A MACHINE CALLED A SLIDING BALCONY, OR PRIVATE FAMILY FIRE ESCAPE, FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LIVES AND PROPERTY FROM THE DREADFUL EFFECTS OF FIRE
Year: 1791

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DUFOUR, late of Berwick Street, in the Parish of Saint James, within the
Liberty of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, but now of Margaret
Street, in the Parish of Saint Mary le Bone, in the said County, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the
Twenty-fourth day of January, in the thirty-first year of His reign, did give
unto me, the said William Dufour, His special licence, that I, the said
William Dufour, during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A MACHINE CALLED
A SLIDING BALCONY, OR PRIVATE FAMILY FIRE ESCAPE, FOR THE PRESERVATION
OF LIVES AND PROPERTY FROM THE DREADFUL EFFECTS OF FIRE;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William
Dufour, under my hand and seal, to cause a particular description o
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in His Majestie's High Court of Chancery, within
one calendar month next after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, relation being thereunto bad, may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Dufour, do hereby declare, that my said Invention of A Machine which
I call a Sliding Balcony or Private Family Fire Escape, for the Preservation
of Lives and Property from the Dreadful Effects of Fire, is composed of a

page_text: machine or balcony made of wrought iron and cast metal, six feet nine inches
high, two feet broad, and two feet nine inches deep, or thereabouts, as occasion
may require, which is to be suspended by and fastened to one end of a strong
rope or chain that passes through a pulloy fixed in an iron shive or arm above
the said machine, that is to be passed through the wall of the house, upon the
surface of the floor of the attick, or any other story required, to which it is
secured down as above described in Figure, the Third, by the letters A, B, C,
and D; the other end of which rope or chain is to pass down the centre of a
wooden trunk, properly fixed to receive it, -to-which-last-mentioned end of
the rope or chain so passing down the said, wooden trunk, are to be fixed
chains and weights at proper distances, and so constructed as to balance the
said machine or sliding balcony when set in motion, in such a manner as to let
down in it any person or weight required with the greatest safety, case, and
facility, and with the same enso and facility carry it up again to its proper
heighth for other persons to descend in it again, as often as may be uccessary
for the relief of the persons and removal of tho.. property in danger;
and which said machino or sliding balcony, with, the manner in which
the same is to be. used, are all more fully delineated and described, in
and by the several Plans or Drawings, with the.references and explanations
thereof hereon above made, drawn, and written.
And I, the said William Dufour, do hereby further declare, that, the effect of
thus bringing down persons of any weight may be produced by different means;
for instance, by barrel springs, by larger weight placed at greater distances
upon the chains, or by heavy chains which would of themselves operate as
weights; all which the Inventor has tryed with success, but which he thinks
is sufficient only to point out, without entering into a particular description of
different methods producing the same effects as that herein described,
although he means to employ them as occasion may require, according to the
situation of houses. The rope may be turned anywhere, round a corner, or
even go quite through a house, as is found most convenient; and a door may be
opened in any part of a house for the purpose of fixing this machine to it,
instead of fixing it to a window already in a house, which would diminish the
expence by omitting the two other balconies, as for the sake of regularity
another balcony is fixed on the opposite side of the window, corresponding in
shape and size with the moveable one; but it is unnecessary to describe, being
only ornamental; and that, besides the use of this machine.as an escape from
fire, it may be turned to several other uses. particularly in bringing from their
appartments the gouty or otherwise infirm persons, and conveying them up
ngain with much more case and safety than being carried up and down by mon.

page_text: Such a mode of conveyance would be particularly useful in hospitals. These
machines might be fixed in staircases or in rooms, by which means persons
might be conveyed, without fatigue, danger,, or labour, to any part of the house.
They might also be used in warehouses, for the purposes of carrying goods of:
all kinds up and down much more expeditiously, and with much less labour,
than by many of the other common methods now in use.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Dufour, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.
(L.B.)
Sealed and delivered, being first duly
stampt, in the presence of
RP BURTON, of Symonds Inn.
J. BROOMHEAD, Holles Street.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord 1791, the aforesaid William Dufour came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according to
the tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.

page_text: d
such chain'd together by round lincks at the distance of about 0 or 7 niches more or less according to the height of the apartment where the Machine is to be fix'd so that when
the sliding balcony is descended to the line f. the weight intersected by the line f is afcended to the place occupied by the floor of the sliding balcony the st 30 weights
occupying in their extended state a space of 10 feet 1/2 or thereabouts according to the lenght of chain between each weight N.B. this statement is calculated for a height
of 20 feet and in this case the weights should be but 6 inches asunder N.B. this machine may be fix'd to any height of from the line of to the line I is contained 3
feet 1/2 of chain without weights which when extended form together with the chain of weights above describ'd a lenght of 20 feet the chain and weights being in this
_state the sliding machine will be descended to the live where it will be retained till unloaded of its weight and releas'd from the catch fig the 6th by pulling a
wire from the fix'd balcony the Machine will again reascend to the level of the fix'd Balcony where it will be retain'd by the upper catch fig the 11th till it is
agam loaded and released from the s" catch by pulling the handle expwards ŉ if the weight to be brought down exceed considerably the weight of a common man.
then the weights contai'd between the lines to and i are lifted one after the other they being separated by two round lincks forming a distance of 2 or 3 inches
between them when extended these may weigh from 10 to 50-# and may be 3. 4 or more in number according to the weight of the person and effects to be brought down
i the bottom of the area in which part of the truncks may be sunk if required to allow sufficient depth for the weights and chains to accumulate in
d
a the ground, plot of the sliding balcony & d: of the Fra'd Balcony -
a
ου
Fig the 2nd
Fig the 3rd a profile of the sliding Machine
D
· pully whose diameter may be more or less according to the size of the sliding Machine which must be suspended centrically and passing over the pully the rope
or chain must occupy the center of the bunk to the shieve or arm of the pully passing thro' the Will pist above the surface of the floor above and the end of it screw'd inf
of the rafters as at letters c.
one
of weights at time e fig the I.
bar of the sliding Machine at h.
the rope of chain in this statement is 33 feet long one end of it fastened to the top of the sliding Machine and the offer at the top of the chum
door ofien y door shut this door is made of slight bars for a paralel diciction with a fork at the end of the upper coss bar embracing the corner -
part of the hunck vueived sideways to be continued to the bottom of the area to the Will -
Fig the 4" upon a scale of 6 Inches to a Foot.
4%
-
a. a section of the Will to an inclind plane run with lead in the Wall at to at a proper height to stop the Muchine level with the fix'd balcony when the catch & rests upon
it-d. the back bars of the sliding Machine to which the catch c is mude fast by means of cheecks fix'd to them for the s" Catch to run between upon a Strong pin e the lever
and weights at the other extremity of the Catch a which the person in the machine lifting up and by that means lowering the catch c it then becomes releas'd from the
inchin'd plane and the weight of the person acting with that of the Machine against a very small part of the weights in the brunch as from line e to line & fig the
It will descend with a considerable degree of velocity till the weights
degree of velocity till the weights in the trunk bung gradually lifted up the velocity of the descent will be gradually diminish'd and
the person and machine will arrive at the bottom without
any
Shock
d.d to leave room.
Fig the 5th upon a Scale of 6 Inches to u
Foot
a. the Grounit plot or floor of the stilting Balcony N. B. thee must be a price similar to this which is to be from it to the upright burs to omitting only the 2 sute turs
for the paralel doves describ'd fig the 3rd and also omitting the incliv'd plane e this is to be frame at 5 feet from the floor 6.6 the upright bars .
Ⓒ the inclin'd plane e the rollers and pins running between the fillets £. f. forming a grove to keep them in place these are screwvid on the hunch y the hunk out housontally
as well as the rope or chaim h running thro' its center ...
Fig the 6th upon a Scate of 6 Inches to a Foot.
a-
The inclin'd plane c fig the 5th the catch & between the cheeks e fashid to a stub rim a into the Wall at it. e the arm of the Catch with its weight h. to-
keep it down upon the resting ping. f another pin to confine the catch within a proper compass i the wire reaching to the window
of
any floor where this
Machine may be fix'd where it is faster'd to a pull by means of which the inclin'd plane will be releas'd and the Muchine will ascend to its place
as soon as it is unloaded of the person that went down in it