IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL CHAINS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough
Park, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL CHAINS."-A communication
from abroad by Lauriston Towne, residing at Providence, Rhode Island,
United States of America.
Sealed the 27th January 1865, and dated the 17th November 1864.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on, the 17th November 1864, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT KNOWN
that I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in
the County of Surrey; do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL CHAINS," (communicated
to me from abroad by Lauriston Towne, a person resident at Providence,
Rhode Island, United States of America), and 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
ornamental chains.

page_text: Figure 1 is a view of the link before the arms have been beut; Figure 2
is a view of the same link with the arms bent at right angles; Figure 3 is
a view of two links, the arms of the under one being clasped upon the
body of the upper one, whose arms are in' the position shewn in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a view of the chain complete; Figure 5 is a view of a
fragment of the chain. The ornamental chain which is the subject of this
Invention belongs to that class in which the several links are woven or
mechanically held together without the aid of solder, and its novelty results
not from the manner by which the successive links are united so as to form a
chain, but from the peculiar fashion and structure of the link itself.
This peculiarity of form and structure is shewn plainly in Figure 1, which
represents the link as it appears when cut from the thin sheet of metal of
which it is made. It is not, as will be observed, a figure with arms equi.
distant, as in the case of other woven chains, so that the arms of each
succeeding link can interlock with the arms of the preceding one without
reversing it or changing it end for end, but it is a figure the long sides of
which are similar, and the short sides or ends are dissimilar. It is this
.dissimilarity between the opposite sides or ends, and not the fact that
there is an uneven number of arms, which makes it a necessity that
.each alternate link in the process of building up the chain should be
reversed so that the arms of the one will cover the spaces between the
arms in the other. It will be readily understood that all chains of this
class which are made up from links having equidistant arms must of
necessity have a cross section, which is a circle or a regular polygon. As
it is desired to produce a chain the diameter of which in one direction shall
be greater than in the other, it is necessary to place the long sides of each
succeeding link over the similar sides of the preceding one, and it is im-
possible, as in the other cases, to produce the chain by simply placing the
arms of the second relatively to the arms of the first at an angle equal to a
circle divided by the number of arms which the link may have. Therefore a
number of links are taken, each of which is of thin metal, suitable for the
purpose, and such as is well known to manufacturing jewellers, and of the
form shewn in Figure 1.
Suppose the arms a, a, a to have been bent at right angles to the
body, as shewn in Figure 2, the base will make an eight-sided figure,
with one diameter longer than the other. A second link is then placed
over the first, but with reference to it, changed end for end, so that the
arms of the latter will interlock with the arms of the first. The arms of
the latter link are then bent at right angles to the body, as in the case

page_text: of Figure 2, and the arms of the first link are bent down so as to clasp
the body of the second. In this way, by successive links each being placed
and held in the way described, the chain is made. The end of each arm is
furnished with a cross bar, the object of which is to give increased strength
to the chain by the ends of the bars bearing against the arms of the succeed-
ing link, with which they interlock. The chain which results from the pro-
cess described is represented in Figure 4, and is not only extremely pleasing
to the eye, its outline being regular while the long sides are broken midway
by the joint formed by the interlocking arms to relieve it from the appearance
of stiffness, but it is also adapted to ornamental uses, such as for bracelets
and fob chains, for which a round or regular polygonal chain would be less
suitable, and is not inferior in strength to chains of the same weight and
metal made by any process which is in use.
What I claim as the Invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is
the improved ornamental chain shewn and described when composed of links
of the form and structure substantially as herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.