IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS FOR OFFICE AND GENERAL USES
Year: 1870

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Thomas James Smith, of the Firm of Robertson,
Broóman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR HOLDING POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS FOR OFFICE AND GENERAL USES."-
A communication from abroad by G. Cliffe Hatch, of Calcutta,
India, Colonel, and Deputy Judge Advocate General in Her
Majesty's Army.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas James Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th March 1870.
I, THOMAS JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS FOR OFFICE AND GENERAL
USES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to hold postage and other stamps upon
reels or rollers within a case, with slits in it through which they are

page_text: caused to project to expedite the withdrawal of them singly as they are
required.
The Invention consists in making a case of a round, flat, or other
shape, in which a number of reels or rollers can be held in a secure
manner, the reels are supported loosely upon a spindle or axle fitted
inside the case, so that each one turns freely and independently of the
others. Slits are made in the case opposite each reel and preferably at the
joint or opening through which the stamps which are upon the reels can
be drawn as they are required. The two halves or parts of the case can
be secured in any convenient manner, either at their ends or other part.
In some instances only one reel need be employed, when this is done
I make the case or box of corresponding size, and I support the reel
upon a pin attached to the lid or body of the case. The stamp holder
may be used alone without being attached to any article, or it may be
fixed to or in a drawer or other receptacle, or to some part of a writing
table or other article of furniture, and it may be in connection with letter
weighing or other apparatus. The reels may be plain, or covered with
any material such as cloth or velvet, to give sufficient holding power at
the edges of the stamps to prevent them being drawn off too fast or to
recoil into the case or box through the slits. The reels are made deep
between the flanges, if flanges are used, so that they hold a large number
of stamps, which are wound upon them layer upon layer. A length of
stamps, say twenty, is secured by the gummed or cemented end to the
end of a previous length until the required number of lengths are wound
upon them. One of the reels may have penny postage stamps wound.
upon it, and the others twopenny or other priced stamps, according to the
wish of the owner. All the reels may be of the same width, or they may
vary in width as found most convenient and are available for receipt, bill,
or other stamps.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, a
1
filed by the said Thomas James Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company,
of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send a
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas James Smith, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas James Smith, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas James Smith, my
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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING POSTAGE AND OTHER STAMPS FOR OFFICE AND GENERAL
Uses," (communication to me from abroad by G. Cliffe Hatch, of Calcutta,
India, Colonel, and Deputy Judge Advocate General in Her Majesty's
Army,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
James Smith, 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 Thomas James Smith, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
'is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :--
The object of this Invention is to hold postage and other stamps or
labels upon reels or rollers within a case, with one or more slits in it
through which they are caused to project to expedite the withdrawal of
them singly as they are required.
The Invention consists in making a case of a round, flat, or other shape,
in which a number of reels or rollers can be held in a secure manner.
The reels are supported loosely upon a spindle or axle fitted inside the
case, so that each one turns freely and independent of the others. Slits
are made in the case opposite each reel, and, preferably, at the joint or
opening through which the stamps which are upon the reels can be
drawn as they are required. The two halves or parts of the case can be
1

page_text: secured in any convenient manner, either at their ends or other part.
In some instances only one reel need be employed, when this is done I
make the case or box of corresponding size, and I support the reel upon
a pin attached to the lid or body of the case. The stamp holder may be
used alone without being attached to any article or it may be fixed to or in
a drawer or other receptacle or to some part of a writing table or other
article of furniture, and it may be in connection with letter-weighing
or other apparatus. The reels may be plain, or covered with any
material, such as cloth or velvet, to give sufficient holding power at the
edges of the stamps to prevent them being drawn off too fast or to recoil
into the case or box through the slits. The reels are made deep between
the flanges, if flanges are used, so that they hold a large number of
stamps which are wound upon them layer upon layer. A length of
stamps, say, 20, is secured by the gummed or cemented end to the end
of a previous length until the required number of lengths are wound
upon them. One of the reels may have one penny postage stamps wound
upon it, and the others twopenny and other priced stamps, according to
the wish of the owner. All the reels may be of the same width, or they
may vary in width, as found most convenient, and are available for
receipt, bill, or other stamps or labels.
The manner in which the Invention is carried into effect is represented
in the accompanying Drawings, of which Figure 1 is a view of a box or
case of the simplest construction. It is composed of a short piece of
tube a, a', divided along its length so as to form top and bottom pieces,
as seen in the end view, Figure 2; these are so arranged that one piece
acts as a lid to be opened and shut to enclose a set of reels b, b, which are
strung upon a spindle or pin c as scen in the elevation, Figures 3 and 4.
The pin c rests upon the end pieces of the case, and it is prevented
shifting from its proper position by the ends being made square to take
into square sockets or apertures therein. The recls b, b, are of such a
width that postage or other similar sized stamps or labels can be held
between the flanges with just sufficient pressure to hold themselves in
place without any appliance. The top piece a¹ of the tubular box or
case is hinged to the bottom piece a at the back, while the front edges
are notched to form recesses or slits for the stamps or labels to pass
through with freedom when they are drawn by the hand. It is proposed
to fasten the top and bottom picces a and a¹ by hooked fastenings d, d,
which can be passed over pins or studs e, e, but it is not essential

page_text: that the case or box should be kept closed in that manner, as a groove
may be formed at or near the end or ends for an elastic band to be
slipped into to hold them together, or by any other method found most
convenient.
In the foregoing Figures I have shewn the case as being of a circular
or tube shape, and in some instances it will be requisite to make them in
that manner, both on account of cheapness and the facility for carrying
them in the pocket, in which case they will be available for waiters and
servants in club houses and other large establishments in giving change
to the members and others, a practice which has grown into a system
of late years in this and other countries. The circular box or case can how-
ever be laid upon a table or desk, and when this is done the hinges give a
preponderance of weight at the back, whereby they lodge upon the table
and throw the slits above the horizontal central line, so that any number
of stamps, one of which protrude through each of the slits can be drawn
out with facility and without lifting the case from the table, and when
the required number lias been withdrawn the last one is torn or divided
from the rest of them which are in the box leaving a portion of the next
one projecting and ready for the next withdrawal.
The boxes or cases can be made of any shape, and of any size, so as to
hold any given number of reels or bobbins within them,
In Figures 5 and 6 I have shown a box with a rounded top or lid and
a square bottom piece, and to facilitate the reels and spindle being
removed when the reels require refilling, I hinge the lid near the top
part of the back plate and make the meeting edges near the bottom of
the front plate, by this arrangement when the lid is opened the reels
are lifted in an casier manner from the case than in the former one.
In these Figures the spindle or reel pin is made with a fixed button
or stud fat one end, and it is threaded at the other for a thumb
screw to be screw on; the button and thumb screw being formed withi
shoulders to bear against the ends of the box to hold the meeting edges
of the lid firmly down upon the lower part at in lieu of the catch before
.described. Sometimes to prevent the stamps or labels recoiling into the
box they may be led under a strip of elastic cord as seen in Figure 5, and
this plan will be found of service in counting houses, as a full stamp can
be kept exposed from each of the slits.

page_text: Figures 7 and 8 represent a circular or tube-shaped box or case fitted
with feet 9, g, so that it can stand upon a table in such a manner that the
slits are near to the top so that the stamps can be seen; and in order to
make the case available as a writer's companion one end of it may
be fitted with a division to hold an ink well, and the back portion
of the lid may be provided with lips or hooks h, h, to serve as a pen
rack.
In order to release the screwed spindle and recls from the case in the
make shewn in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, it is necessary, after unscrewing
the thumbscrew to near the end of the spindle and lifting the lid to push
the spindle a short distance to release the shoulder of the button or
knob, to enable the spindle to come away clear, as in screwing it up in
the first instance the sides or end pieces are slightly compressed or spring
inwards which prevents the thumb screw coming off accidentally.
Sometimes the shoulders are formed on the end pieces as shewn in
Figures 9 and 10 which are similar views to Figures 1 and 2 only provided
with a threaded spindle instead of a plain one.
Figures 11 and 12 represent a square ended box or case, these, like
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, are made with diagonal meeting edges to enable
the reels and spindle being lifted with facility. All or any of the reels
may be lined with cloth, velvet, or other fabric or material to act upon
the edges of the stamps or labels placed on them to prevent them
recoiling or springing from their original position when once coiled or
wound thereon, or the inner faces of the side cheeks or walls may be left
rough in the making of them, or they may be roughed on purpose by a
rasp, file, or other instrument.
I have in all the previous Figures represented five reels in a box or
case, but I do not limit myself to fitting only five, or any other number
in them, and I have only shewn 5 recls for the following reason:-In
England we have in general use 5 different priced postage stamps, such
as the penny, twopenny, threepenny, fourpenny, and sixpenny stamps,
now a number of each of these can be wound upon the reels and then
placed in the box, from which they can be withdrawn at pleasure. In
many, instances, however it will be found necessary to have only one
reel in a box and it would be preferable in such a case to attach a pin
or studi in the bottom of the box for the recl to tako over to hold it

page_text: in place, and in order to allow of the reel revolving evenly in giving off
the stamps or labels, another pin or stud j can be in the inside of
the lid.
Figures 13 to 22 shew different ways of attaching the lid and bottom
pieces to the barrel, tube, or box; as well as different modes of attaching
the loose lid upon the top. edge of the barrel or box. In all cases a slit
is formed in the barrel side either horizontally or vertically for the
stamps or labels to pass through as they are being drawn out by the
hand, one of the edges of the slit serving as a means or cutter for dividing
the stamps.
It will be understood that the lengths of stamps for placing on the
reels are made up by attaching, say, the twelve or the 20 forming the
strip across the sheet or the strip from top to bottom of the sheet by
means of the adhesive matter on the back.
This Invention will facilitate the sale of stamps at the post offices and
other places where such are usually purchased, as boxes containing from
one to five pounds worth can be kept in stock without becoming soiled,
as is the case with the sheets of stamps which are generally kept open in
a drawer or desk, besides the boxes can be exchanged and fresh full
ones handed over the counter for a given some of money and an empty
box. In fact, there are many instances in which this Invention will be
found of great utility whether in the public or private offices, or in large
or small establishments or departments of the State or otherwise.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that the Invention is not confined to any shape or make of case, box, or
receptacle, in which stamps or labels can be kept in regular order so that
they can be withdrawn at pleasure as herein-before described and shown,
as that can be varied to suit the particular class or size of label for which
such box is intended, but what is claimed in the Invention for improve-
ments in apparatus for holding postage and other stamps or labels for
office and general uses is,―
The construction and employment of boxes or cases in which a reel
or reels is or are fitted, upon which stamps or labels are wound and from
which they can be withdrawn substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described and represented.

page_text: Secondly, The lining of reels with a fabric or other material which are
employed for holding stamps or labels, in the manner and for the purposes
herein-hefore described and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas James Smith, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of September, -8
One thousand eight hundred and seventy.