IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRU- MENTS.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT, to James Baillie Hamilton, George Edward Wade,
Richard William Okes-Voysey, and Arthur James Balfour, all of
Greek Street, Soho, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRU-
MENTS.
"
Sealed the 26th October 1875, and dated the 29th April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Baillie Hamilton,
George Edward Wade, Richard William Okes-Voysey, and Arthur
James Balfour at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 29th April 1875.
We, JAMES BAILLIE HAMILTON, GEORGE EDWARD WADE, RICHARD
WILLIAM OKES-VOYSEY, and ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR, all of Greek
Street, Soho, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the.
nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," to be as follows:―
The object of this Invention is to construct stringed musical instru
ments of the violin class, which can be played without the use of a. bow

page_text: for setting the strings in vibration. The Invention is applicable to all
instruments of this class, from the violin to the double bass, and in
carrying out our Invention we employ any convenient number of
strings, according to the nature of the instrument to be produced.
Either three, four, or five is a convenient number of strings to be used
for the purpose of our Invention, but a smaller or larger number may be
employed if desired. Each string is connected to the tongue or vibrator
of a free reed, such as those employed in harmoniums, and the musical
tone is produced by causing a strong current of air to act on the
vibrator or tongue of the free reed, and thus impart a vibratory motion
to the tongue and the string or wire connected therewith upon the plan
described in the Specifications of two Patents dated 13th November 1872,
No. 3381, and 19th March 1873, No. 1008, the former of which was
granted to John Farmer and the latter to John Farmer and James
Baillie Hamilton. These Patents are now vested in the present appli-
cants or some of them, and the present Invention consists in so arranging
the strings and reeds with their accessories that a complete musical
instrument, capable of producing any series of musical tones that can
be produced on the ordinary violin or instruments of that class, may be
constructed.
Supposing four strings to be employed in constructing our improved
instrument, and that they are connected with vibrators in the manner
described in the Specifications of the Patents above referred to or by
means of any other rigid connection, then these vibrators and the
strings connected therewith are set in vibration by means of a current of
air issuing from a wind chest. The current of air obtains access to the
vibrator by opening a palette on the wind chest with which the reeds
are connected. These palettes may be opened by what is termed a
"roller action," acted on by the thumb of the hand or in any other
convenient manner, while the fingers of the same hand are employed in
stopping" the strings in the same way that a violin player stops the
strings of his instruments in order to produce any given musical tone.
From this it will be understood that the player can with one hand
produce any number of tones in succession by setting one or more of
the reeds and strings in vibration by means of a current of air from the
wind chest, and then moving his fingers up the string or strings like a
violin player while the thumb is employed in keeping open the palette
or palettes in order to admit air to the vibrator so as to keep the string
66

page_text: or strings in vibration. Exactly the same arrangement and mode of
operation is adapted to all the strings, and therefore the player may act
on more than one string at a time, and can play with both hands, so
that he can therefore produce a corresponding combination of tones.
If preferred, however (and we sometimes find it convenient to do so),
one hand may be exclusively employed in working the palettes of the
wind chest while the other is employed in stopping the strings.
Instead of "stopping" the strings by the direct action of the fingers
thereon, as above described, and as in playing on a violin or violincello
in the ordinary manner, the strings may be stopped by means of dampers
or equivalent devices acted upon by the keys of a manual like that of
an organ, harmonium, or pianoforte. The vibration of the rceds are set
in motion either by a current of compressed air issuing from a wind
chest, as is usually the case in harmoniums, or by means of suction.
We have also found that instead of connecting the string or wire to the
vibrator by twisting it round a pin projecting from the vibrator, as
described in Farmer and Hamilton's Patent, it is preferable to nip the
string between two discs which are capable of being screwed up or down
the pin projecting from the reed, and for which purpose the pin is
screwed throughout the greater portion of its length so that the discs may
be screwed up or down therein. The strings may, however, be connected
to the vibrator in any other convenient manner.
The strings are turned in the ordinary way by connecting them by
their ends with turning pins, such as are used in pianofortes, or with
turning pegs, as in instruments of the violin class.
It will of course be understood that the air whereby the vibrators are
set in motion is supplied to the wind chest by means of bellows acted on
by the feet, as in harmoniums, or in any other convenient manner.
In Farmer and Hamilton's Patent the wind from the vibrator issues
direct to the string, but we find it preferable to allow the sound from
the vibrator to enter a separate chamber or channel, from which it
passes into the interior of a resonant case, outside of which are placed
the strings. The tones may then issue from the resonant case, and by
this means the tone is considerably enriched, increased in volume, and
improved in quality. When the pin that connects the string with the
reed has to pass through a solid partition the hole for the passage of the

page_text: pin must be kept air-tight by means of a purse or flexible connection
which will prevent the escape of the air without interfering with the
action of the pin.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Baillie Hamilton, George Edward Wade,
Richard William Okes-Voysey, and Arthur James Balfour, in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
BAILLIE HAMILTON, GEORGE EDWARD WADE, RICHARD WILLIAM OKES-
VOYSEY, and ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR, all of Greck Street, Soho, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said James Baillie Hamilton, George
Edward Wade, Richard William Okes-Voysey, and Arthur James
Balfour, Her special licence that we, the said James Baillie Hamilton,
George Edward Wade, Richard William Okes-Voyscy, and Arthur
James Balfour, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said James Baillie Hamilton, George Edward Wade,
Richard William Okes-Voysey, and Arthur James Balfour, our 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 CONSTRUCTION OF STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said James Baillie Hamilton, George
Edward Wade, Richard William Okes-Voysey, and Arthur James
Balfour, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, 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

page_text: 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 George Edward Wade, on behalf
of myself and of the said James Baillie Hamilton, Richard William
Okes-Voysey, and Arthur James Balfour, do hereby declare the nature
of our 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 Drawing hereunto annexed and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to construct stringed musical instru-
ments of the violin class, which can be played without the use of a bow
for setting the strings in vibration. The Invention is applicable to all
instruments of this class, from the violin to the double bass, and in
carrying out our Invention we employ any convenient number of strings,
according to the nature of the instrument to be produced. Either three,
four, or five is a convenient number of strings to be used for the purpose
of our Invention, but a smaller or larger number may be employed if
desired. Each string is connected to the tongue or vibrator of a free
reed, such as those employed in harmoniums, and the musical tone is
produced by causing a strong current of air to act on the vibrator or
tongue of the free reed, and thus impart a vibratory motion to the tongue
and the string or wire connected therewith upon the plan described
in the Specifications of the two Patents dated Thirteenth November
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, No. 3381, and Nineteenth
March, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, No. 1008, the
former of which was granted to John Farmer, and the latter to John
Farmer and James Baillie Hamilton. These Patents are now vested in
the present applicants or some of them, and the present Invention consists
in so arranging the strings and reeds with their accessories that a
complete musical instrument, capable of producing any series of musical
tones that can be produced on the ordinary violin or instruments of that
class, may be constructed.
Supposing four strings to be employed in constructing our improved
instrument, and that these strings are connected with vibrators in the
manner described in the Specifications of the Patents above referred to,
or by means of any other rigid connection, then these vibrators and the
strings connected therewith are set in vibration by means of a current

page_text: <
*
of air issuing from a wind chest. The current of air obtains access to
the vibrator by opening a palette on the wind chest with which the reeds
are connected. These palettes may be opened by what is termed a
roller action" acted on by the thumb of the hand or in any other
convenient manner, while the fingers of the same hand are employed in
stopping" the strings in the same way that a violin player stops the
strings of his instrument in order to produce any given musical tone.
From this it will be understood that the player can with one hand
produce any number of tones in succession by setting one or more of
the reeds and strings in vibration by means of a current of air from the
wind chest and then moving his fingers up the string or strings just as a
violin player does, while the thumb is employed in keeping open the
palette or palettes in order to admit air to the vibrator so as to keep the
string or strings in vibration. Exactly the same arrangement and mode
of operation is adapted to all the strings, and therefore the player may act
on more than one string at a time, and can play with both hands, so
that he can therefore produce a corresponding combination of tones.
In the accompanying Drawing we have shown various views of an
instrument constructed according to our Invention.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the instrument. Fig. 2 is a transverse
vertical section of the same, and Fig. 3 a plan view of the instrument
as seen from above.
.
a, a, a, a, a, are the strings, of which it will be seen there are five
arranged in steps one above the other, as seen best in Fig. 2. The
strings extend above the flat finger boards a¹, a¹, Fig. 2, and pass over
and are supported by the bridge b, which rests upon and is carried by a
sound box or resonant case ¹, their ends being secured to pegs d, d, d, d,
at each end of the instrument, so that they may be tuned partly from
each end, for which purpose all the pegs d, d, are provided with worm
wheels and screws like the machine head of a guitar or double-bass viol.
Each of the strings is connected with the vibrator of one of the free
reeds contained in the reed boxes c, c, c, c, by means of screwed pins
c', c¹, which are.fixed in any convenient manner on the vibrator so that
they project at or about a right angle therefrom, and the connection.
between the strings and the screwed pins c', c¹, of the vibrators is
effected by nipping the former between two flat discs c³, c², which are
capable of being screwed up or down on the pins c¹, as scen best in the.

page_text: detached view, Fig. 4, which is a sectional plan view of one of the reed
boxes. The strings a, a, may, however, be connected to the vibrator in
any other convenient manner if desired.
'
Each reed is provided with a separate air channel communicating with
the wind chest by means of pallets e, e, Fig. 2, and shewn by dots in
Fig. 1. These pallets are kept closed by springs at their back, and are
opened by means of the vertical pins e', e¹, which are actuated by
levers connected with the "rollers" or flat bars g, g, which extend
along the instrument in front of the strings a, a. When these rollers
are pushed forward by the thumb they will depress the pins e¹ and open
the pallets e, thereby allowing a blast of air from the wind chest ƒ to
pass up the air channels and set the vibrators in motion. This will set
the corresponding string or strings a, a, in motion, and will produce a
sound, the pitch of which will be determined by the manner in which
the strings are "stopped" by the fingers, as in the violin or instruments
of that class.
It will of course be understood that the air whereby the vibrators and
strings are set in motion is supplied by means of the bellows i, i, acted
on by the feet, as in harmoniums, or in any other convenient manner;
the compressed air passing up the trunk j to the wind chest f...
Instead of working the pallets e, e, by means of the "rollers " I, I,
as shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3, these latter may be dispensed with, and
in place thereof long horizontal levers may be employed, as at g', in
Fig. 5. These levers g¹² are arranged in front so as to stand just above
the strings, and are actuated by the finger of the player, whọ will, in the
act of "stopping" the string, depress the lever g¹, and by means of the
vertical pins e¹ will open the pallets as in the former instance.
instead of working the pallets by means of the thumbs of either or both
hands, as above described, one band (the left hand preferably) may be
exclusively employed in working the palettes of the wind chest while the
other is employed in stopping the strings.
Or
Instead of "stopping" the strings by the direct action of the fingers
thereon, as above described, and as in playing on a violin or violincello
in the ordinary manner, the strings may be stopped by means of dampers
or equivalent devices acted upon by the keys of a manual, like that of
an organ, harmonium, or pianoforte. When this arrangement is adopted
it will be convenient to place all the strings on the same plane instead of

page_text: arranging them in steps, as shewn in the Drawing. The vibrators of
the reeds are set in motion either by a current of compressed air issuing
from a wind chest, as in the manner already explained, and as is usually
the case in harmoniums, or they may be acted on by means of suction,
as in American organs.
The strings are tuned in the ordinary way by connecting them by
their ends with tuning -pins, such as are used in pianofortes, or with
turning pegs, as in instruments of the violin class.
The wind from the vibrator may issue direct to the string, but we
sometimes find it preferable to construct the reed boxes so as to allow
the sound from the vibrator to enter a separate chamber or channel,
from which it passes into the interior of a resonant case, outside of
which are placed the strings.
When this latter plan is adopted the pin c¹ that connects the string
with the reed has to pass through a solid partition, and the hole through
which it passes must be kept air-tight by means of a purse or flexible
connection, as shown in the detached view Fig. 4. This will prevent the
escape of the air without interfering with the action of the pin.
We would observe in conclusion that although we prefer to connect
the strings to the vibrators by means of screwed pins provided with discs, a
which are capable of being screwed up or down thereon in order to nip
the strings, as herein set forth and shewn at Fig. 5, we do not intend
to confine ourselves to this plan, as other modes of connecting the
strings to the reeds may be employed, such, for instance, as the modo
described in the Specifications of the Patents already referred to; nor do
we intend to limit ourselves to tuning the strings by drawing them up
at, both ends, as it will be evident that the strings may also be tuned
from one end alone (even if they are rigidly held at the other end, as in
violins and instruments of that class), for which purpose it will only be
necessary to unclamp the string from the screwed pin c¹ by slightly a
loosening one of the discs or to otherwise disconnect the pin c¹ from the
string until the string has been tuned, when the clamp may be tightened
up again or the string otherwise reconnected to the pin c¹.
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in the Con-
T

page_text: manner of carrying the same into effect, we claim as the Invention
secured to us by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First. The combination with a series of strings (connected by pins or
otherwise to the vibrators of a free reed, and secured by each end to
tuning pins or their equivalents) of "rollers," rocking bars, or levers,
which while the fingers of the player are employed in " stopping" the
strings may be actuated or worked by the thumbs or fingers of the hands
for the purpose of opening the pallets so as to admit compressed air
from the wind chest to the vibrators as and for the purposes herein set
forth. We also claim the use of a similar combination of parts when
the vibrators and strings are set in motion by the suction of the air
instead of by compressed air.
Second. The combination of a series of strings connected to free reeds
and stopped by one hand of the player with a corresponding series of
keys or levers actuated by the other hand of the player for opening the
pallets communicating with the wind chest.
Third. We claim "stopping" the strings by means of dampers
actuated by keys arranged like the manual of a pianoforte, and which
keys will at the same time open the pallets required to admit air from
the wind chest to the particular string or its vibrator.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Edward Wade, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
⚫ five.