Year: 1885

page_text: I FRANK JOB CHAMBERS, of No 1, Queen Street Place, in the city of London
Architect and Surveyor do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to cast iron shop fronts so constructed that they can be
fixed up and glazed complete in a very short time. The depth occupied by
the whole thickness of the ironwork, glass and woodwork being generally under
three inches for the whole ten feet width they can be used with advantage in
very shallow sites of land without the sacrifice for constructive purposes hitherto
necessary in erecting shops of this nature.
In carrying out my invention the fronts are constructed of sets of light iron
castings of suitable spans, say of ten feet, which would generally constitute a shop
and which span would allow of the front being divided into two side windows and
a central doorway. The cast stanchions are advantageously made about three
inches wide, two inches deep and about eleven feet high to be cast of about one
quarter inch metal with sunk vertical panels and molded cap and base.
These stanchions are cast hollow and with a projecting lip on the inner surface
of the sides thereof-The stanchions are cast without a back.
Wooden blocks are fixed and driven home by means of slate centre or key pieces
to be built in the party wall where necessary or this centre piece would in the
case of the door posts be of wood and would be covered with the match boarding.
The wooden blocks being fixed, india rubber filletting or tubing is glued or
otherwise fixed to the iron of stanchion; the sheets of plate glass are pressed
home. A second india rubber fillet or tube is fixed against the glass and the
whole is secured by the match boarding secured to the wooden blocks.
In the case of the doorways the hinges would be screwed to these blocks.
Above the openings I provide frames for stained glass or otherwise; they are fixed
all in one piece, with four slugs cast on screws to the iron stanchions; they are
then glazed in one square as described for the lower panes. The stall board
advertisement panels are also cast in one piece fixed to the stanchions as described
for the upper panes and then backed with wood or iron advertisement boards, fixed
like a picture in its frame,

page_text: In cases where the smaller stanchions and slate division are not allowed a
stanchion nine inches wide and two inches deep is fixed to cover face of nine inch
wall; it will be glazed in the manner described for smaller stanchions.
Over the iron stanchion wooden facia name boards are fixed and above that a
gutter to take water from roof; above iron advertisement sheets are fixed to
wrought iron stays bent to incline and secured to the stanchions, the whole front
being tied in by joists or bearers of flat roof or by tie rods from back wall or
partition.
In cases where practicable and where brick division walls are unnecessary
"Johnsons patent woven wire and angle iron fire proof partition walls" can be
used as a separation between different shops in a row this being connected to the
slate centre piece of the stanchion.*

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Shop Fronts.
I FRANK JOB CHAMBERS of No 1, Queen Street Place, in the city of London,
Architect and Surveyor 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 relates to cast iron shop fronts so constructed that they can be
fixed up and glazed complete in a very short time. The depth occupied by the
whole thickness of the ironwork, glass and wood work being generally under three
inches for their whole length, they can be used with advantage in very shallow
Bites of land without the sacrifice for constructive purposes hitherto necessary in
erecting shops of this nature.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same
by reference to the accompanying drawing in which figure 1 represents a front
elevation of a shop front constructed according to my invention, and figures 2 to 8
are details. Figure 1 is drawn to a scale of about half an inch to a foot, figures 2;
3, 6 and 8 are drawn about one quarter full size and figures 4, 5, and 7 are
drawn full size.
Similar letters in all the figures represent similar parts.
In carrying out my invention the fronts are constructed of sets of light iron
castings as hereinafter described of suitable spans, equal to the spans between the
party walls, say for example, sixteen feet, one of which sets of castings would
generally constitute a single or double shop front and the said span would allow
of the front being divided into two side windows a, a, and a central doorway b,
(either single or double) as shewn in figure 1. The cast centre stanchions c (one
of which is shewn in front elevation at figure 2 and partly in side elevation at
figure 3) are advantageously made about three inches wide, two inches deep and
about eleven feet high, and are cast of a thickness of metal of about one quarter of
an inch with sunk vertical panels d, d, and moulded cap e, and base f; a portion g
is formed above the cap e, and has a sunk rebate or face h, figure 3 to carry a
gutter and a projecting bracket i, at the rear to carry the plate j, of the roof
or flat.
The centre stanchions c, are cast hollow and with a projecting lip k, on the inner
surface of each of the sides thereof as shewn in figure 4 which represents a
horizontal section on line C, D of figure 2. The stanchions are also cast without
a back.
Two wooden fillets l, l, are placed loosely in these hollow stanchions and are
driven home by means of wooden wedges or key pieces m, the lips k, k, being
thereby forced into the wooden fillets 1, 1; by this means an almost solid rebate is
formed to receive the glass n, for the windows a, which is then puttied in, in the
usual way and secured at the back with twice beaded match lining o, against
which the door frames or the partitions can be fixed if required.
The brick party walls when such are necessary are faced with hollow stanchions
(p, p. figure 1) similar in height and depth and as regards mouldings to the centre
stanchions c, c, but of sufficient width to cover the face of the brickwork.

page_text: Above the window openings I provide frames q, part of which is shewn in
elevation at figure 6, for stained glass or otherwise; the frames are formed all
in one piece and are fixed in the manner represented in figure 5 (which is a
horizontal section on line A, B of figures 2) by means of four lugs r, cast thereon to
allow of the frames being screwed to the iron stanchions c and p; the frames q, are
then all glazed with one square of glass as bereinbefore described for the lower
panes a; figure 7, is a horizontal section on line E, F of figure 6. The stall board
advertisement panels 8, part of one of which is shewn in detached front elevation
at figure 8, are also cast in one piece fixed to the stanchions as described for the
upper panes and then backed with wood or iron advertisement boards, fixed like a
picture in its frame.
Over the iron stanchions c and p, and secured thereto are wooden facia name
boards t, figures 1 and cast iron gutters bolted to the front of the iron stanchions
as before described, and above these iron or wood advertisement boards u, are.fixed
to wrought iron stays v, v, bent to incline towards the street; the whole front is
tied in by the wooden plate j, of the roof or flat carried on the cast brackets i, of
the stanchions c, slotted to the back wall or to the roof or flat.
In cases where practicable and where brick division walls are unnecessary
"Johnson's patent woven wire and angle iron fire proof partition walls" can be
used as a separation between different shops in a row this being connected to the
slate centre piece of the stanchion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The construction and use of the improved shop fronts substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.