IMPROVEMENTS IN PLATEHOLDERS OR FRAMES FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERAS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lewis and William Henry Lewis, of the
City and State of New York, United States of America, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLATEHOLDERS OR FRAMES FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC
CAMERAS."
Sealed the 16th February 1858, and dated the 7th September 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Lewis and
William Henry Lewis at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 7th September 1857.
We, WILLIAM LEWIS and WILLIAM HENRY LEWIS, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLATE-HOLDERS OR FRAMES FOR PHOTO-
GRAPHIC CAMERAS," to be as follows:-
The glass or other plates used for photographic and similar pictures-that
have to be dipped in a bath of nitrate of silver, and placed while wet in the
camera, are apt to drip both on to the clothes of the operator, and also into the
camera or around the room. To avoid this we place a glass or other suitable
receptacle in the bottom of the frame containing said glass, or other plate to
catch said drippings from the said plate. The said glass or other plate has to
be supported at the corners in the said plateholder or frame, and for this
purpose we make use of solid corners attached to the frame by a rebate on
the edges of said solid corners taking grooves in the frame. These corners.
are each formed of a solid piece of glass, porcelain, or other suitable material:

page_text: that will not be affected by the chemicals made use of, and being of a solid
piece have no joints or other places in which dirt can lodge to discolor the
the picture, but said corners can be easily wiped off when necessary, and are
permanent and durable. The slide that is inserted in front of the plate, in
being withdrawn, often causes the chemicals that adhere to its lower edge to
come in contact with and destroy the metallic valve or strip that springs up
to close the opening through which said slide passes to exclude the light; to
obviate this difficulty we use a circular, curved, or bevilled strip of black glass,
or similar material kept to the slide by a springs or springs.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Lewis and William Henry Lewis in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 6th March 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
LEWIS and WILLIAM HENRY LEWIS, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Lewis and William Henry Lewis, Her special license that we,
the said William Lewis and William Henry Lewis, our executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Lewis and
William Henry Lewis, 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 PLATE-HOLDERS OR FRAMES FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERAS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Lewis and
William Henry Lewis, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
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 Lewis and William Henry
Lewis, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
=
Fig. 1 is a view of the rear of the frame as with the back opened; Fig. 2
is a vertical section of the frame, as ready for insertion into the camera;
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan at the line x, x, of Fig. 2; and Figs. 4 and 5 aro
side and edge views of the solid glass or vitrified corners that are inserted in
the frame to receive the glass or other plate on which the picture is to be
taken.
Our improvements relate to the frames that receive the glass or other plate
on which photographic and similar pictures are taken in cameras, and as our
Invention does not relate to any particular character of picture, or to the
camera made use of, we shall neither shew nor describe any camera, or enter
into the details of any chemical process by which the picture is taken or
developed; suffice to say, that in the frames that have heretofore been used,
certain inconveniences have been experienced, which it has been our object
to remove; we will therefore proceed to specify these inconveniences, and then
shew how we remedy them.
In taking photographic pictures, in which the plate is inserted in the
camera while wet with a chemical solution, three sources of inconveniences
have heretofore been experienced; first, the nitrate of silver or other chemical
solution drips from the plate into the frame, and from that on to the floor,
the operator's clothes, or into the camera, often causing injury to the articles
on which it falls; to obviate this, we insert a receptacle of glass or equivalent
material in the bottom of the frame, which retains any chemicals that may
drip from the plate. Second, the corners of said glass or other plate have to
be supported in the frame, and if wood or similar material is used for this
purpose, the chemicals acting thereon cause a stain on the surface which
receives the picture; the same is true if the corners are formed of separate
pieces of glass cemented together, because dirt accumulates at the cement of
the joint, causing a stain, and said corners cannot be wiped off perfectly clean.
To obviate this difficulty we form the corners or supports of solid pieces of
glass or equivalent material that will not be acted upon by the chemicals, and
will support both the surface and edges of the glass or other photographic
plate, and can be wiped off perfectly clean, as often as necessary, to prevent
any accumulation of dirt or chemicals that would stain said plate. We also
attach said corners or supports in a peculiar manner, so as to be firmly secured
in place. Third, the slide that passes in front of the plate has to be inserted.

page_text: through an opening in the upper part or side of the frame, and when with-
drawn the space has immediately to be occupied, or else the light would pass
through said openings and act on the plate, and if any metal strip, or cut off,
be made to spring into this opening the chemicals speedily obstruct or destroy
the same; we overcome this difficulty by making use of a bar of black or
opaque glass, or similar vitrified material, in a recess in the frame acted upon
by a spring, in such a manner that the aforesaid slide is free for withdrawal
or insertion, but the bar of glass is moved up, and excludes light the moment
the aforesaid slide is withdrawn.
In the Drawing, a is the frame adapted to any camera in which the picture
is to be taken; b is the slide passing down in front of the plate (i); fis
the frame in which the solid corners h, of glass or equivalent material are
inserted to receive the plate (i), as hereafter specified; g is the back of the
frame hinged on, and provided with the spring 4, by which the plate i is kept
properly in place; and 3 is a projection on the receptacle d, to receive a latch
on said back g, by which the same is retained when shut. The receptacle
d is formed of glass or other suitable material in the form of a horizontal
bottle, with a neck and cork or stopper e at one end, and a dishing or concave
upper surface, catching drippings, and passing the same into the receptacle
through the mouth or opening at 1, 1; small projections may be provided,
as at 2, on this receptacle d, against which the slide 6 shuts down. This
receptacle will not spill its contents unless the frame be inverted, and can be
emptied at the neck e as often as convenient.
The solid corners h, of glass or equivalent material, are shewn in the Draw-
ing as formed with ribs 9, and corresponding grooves are formed on the inside
of the frame f, as shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and when each of the
corners is inserted into place by the rib entering said groove, the spaces 12 at
the ends of said ribs are to be filled with putty or equivalent cement, and the
corner is secured permanently in place, and said cement cannot come in
contact with the photographic plate. We prefer the foregoing manner of
attaching the corners or supports of glass, or equivalent material that will not
be acted on by chemicals made use of, although the manner of attaching
might be varied in several ways; we do not therefore limit ourselves to this
device, our Invention applying primarily to the corners or supports made of
one piece to take the surface and edge of the photographic plate. At 10,
small projections are shewn on these corners, which can always be wiped off
with great facility, and taking the surface of the plate ensure a proper focal
position for the same. k is a chamber or space containing the "cut off" c, of
glass or equivalent vitrified material, and said cut off is kept towards the

page_text: slide by the spring 6 acting on the pin 5. This spring 6 is within the
part 7 of the frame, so as not to come in contact with the chemicals; and 8 is
a slight groove, into which the "cut off" c is forced when the slide b is with-
drawn, so as perfectly to exclude the light. 11 is a cork at the end of the
chamber k, to allow the withdrawal of the cut off c for cleaning.
The nature, operation, and advantages of our Invention will be apparent
from the foregoing, and need not be recapitulated. What we claim as our
Invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
First, the receptacle d, for the purposes and substantially as specified.
Second, we claim solid corners of glass or equivalent material formed with
flanges to take the edge and surface of the photographic plate, substantially
as and for the purposes specified.
Third, we claim attaching said corners in the frame by means of the rib 9,
substantially as specified.
Fourth, we claim the "cut off" c, of glass or equivalent vitrified material,
in combination with the spring 6, substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Lewis and William Henry
Lewis, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fifth day
of January, A.D. One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
VIS.
(L.S.)
Witnesses,
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
WILLIAM HENRY LEWIS. (L.S.)
289, Broadway, New York.
JAMES E. SERRELL,
No. 43, W. 26th St., N.Y.