IMPROVEMENTS IN METAL LIPE BUOYS, ALSO ADAPTED FOR HOLDING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS."
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Mabson, of Sheffield, in the County of York,.
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN METAL LIPE BUOYS, ALSO ADAPTED
FOR HOLDING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Mabson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th June 1860.
I, JOHN MABSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN METAL LIFE BUOYS, ALSO
ADAPTED FOR HOLDING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the manufacture of life buoys in such a manner
that when not required for the preservation of life they may be applied to
different purposes.
I propose forming the buoy of sheet metal of suitable shape, either tri-
angular, square, oblong, or oval on one side, the flat side of which is to lie
flat on the back of the wearer, and be secured thereto by straps or other
suitable fastenings around the body; the upper end of the buoy is to terminate
in a cone and be supplied with an air-tight screw cover or tap.
The buoy may be filled with water or other liquid for use on shipboard,
and when emergency may require it has but to be emptied of its contents and
placed on the back to save life in shipwreck. It is also intended for emigrants
when travelling where water is scarce, and rivers and lakes have to be
crossed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Mabson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th December 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MABSON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Mabson, Her special licence that I, the said John
Mabson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Mabson, 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 "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN METAL LIFE BUOYS, ALSO ADAPTED FOR HOLDING WATER OR OTHER
LIQUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Mabson,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 Mabson, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention consists in the manufacture of life buoys in such a manner
that when not required for the preservation of life they may be applied to
different purposes, such as to hold water, spirits, or other liquid.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, as follows:-
I form the buoy of sheet metal of suitable thickness and of any convenient
shape, either square; oblong, triangular, oval, round on one side and flat on
the other, or any other shape that may be found most suitable for the purpose
intended, thus forming a bottle for use when not required for the preservation

page_text: of life, and when suddenly required in a case of emergency the contents are to
be emptied by unscrewing an air-tight stopper on the top or other convenient
part, and the buoy secured to the body, either on the breast or back, by straps
or bands passing through loops or eyes attached to various parts of the bottle,
one of which straps or bands may be passed around the neck of the wearer, if
desired.
The buoy may be filled with water or other liquid for use on shipboard,
and when required for saving life from drowning has but to be emptied and
secured to the body as before stated. It is also intended for emigrants when
travelling where spring water is scarce, or where rivers and lakes have to be
crossed.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention for "Improvements
in Metal Life Buoys, also adapted for Holding Water or other Liquids," and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I would remark in con-
clusion that I do not confine or restrict myself to the precise details herein
mentioned, nor to the particular shapes of the bottles to be used, as many
various shapes may be made and used for the same purpose without in any
way departing from the principle of my Invention; the mode of attaching it
to the body may also be varied, but with the same result; but what I claim
as my Invention intended to be secured to me by the herein in part recited
Letters Patent is, the manufacture of metallic bottles to be used also for life
buoys, in the manner herein particularly described for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John, Mabson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
ALEX. PRINCE,
Patent Agent,
.
JOHN MABSON. (L.S.)
4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross.