CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Hall, Ironmonger, of Saint John's, in the City
of Worcester, of the County of that name, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES."
Sealed the 7th December 1858, and dated the 10th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hall at the Office.
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th June
1858.
I, GEORGE HALL, Ironmonger, of Saint John's, in the City of Worcester, of
the County of that name, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
My improvements in the construction and manufacture of cartridges are
applicable either for ball or shot, and have for their object not only the
facilitating the operation of loading, but also the separating the charge by the
operation of loading from the case in which it is contained, so that the case
that contained the charge of powder and ball or shot is not allowed to remain
in the barrel or be in any way connected with the charge after the loading is
effected. The manner in which I carry this into effect is by making a case of
paper, gutta percha, gut, or entrails of animals, thin ductile metal, or other
suitable material, or of any two or more of such materials combined; such
case is to be spherical or conical at the bottom, and to be slightly secured at

page_text: the bottom in such a manner as to open with pressure such as that used in
loading a gun or rifle. The case is to be constructed with a projecting rim,
ring, or flange at or near the top, for resting on the muzzle end of the barrel
when the cartridge is inserted in it for loading. In a case thus constructed
I
I put my powder and ball when a ball cartridge is being constructed, the size
of the ball being such as to fit the case, or it may be surrounded with some
suitable yielding material that will make it fit the case as well as the barrel of
the gun when pushed home (so as to cut off all windage), and which packing
may be saturated with any suitable greasy matter, so as to lubricate and clear
the barrel from the fouling of the preceding charge. A large portion of the
ball (which I prefer to be of the description known as the Minie ball, or of that
shape,) may be allowed to stand up above the rim, ring, or flange of the
cartridge, so as to be above the muzzle of the gun when commencing the
loading. A similar case is to be used for shot cartridges, a wad of an elastic
substance and slightly convex on one side being put between the powder and
shot, and above the shot, and the rim, ring, or flange of the case being at or
above the top of the charge of shot. In making shot cartridges, the operation
is facilitated by putting the shot into a separate case, which I pass down inside
the case constructed as above mentioned; but this is not an essential part of
my improvements, as the shot may be put in the outer case without being
enclosed in a separate case. In loading, the case (whether ball or shot is
contained in it) is put in the muzzle of the barrel, and the rim, ring, or flange
rests on the top of the barrel, and the action of pushing down the charge with
the ramrod or otherwise frees the powder at the bottom, which descends the
barrel, and the application of the ramrod forces the ball or shot through the
case down to its place on the powder; and on withdrawing the ramrod, the
entire case is removed from the muzzle to be thrown away as waste, or retained
and refilled if thought desirable.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Hall, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the s
10th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HALL, of St. John's, in the City of Worcester, in the County of that. name,
Ironmonger, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Hall, Her special license that I, the said George Hall, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Hall, my executors, administrators, or 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN CARTRIDGES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Hall, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW, YE, that I, the said George Hall, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement.
(that is to say) -
The object and purpose of my Invention is to so construct my cartridge.
case as to obtain the facility of loading afforded by the use of cartridges, and
yet to keep the charge, when placed home in the barrel, in the same con-
dition as if the powder and shot or ball had been supplied' from their respective
flasks or pouches without the use of any cartridge. The great superiority of
this mode of charging over charging with a cartridge has long been an
established fact, awing to its avoiding the necessity of any paper or other
casing surrounding the powder when rammed home, such paper or casing.
being the fruitful source of accidents and rapid fouling. The manner in which
I give effect to my Invention is by placing my charge within a case, so
constructed that it may be wholly or partially inserted in or fixed on the
muzzle of the gun, and by the application of the ramrod, the charge may be
forced from the case or. charger down to the bottom of the barrel, and the case
or charger may then be removed and preserved for further use by recharging
or filling, or thrown away as waste, according to the expense or nature of the
material of which such case may be made, as the said cases may be made of
thin metal tubing, paper, linen, the entrails of animals, gutta percha, or other
suitable material, or any combination of such or other suitable materials.
But in order to facilitate the description and practical realization of my said. t.
Invention, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed,

page_text: that I have marked the same parts with the same letter of reference, whether
represented detached or combined with the other parts.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 are top and side views of a metallic cartridge case, which
may be supposed to be made of very thin metal tubing, and of a rim, ring, or
flange fixed thereto; and Figure 3 represents a vertical section of the last
Figures, with a thin disc of paper, parchment, or other suitable material,
marked A, attached to the metal portion by a fine thread secured through a
small hole in the top rim, as at b, Figure 1; and Figure 4 represents also a
vertical section of the case, with the charge placed in its position, an operation
performed thus:-The case is placed in a suitable socket, the disc A is placed
on the top of the case and forced down by a plunger; and this disc, if made a
little larger than the interior of the case, will pucker up all around in the
form here shewn, on which the charge of powder marked C, and the pellet D
are placed for receiving the shot and top pellet E. The case thus charged is
used by putting it' into the muzzle of the gun and pressing it down until it is
supported at the top of the barrel by the top rim or flange marked f,f; the act
of loading is completed by the ramrod being pressed on the top pellet or wad E
with a moderate amount of pressure, when the whole charge will be forced
down the case; but as the disc A is held by the string attached to one side of
it, its progress down the barrel is impeded, and the powder falls down by its
side to the bottom of the barrel, and the disc A is forced down by the wad E
and lies upon the powder immediately beneath such wad, the string breaking
away from the disc, and continues to adhere to the case. Thus it is obvious
that this mode of loading, while it affords the facility of cartridge charging,
yet owing to the entire absence of any paper other than the pellets, the charge
is more certain in firing, and there is less liability to accident from old sparks
remaining from unconsumed paper in the barrel, and the tendency to the shot
balling, and to the rapid fouling attendant on the common use of paper
surrounding the charge (when fired), is entirely avoided.
Figure 5 is a top view of another metallic cartridge case, of which Figure 6
is a side view. The ring G may be of metal, paper, gutta percha, or other
suitable material. The case as here represented I purpose making of thin
sheet steel hardened and tempered, such kind of steel as is used in the manu-
facture of steel pens will answer well for this purpose, as I prefer making
them with an open joint for the purpose of expansion and contraction, as by
this means the slight inequality of the size of the bore of gun barrels will be of

page_text: no inconvenience.
And when steel or other hard metal is used for the case,
part of it may be made to project instead of having a ring fixed thereon.
Figure 7 is the bottom and strap necessary for charging this kind of case,
and which I prefer being made of parchment, vellum, or other suitable
material, and which parchment or other bottom and strap when in use assume
the form exhibited in the side view thereof at Figure 8, and which strap and
bottom are shown partly in dotted lines at Figure 6, the strap being marked h
and the bottom i. In charging this case I prefer fitting it into a suitable
socket, and by placing the disc or bottom i over the top of the case it can be
easily forced down in charging as in the case of charging Figure 4, always
observing to place the bottom in such a position that the strap h shall cover
over the open seam of the tube or case, which makes it perfectly close, and
ready for receiving the powder, and the top end of the strap is to be brought
over the top of the tube or case and tucked under the ring G, as shown in
Figure 6, to allow of which a slot or opening may be formed in the ring as
at j, Figure 5, and when no ring is used, the end of the strap is to be secured
to one of the projections made instead of a ring. The case thus prepared (as
exhibited at Figure 6) is ready for charging with powder and shot or ball, as
may be desired, and if preferred, for convenience or portability for carrying
in the pocket (in the absence of a suitable carrier), this case may be placed
within an outer one, the depth of which may be arranged according to the
position in which the ring G may be placed. This kind of cartridge will be
found highly beneficial, as the extreme thinness and elastic character of the
case will make them suitable for almost every variation of bore which
characterizes gun barrels.
Figure 9 is a side view of a cartridge case suitable for ball, no part of
which is intended to go inside the muzzle of the gun, but on the contrary the
lower part marked K is intended to fit over the barrel, which is represented
broken off for convenience of space, and is marked L; and Figure 10 repre-
sents a section of the gun barrel L, and of the cartridge case containing the
ball and charge, the operation of loading which is effected somewhat as
described at Figure 4. A disc of parchment or other suitable material is.
forced down the case, which disc of parchment or other suitable material is
here shewn marked m, upon which the powder N is placed, and the wad O,
and above this the ball, which I prefer being of the Greenerian or Minie
form, with a hollow groove around it close to its base, and which groove
I purpose filling up with greased string, or thread, or other suitable material,
as it not only facilitates cleaning the barrel but assists also in cutting off
windage, and enabling it to be used with or without the wad O, as desired.

page_text: The cartridge thus charged is put on the end of the gun barrel, as shown in
Figures 9 and 10, when by the mere forcing down of the bullet the powder
will be freed by the dropping down of the bottom m, which is retained by the
string marked leaving the charging to be completed by simply ramming
home the ball with the ramrod. This sort of case, whether made of metal,
paper, or other suitable material, may be preserved for recharging, and is
applicable for ball or shot cartridges, but when made for shot cartridges the
part marked P should be longer than if intended for ball cartridges; and
again, if required for charging double barrels, the part within the dotted line
K, marked Q in Figure 9, is intended to be removed, in order to allow this
part to pass free of the rib that connects the barrels. The slot and small hole
marked S, Figure 9, is for the insertion of the string by which the disc (as
shewn at m, Figure 10,) is held.
Figure 11 is a case similar to Figure 9, but formed, as before referred to,
for a shot cartridge, and may be charged with its powder and shot as at
Figure 4.
Figure 12 represents a cartridge made of a tube of woven material, such,
as glazed calico, cut into suitable pieces and gummed or otherwise secured
together, or it may be wove of a hollow form, which would be superior, as it
would be without a seam, or this tube may be formed of paper, gut, or other
suitable material, the tube in each case being firmly secured to the ring T,
which may be of paper, gutta percha, or other suitable material, and
a case
thus formed may be gathered in and tied at the bottom, or treated in the
manner described with reference to the metal case shown in Figure 4, but
I prefer turning the tube inside out, and tying it as exhibited at Figure 13,
leaving the end or ends of the string somewhat longer than the case, in the
manner here shown. I now turn the case into its proper position, and fasten
the ends of the string to the ring T, and place within the case the powder
and shot with their respective wads, in which condition we may suppose
Figure 12 to be, and in this state the cartridge is ready to be used by putting
it into the muzzle of the gun which is intended to be loaded, the ring T
resting on the muzzle end of the barrel, the ramrod has only to be applied
with the requisite pressure, when the case will burst from its fragile
securing at the bottom, and the charge will be readily pressed down home,
the string remaining attached to the ring and case, which may be removed to
be thrown away or again charged, as may be desired; nor is it essential that
the string should be left to hang, as it may be cut off close to the tying at the
bottom of the case, or that such cartridges should be used in the manner here.
described, as they may be used in an outer case similar to those before

page_text: described, and such an outer case as that shown in Figure 11 I have exhibited
in section at Figure 14 with a cartridge within it, placed in position to be
forced down the gun barrel, which is here shewn in section, marked V, the
fabric or material of which the cartridge case is made being partly broken
away for the purpose of showing the string by which the bottom is tied, as
also the powder, middle wad, and shot; and this, as before described, has
only to receive the necessary amount of pressure from the ramrod when the
case will open at the bottom and allow a free course for the charge to pass
down by the force of the ramrod. In cases where economy and strength are
required, a thin case, such as exhibited at Figures 12 and 13, may be secured
to a deep ring, as at X, Figure 16, which may be made of paper, after the
manner that pill boxes are made; the bag Y, whether of paper, woven fabric,
gut, or other material being secured to it by glueing or pasting, and the
bottom being tied, as before described, or temporarily secured in any other
way, such a cartridge may be placed in a gun, so that the bottom of the
ring X may rest on its muzzle, and, like the others, the act of loading will
burst or free the bottom, and allow the charge to pass down. In all cases
I prefer the string to be long enough to come up the case, either outside or
in, and secured to the top, as by this means it would be impossible for any
portion of it to descend the barrel with the powder, which would be the case
supposing the string by which the bottom had been secured had been cut off
close to the tying, as the bursting of the case would allow the small bit of
string with which it had been so secured to descend with the powder, which
would be objectionable. The cases for the powder and shot or ball may also
be made of thin ductile metal, having the lower ends cut into such a shape
that it may be bent into a conical or semicircular form, and so close as to
retain the powder when put therein. These cases are to be loaded in the
same manner as the cases shown in Figure 4, but do not requre any disc
beneath the powder, and they may be used either with or without an outer
case of more rigid metal, and of any of the shapes shewn in Figures 4, 6,
10, or 14.
Having thus described the nature and character of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood
that I do not purpose confining myself to the exact details or proportions of
any of the parts herein described and exhibited, as the whole would naturally
vary according to the nature of the materials used; but what I do claim, and
wish protected by these my in part recited Letters Patent, is, the construction
of and placing and arranging cartridges for loading guns (either for war or
sporting purposes) in such a way that the act of loading shall entirely free the

page_text: powder with the ball or shot and its accompanying wad or wads from the case
or holder in which such charge had been placed, thus obtaining all the facility
that is afforded by the use of cartridges (when the entire cartridge with its
case is forced into the barrel) as well as the advantage of having the charge
entirely and absolutely free from paper or other deleterious matter, the use of
which is known to be dangerous and otherwise objectionable.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Hall, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Vitness's,
JOHN EDWARD LITTLEHALES, and
ALFRED PERRY, Clerk to
J. S. Cockings, Patent Agent,
Birmingham.
GEORGE HALL. (L.S.)