IMPROVE- 'MENTS IN MAKING HAMMERS FOR PIANOFORTES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, Merchant, of 2, Rue
Sto Appoline, Paris, (Empire of France,) for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
'MENTS IN MAKING HAMMERS FOR PIANOFORTES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Amand Hyacinthe Ferry
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th November 1863.
I, AMAND HYACINTHE FERRY, Merchant, of 2, Rue Ste Appoline, Paris,
(Empire of France,) do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING HAMMERS FOR PIANOFORTES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in making the fittings of the hammers for pianofortes
movable, as hereafter described. The fittings are thus rendered more or less
firm, as required, and can have their position altered or changed at will
according to the sound to be produced. It is known that the quality of sound
produced by pianos generally depends on the fittings to the hammers, and
invariably these fittings after a certain time and wear require to be replaced.
In carrying my Invention into effect I fit to the hammers a screw for
regulating the position of the fitting thereon. By this means an instrument
will be found to give, even after a great deal of wear, the same qualities of
tone as when new. The screws by which the position of the fittings is
regulated may be arranged to push or withdraw them, or the fittings may be
attached to supports in such manner as to be capable of being raised with

page_text: facility and replaced by others. The screws regulating the fittings of these
hammers are screwed into the wood or into boxes inserted in the wood.
The
part regulated by the screw for rendering the fitting firmer may be visible or
hidden in the head of the hammer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Amand Hyacinthe Ferry in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AMAND
HYACINTHE FERRY, Merchant, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris, (Empire of
France,) send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, Her special licence that I, the said
Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, 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 MAKING HAMMERS FOR PIANOFORTES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, 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 Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 accompanying
Drawings, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in making the fittings of the hammers for pianofortes
movable, as hereafter described. The fittings are thus rendered more or less
firm as required, and can have their position altered or changed at will

page_text: piece a¹ may be removed if the fitting is worn or injured, for example, or is
too soft or too hard; another fitting may be then applied to the hammer, and
secured thereto by the screw c..
Figure 5 shows a movable fitting mounted in an analogous manner to that
shown at Figures 1 and 2, but in this case the movable piece which serves to
harden the fitting d by the screw c is concealed, and the end of the piece a in
such manner that the hammer is in appearance like hammers of the ordinary
construction.
The fittings of the hammers being movable enable me to be able to replace
at will all or a portion only of the head of the hammer, always with the object
of obtaining equality in the nature of the sound produced by the instrument,
and this may be done at a small cost, and always quickly.
Figure 6 shows a hammer head a, provided with a screw c and felt d; this
head is held to the end of the handle 6 by the screw c, which might have a
counter-nut and fitted so that the head of the hammer may be changed when
desirable.
My improvements are applicable to the construction of the hammers of
pianofortes of all kinds, whether they be upright, square, semi-grand, or
grand.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,
First, making the fittings of the hammers of pianofortes movable, as herein-
before described.
Second, the several arrangements, together with modifications thereof,
for rendering the hammers of pianofortes movable, in manner and for the
purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Amand Hyacinthe Ferry, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
A. H. FERRY. (L.S.)

page_text: according to the sound to be produced. It is known that the quality of sound
produced by pianos generally depends on the fittings to the hammers, and
invariably these fittings after a certain time and. wear require to be replaced.
In carrying my Invention into effect I fit to the hammers a screw for
regulating the position of the fitting thereon. By this means an instrument
will be found to give, even after a great deal of wear, the same qualities of
tone as when new. The screws by which the position of the fittings is
regulated may be arranged to push or withdraw them, or the fittings may be
attached to supports in such manner as to be capable of being raised with
facility and replaced by others. The screws regulating the fittings of these
hammers are screwed into the wood or into boxes inserted in the wood. The
part regulated by the screw for rendering the fitting firmer may be visible or
hidden in the head of the hammer.
a¹
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a view of a hammer made
according to my Invention, where the head is composed of two parts a and a²,
that marked a being made in the ordinary manner and glued or otherwise
secured to the handle 6, which connects the head with the ordinary mechanism
of the instrument. The parts a and a¹ are united, and set so that the part
may be moved longitudinally to remove it from the part a; c is a screw
passing through the part a, the extremity of which abuts against the part a',
and in such manner that by turning the screw c the hammer fitting is
hardened or made firm. When the hammer is fitted with felt d, the two
parts a and a¹ may be brought nearer to or set farther from one another, so
that by turning the screw in one or the other direction, the hammer may be
made more or less hard. The head of the screw c may be slit, flat, or square,
to enable it to be turned with a screwdriver or a key of any desired form. It
will be perceived then that by the application of a screw c, as before described,
to each hammer it becomes extremely easy for tuners, makers, and even the
performers themselves to regulate the hammers, and to make them soft or
hard, as desired.
Sometimes it may be thought that the head of the hammer, which is
generally made of wood, is not sufficiently strong to resist the thread of the
screw. To avoid this I place a nut f in the head of the hammer, as shown at
Figure 2, the screw c passing through the nut f will abut against the part a',
the extremity of which will lie even with it, whereby the striking part of the
felt may be rendered hard or soft as desired.
Figures 3 and 4 are views of a modification of the hammer before described.
In this case the part a¹ of the hammer carries the fitting d, and is united to
the other portion a by a setting and the screw c; by turning the latter the