IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE EXHIBITION OF DRAMATIC AND OTHER LIKE PERFORMANCES
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Weston and Charles
Morton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 6th January 1864.
We, JOHN HENRY WESTON, of Kennington Road, Lambeth, in the County
of Surrey, and CHARLES MORTON, of Oxford Street, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE EXHIBITION OF DRAMATIC AND OTHER LIKE
PERFORMANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus to be used in
the exhibition of dramatic and other like performances. In the Specification
of a Patent granted to Messrs. Dircks and Pepper, and dated the 5th
February 1863, (No. 326,) a method is described of exhibiting a phantom on
a stage, this is done by reflecting an object placed below the visible stage and
itself invisible to the audience; this reflection is produced by means of a
plain or unsilvered glass placed on the stage. Heretofore this 'glass has either
been adjusted and fixed in position whilst the stage is concealed from view, or
else the glass is raised from a pit beneath whilst the stage is only feebly
illuminated, and it is then allowed to tip forward till it rests against stops
previously adjusted, in no case however has the arrangement of the apparatus
been such that the inclination of the glass could be gradually and accurately
varied whilst the stage is visible and the phantom is being exhibited; now the
arranging the glass in this manner is an important feature of our Invention;

page_text: this is most conveniently done by resting the lower edge of the frame of the
glass on the stage or floor, or on a suitable ledge or support, and attaching to
the upper edge of the frame a rope or ropes which pass away to a winding
barrel, on the axis of which is a crank handle, so that by turning this handle
the rope or ropes are wound up or slacked off, and the glass is thus readily
brought to any inclination required, and there are pawls or other locking
instruments to retain the barrel, when the glass is properly set a mark or
marks on the rope or ropes, or on the barrel, enable the operator at once to
obtain the inclination required. It is evident that in place of this arrangement
the upper edge of the glass may be held stationary, whilst the lower edge is
moved in a manner similar to that above described. By thus arranging the
glass we are enabled to cause the phantom to appear as if rising out of the
stage or out of an object placed upon it by merely causing the glass to incline
forward gradually more and more, whereas this effect has heretofore been
produced by the more complicated and difficult method of causing the model
(of which the phanton is the reflected image) gradually to rise up a pit in the
hidden stage.
We are also enabled by our improved apparatus to arrange the
groups on the hidden stage whilst the full light is on, and then, when desired,
the group can be brought to view, and made to appear to rise out of the stage
by gradually varying the inclination of the glass, this is a much more con-
venient method than extinguishing the light on the hidden stage as heretofore
practised. The phantom also by our improved apparatus is made to disappear
as if sinking into the stage in place of disappearing suddenly as at present.
Also according to our Invention we combine a fountain with apparatus for
producing the appearance of a phantom gradually rising as before described,
the fountain with its water jets is placed on the visible stage so that by this
combined.apparatus we are enabled to represent a phantom gradually rising in
the midst of the water.