IMPROVEMENTS IN THE IMPLEMENTS OR ARTICLES EMPLOYED IN THE GAME OF INDOOR CROQUET
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Jones, of No. 36, Soho Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Surgeon, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE IMPLEMENTS OR ARTICLES EMPLOYED IN THE GAME OF INDOOR CROQUET
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd November 1865.
I, HENRY JONES, of No. 36, Soho Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Surgeon, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE IMPLEMENTS OR ARTICLES EMPLOYED IN THE GAME OF INDOOR
CROQUET," to be as follows:-
In the game of indoor croquet it has been heretofore necessary to
employ a board or frame, which, in conjunction with the description
of hoops and balls heretofore employed, has rendered the implements of a
costly nature, and has thus interfered with the general introduction of
the game.
My present Invention has for its object to render such implements of
a simple and inexpensive nature, and for this purpose I dispense entirely
with the board or frame heretofore employed, and simply cover an
ordinary table with a cloth having small holes for the purpose of holding
the hoops in a manner to be presently described. I form the hoops of a
piece of wire or metal rod, the two ends of which are made to constitute

page_text: the feet by being bent at right angles to the hoop, and by preference in
opposite directions, so that the one projects on the one side of the hoop
and the other on the other side. These hoops I fix to the before-
mentioned cloth upon the table by passing the projecting ends or feet
thereof through holes formed in the required places in the cloth, whereby.
the hoops are firmly held upon the table in the most simple manner,
whilst the feet formed by the projecting ends will, on account of their
Such projecting
position, form no appreciable obstruction to the game.
ends may, however, if required, be flattened out, or they may be formed
of a separate flat piece of metal or other suitable material rivetted, soldered,
or otherwise attached to the hoop.
In place of the wooden balls heretofore employed for playing this game,
I employ glass balls, as being both cheaper and more elegant in appearance,
and I prefer for this purpose to have such balls so manufactured by any
known means as to be perfectly true, and to have them annealed in such a
manner as to prevent them from chipping when struck by the hammer or
one against the other.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
JONES, of No. 36, Soho Square, in the County of Middlesex, Surgeon,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Henry Jones, Her special licence that I, the
said Henry Jones, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Henry Jones, 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 IN THE IMPLEMENTS OR ARTICLES
EMPLOYED IN THE GAME OF INDOOR CROQUET," upon the condition (amongst

page_text: others), that I, the said Henry Jones,. 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 Patent..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said. Henry Jones,. do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be.
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,, that is to say :-
In the game of indoor eroquet it has been heretofore necessary to
employ a board or frame, which, in conjunction with the description of
hoops and balls heretofore employed, has rendered the implements of a.
costly nature, and has thus. interfered with the general: introduction of the
game.
My present Invention has for its object to render such implements of a
simple and inexpensive nature,. and. for this purpose I. dispense entirely
with the board or frame heretofore employed, and' simply cover an ordinary.
table with. a cloth having small holes for the purpose of holding the hoops
in a manner to be presently described. I form each hoop of a piece of
wire or metal rod, the two ends of which are made to constitute the feet
by being bent at an angle to the plane of the hoop,, and by preference at
right angles and in opposite directions, so that the one projects on the one
side of the hoop and the other on the other side.. These hoops I fix to the
before-mentioned cloth upon the table- by passing the projecting ends or
feet thereof through holes formed in the required places in the cloth,.
whereby the hoops are firmly held upon the table in the most simple
manner, whilst the feet formed by the projecting ends will, on account of
their position and the slightness of their projection, form no appreciable
obstruction to the game. Such projecting ends may, however, if required,.
be flattened out, or they may be formed of separate flat pieces of metal or
other suitable material rivetted, soldered, or otherwise fixed to the hoop...
In place of the wooden balls heretofore employed for playing this game,
Í employ glass balls, as being both cheaper and more elegant in appearance,
and I prefer; for this purpose to have such balls so manufactured by any
known means as to be perfectly true, and to have them annealed in such a
manner as to prevent them from chipping when struck by the hammer or
one against the other

page_text: Figure 1 on the accompanying Drawing shows a perspective view of
one of my improved hoops, in which the feet a, a, are formed by simply
bending the wire of the hoop at right angles to the plane of the hoop
itself, the one foot being bent in the opposite direction to that of the
other. Small holes b, b, are formed in the cloth B of the table
C, Figure 2, and the feet of the hoop A are inserted into these holes as
shown, so as to be held securely between the cloth and the table, the
reversed position of the feet affording perfect stability to the hoop, while
by making them project at right angles or nearly so to the plane of the
hoop they offer little or no obstruction to the motion of the balls. The
feet may, however, also both be made to project on one and the same
side of the hoop, as shown at Figure 3, although in that case the hoop
would not be quite so stable; they may be also flattened out, as shown at
Figures 4 and 4ª, so as to afford the least possible obstruction, and may
pass through slits in the cloth in place of round holes. Or instead of
forming the feet of the same piece of metal as the hoop, they may be
formed of separate pieces of metal rivetted, soldered, or otherwise fixed to
the hoop. In this case each foot may be made to project on either side of
the hoop, as shown in Figure 5, so as to afford still greater stability without
requiring to be of so great a length as in the other arrangement, the feet
being in this case held by two slits in the cloth, one on each side of the
leg of the hoop, as shown in Figure 6; or as another mode of holding the
feet of the hoop, two holes or slits may be formed, as shown at a, Figure 7,
so as to constitute a loop through which the foot is passed; or a loop or
pocket may be formed by sewing a separate piece of thin material on to
the cloth, either on the upper or the under surface thereof, or straps or
loops may be employed, as shown at 6, Figure 7. I prefer, however, to
hold the hoops in the manner first described, which I consider the simplest
and perfectly effective.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I am well
aware that indoor croquet hoops have been constructed hollow with
separate feet placed underneath the cloth of the table, such feet having
pins projecting through the cloth, on to which pins the hollow ends of the
hoop are made to fit, and I therefore do not claim constructing indoor
croquet hoops with separate feet held by the cloth of the table; but what I
claim is,―
First, bending the ends of indoor or table croquet hoops so as to form
fest on which the boons will stand the feet being so disposed that they

page_text: may
be passed through a cloth and held between the cloth and the table,
the effect of which is to keep the hoop in an upright position without
further support, and without causing a projection that interferes
appreciably with the game.
Second, forming such hoops in any other way with feet or bases fixed
thereto projecting from the plane of the hoop on one or both sides, so that
when these projecting feet or bases are passed into holes, slits, loops,
pockets, or other equivalent preparations in the cloth the hoops are held
upright in a manner similar to that described in the first claim.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Jones, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
HENRY JONES. (L.s.)