A MACHINE FOR THE PURPOSE OF GIVING THE MOST EFFECTUAL AND EXTENSIVE PUBLICITY, BY DAY AND BY NIGHT, TO ALL PROCLAMATIONS, NOTICES, LEGAL ADVEE- TISEMENTS, AND OTHER PURPOSES TO WHICH THE SAME MAY BE APPLICABLE, DESTINED FOR UNIVERSAL INFORMATION, AND WHICH WILL HENCEFORWARD RENDER UNNECESSARY THE DEFACEMENT OF WALLS AND HOUSES IN THE METROPOLIS AND ITS VICINITIES BY BILL-STICKING, PLACARDING, AND CHALKING, WHICH LATTER PRACTICES HAVE BECOME A GREAT AND OFFENSIVE PUBLIC NUISANCE
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
SAMUEL HARRIS, of Caroline Place, Trevor Square, Knightsbridge, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Fourth, in and by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-first day of October last, for Himself, His heirs and
successors, did give and grant unto me, the said George Samuel Harris,
His special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said George Samuel Harris, my exors, admors, and assigns, and every of
them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their deputy or deputies,
servants or agents, or such others as I, the said George Samuel Harris, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"A MACHINE FOR THE PURPOSE OF GIVING THE MOST EFFECTUAL AND EXTENSIVE
PUBLICITY, BY DAY AND BY NIGHT, TO ALL PROCLAMATIONS, NOTICES, LEGAL ADVEE-
TISEMENTS, AND OTHER PURPOSES TO WHICH THE SAME MAY BE APPLICABLE, DESTINED
FOR UNIVERSAL INFORMATION, AND WHICH WILL HENCEFORWARD RENDER UNNECESSARY
THE DEFACEMENT OF WALLS AND HOUSES IN THE METROPOLIS AND ITS VICINITIES BY
BILL-STICKING, PLACARDING, AND CHALKING, WHICH LATTER PRACTICES HAVE
BECOME A GREAT AND OFFENSIVE PUBLIC NUISANCE;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said George Samuel

page_text: Harris, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled
in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar months next
immediately after the date of the said in part Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Samuel Harris, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the Drawing which is hereunto annexed,
reference being thereunto had, and to the following description thereof (that
is to say) :-
My Invention consists in the use and application of a machine or lantern
of a cylindrical, octagonal, or any other convenient shape, and of any suitable
size, composed of slight framings of metal, wood, or other material, arranged
in such a manner as to form a number of openings or pannels adapted to receive
the bills or notices which are desired to be proclaimed or advertized. The
said machine I denominate "The Royal Patent Ambulatory Advertiser." It
is intended to be mounted upon a carriage of any convenient description, in
such manner as to admit of being moved about from place to place with
facility, the machine or lantern aforesaid being affixed to the bed of the
carriage by a bolt or axis, so as to be capable of revolving thereupon in order
to exhibit every part of its surface in succession to the spectators. I construct
the said machines or lanterns of such magnitude as to render the bills, notices,
or advertisements legible to a considerable distance during the day time; and
in foggy or dark weather, or when notices are desired to be exhibited at night,
I place lamps or lights of any convenient description within the machine or
lantern in such manner as to render the bills, notices, or advertisements legible
in the manner of transparencies, the said bills or notices being written, printed,
or otherwise rendered visible upon paper or other sufficiently transparent
material, and afterwards oiled or varnished for the purpose of rendering
them more transparent, and to protect them from the effects of the weather.
In order to render the nature of my said Invention the more clear I have
hereunto annexed a Drawing, which represents a form and construction of one
of the aforesaid machines or lanterns which I find to answer the purposo very
well; at the same time I wish it to be observed that I do not confine my claim
to any particular form or shape of the machine or lantern aforesaid, as the
same will admit of a great variety of forms and shapes, still producing the
desired effect, as herein-before stated.

page_text: Figure 1 upon the annexed Drawing is supposed to represent an elevation
of one of my aforesaid machines or lanterns, of an octagonal form, mounted
upon a small carriage. It is composed of eight bars or uprights A, as shewn
in the plan Figure 2, which are maintained in their proper positions at the top
and bottom by two octagonal frames B and C. The rails or bars D, which
constitute the head or upper part of the machine, are made to incline over in a
slight degree in all directions, the roof or dome E being supported upon
a framing F, which bears upon and is secured to the upper ends of the rails or.
bars D. I propose to cover the roof with thin tinned copper or other light and
durable material, and to form a channel or gutter entirely round the lower edge
thereof, for the purpose of collecting the rain water, which might be conveyed
away or conducted to the ground through a pipe situated against one of the
uprights A, or. in any other convenient part of the machine. The upper part
of the roof or dome will admit of being ornamented in any manner that should
be thought adviseable. It should be provided at the same time with suitable
apertures for allowing the heated air to escape when the machine is illumi-
nated withinside as aforesaid. The spaces between the upright bars A I
should divide into three or more.compartments by cross rails G, so as to form
a number of square openings or pannels, and into these openings suitable
frames would be fitted and secured by small turning buttons or otherwise, so
as to be capable of being taken out and put in again with facility. One of the
said moveable frames is shewn separately at. H, Figure 3, on the Drawing.
They are intended to be covered with thin open wirework or other fit material
which will not materially obstruct the passage of the light, but at the same
time will serve to support and sustain the bills or notices, so that they may be
printed upon paper without danger of being torn or damaged by the force of
the wind in bad weather. The paper or other material upon which the said
bills might be printed is to be secured by pasting or otherwise upon the loose
frames H, and is then to be oiled or varnished over in order to preserve them
from the effects of the weather. By this arrangement a number of spare
frames might be provided for the purpose of having the notices fixed upon
them which require to be, advertised without delay. These frames may be
placed in the machine by removing any of those frames which could be dis-
pensed with, and substituting the spare ones in their places. The square
openings formed by the bars D at the upper part or head of the machine are
also provided with moveable frames to receive bills or notices, and as they
would be at a considerable elevation from the ground their surfaces are made
to incline outwards, for the facility of being read. The lower frame C of the
machine is intended to be furnished with a number of rollers or casters, and is

page_text: adapted to rest upon a bed or platform which is mounted upon wheels in the
manner of a carriage, the machine being secured in its place upon the bed or
platform by a bolt or axis in the centre thereof; by this means the whole
machine could be easily made to revolve by the person who attends it; and
being moved slowly from place to place by the aid of a horse or other animal
attached to the carriage, it would, it is presumed, prove a more efficient mode
of giving publicity, by day or by night, to proclamations, notices, or advertise-
ments than has hitherto been devised; at the same time it would tend to
diminish, by rendering unnecessary, that disagreeable practice of placarding
or writing up notices against walls and houses, which practices have lately
become very general, to the great disfigurement of well regulated towns and
cities.
In witness whereof, I have here set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first
day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and monts four