IMPROVEMENTS IN HARMONIUMS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Dawes, Organ and Harmonium Manu-
facturer, and Edward Archibald Ramsden, Music Seller, both of
Leeds, in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HARMONIUMS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS."
Sealed the 4th June 1869, and dated the 10th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Dawes and
Edward Archibald Ramsden at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 10th December 1868.
We, WILLIAM DAWES, Organ and Harmonium Manufacturer, and
EDWARD ARCHIBALD RAMSDEN, Music Seller, both of Leeds, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HARMONIUMS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object the obtaining automatously in con
nection with the keys or "manuals" of the instrument a single note,
sub bass, in imitation of or as a substitute for the pedal bass usually
played by the feet of the performer, and is therefore a "pedal substi-

page_text: tute," by which name or title we intend our Invention to be known. It
may be understood from the following description:
Upon or in connection with the pallets or valves (or additional ones
or dampers) of the Bourdon or other bass notes of the instrument, or in
some case upon (or in connection with) additional reeds or pipes. For
this purpose we used reverse action levers or other suitable or convenient
mechanical "attachment," so constructed that the pressing down of any
key (within the range or compass of the said attachment) shall silence
all the notes above itself in the "stops" thus fitted, and shall restore
or allow the speaking of any note above itself when its key is lifted, and
it ceases to be the sub bass note required, so that when in action the
stop or stops to which this automatous movement is applied can speak
or sound one note only "at a time," and that the lowest note that is then
pressed down or used instead of the upper note only, as in a former Patent
granted to me, the said William Dawes, and bearing date the 15 June
1864 (No. 1477), this Invention being for an automatous pedal note
action by reversing the before-named (former Patent) melody note
action, and applying it thus reversed to the contrary or bass end, instead
of to the treble end or portion of the instrument.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Dawes and Edward Archibald Ramsden
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th June 1869..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
DAWES, Organ and Harmonium Manufacturer, and EDWARD ARCHIBALD
RAMSDEN, Music Seller, both of Leeds, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of December, in the year. of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-.
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said William Dawes, and Edward Archibald,
Ramsden, Her special licence that we, the said William Dawes and
Edward Archibald Ramsden, our executors, administrators, and assigns,,

page_text: or such others as we; the said William. Dawes and Edward Archibald
Ramsden, our 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 Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HARMONIUMS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William. Dawes and
Edward Archibald Ramsden,. our executors- or administrators, by, an
instrument. in writing under our. or their hands and seals, or under.
the hand and seal. of one of us. or them, 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..
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William. Dawes and Edward
Archibald Ramsden, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention,
ánd in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and. by the following statement thereof,
that is to say:-
Our Invention consists of a novel' and peculiar arrangement and con--
struction of certain parts of harmoniums and other musical instruments,
whereby we obtain automatously. in. connection. with. the keys or
"manuals" of the instrument a " single note" "sub bass," in imita-.
tion of or as a substitute for the pedal bass usually played by the feet.
of the performer, and is therefore a "pedal substitute," by which name-
or title we intend our Invention to be known.. It may be understood.
from the following description :-
Upon or in connection with the pallets or valves: of the "Bourdon.""
or other bass note of the instrument, or in some cases. upon additional
reeds. For this purpose we use "reverse-action" levers or other suitable.
or convenient mechanical movement or attachment, so. constructed that
the pressing down of any key within. the range or limits of the said.
attachment shall silence or prevent the speaking of all the notes above
itself in the stop or stops thus fitted, and shall restore or allow the
speaking of any note above itself when it is lifted or ceases to be the
sub bass note required, so that when in action the stop or stops to which

page_text: this automatous movement is applied can only speak or sound "one note
at a time," and that the lowest note that is pressed down or used by the
player upon the keys, instead of the highest or upper note, as in a former
Patent granted to the said William Dawes (A.D. 1864, No. 1477), this
Invention being for an automatous pedal note action by reversing the
before-named melody note action and principle, and applying it to the
bass notes instead of to the treble notes or portion of the instrument.
In the accompanying Drawings a is a key of the instrument; b, a
pallet and its lever; c, "comb" or rack for pallet levers; d, lifting
spring; e, key spring, stronger than the lifting spring; f, reverse action
levers, so constructed that the adjusting screws in the back ends (over
the pallet levers) are one note higher in the scale than the front ends;
and also so that any lever will move or actuate all those above itself in
the scale, and thus whilst its own pallet is allowed to rise with the back
end of the key (when the front end is pressed down) the next and all
the notes above itself (as far as the said levers are attached) will be
silenced by the closing of the pallets through or by the said reverse
action levers, the lowest note or key pressed down being the only one
which can speak or sound in the stop or stops, to which the automatous
action or movement is applied. The arrangement of this attachment"
may be modified according to circumstances, or any of the previously
described methods of realizing the automatous single note reversed may
be employed where pipes or reeds used as pipes may be preferred.
Having thus declared and shown the nature and object of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
caried into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not confine or
restrict ourselves to the precise methods, details, or arrangements which
we have described or referred to, as many modifications and variations
may be made therefrom to produce the same result without deviating
from the principle or main features of the said Invention; but what we
consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
the giving to harmoniums and other harmonious keyed instruments
the mechanical capability of sounding automatously, or by self-acting
mechanical means, the "sub bass" or lowest note only upon one or more
parts, portions, or sections (stops), whilst the other parts of the same
instrument (except those fitted with the before-named former Patent)

page_text: are giving or sounding the "full chords" or harmony as heretofore, both
parts or sections receiving at the same time the same first motion action
or influence from the keys and player.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Dawes and Edward
Archibald Ramsden, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-nine.
10 Witnessed by
WILLIAM DAWES.
(L.S.)
EDWARD ARCHIBALD RAMSDEN. (L.S.)
THOMAS STODART BESWICK,
12, Coventry Place,
Leeds.