IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DESCRIPTION OF PUBLIC VEHICLES CALLED CABS
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MOSES
POOLE, of Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of September, in the seventh
year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Moses Poole, His especial licence, full power, sole
priviledge and authority, that I, the said Moses Poole, my exors, admors, or
assigns, or such others as I, the said Moses Poole, my exors, admňors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
DESCRIPTION OF PUBLIC VEHICLES CALLED CABS," communicated to me by a certain
Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Moses Poole, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of 'the said

page_text: are the hooks to which the traces are attached. The shape of the body of the
vehicle is clearly shewn in the various Figures; but it should be remarked,
that the same may in some degree be varied, provided the entrance for the
passengers behind be retained. I is the step for the passengers to enter;
m, m, are folding doors, which are made in two parts in order to facilitate the
entry of passengers from whichever side of the road the carriage may be drawn
up to, though the same may have only a single door if desired; n, n, are two
windows or glazed openings in front of the vehicle. These windows are
shown to be fixtures, but they may be made to open like the windows of
carriages in general, and as is well understood by coach and carriage
builders. o, o, are two ventilators, being two flat narrow boards capable of
closing the opening at o, o, but, moving on axes, they may be set open to any
degree desired by the passengers; p, p, are two windows of glazed openings
at back, which are shewn fixed in the Drawings, but they may be made to
open if desired; q, q, are two seats for the passengers, who sit opposite or
facing each other, with their sides to the horse, which will readily be under-
stood on examining the Drawing, particularly at Figures 3 and 4, where, as
before stated, the vehicle is shewn in section in order to explain the nature of
the main framing. The interior may, however, be lined according to the
taste of the builder. By this arrangement of carriage it will be evident that
great safety will be obtained, together with an elegant close carriage or vehicle,
of a very light construction, which will be drawn with facility by a single horse.
The vehicles shewn in the Drawing are expressly constructed for two
passengers, and to be used for that description of public vehicles called cabs,
which, according to the present construction, are justly considered very
dangerous vehicles, owing to the liability of persons riding therein to be thrown
out should the horse fall or the wheels come against any other carriage.
But, according to the construction of the above description of carriage, the
passengers in the event of like accidents, or in the event of a horse running
away, may with facility get out of the vehicle by merely unbolting the doors
on the inside, and stepping out, taking care, however, when the horse is
running away, to hold on and run behind for a short distance, to prevent
falling.
I will now proceed to describe the second vehicle, differing from that above
described in some particulars, but having the same common properties and
advantages of the door or entrance for the passengers being behind. In the
present case, however, the passengers sit with their faces to the horse, and
side by side of each other.

page_text: Figure 5 shews a side view, Figure 6 a back view, and Figure 7 a longi-
tudinal section of a vehicle constructed according to the second part of the
Invention. In each of these Figures the same letters of reference are used to
denote similar parts, and it will only be desirable further to add, in respect of
this second carriage or vehicle, that the seats are placed one on each side of
the doorway or entrance, each seat being suitable for one person; and there
may, if desired, be a folding seat to be across the doorway when the door is
shut, and thus making room for three persons, as is shewn by dotted lines in
Figure 6. The front part of this vehicle may be more or less open, according
to the taste of the builder, and may either have windows or folding blinds;
and where the door is made in one part, as is shewn in Figure 6, a blind or
shutter may be slided, formed within the door, and capable of sliding up and
closing the openings in like manner to the blinds to doors of ordinary
carriages, which is well understood. It should be remarked, that in various
constructions of carriages and vehicles the entrance for the passengers has
been from behind; that property is not therefore claimed generally, but only
when combined in carriages such as are above described. And I would have
it understood that no claim is made to any of the parts separately, nor is the
Invention confined to the precise arrangement here shewn, so far as the shape
or figure of the body of the carriage is concerned. But what is claimed as
the Invention under the present Letters Patent is,―
First, the construction of a two-wheeled two-passenger one-horse vehicle,
such as is shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Drawings, wherein there
are seats for two passengers, one opposite the other, with the doorway or
entrance behind, when the same is applied to that description of public
vehicles called cabs.
Secondly, the construction of a two-wheeled two or three passengers one-
horse vehicle, such as is shewn at Figures 5, 6, and 7 of the Drawings,
wherein there are two seats, one on each side of the doorway or entrance, for
passengers to set with their faces towards the horse, combined with a door or
entrance behind, when the same is applied to that description of public
vehicles called cabs.
In witness whereof, I, the said Moses Poole, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.
MOSES (L.B.)
POOLE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-third day of January,
in the year of our Lord 1837, the aforesaid Moses Poole came before >>ur said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.