An Improved Musical Instrument.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1888
Specification Accepted, 13th July, 1888
An Improved Musical Instrument.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
my invention for "AN IMPROVED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT," and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
My invention consists of an improved musical instrument having a number of
strings arranged on a curved resonant chamber and adapted to be played with an
ordinary violin bow without any fingering of the strings, as in most stringed instru-
ments, to produce the various tones, a separate string being provided for each separate
tone.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, shows in perspective a front view of my
improved instrument.
Fig. 2 is a perspective rear view of the same.
The resonant chamber is constructed preferably of wood. A is the plain back
board of the chamber and to this is glued or otherwise securely fastened the curved
front B and the top and bottom pieces C and D respectively. The front board B is
provided with suitable sound openings 62 into the hollow interior of the resonant
chamber and c c c are the strings stretched from top to bottom along the curved upper
surface of the chamber, firmly secured at the bottom in any suitable manner, as by
tacks d d d, and at the top attached preferably to pins e e e adapted to be turned by a
key, or otherwise, so as to tune cach string to the required pitch. The top of the
front board B is provided with a raised portion g on which is laid the curved upper
bridge we made preferably of metallic wire. The lower bridge m is placed diagonally
across the face of the instrument; ns shown in Fig. 1, and also consists of a metallic
wire. Below the lower bridge m I commonly secure each string by a small
staple s.

page_text: I preferably use fifteen strings tuned in octaves, though any number of strings
can obviously be used according to the number of tones desired. The curve of the
front board B is such that a bow may be drawn easily across any string without
touching the next, and is preferably the arc of a circle. The instrument is commonly
made tapering, as shown in the drawings, and the bow is drawn across the strings in
playing between the two bridges w and m.
The instrument is further provided with handles hand k by means of which it is
held while being played or tuned.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my 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 :--
1. A musical instrument to be played with a bow, consisting of a hollow resonant
chamber, the section of which is the segment of a circle, the arc of said segment
forming the front, and the chord the back of said chamber, provided with a curved
upper bridge crossing the front at right angles to the axis of the same, and a curved
lower bridge crossing the front diagonally, and a number of strings arranged thereon,
with suitable means of tuning the same, substantially as described.
2. A musical instrument having strings arranged in a circular are on a resonant
chamber whose section is the segment of a circle, substantially as described.
3. A musical instrument to be played with a bow, consisting of a hollow resonant
chamber, having a plain back and a curved front and provided with handles and k,
in combination with a number of strings, and a diagonal bridge, all arranged sub-
stantially as set forth.
Dated this 98th day of May 1888
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.