A New or Improved Puzzle.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application. 31st Oct., 1889-Accepted, 14th Dec., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Puzzle.
I, JAMES PARKES of No: 2 North Terrace Berwick on Tweed in the County of
Northumberland, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention is a new or improved puzzle by means of which a person may ascertain
without seeing or hearing it what question is recorded upon any one of many plates
or other shaped material, he may also give to each question a correct answer, or
ascertain & declare in a similar way what number colour picture or other device or
matter the said material bears.
After a little practice this may be done by a person blindfolded or in the dark-or
after a simple lesson it may be done with ease & certainty by a child.
The latter mode excites much wonder while the former so strongly simulates thought
reading, as to appear supernatural.
While the manner of operating is simple it provides for the use of 500 or a 1000
different questions or other matters of enquiry.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood, and more easily carried
unto practice I have appended hereunto one double sized sheet of drawings and
one single sized sheet of drawings upon which are illustrated examples of my puzzle
and which will serve as illustrations by which the details may be greatly varied and
extended in practice.
:
Figure 1 shews a metal or other plate which is marked as an index plate as will be
hereafter fully explained.
Figure 2. is a illustration of a plate containing question No. 1.
Figure 3. is an illustration of a plate containing question No. 25.
Figure 4. is an illustration of a plate containing question No. 36.
Figure 5 illustrates 2 of the pages of the "oracular" book in which the questions
on the plates or other shaped material-also the answers and the other matter of
enquiry will be so recorded and arranged so as to enable the operator to give the
correct reply by reference thereto.
Figure 6 is an illustration of a plate of modified shape shewing that I am not bound
to the particular shape shewn by the first four figures but of course further alteration
of shape may be produced.
Figure 7 is an enlarged section through the plates shewing the notch a cut in the
back edge of the said plate.
Figure 8 shews a further modification in the shape of the plate.
Figure 9 illustrates the means by which any number however large may be indicated
upon the plates.
My puzzle consists of a number of questions-proverbs,-pictures-colours-
numerals or other matter-which appear on what I have called "plates."
Further each of the questions &c. is associated with a fixed number which may
or may not be marked upon the plate that exhibits it, and in the oracular book
there is a record of each question with its answer, and also of all the other afore-
said proverbs,-pictures-&c. as they appear on the "plates" and by reference
to this record the required information may be read by means to be hereafter
described.
The operator who seeks to excite the greatest wonder may learn from the "oracular"
book each question proverb-&c. with its appropriate answer, and also the number
associated with each, and then having ascertained in the manner to be described the
said number he may give both the question or proverb &c. with the answer from
memory without referring to the said book.

page_text: The manner of finding the number of the question &c. is this
"
On one part of each of the "plates on which the question &c. appears there is
a slight notch cut or other mark denoting a unit, and upon another part there is a
mark denoting ten or a number of tens. These marks are seen with difficulty but
easily felt by means of the finger nail as they are on the back angle of the plates as
seen at a Fig. 7 that is behind the face that exhibits the question &c. By this
method the number required to be known is readily ascertained as will be more
particularly described.
The operator may put out his open hand and ask the inquirer to place upon it one
of the "plates"-face downwards.
He may then use two hands to detect the cuts but after practice he will find
one sufficient. The side bearing the question &c. should be turned upwards, and
he should carefully slide the finger nail, round those parts of the plate at the back
angle of it where cuts are made denoting ten or tens. Those parts are indicated
on Figure 1 by a b c d. The cuts for units are in the parts indicated by the
position of the Figures. It will be found the best to ascertain first whether there be
a mark for 10, 20, 30 or 40 if so bear in mind the number thus indicated then pass
the finger nail over the parts of the plate where the cuts are that indicate the
units and add 1. 2 or more as the case may be to the number already found by the
other cuts. This will give the number of the question or other matter to be given
from memory with its answers or to be found in and read from the book.
The study of plate 1 will make this very easy to understand. The feeling of the
plates should be done with hand or hands behind the back or under the table.
I will now more fully explain the puzzle by further reference to the drawings.
Figures 2, 3, and 4 are plates each containing a question on its face and also the
respective numbers 1, 25 and 36 but these as before explained may be absent.
"
These "plates I prefer to make of tin plate stamped or cut out so as to be
duplicates. The edges should be made quite smooth lest any roughness should be
mistaken for a "cut." Then the cuts should be carefully made in the right places
after the paper containing the question &c. has been affixed to the
plates." "Such
plates will be cheap, and the cuts upon them are not seen so plainly as in other
metal or material. Now the plate No. 1 Figure 2 has such a notch at E and
plate No. 25 Figure 3 has two such notches at F and H and plate No. 36 Figure 4
has also two such notches at K and M. Now the value of these notches is regard
to number is easily ascertained and learned from the diagram. Figure 1 upon which
the cuts are illustrated is a key to the puzzle which should be mastered and then
kept secret. It will require but little time. The top of the plate is always determinable
in the cases illustrated by the first four figures because the top corners N and P
are cut away more than the bottom corners so that while the plate is behind the back
the hand can by feeling only ascertain which is the top. This being determined the
numbering commences as shewn the unit being just over the corner Rand unit 2 being
at the upper part of end T then the unit 3 is at the lower part of the diagonal P and 4
at the upper part thereof, and so on round to 10 which occurs at the lower part of
- the end of the plate. Then the letters abc and D upon the diagram represents
the tens respectively in this case say 10, 20, 30 and 40. This being properly
remembered there will evidently be no difficulty in knowing that plate 1 Figure 2
with the one notch F is No. 1 and that plate 25 Figure 3 with two notches F and H
is plate No. 25 and that plate 36 Figure 4 with the notches K and M is plate No. 36
because the nail run around the back angle of each determines this well enough
behind the back or in the dark. It will thus be clearly seen that the number of each
plate is easily and certainly asertainable and therefore by reference to the oracular
book the answers to each question can be accurately given. One page of the index
book is illustrated by Figure 5 and here we find a question, and the answer on plate 1
and a quotation "Society is no comfort to one not sociable." Cymbeline.
•
The oracular book would be made of a suitable size for the pocket, or to fit in the
box or case containing the plates and the diagram Figure 1 may be on a stiff card
leaf removable from the book i.e. not bound up with it.

page_text: It will be evident that higher numbers may be indicated thus.
The diagram shewn by Figure 9 illustrates the mode up to 500.
Suppose you have gone to the extent of Figure 1 wliich indicates by the cuts a b c d,
10, 20, 30, 40, to each of which you can add any number from 1 to 10 indicated by
the 10 cuts represented by the Figures in other parts of the diagram. Thus you
can reach 50 and no more.
Suppose you wish to go to 100 put a cnt at a¹ it indicates 50 which you must add
to any number formed in the ordinary way up to 50. Thus if a cut were formed at a
and one at 4 they would indicate 14-1 Ten and the 4th unit. In this case the a¹
cut would raise the entire number to 64 and by using the other cuts for tens &
units you could count up to 100, but not more.
If you wish to count to 150 put a cut at 6' omitting a¹ then you start with 100
and can go up only 50 more.
Thus it will be seen that by putting only one extra cut at a¹ or b¹ or c¹ or d
or el or for g' &c. you can indicate 500 and it would be easy to go to thousands
by means of one more cut indicating 500 to which any part or the whole 500 just
spoken of might be added.
The alternative shape Figure 6 has the curved side to determine the top and is a
very good shape for the plates, and many other modifications in shape may be used
as will be well understood.
The octagon shape shewn by Figure 8 with all the sides alike would be a good shape
simply having the hole K to mark the top as that would cause no suspicion to the
questioner. The marks may also be greatly varied without departing from the
principle of the invention.
Having now particularly. described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
A new or improved oracular puzzle operated or worked by means of plates of tin
or their equivalents having upon their faces, questions, proverbs, quotations colours
pictures numbers, or other representations or matter in combination with an oraculai
book and diagram or diagrams such as shewn by Figures 1 and 8 substantially as and
for the purpose herein set forth & shewn upon the drawings.
Dated this 30th day of Ocimie
GEORGE BARKER,
77, Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent for the Applicant.