Improved Letters or Numerals to be Used for Shop Fronts, Offices, Sky Signs, and the like, and Means for Fixing the said Letters or Numerals in Position.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Letters or Numerals to be Used for Shop Fronts, Offices,
Sky Signs, and the like, and Means for Fixing the said Letters
or Numerals in Position.
I ARTHUR STANDRING of The Limes, Church Lane, Harpurhey Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Artist, 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 :-
The principal object of this invention is to supply effective letters or numerals
for advertisements on name plates shop fronts, sky-signs and other places which can
be cheaply made.
The main feature of this invention is that the letters or numerals are stamped
from sheet metal, such as copper or brass, raised to any required height, or
thickness of letter, and provided with suitable means for affixing the same into
position, such means being adapted to the nature and position of the advertise-
ments.
The annexed drawings illustrate several ways of forming and fixing my improved
letters.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 show letters adapted to be nailed or screwed to a board,
plate or strip of wood or other suitable material.
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8 illustrate a means for fixing them without nails or screws to such a.
board plate or strip or other solid background.
Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 illustrate means for affixing my letters to bars or
rods, and
Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate means for affixing my letters to wires to produce sky
signs and similar advertisements.
The letters are stamped up into the raised form shewn by the sectional view
Fig. 3 or other similar form and they are provided with lugs or flattened parts a
see Figs. 1, 2 and 4 in cases where they are simply to be nailed, screwed or
similarly fixed to a board or other solid background. These lugs or flattened
parts will lie flat against the said background and are provided with suitable holes
through which the nails screws or other equivalent fasteners are passed.
A most convenient and effective form of letter is one having a flat strip along
certain edges such flat parts being of suitable width, and in such positions as to
form shades or shadows to the letters.
Holes for nails or other similar fastening devices may be made in these
shadows as seen at Fig. 4 and thus the letters can be fixed flat against the
background.
It will be evident without further illustration that these raised sheet metal
letters may be fastened to the solid background by having holes in the body of
the letter for the nails or screws to pass through, but I prefer to form the letters
with lugs or other flat part or shadows a as before described.
Sometimes also instead of making holes in the lug a I bend them back behind
the letter as seen at Fig. 5 and I fix upon the background special plates or
frames as shown at Figs. 6, 7 and 8 with hooks 6' & formed or fixed thereon
corresponding in position to the turned back lugs on the letter. On one side of
one or more of these books I form a stop c and at the other side thereof is a
slightly raised piece d capable of being pressed down but also of springing back
into its raised position.
In the example shown at Fig. 6 the letter is placed with its lugs a turned back
as shewn at Fig. 5 just above the hooks b' and into the position shewn dotted

page_text: on Fig. 6, the lugs a can then pass under the free ends of the hooks b' 6' those
which are passing beneath the hooks 6' will depress the spring projections d but as
soon as the letter is in the correct position the lugs a will leave the springs d
which will rise behind them and hold the letter in place. The stops e prevent the
letter from being pushed too far down and so becoming disengaged again from
the hooks b. In order to remove the letter a blade must be inserted between the
letter and the frame b to press down the springs d so that the lugs a can be moved
back over them.
In cases where these stamped sheet metal letters are to be fixed on a rail or
rails e shewn at Figs. 10, 11 and 14 I take a strip or piece of metal bent into the
form shewn detached at Figs. 12 and 13 and apply it to the letter in the form of a
cross piece or bridge piece as seen at Fig. 9.
Lugs a' are formed on the letter and corresponding slots formed in the cross
piece into which the lugs a' are forced and hold the said cross piece f securely in
place see Fig. 15. I thus form a space for the head of a bolt 9 which passes
through a suitable square hole in the cross piece f. I slip a suitable sliding clip h see
detached view Fig. 15 upon the rail e and pass the bolt g through the ends of this
clip and tighten the whole together by a nut i.
The letter can thus be adjusted and fixed firmly in any desired position on the
rail or bar e and the fastening device will be entirely concealed from view.
I have shewn a rail e at both top and bottom of the letters but for the smaller
sized letters one rail will be sufficient; or if desired for very large letters more
than two rails may be employed.
I sometimes mount these stamped sheet metal letters upon two light wires
tightly stretched parallel with each other and at a suitable distance apart as seen
at Figs. 16 and 17.
The letters may have lugs a' bent into hooks at the back as seen on Fig. 16 or
they may have inclined slots or nicks cut in them as seen at o Fig. 17. In either
case the wire can be sprung over the hooks a³ or into the notches o as indicated by
the dotted lines a³.
It will be seen that in all the modifications described the letters or numerals can
be readily removed, when it is required to do so.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A hollow raised letter or numeral made from stamped sheet metal and having
means for affixing it in position (according to the nature of the support to which it
is attached) in such a manner that it can readily be removed if desired, substan-
tially as herein before described.
2. A hollow stamped raised metal letter or numeral with flattened shadow by
which it can be fixed to a background substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The means for affixing my improved letters or numerals to a plate or frame
fixed to a solid background substantially as described with reference to Figs. 5, 6, 7
and 8 of the annexed drawings.
4. The means for affixing my improved letters cr numerals to a rail or bar
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of
the annexed drawings..
5. The method of supporting my improved letters or numerals by means of
parallel wires substantially as described with reference to Figs. 16 and 17 of the
annexed drawings.
Dated this 19th day of October 1804
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.