IMPROVEMENTS IN CALENDARS OR DATE INDICATORS, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Thomas Whiteman at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th March 1875.
I, WILLIAM THOMAS WHITEMAN, of 35, Maitland Park Road, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CALENDARS OR DATE INDICATORS, A PART OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
According to my Invention I print or otherwise mark on separate
strips of cloth, cardboard, or paper the names of the days of the week,
the names of the months, and the figures necessary to denote the days
of the month. These strips (which I term date strips) I so connect to
or arrange in contact with a sheet of pasteboard or other material in
which holes or openings are formed that by sliding the said strips
lengthwise those portions which bear the figures and words necessary
to form the required date may be brought opposite the said holes or
openings, the unperforated part of the sheet forming a shield, which
covers all other parts of the said strips.

page_text: I prefer to use two strips for the figures, on one of which strips I
print the figures 1, 2, and 3, and on the other the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, and the cypher 0. These strips are arranged side by side, and
being capable of independent motion the figures printed on them are
sufficient to form the combinations necessary for any given day of the
year.
When I use cloth strips or bands I wrap them round a sheet of
pasteboard, which I attach or affix to one side of the perforated sheet
or shield aforesaid, the said strips being formed into endless bands by
connecting the two ends of each strip either by sewing or cementing
them together, or by closing upon them a suitable fastening. The
fastening which I prefer consists of a strip of sheet metal, the length
of which is rather more than double the width of the band to be
fastened. In using this fastener the ends of the band to be fastened
are brought together and bent up at right angles to the rest of the band.
The strip of metal is then bent round the turned up ends and folded
thereon. A fastener is thus formed, which grips and securely holds
together the ends of the band, which fastener affords a convenient
means for holding the bands while moving them. This fastener, although
especially useful for the purpose herein described, may also be used for
connecting the ends of other bands and the edges of sheets of paper, and
for other like purposes.
Instead of wrapping the said bands round a sheet of pasteboard
affixed to the perforated sheet or shield as described, they may be passed
over slips of wood or sheet metal or pasteboard, or other material, or
over wires affixed to or secured in the upper and lower parts of the said
perforated sheet, or the strips of cloth may (previously to their ends
being joined) be passed through slots formed in the upper and lower
parts of the said perforated sheet or shield.
When I use paper or cardboard strips I cut slit or openings in the
pasteboard shield, through which slits or openings the said strips are so
passed that parts of them shall be at one side of the shield, and the
other parts at the reverse side, those parts which are visible at one side
of the shield being invisible on the other side of the said shield, and
vice versa. The said slits or openings in the shield are made at such
distances apart as to allow only so much of the strips to be visible from
the front of the shield as is necessary to display the words and figures
denoting the date.

page_text: In this arrangement, and in the other arrangements herein-after
described, in which I use printed strips of paper or cardboard for
forming the dates, the month strip and the unit strip may be printed on
both sides, i.e., six months on each side of the month strip, and five
figures on each side of the unit strip. By this means I am enabled to
make the letters and figures for the dates larger than could be otherwise
used with the same sized sheet of pasteboard or shield.
Instead of securing the date strips by passing them through slots in
the shield they may be held in position by securing or affixing to the
said shield over that part in which the openings are formed a slip or
slips of of sheet metal, wood, paper, or pasteboard, or wires, threads, or
cords, between which and the said shield the said date strips may be
slidden when it is necessary to change the date; or a piece of paper or
pasteboard or sheet metal, or other material having slits or openings
formed in it, through which the strips may be passed or laced, may be
affixed to the pasteboard shield in such a position that the words or
figures on that side of the strip next the shield may be brought before
and be seen through the apertures therein.
On the unperforated part of the shield an almanack or other matter,
such as advertisements, may be printed, or it may be ornamented in any
suitable way.
The arrangements of calendars hercin-before described may be applied
to various articles, such as sheet and book almanack, diaries, and note
books.
In applying the said calendars to a book, one of the covers thereof
constitutes the shield, in which the perforations are made, and the strips
are arranged so that those parts which the said shield is required to
cover or hide shall be on the inner side thereof.
The calendars or date indicators herein described are very simple in
construction and use, and can be manufactured very cheaply.