System of Indexing Blank Books and the like.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A System of Indexing Blank Books and the like.
I, EMIL LEFEBURE, of Fairfax in the County of Linn and State of Iowa,
United States America, Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the construction of blank books, and particularly books
of account, and has for its chief object certain improvements in the system and
mode of indexing, whereby the subject matter (an account for example) may be
very quickly found, the index itself being sufficiently full and explicit, while at the
same time occupying a comparatively small space in the book.
The means by which these results are secured will clearly appear in the
description following, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in
which :-
the
group
shown
Figure 1 represents the invention as applied to a ledger, and Figure 2, a sub-
ordinate dvision thereof embracing one general class or group,
being the names in the ledger beginning with the letter K.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
Referring to the drawings, A is the index page, and B one of the account pages
of the ledger. The book itself is divided into sections alphabetically arranged,
the leaves being either cut away in a series of steps, suitably lettered, in a common
and well known way, as illustrated, or by attaching to certain of the leaves index
tabs (not shown), which is also a common method of alphabetically grouping the
leaves of a book. Thus in Figure 1 the group at the left contains all the J's, while
the names beginning with K are contained in the group at the right. This I of
course do not claim to be new in any sense.
My improvement, however, consists in a peculiar arrangement and construction
of subordinate indexes for each group. This is shown in both figures of the
drawing. On Sheet A are written in regular order the names heading the several
accounts under the appropriate letter, K for example. The index page is divided
by a single vertical line in the middle of the page, and to the left of this line are
written the names heading the accounts on the left hand pages of the ledger. On
the right side of the line are the names for the right hand pages. Thus, in Figure 1,
the first name on the left side of the page is A. V. Kurtz, whose account, (not
shown) is supposed to be just over the page, that is to say, on the back side of the
index leaf. For illustration in Figure 2 I have selected the second names in
colums D and D', respectively, the same being Geo. King and D. Kemble.
In order that the accounts may be readily found from the subordinate indexes I
provide the margin of the leaf opposite the name in the index with a nick d, which
terminates with the leaf on which the account is to be found. Thus, to illustrate
by reference to the drawing, the .nick d is placed directly opposite the names
Geo. King and D. Kemble, and as the accounts of each are supposed to be on the
fourth and fifth pages, respectively, of this group, the nick is only through two
leaves. The account of Kegley & Co. (not shown) is supposed to be on the next
succeeding, or sixth page, so the nick d' opposite that firm's name extends through
three leaves, and so on indefinitely. The accountant finds the proper place by
placing his thumb in the nick opposite the desired name and opening the book at
that point.
I am aware that it is not new to provide the separate groups of an alphabetically
divided book with subordinate divisions, by cutting away portions of the leaves.
But I am not aware of any system of indexing which admits of the names being

page_text: written out in full on a single page, with nick leading directly to the subject
matter. Hitherto it has been customary to put the subordinate letters or symbols
on the page at the bottom of the nick. This of course demanded that the index
name or sign be no larger than the nick, and the abbreviation thus required was
both inconvenient and annoying, the smallness of the reference matter shown in
the nick rendering the index obscure. In my device this is entirely obviated, since
the name may be written as large and full as desired, easily discerned on the page,
and readily found in the body of the book by means of the nick described.
While more particularly applicable to account books and other blank books of
that nature, the system is applicable to printed publications as well.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :
1. A system of indexing blank books and the like, combining the following
elements: A book suitably divided into groups of leaves, as by alphabetical
division, containing the general subject matter, an index page at the beginning of
each group or general division suitable index names or symbols written thereon,
and nick in the margin of the leaf opposite such names or symbols, which nicks
terminate with the leaf on which the subject matter referred to by the respective
index names or signs is written.
2. A system of indexing blank books and the like, combining the following
elements: A general alphabetical division of the book as described, index pages
at the beginning of each group, index names written in two columns on such pages,
those in the left hand column referring to matter on the left hand pages, and those in
the right hand column, to matter on right hand pages, and nicks in the margins of
the leaves opposite the index names terminating in each case at the page referred
to by the respective index names.
Dated this Tenth day of January 1894.
EMIL LEFEBURE.
Marks & Clerk,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents..