AN IMPROVEMENT UPON THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COMMONLY CALLED 'THE CLARI- NET, AND WHICH INVENTION WAS ALSO, AS TO PART THEREOF, APPLICABLE TO AN IMPROVEMENT UPON. MOST OF SUCH OTHER MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENTS AS ARE PLAYED UPON WITH KEYS
Year: 1800

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
Wood, late of Hart Street, in the Parish of Saint Paul, Covent Garden, in the
County of Middlesex, but now of Saint James's Street, in the Parish of Saint
James, within the Liberty of Westminster, Musical Wind Instrument Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster the Nineteenth day of March, in the fortieth year of His
reign, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Wood, my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that'I, the said James Wood, 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 James Wood;
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, shall at any time agree with and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of fourteen years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise," and vend,
within that part of the Kingdom of Great Britain called England, the
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"AN IMPROVEMENT UPON THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COMMONLY CALLED 'THE CLARI-
NET, AND WHICH INVENTION WAS ALSO, AS TO PART THEREOF, APPLICABLE TO AN
IMPROVEMENT UPON. MOST OF SUCH OTHER MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENTS AS ARE
PLAYED UPON WITH KEYS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said James Wood, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, to particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said

page_text: Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and cause the
same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one
calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto bad, may more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Wood, do hereby specify and declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained as follows (that is to say):-
My said Invention of an improvement upon the musical instrument com-
monly called the clarinet, and which Invention is also, as to part thereof,
applicable to an improvement upon most of such other musical wind instruments
as are played upon with keys, consists of and in the use and adaption of the metal
pipes or tubes first herein-after mentioned and described to the said musical
instrument called the clarinet, and also consists of and in the construction, man-
ner of making, and adaption to the said musical instrument called the clarinet
of the additional note or key and other the usual keys with flaps or covers of
wood, bone, ivory, metal, brass, or any other metallick composition as herein-
after mentioned and described, and the pipes of wood, bone, ivory, metal, brass
or any other metallick composition lining the holes to be covered by the said
additional key and other, the usual keys, and which first-mentioned pipes or
tubes, and the said usual keys with such flaps or covers, and which last-men-
tioned pipes, lining the holes covered by the same as aforesaid, are applicable
and capable of adaption to most of such other musical wind instru-
ments as are played upon with keys, and will, if applied and adapted
to them, be an improvement thereon; and my said Invention is to be
performed, and the said first-mentioned metal pipes or tubes, the said
additional key, and all other the usual keys, with such flaps or covers
as aforesaid, and such pipes lining the holes to be covered by the same respec-
tively, are to be used, constructed, put together, fixed; and applied in the
manner particularly mentioned and described in the Drawing or plan sub-
joined at the foot hereof, and the explanation following, by which I refer to the
Baid Drawing or plan, that is to say:-The mouth-piece A, A, and whereon is
to be fixed a reed made of cane, as in common use and appears on the Drawing,
is two inches long, exclusive of the pin or joint at the lower end thereof, which
pin or joint is turned smaller, five eighths of an inch long, to fit and slide into the
second joint B, B. The second piece or joint B, B, which is commonly called the
socket or box, is two inches and an half long, and has a groove turned in at the
upper end to receive or joint of A, A, and a groove turned in at the lower end

page_text: to receive the pin or joint of the third piece or joint C, C. The said second piece
or joint B, B, is lined between the groves with a brass or other metal pipe, a five-
eighths of an inch in diameter and one inch long, and made to fit and slide on
the longer pipe B. The third piece or joint C, C, which is commonly called the
middle piece or body is six inches and an half long, exclusive of the pins at
each end, which are about three quarters of an inch long each, and are turned
down to fit to the other joints, and has four keys, the first for the note Bb,
that is to say, B flat, the second to shake the note A, that is to say, A natural,
the third for the note A, that is to say, A natural; and the fourth, which is
the additional note or key before mentioned,) for the note G ; that is to say,
G sharp, which are severally placed as on the Drawing, that is to say, the
said first key note Bb, that is to say, B flat, as appears in the Drawing,
letter A, and the said three other keys as appear on the Drawing, letter B.
This piece or joint is likewise lined with a metal pipe b about five eights of
an inch in diameter and nine inches long, which comes through the upper end
one inch, and made to fit and slide into the shorter pipe a and into the lower
groove of B, B, and forms a double sliding joint, air-tight; and as the
advantage by sliding up and down to make the same flatter or sharper, accord-
ing to the pitch of the instrument to be joined with it.
The fourth piece or
joint D, D, which is commonly called the key piece, is
eight inches and a
quarter of an inch long; exclusive of the pin or joint, about three quarters of
an inch long, at the lower end thereof, which is turned down to fit to the lower
joint or bell E, E, and has three keys; the first, Figure 5, for the note Dor
Eb, that is to say, D sharp or E flat; the second, Figure 6, for the note C#,
that is to say, C sharp; and the third, Figure 7, for the note B#, that is to say,
B natural, which are placed as on the Drawing, letter A. This piece or joint is
lined throughout with a brass or other metal pipe e, eight inches long and about
five eighths of an inch in diameter. The bottom piece or joint E, E, which is com-
monly called the bell, is four inches long. All the before-mentioned keys are
made to stop by the flat cover or flap F, made of wood, bone, ivory, metal, brass,.
or any other metallick composition, on which is a nob F, F, bored through to
receive the small screw G, by which it is put on or joined by the key H, which
has a hole to receive the nob F, F; and being screwed sideway by the screw
G, and the nob F, F, hanging casy on the said screw, forms together a joint
that embraces and covers the pipe K air-tight. The holes making Bb, that
is to say, B flat as also the several holes making the several other notes and
half notes of the said several other usual keys, numbered respectively 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, and 7, are all lined with the pipe K, made of wood, bone, ivory, brass,
or any other metallick composition, and project upon the surface of the joints

page_text: C, C, and D, D, and are stopt by the flat cover F. The keys in other respects
are as usual on other 'instruments; and pinned in a groove with a wire and a
spring on the-lever end, which, when pressed by the-finger, raises the flap or
cover F, and by raising the finger the spring forces the flap or cover back upon
the pipe.K. If the clarinet is intended to be made of a higher or lower pitch
than what is commonly called or known by the term of concert pitch, as it
must for that purpose be made shorter or longer, then and in that case the
several dimensions of the particulars constituting my said Invention should be
diminished or extended according to their reciprocal and.relative proportions as
herein-before given; -and if the śaid-first-mentioned brass or metal pipes and
key's with flaps or covers of wood, bone, ivory,; inetal, brass; or any other
metallick composition; and pipes K of the same, are to be adapted or applied
to any other musical wind instrument; the sizes and proportions must be varied
accordingly.
In witness whereof, "I, the said James "Wood, "have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred, and in the fortieth year of the reign of King
George the Third.