Year: 1819

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
URBANUS SARTORIS, of Winchester Street, in the City of London,.
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS His, inost Excellent. Majesty: King George the Third,.
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great. Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-third day of January, in the fifty-
ninth year of His reign, did for Himself, His heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Urbanus Sartoris, my exors, adññiors,
and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said Urbanus Sartoris, my exors, adiiors, and assigns,
and every of them, by myself, and themselves, or by my. and their
deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said
Urbanus Sartoris, my exors, admors, or assigns, should. at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term of fourteen years from the date of the said 'Letters
Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and, Ireland called
England, His Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon

page_text: Tweed (and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad),
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF FIRE-
ARMS," in such manner as to me, the said Urbanus Sartoris, my exors,
adiiors, and assigns, or any of them, should in my or their discretions
seem meet; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging
me, the said Urbanus Sartoris, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and
to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW. YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Urbanus Sartoris, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention is described and ascertained in the plan bereunto annexed,
and in the following explanation thereof (that is to say):
My said Invention consists, in the first place, of a chamber for con-
taining the priming, which with its apparatus is applicable to all the
varieties of portable fire and at present in use, where the charge of
gunpowder is ignited by means of a flint and steel lock, and which said
chamber. for, priming and apparatus not only act as an effectual-safe-
guard to prevent the gun from going off while charging, or afterwards
by accident, but also preclude the necessity of a separate operation for
priming the piece in the ordinary manner; and,, -
... Secondly, of a new mearis of uniting or fixing to the stock or mount
ing such barrels of fire-arms as have, detached or moveable breechings
for, loading at the breech by turning upon a pivot, as in the Drawings
hereunto. annexed; and the manner in which I carry these my afore
sáid improvements into effect will be clearly understood by referring to
that Drawing, the. example represented being a gun-with-a moveable
breeching, for which His most Gracious Majesty was pleased to grant
me His Royal Letters Patent, bearing date at Westminster, the
Eleventh day of March, One thousand eight hundred and seventeen
Figure. 1, representing such a gun with its breech disengaged and
elevated, for the purpose of charging it... In the breeching described in

page_text: the Specification of the means of carrying my aforesaid Patent of the
Eleventh day of March, One thousand eight hundred and seventeen
into execution, the touch hole was 'described to be on the side of the
barrel and formed as in ordinary guns, instead of which my present
improvement consists in giving the touch hole an interior position, such
as is represented in Figure 2, which is an horizontal section of the
whole of the moveable breeching through the centre of the chamber of
the barrel and the touchi hole and the priming chamber, or such as it
would appear when cut in half, and viewed from above.
In this Figure a, b, is the chamber of the barrel, ending in c, the
touch hole opening into a cavity d, e, bored in the circular form, and
which may be made of any convenient shape, but must be of a sufficient
capacity when closed, as lierein-after described, to hold the quantity of
gunpowder necessary for priming. This cavity I call the priming
chamber, and it may be partially bored through the breech, or else
bored quite through, as in Figure 2, and closed at its end c, by a screw
or a plug, or a door made to slide or move, in order to afford greater
facility for cleaning this chamber when foul, and which plug or door
may also be placed on the top or in any other convenient part of the
breech, which will be necessary in double-barrelled guns.
.
This cavity or priming chamber d, e, must in every case be open
at the end which comes opposite the pan f, shaped in the ordinary
inanner, so that the said pan f, and the cavity d, e, form as it were one
lengthened or continued pan; a small aperture should be made through
the screw, plug, or door, or through any other part of the priming
chamber not commnnicating with the pan, in order to allow the escape
of the air while the gun is loading. To this construction of priming
chamber, whether in moveable breechings or not, I apply a fint and
steel lock of the ordinary construction, with the usual form
pan, the
same as is applied to other fire-arms, and which therefore forms"
part of my Invention or improvements, except only to such additions,
alterations, and improvements in the same as are herein described
viz., a thin door. or shutter, made of metal, and interposed between the
end d, of the priming chamber d, e, and the common pan f, as may
seen at hk, Figure 2, and partially in front-view at the same letters in
Figure L
of
be
:

page_text: Figure 3, is a view of the inside of a common gun or pistol lock, for
the purpose of shewing the situation, manner of fixing, and the entire
shape of this door or shutter h, k, though its form may be varied, pro-
vided it is made such as to answer all the purposes hereinafter described
and assigned to it, and for which the form given in the Drawing and
represented seperately at Figure 4, will be found convenient.. This
shutter turns on the screw near g, Figures 3, and 4, as a center, and is
kept in the position shewn in Figure 3, or may be moved into the posi-
tion indicated by the dotted lines in the same Figure, and also retained
there by the action and pressure of the small spring. jj; when the
shutter is in the situation shewn by the black lines in Figure 3, the
hole i, which is made through it, will be directly between the centre of
the pan and the mouth of the priming chamber d, e, Figure 2, con-
sequently the gun is in a state to fire, but if the tail h, of the shutter,
Figure 3, is depressed by the hand into the situation indicated by the
dotted lines. in the same Figure, then the hole i, will be no longer
between the center of the pan and the priming chamber, and their
communication being thus cut off the gun will be incapable of firing.
The hammer of the lock has a lip, as shewn at p, in Figure 5, which
covers the hole i, in the shutter when this shutter; for the purpose of
safety, is placed in the situation indicted by the dotted lines, in order
to prevent the falling out of the. small quantity of powder, which in
that case will be raised with the shutter when the pan has received its
priming. This last described of the shutter: is the proper one for
loading the gun or other arms when my said improvement is applied
to arms loading at the muzzle, so as to prevent the trouble and second
operation of priming; for the priming chamber d, e, Figure 2, being
closed as aforesaid, will be only necessary to load in the common-man-
ner, with the gun in a nearly vertical position, using fine grained gun-
powder, when a part of that gunpowder will pass through the touch
hole and fille the closed priming chamber, and so soon as the tail h,
of the shutter is raised by the hand its hole i, will be brought opposite
the center of the pan, into which a sufficient quantity of gunpowder
will discharge itself to produce ignition. The hammer need not be
down while loading. In guns which may be. constructed with move-
able breechings under my aforesaid Patent of the Eleventh day of

page_text: March, One thousand eight hundred and seventeen, as represented in
Figure 1, or in any other manner where the breech may be made to
rise on a pivot to receive its charge, the same improvements will
equally apply, for when the breeching is down and is united to the
barrel for firing, the hole i, in the shutter will be between the centre of
the pan and the center of the priming chamber; and when the breech-
ing of the gun is raised into the position shewn in Figure 1, in order to
load or charge it, that priming will still be stopped by coming opposite
to the tongue or part k, Figures 3, and 4, of the shutter, so that in
this construction the motion of the shutter and its spring j, j, become
useless, except to prevent accidents, for which purpose the tail h; may
be, depressed as before whenever the moveable breech is united to
the barrel and prepared for firing, and thus the touch hole and priming
chamber will be cut off from the external pan.." This shutter, therefore;
not only closes the chamber for the purpose of measuring the proper
quantity of priming and for confining; the same, and afterwards
delivering it into the pan, but it affords the most effectual security
against the.
gun going off whenever it may be desirable to use. it for
this purpose...
If, however, the tail h; of the shutter should have been depressed as
a matter of safety, it will not require its position to be altered by the
hand in guns with moveable breechings, for since the tail of the shutter
h, overhangs the moveable breech, as at m, in Figure 2, and must touch
this point whenever the breech is raised for loading, that contact will
elevate the tail h, of the shutter and. put the gun in a proper state
either for loading or firing..
Figure 6, is a front; and,
.
Figure 7, is a side view of another form for the shutter h, k, before
mentioned, applicable to guns loading at the muzzle, opening and
shutting by a small lever q, under the pan of. the lock Figure 11,
instead of by the tail . This latter form is made to move for self
priming or for the purpose of safety on a center pin 2, Figures 6, 7,
and 11, traversing the lock, instead of in the situation 9, Figure 3,
and is retained in either of its positions shewn by the black and dotted
lines in Figure 11, by a spring, j, as aforesaid.

page_text: The second part of my Invention, which relates to the means of
iiniting or fixing the barrels of my aforesaid fire-arms which load, at
the breach to the stock or mounting, is shewn at Figures 8; 9, änd 10;
and consists of two screws or studs, such as z, z, Figures 8, firmly
screwed, brazed, or otherwise fixed to the under side of y, y, which is
that part of one of the barrels of my guns which unites to the screw or
the moveable breech by turning it with the shut up handle or lever L
ás described in my aforesaid former Specification. Instead, however,
of using the rings therein described for holding and fixing the barrel, I
find the studsz, 2, are quite sufficient for this purpose, and that' this
contrivance affords.much greater facility for uniting and disengaging
the barrel when required, and I'accordingly cause these studs to pass
through two corresponding holes a, a, in the chamber carriage or main
bottom plate of my gun stock, shewn as seen from above by Figure 9;
and-in side view by Figure 10.
A spring, Figures 9, and "10, is also used for "retaining the move
able breech in its position when it is elevated for loading, and in this
position the studsz, Figure 8 can be dropped into the holes a, a
Figure 9, and so soon as they are moved forwards in the slits w, w
made to fit them, they become confined by their heads passing-under
the bottom of the plate, and consequently will only permit the barrel-to
which they are fixed to move backwards and forwards the length of
these slits. The studs. being pressed forwards to w, w, will permit the
moveable breeching to be raised by its handle S, Figure 1, and 2, for
loading, and when this is done, and the breaching depressed again the
barrel is to be drawn backwards, or towards a, a, by its handle "L;
when the screw of the moveable breeching will enter the corresponding
screw in the barrell, and the lateral slits u, u, Figure 9, will then per-
mit the studs to pass into them, by which the barrel becomes screwed
to the breeching; and ready for firing but the barrel can in no case
become disengaged from the stock unless the moveable breeching is
first elevated, because it can only then slide far enough back for the
studs to get into the round openings a; a. v, is a small spring fixed by
a screw t, Figures 9, and 10, for pressing upon the studs, and thus
holding the barrel in any situation in which it may be
placed.

page_text: The situation of the lateral slits u, u, must be on one side or the
other of w, w, as a right handed or left handed screw is used to unite
the barrel and the moveable breech.
In witness whereof, I, the said Urbanus Sartoris, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and nineteen.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fifth day of June,
in the year of our Lord 1819, the aforesaid Urbanus Sartoris came
before our said Lord the King, in His Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification afore-
said was stamped according to tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and nineteen.