A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DAMPING COPYING PAPER
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Leopold Beral Bertram, of 5, Southampton
Buildings, Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, for the Inven-
tion of "A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DAMPING COPYING
PAPER."
Sealed the 28th December 1875, and dated the 30th June 1875. .
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Leopold Beral Bertram
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents; with his Petition,
on the 30th June 1875..
I, LEOPOLD BERAL BERTRAM, of 5, Southampton Buildings, Holborn,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DAMPING COPYING
PAPER," to be as follows:-
I..
This Invention consists of a new and improved apparatus whereby
copying paper may be damped, and the superfluous water taken up with
greater facility than heretofore, and the following is an example of my said
Invention: I form a hollow shallow casing of metal or other suitable;
material, one end of which is made so as to form a handle and the other
1

page_text: end is made broad and has perforations therein, and over the said
perforations I stretch a piece of felt, or other suitable material for the
purpose hereafter described. I also fix a roller composed of any suitable
porous material or covered with blotting paper to serve for taking up
the superfluous water. The said casing is supplied with water by an
opening made for that purpose:
In order to damp copying paper with an apparatus constructed as
above, it is simply necessary to hold the said apparatus in a vertical
position, so that the water contained in the case may pass through the
perforations aforesaid and wet the felt,, and, by drawing the apparatus in
this position over the paper it will immediately be wetted, after which
by drawing the apparatus horizontally the porous (or blotting) roller
will take up the superfluous water, and by these means copying paper
may be damped with great facility and expedition.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Leopold Beral Bertram in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th December 1875.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEOPOLD
BERAL BERTRAM, of 5, Southampton Buildings, Holborn, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
2424
4
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
,céssors, give and grant unto me, the said Leopold Beral Bertram, Her
special licence, that I, the said Leopold Beral Bertram, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Leopold Beral
Bertram, 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 g
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 "A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DAMPING COPYING,

page_text: PAPER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Leopold
Beral Bertram, 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 Leopold Beral Bertram, 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 of a new and improved apparatus whereby
copying paper may be damped, and the superfluous water taken up with
greater facility than heretofore, and the following is an example of my
said Invention:-I form a hollow shallow casing of metal or other
suitable material, one end of which is made so as to form a handle and
the other end is made broad and has perforations therein, and over the
said perforations I stretch a piece of felt or other suitable material for
the purpose hereafter described. I also fix a roller composed of any
suitable porous material or covered with blotting paper to serve for
taking up the superfluous water. The said casing is supplied with
water by an opening made for that purpose.
In order to damp copying paper with an apparatus constructed as
above it is simply necessary to hold the said 'apparatus in a vertical.
position, so that the water contained in the case may pass through the
perforations aforesaid and wet the felt, and by drawing the apparatus
in this position over the paper it will immediately be wetted, after which
by drawing the apparatus horizontally the porous (or blotting) röller
will take up the superfluous water, and by these means copying paper
may be damped with great facility and expedition.
And in order to explain my said Invention more fully I now procced
to describe the means by which it may be effected in practice, reference
being had to the illustrative Sheet of Drawing accompanying these
Presents, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked
thereon respectively as follows:―

page_text: Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the apparatus; Figure 2, a plan
of the under side thereof; Figure 3, an end elevation at A, Figure 1.
Figures 4 and 5 are modifications herein-after particularly described
and referred to.
At each of the above mentioned Figures similar lotters of reference
are employed to denote corresponding parts.
At Figures 1, 2, 3, A is a closed reservoir in metal or other substance,
by preference one that will not oxidize; B, a screwed stopper fitting
into a corresponding screwed hole by which the reservoir A is charged
with water. The end A' of the reservoir is rounded off and pierced with
small holes x, as at Figure 3, for the passage of the water, and finally, the
part A is covered with flannel, felt, or other suitable absorbent substance ;
C is a roller formed of blotting paper or other similar absorbent
material; D is the axis of the roller C supported loosely near its ends by
the lugs or ears E fixed to or formed with the reservoir A.
I would here obscrve that instead of constructing the end ▲ of the
reservoir as above described, it may be made as represented at Figures 4
and 5, where G marks a roller of felt or other absorbent material, the
axis a whereof revolves in ears at 6, and instead of the holes shown at
Figure 3. I propose to form a slit c or long opening across the width of
the end of the reservoir for the water to pass out, and I adjust the roller G
sufficiently close to the slit c to allow the said roller to turn round upon
its being pressed upon the surface of the paper which it is required to
damp.
MODE OF OPERATING.
The operator holds the apparatus by the handle H at an angle of
about 45 degrees by which the water saturates the felt at A', and
proceeds to pass this part across the surface of the paper that is
to be damped. This done the operator turns the apparatus over and
applies the roller C to the wetted surface of the paper, by which operation
any surplus water will be removed and the damped paper be in a fit
state for passing through a copying press, as in the case of the well known
letter copying book. When out of use the apparatus should be placed
with the roller C downwards that the water may not press against tho
felt at A', or roller G at Figures 4 and 5.

page_text: "
I would also remark that if desirable the roller C may be dispensed
with and ordinary sheet blotting paper used to remove surplus moisture
as is now practised. In this case the ears E may be left as feet for the
apparatus to rest upon when out of use.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"A New and Improved Apparatus for Damping Copying Paper," and
the means by which it may be effected, I hereby declare my Invention
to consist in and I claim constructing an apparatus suitable for damping
paper in the manner above described with reference to the accompanying
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Leopold Beral Bertram, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
LEOPOLD BERAL BERTRAM. (L.S.)