IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING TOGETHER LETTERS, MUSIC, AND OTHER LOOSE SHEETS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Goodman, Gentleman, of 294, Pall Mall, in
the Parish of St. James', and the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING TOGETHER LETTERS, MUSIC,
AND OTHER LOOSE SHEETS."-A communication.
Sealed the 9th June 1857, and dated the 17th February 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Goodman at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th February 1857.*
I, JOHN GOODMAN, Gentleman, of 294, Pall Mall, in the Parish of St.
James', and the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS. FOR HOLDING TOGETHER LETTERS,
MUSIC, AND. OTHER LOOSE SHEETS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of pamphlet holder. or
portfolio, and consists, first, of a portfolio with a wooden or other back; to the
wood is affixed a series of knives or cutters, on to which the documents.are
pushed by a sliding bar. This bar has a series of holes formed in it, through
which pass the knives or cutters.
In inserting documents into the portfolio the bar is drawn back until the
ends, of the knives are withdrawn from it, in which position it is retained by
springs, screws, or. cords at the side of the portfolio. The document is then
laid with one edge against the points of the knives or cutters, & the bar is
forced inwards, at the same time pushing the document on to the knives, and,

page_text: holding it firmly against the rest of the leaves. When sufficient documents
have been placed on they are permanently secured by driving nails or screws
into the wooden back through holes made in the bar for that purpose.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Goodman .in. the. Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th August 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GOODMAN, Gentleman, of 29 A, Pall Mall, in the Parish of St. James', and the
County of Middlesex, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Goodman, Her special licence that I, the said John Goodman, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Goodman, 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 APPARATUS FOR
HOLDING TOGETHER LETTERS, MUSIC, AND OTHER LOOSE SHEETS," a communication,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Goodman, 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 John Goodman, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My said Invention relates to an improved construction of pamphlet holder
or portfolio, in which springs or other like means are applied to the ends of
a metal framework within the back, having knives or pins attached thereto,
and a perforated bar to slide on the same, which retains papers and other

page_text: documents in their place after their being pierced by and pressed on to the
pins or knives by means of the sliding bar.
And for the better understanding of my said Invention I will now proceed
to give the details thereof, reference, being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, in which the same letters refer to corresponding parts throughout.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 2 is a front view of the
Figure 1 is a top view of the apparatus.
sliding bar B, B, Fig. 1. Figure 3 is a top view of one end of another
arrangement of the apparatus. Figure 4 is a back elevation of one end of
the frame A', D', Figure 3. Figure 5 is a side view of one end of the
sliding bar B, B, and Figure 6 is a plan of the steel spring d¹. 'A, A¹, is
the fixed bar of the frame, drilled along the lower edge for nailing or otherwise
securing it to the wood or other inside back of the folio; B; B', the perforated
sliding bar, which is vertical at B, and flat at B¹, used for pressing the edge
of the papers on to the knives or pins C; the holes a, a, are to admit the
guide rods D, D, on which the bar B slides, and the holes b, b, correspond
with the knives; the edges c, c', of the sliding bar are turned inwards to
afford a broader surface for pressing against the vulcanized india-rubber
springs d, d, the steel springs d', d³, or other like arrangements for preventing
the bar from slipping; B shows the form of the ends of the sliding bar as
applicable for steel springs; and D', D', a ledge formed by turning the flat
metal ends to a right angle to correspond with the cut or slit a¹ in the ends
of the sliding bar B"; the guide rods D are rivetted to the back bar, and
at e are nailed to the folio back, but the springs a need only be secured at e¹;
f.f, indicate the superficial space of the wood back of a folio; and g, g, a
groove at both sides and the ends, the depth of which regulates the breadth
of the springs d, d'.
It will thus be observed that my said improvements consist in making port-
folios with a wood or other back, to which is affixed a metal frame provided
with a series of knives or pins, on which the documents to be filed are pushed
by the action of a perforated sliding bar, the knives passing through the
perforations. When filing documents the sliding bar is to be drawn back
until the ends of the knives are withdrawn from it, and the bar is retained
ready for use in its proper position by springs, screws, cords, or like suitable
means. In filing, the document is to be laid with one edge against the points
of the knives, and the sliding arm or bar is then forced inwards, at the same
time pushing the document on to the knives, and holding it firmly against the
rest of the leaves. When a sufficient number of documents have been placed

page_text: in they may be permanently secured. to the wood or other back by means of
pins, nails, or screws passed through holes made in the sliding bar for that
purpose.
Having thus fully described my said improvements, I wish it to be under-
stood that their novelty consists in the application of the metallic frame and
bar to single portfolios, and in the springs, screws, or like attachments at the
ends thereof. I do not restrict myself to dimensions, materials, or the precise
number or form of the several parts so long as the principle of my said
Invention is maintained'; and I do declare that what I claim is, namely, the
application of apparatus to single portfolios for filing or binding together
loose sheets, pamphlets, or the like, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Goodman, have hereunto set my
hand. and seal, this Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our
· Lord 1857.