An Improved Picture Reflecting or Exhibiting Apparatus, applicable for Advertising and other purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Left. 9th Aug., 1897-Accepted, 11th Sept., 1897
An Improved Picture Reflecting or Exhibiting Apparatus,
applicable for Advertising and other purposes.
A communication by KARL WIRTH, of 12 Scheurlstrasse, Nuremberg, in the Empire
of Germany, Manufacturer..
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham in the County of Warwick
and 322 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to effect an appearance and disappearance of any
suitable picture on the face of a mirror by means of the apparatus hereinafter
described.
The construction of the apparatus as shown in Figures 1-3 of the accompanying
drawings is as follows:-
a is an ordinary mirror glass (or even a gelatine mirror or the like) which is suitably
mounted in a box b.
The silver layer of this mirror is in this case coated with a transparent varnish or
backing instead of as usual with a dark varnish or backing.
Behind this mirror is placed a picture c which afterwards appears on the face of
the mirror, and the said picture must be transparent.
The pictures may be lifted or pushed in or out through slits or openings d or they
may be mounted on a long strip which is passed through the slits d and may be
wound or unwound on rollers e and e¹.
If a bright light be brought behind this transparent picture, the latter appears with
extraordinary strength and clearness on the face of the mirror, whilst when the light
is extinguished the picture vanishes instantaneously, and the mirror cannot be
distinguished from an ordinary mirror.
In the present instance an incandescent lamp f is given as source of light, the rays
of which are further reflected by a concave mirror g, but other means of lighting may
be employed.
Figure 4 shows a somewhat modified form of construction in which there is
employed as source of light a Geissler tube, which, in the form of a hollow glass
parallelopipedon x, is illuminated equally at all places behind the whole surface of the
picture.
Tde picture or pictures may consist of any desired devices, letters, figures or
words.
This invention is mainly adapted for advertising purposes,, various pictures and
words being caused to alternately appear on the mirror.
In addition to its other manifold applications it may also be employed for
entertainments of all kinds.

page_text: The electric current for the incandescent lamp or Geissler tube may in hand
apparatus he supplied by a small dry battery inconspicuously attached to the
apparatus.
Dated this 9th day of November 1896.
An Improved Picture Reflecting or Exhibiting Apparatus,
applicable for Advertising and other purposes.
A communication by KARL WIRTH, of 12 Scheurlstrasse, Nuremberg, in the Empire
of Germany, Manufacturer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6 Bank Street, Manchester, both in the County
of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, and 322 High
Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to effect an appearance and disappearance of any
suitable picture on the face of a mirror by means of the apparatus hereinafter
described.
The construction of the apparatus as shown in Figures 1-3 of the drawings
accompanying the Provisional Specification, is as follows:-
a is an ordinary mirror glass (or even a gelatine mirror or the like) which is suitably
mounted in a box b.
The silver layer of this mirror is in this case coated with a transparent varnish or
backing instead of as usual with a dark varnish or backing.
Behind this mirror is placed a picture c which afterwards appears on the face of the
mirror, and the said picture inust be transparent.
The pictures may be lifted or pushed in or out through slits or openings d or they
may be mounted on a long strip which is passed through the slits d and may be
wound or unwound on rollers e and el.
If a bright light be brought behind this transparent picture, the latter appears with
extraordinary strength and clearness on the face of the mirror, whilst when the light
is extinguished the picture vanishes instantaneously, and the mirror cannot be
distinguished from an ordinary mirror.
In the present instance an incandescent lamp f is given as source of light, the rays
of which are further reflected by a concave mirror g, but other means of lighting may
be employed.
Figure 4 shows a somewhat modified form of construction in which there is employed
as source of light a Geissler tube, which, in the form of a hollow glass parallelo-
pipedon x, is illuminated equally at all places behind the whole surface of the picture.
The picture or pictures may consist of any desired devices, letters, figures or
words.
This invention is mainly adapted for advertising purposes, various pictures and
words being caused to alternately appear on the mirror.
In addition to its other manifold applications it may also be employed for enter-
tainments of all kinds.
The electric current for the incandescent lamp or Geissler tube may in hand
apparatus be supplied by a small dry battery inconspicuously attached to the apparatus.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
A picture reflecting apparatus consisting of a mirror (c) behind which a transparent
picture or transparent writing is placed and illuminated by any suitable source of
light thus causing the picture, writing or the like to become clearly visible on the
face of the mirror substantially as hereinbefore described and shown."
Dated this 7th day of August 1897.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.