the dovetailed
plate c.
It will be seen that when provided with the above contrivances
the securing of the box upon the dovetailed plate is effected by the act
of closing the safe or box, and when the same is opened it is also released
from the said plate and may be removed therefrom by sliding it endwiso
from the plate; but for a dispatch or express box or other box or
receptacle which has to be entrusted to the care of persons whom it is
not desired should have access to the interior of the box, the spring
bolts instead of being opened and closed by the lid or door must be
operated by a special lock. I therefore arrange the said spring bolts at
one end of the box or case, and in the said end I secure a lock which by

page_text: means of its proper key may be operated to cause the said spring bolts
to project into the holes in the dovetailed plate or to withdraw them from
the same.
The locks for securing the door are fitted in the said cover as
above described, or otherwise arranged as desired.
When the box or receptacle has the lock for manipulating the spring
bolts at one end it allows the said box or receptacle to be conveniently
placed in a pigeon hole or other recess provided with a dovetailed plate
to fit the groove in the bottom of the said box as above described.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. In a safe, cash box, or other similar receptacle the spring bolts
operated by the lid or door for securing the same to a table or other
support, as herein set forth.
Second. The combination of the said spring bolts with bevilled
surfaces or projections on the door of a safe, as herein set forth.
Third. The lock constructed and secured upon the door of a safe, cash
box, or other like receptacle, and operating as hercin set forth.
Fourth. The hub or boss for the reception of the key provided with a
collar outside the door, and secured by a metal plate inside the said door,
as herein set forth and for the purposes specified.
Fifth. A dispatch or express box or other similar box or case grooved
to fit a dovetailed plate, and provided with spring bolts and a special
lock for operating the said bolts, as herein set forth and for the purpose
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Gardner, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Seventh day of April in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
+1-80
30 Witness,
WM. ROBT. LAKE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
WILLIAM GARDNER. (L.S.)