and other Purposes.
Year: 1885

page_text: Children, and other Purposes.
I, WILLIAM BESTWICK MAXFIELD, of N° 19, Bowling Green Street, Leicester,
in the county of Leicester, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the invention
for "AN IMPROVED APPLIANCE FOR FACILITATING THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN
AND OTHER PURPOSES," being a communication to me from abroad by Peter Worden
Peckham, of the City, County and State of New York, in the United States of
America, Stationer, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to an improved appliance for facilitating the education of
children, and other purposes, and to more clearly illustrate the same, reference is
hereinafter made to the accompanying drawings; the same letters of reference
indicate like parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1. is a view of an appliance showing tablets or discs a with some of the
figures thereon of the Multiplication Table. The wire b. may, if required, be made
in two parts one part 6' being arranged to move from underneath the base plate c.,
as shown in dotted lines, so that the wire b. may be opened and closed in any
desirable manner.
Figures 2. and 3. are plan views representing respectively the
obverse and reverse sides of one of the tablets, or discs employed. Figure 4. is an
end view of the appliance represented in Figure 1.; Figures 5. and 6. represent
respectively the obverse and reverse sides of a tablet or disc arranged to be
employed as hereinafter described. Figure 7. is a view of a modified form of the
appliance.
This invention consists of a series of tablets or discs a. strung upon a rod or
wire b. passing through an aperture in the centre of each disc. The ends of the
rod or wire may be joined together to form a ring, as shown in Figure 7., or
combined with a base plate, or stand c. made fast to terminal plates or buttons, to
confine the discs thereon, the said tablets or discs are thus left free to rotate, and
slide upon the rod or wire, so that both sides of each tablet or disc may be readily
brought to view by sliding the selected disc apart from the remainder, each tablet

page_text: or disc is imprinted with, or made to bear, in any suitable manner, upon the one.
face, an interrogation, suggestion, or query, in the form of a character, picture,
letter, word or problem, to which an answer is required, and upon its opposite face,
and in a corresponding position to each interrogation, is a reply thereto, also, in the
form of characters, letters, figures, or illustrations, as for example, as shown in
Figures 3. and 6. In Figure 5. the tablet or disc is represented as bearing a letter
of the alphabet which an ignorant child will look upon interrogatively, and upon
the opposite side, as shown in Figure 6., thero is a picture or other device, which
will lead, and assist, the child to recall the letter or word by its name, or the
repetition of the letter in a different and more striking form or colour may be used
to produce the same effect. It will be well understood that twenty six of the said
tablets or discs embrace the entire alphabet. In the appliance shown in Figure 1.
it will be understood that the first disc a. has upon its face figures, signifying,
twice 1. are?, and upon the reverse side the answer "2. ;" the second disc shows
on its reverse face the answer "4." and a figure denoting the number of the disc is
placed round the aperture in the centre, whilst the third disc bears upon its face
the question in Figures, twice 3. are ?, the disc being moved over for the reply. In
like manner a word in one language may be placed upon one side of a disc as the
interrogation and its translation upon the reverse side of the same disc as the reply,
or the reverse may indicate a definition or afford an illustration as a response to
any interrogation on the obverse side. In the use of the said appliance the attention
and interest of the child or pupil, being awakened or excited by exhibiting to it the
interrogative side of a disc he is afterwards permitted to seek and find the reply by
slipping the disc forward upon the loop or ring, for reversing it. The discs may be
numbered for convenience of reference, also for the purpose of teaching the child
to count, as shown around the aperture in the centre of one of the discs in Figure 1.,
as the discs are passed over to the reverse side or back of the ring or wire b.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The appliance consisting of tablets, or discs, strung upon a loop or ring, of any
desired form, and having letters, words, figures, characters, illustrations, or signs
thereon, substantially as, and for the purposes, herein before described and set forth
and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this twenty ninth day of August One thousand eight hundred and