AN IMPROVED PEDAL BOX TO BE APPLIED, TO BE APPLIED TO FLOTINAS OR SMALL ORGANS AND OTHER SIMILAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edouard Alexandre, Organ Builder, of 2, Rue
Sainte Appoline, Paris, France, and of 4, South Street, Finsbury,
London, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PEDAL BOX TO BE APPLIED
Sealed the 16th April 1862, and dated the 25th October 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edouard Alexandre at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
October 1861.
I, EDOUARD ALEXANDRE, Organ Builder, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris,
France, and of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PEDAL BOX, TO BE APPLIED TO
FLOTINAS OR SMALL ORGANS AND OTHER SIMILAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," to be as
follows, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the construction of a box for enclosing a flutina or
organs of small size to preserve them in good condition during their transport, and
when not in use; this box also serves as a foot and support to the instrument
when in use for performing music, it contains a pedal and a bellows worked by
the foot for supplying air to the instrument to sound the notes to be played,
this new box permits, first, of employing the fingers of both hands on the keys,
contrary to the ordinary practice followed for these instruments, in which one
hand is employed to work the bellows, whereby there remains only one for

page_text: working the keys. The pedal of this box is constructed to enable it to be
worked laterally, so as to be placed in the box when the instrument is at rest,
and to come out of the box when it is wished to employ it for playing on the
instrument.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edouard Alexandre in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDOUARD
ALEXANDRE, Organ Builder, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris, France, and
of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edouard Alexandre, Her special licence that I, the said Edouard
Alexandre, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edouard Alexandre, 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 "AN
IMPROVED PEDAL BOX, TO BE APPLIED TO FLUTINAS, OR SMALL ORGANS AND OTHER
SIMILAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Edouard Alexandre, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edouard Alexandre, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in the construction of a box capable of containing
in its interior and carrying about a flutina or organ of small size, or other

page_text: similar instrument when not in use. This box answers the purpose of a
foot or support to the instrument when played upon. It also contains a pedal,
which is moved with the foot, to work a bellows, and the whole may be
placed under the key-board of a piano to play two instruments at the same
time.
The Drawing hereto annexed represents one of the applications of this
improved box.
The lower part
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the box; Figure 2 a front view, the door
being quite open; and Figure 3, is a horizontal section. Figures 1 and 2
show the exterior of the instrument. The box a for containing the instru-
ment, and serving as a foot or support to it, may be closed by a door with
two parts or ventails a! and a²; the part a¹ is attached to the box by hinges b,
and the part a2 is attached to the part a¹ by the hinges c.
of the box has fixed to it by hinges the pedal d, as also a spiral spring e and
two projecting parts ƒ and g for supporting the instrument when it is placed
in the box, and for directing the lower end of the upright h, and the part ƒ also
serves to protect the spiral spring e. The vertical bottom of the box a receives
the upright carried on axes i, on which it oscillates. For this purpose
the spring e is fixed at one end to the horizontal bottom of the box, and at
the other is hooked on to the lower part of the said upright h, the upper
part of which is provided with the piece j, which I prefer to be of iron, and
which turns on the centre j' so as to take into a notch made on the cover k
of the bellows of the instrument, as shown in Figure 1 of the Drawing, or it
may be flattened down so as to enter the box, when the upright is kept on
it by the key m, being placed transversally on the lower part of the upright h.
A cord n is fixed to the upper part of the upright h, which passing over a
pulley o is attached to the upper part of the pedal d. With this arrangement
the instrument can be withdrawn from its foot or box, the upright h brought
to the level of the vertical bottom by pressing on its lower part and main-
taining it in that, position by inclining the key m on the upright h, which
stretches the spring e and slackens the cord n, and the pedal d is let down;
the instrument can then be placed in the box and the door closed by a lock
or. by two small hooks conveniently placed. The upper part of the box has a
cross piece p forming a handle when the instrument is in the box, but this
handle serves also to hold the instrument when the box is employed as
a foot or support. To play upon the instrument it is withdrawn from
its box, and placed upon it by making it slide out in such manner as
to hold it between the handle p and the slide r, then turning the key m
in an opposite direction, the upright h is set free and the pedal d is raised

page_text: by the action of the spring e, the piece j is then turned round and
engaged in the cover of the bellows of the instrument. It is merely
necessary to close the part a¹ of the door and keep it so closed by a small
hook placed in the interior of the box a, and to place the part a² at the
exterior of that a¹ as seen at Figure 3. In this position one foot can rest
on the pedal to work the bellows and force air into the instrument. I also
arrange boxes containing a pump or bellows which is worked by a pedal, this
pump forces the air through a conduit into the bellows of the instrument
which is kept closed. by two keys placed laterally. The pump is put in motion
by a lever mounted on the axis of the pedal, this axis may have a lateral
movement which permits of having the pedal outside so as to work it with
the foot, or in the box when it is desired to place the instrument there, in
this case the pump is kept closed by a key.
It will be understood that I can construct boxes to be used as feet to the
instruments, and to contain them when desired. In some cases the bellows of
small organs can be made use of, in others the bellows can be dispensed with
and air forced into the instrument by a pump or bellows in the box support.
By means of these boxes small organs and pianos may be combined.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would observe that what I claim as new is
the improvements in pedal boxes applied to small organs, flutinas, or other
similar instruments as herein-before described and represented in the accom-
panying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edouard Alexandre, have hereunto set
my hand and seal the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
EDOUARD ALEXANDRE. (L.S.)