IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PENCIL CASES OR HOLDERS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustus William Willis, of, 28, Great Russell Street,
Bloomsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Pencil Manufacturer, for the
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PENCIL CASES OR
HOLDERS."
Sealed the 16th April 1862, and dated the 26th November 1861:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustus William Willis
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 26th November 1861.
I, AUGUSTUS WILLIAM WILLIS, of 28, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, in
the County of Middlesex, Pencil Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PENCIL CASES
OR HOLDERS," to be as follows:-
For the construction of cases or holders for pencils in accordance with this
Invention, tubes of metal, wood, or any suitable substance may be employed.
A tube is formed of the desired length and calibre or bore, the same being.
open at both ends and having a slit down one side thereof, such slit com-
mencing at one extremity of the tube and extending nearly to the other end.
thereof. A small solid barrel or cylinder, of brass or other suitable metal;
or substance, is arranged so as to work within the tube, one end of such
barrel or cylinder being furnished with two or more steel pins or points fixed.

page_text: vertically therein, and the side of the barrel or cylinder being provided with a
knob or stud, such knob or stud working in the said slit so as to cause the
barrel or cylinder to traverse backwards and forwards in the tube. Thé
pencil employed is the ordinary cedar blacklead pencil, and is fixed for use
by gently pressing it upon the pins or points at the end of the said barrel or
cylinder, which will then hold the pencil perfectly firm. The pencil is then
introduced into the tube at the end at which the slit commences, and which is
then covered by a moveable cap, thus closing the end of the tube, and pre-
venting the barrel or. cylinder from falling out. The pencil can then be
elevated or depressed by means of the before-mentioned knob or stud, as may
be desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
•
by the said Augustus William Willis in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Augustus
WILLIAM WILLIS, of 28, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, in, the County of
Middlesex, Pencil Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Augustus William Willis, Her special licence that I, the said
Augustus William Willis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Augustus William Willis, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PENCIL CASES OR HOLDERS,"
upon the condition-(amongst others) that I, the said Augustus William Willis,
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.:

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Augustus William Willis, 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):-
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction and
manufacture of cases or holders. for pencils, whereby a small piece or length
of pencil can be fixed and held firmly in a case or holder, thus enabling the
person employing it to use the whole of a pencil for the purposes of drawing,
or for any other purpose which requires the pencil to be of such a length as
to give the hand complete power and command-over the same.-The-pencil-is-
thus economized, and the whole can be usefully employed instead of a portion
thereof being wasted, as has usually been the case hitherto;. for I may here
remark, that although the ordinary porte crayon has been used with this object,
yet it does not hold the pencil with sufficient firmness.
For the construction of cases or holders in accordance with my Invention,
tubes of metal, wood, or any suitable substance may be employed. A tube
is formed of the desired length and calibre or bore, the same being open at
both ends, and having a slot down one side thereof, such slot commencing at
one extremity of the tube and extending nearly to the other end thereof. A
small solid barrel or cylinder, of brass or other suitable metal or substance, is
arranged so as to work within the tube, one end of such barrel or cylinder
being furnished with two or more steel pins or points fixed vertically therein;
ánd the side of the barrel or cylinder being provided with a knob or stud, such
knob or stud working in the said slot so as to cause the barrel or cylinder to
traverse backwards and forwards in the tube. Instead of constructing the
tube with a slot, as has been just described, the tube may be made entire, the
edges of the skelp being brought together but not soldered, in which case
the projection on the barrel or cylinder should be in the form of a projecting
slip or knife edge, so as to pass readily between the edges of the skelp of
which the tube is formed. The pencil employed is the ordinary cedar black-
lead pencil, and is fixed for use by gently pressing it upon the pins or points at
the end of the said barrel or cylinder, which will hold the pencil perfectly
firm. The pencil is introduced into the tube at the end at which the slot
commences, and which may then be covered. by a moveable cap, thus closing
or securing the end of the tube, and preventing the barrel or cylinder upon
which the pencil is fixed from falling out. It will be manifest that the pencil
can then be elevated or depressed by means of the before-mentioned knob or
stud or projecting slip of metal, as may be desired. When the slot is dispensed
with, and the barrel or cylinder is actuated by the stud or projecting slip of

page_text: metal passing between the edges of the skelp, as before mentioned, the end
of the tube opposite to that at which the pencil is introduced should be secured,
either by a ring placed thereon or by the longitudinal opening being soldered
for a sufficient length, in order to prevent the barrel or cylinder being pushed
or falling out. The end at which the barrel or cylinder is inserted can be
covered with a cap or not, as may be wished.
Having thus described. the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which it is to be performed, I would observe that what I consider novel
and original in respect thereof, and therefore claim as my Invention, is,
the methods of constructing and manufacturing cases or holders. for pencils
as herein-before substantially described and set forth, or any mere modi-
fications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus William Willis, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
AUGUSTUS WILLIAM WILLIS. (L.S.)
Witness,
E. P. H. VAUGHAN,
15, Southampton Buildgs,
Agent for the Patentee.