AN IMPROVED FISH HOOK
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Box, of East Looe, in the County of
Cornwall, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED FISH HOOK."
Sealed the 31st July 1857, and dated the 3rd April 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Box at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,' with his Petition, on the 3rd
April 1857.
I, WILLIAM HENRY Box, of East Looe, in the County of Cornwall,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED FISH Нooк," to be as follows:-
My said Invention refers, firstly, to the electro-plating of fish hooks generally;
and, secondly, to the peculiar mechanical application of a double swivel to fish
hooks, to the box of which the hook is directly attached by means of a knob or
pin-like head, and not to an eye, as usually practiced.
In the manufacture of fish hooks according to my improvements, I electro-
And in the construction of fish
plate them with gold, silver, or other metals.
hooks with a double swivel, instead of two eyes I fit them with only one, and
to the opposite end of the box of the swivel instead of an eye I attach the fish
hook itself, terminating with a knob or head, so that it can turn round without
slipping through the box.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Box in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY Box, of East Looe, in the County of Cornwall, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Henry Box, Her special licence that I, the said William
Henry Box, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Henry Box, ny 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 "AN IMPROVED FISH Hоок," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Henry Box, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their 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 I, the said William Henry Box, do hereby declare.
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My said Invention refers, first, to the electro-plating of fish hooks generally;
and, second, to the peculiar mechanical application of a double swivel to fish
hooks, to the box of which the hook is directly attached by means of a knob
or pin-like head, and not to an eye, as usually practiced.
And for the better understanding of the same, I will now proceed to detail
the particulars thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a section, and Figure 2 is a complete fish hook, full size, according
to my Invention. A is the hook; B, the customary eye and swivel; C, the

page_text: box; a, the knob or pin head, formed on the top end of the fish hook, by means
of which it is attached to the box C, affording a swivel joint, and thus com-
bined allowing the hook a double revolving action.
Having now fully described my said Invention so far as relates to the
mechanical construction, I would here remark, that in the manufacture of fish
hooks according to my said improvements, I electro-plate them with gold,
silver, or other metals when required. And it will be observed, that in the
construction of fish hooks with a double swivel, that instead of the usual
method of attaching two eyes I fit them with only one eye, as B, and to
the opposite end of the box of the swivel instead of an eye I attach the fish
hook itself, terminating in the box with a knob or head, so that it can freely
turn round without slipping through the box. I do not restrict myself to any
particular size or form of fish hooks, or to the quality of metal used in con-
structing or electro-plating them; and I do declare that what I claim as my
improvements arc, namely:-
First, the application of the electro-plating process to the coating of fish
hooks generally.
And, second, the novel mode of attaching the hook directly to the swivel
box, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Box, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the
year of our Lord 1857.