IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUC- TION AND USE OF FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1817

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, T,
URBANUS SARTORIS, of Winchester Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Eleventh day of March, in the fifty-seventh
year of His reign, did, for Himself, Elis heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me. the said Urbanis Sartoris, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Urbanus Sartoris, my executors, administrators, 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 executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick upon Tweed, and also within all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUC-
TION AND USE OF FIRE-ARMS." in such manner as to me, the said Urbanus

page_text: Sartoris, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or any of them, shal
in my or their discretions seem meet; in which said Letters Patent
there was 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 in-
rolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the late tlie said recited 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, 1, the
said Urbanus Sartoris, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is
described and ascertained in the plan or Drawing hereunto annexed,
and in the manner following: (that is to say): ..
My said Invention of improvements in the use and construction
of fire-arins. consists of a new construction of barrels with moveable
breeches, at which the charge is to be introduced, and for afterwards
closing up those breeches with a degree of expedition, certainty, and
security which has never before been attained, all which effect and
produce in the manner herein-after particularly set forth and described
(that is to say)The moveable chamber which contains the charge of
gunpowder and ball or shot is to be fixed to the band by a particular
formation of screw, to be hereafter described, and when the barrel is
disengaged from it is capable of turning up into the direction seen at
B, in Figure 1, for receiving its charge. For this purpose it turns upon
the pin M, as a centre, this pin fixing it in the manner of a hinge to
the chamber carriage, no part of which can be seen in Figure 1, but the
whole of it is shewn as it appears when taken from the wooden stock
at Figure 5, which shews a side view of it, while Figure 3, shews the
touch hole. side of the moveable chamber (Y, being the touch hole),
Figure 4, an end view of the same, as seen from its junction with the
barrel and Figure 6, a top view of the moveable chamber, placed in
its proper situation upon the chamber carriage. In all these M, repre-
sents the pin upon which this moveable chamber -B, turns; and E, E.

page_text: in Figures 5, and 6, the entire form of the chamber carriage, which is
to be let into the wooden stock and secured there in any convenient
manner, or as shewn here, by the screws H, K, N, Figure 1, which
correspond with the screw holes marked with the same letters in
Figures 5 and 6, and this piece is also secured by the two lock screw's
I, I, passing thro' it in the situations so marked in Figure 5, as well as
by the pin L., in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, answers tlic double pur-
pose of an handle to raise the moveable chamber and a sight to direct
the eye
in firing. The barrel C, in Figures 1 and 2, is not fixed to the
wooden stock, as in common guns, but is made to slide in two rings of
metal, one of which is seen at G, and is fixed into its place by the
pin I, passing through it, and at the same time through the stock and
chamber carriage, as will be more particularly seen in Figure 5, at G,
while Figure 7, represents a separate view of this ring, as seen in front,
as well as the pin T, by which it is fixed to Figure 5. The further or
muzzle end of the barrel is held to the wooden stock by another similar
ring, thic ends of which may be united or brought together, because
they simply slip into a mortise in the wooden stock, in which they are
fixed by a metal pin passing through them, or it may encompass barrel
and stock together. It is evident then that the barrel, instead of being
fixed to the stock, will be capable of not only sliding backwards and
forwards, but of turning round upon its own axis within these rings,
for which purpose they must be made to fit the outside of the barrel
pretty accurately, and should the outside of the barrel be of an octa-
gonal or any other polygonal form, those parts which worked through
the rings should be cylindrical. To obtain an action or power over the
motion of the barrel I apply a strong handle D, R, Figure 1, the part
R; of which is firmly brazed or otherwise fixed upon the barrel C, and
which might always remain in the position shewn in this Figure, but
as it might be inconvenient when the gun was not in use, I equip 'this
handle with a strong joint and spring, similar in its action to that, of a
comimion pocket knife, by which means it may be slint up into the form
shewu at Figure 2. all which circumstances are sufficiently obvious
from the two last named Figures without further explanation; and it is
equally obvious that any other form of lever for moving the barrel may

page_text: be adopted in my Invention. The motion which may be communicated
by this handle to the sliding barrel is, however, regulated by a small
metal stud or pin X, Figure 8, projecting from the under side of the
barrel and working in the ward or labaryuth O, of the chamber car
riage, seen in plan in Figure 6, and in front elevation at Figure 5;
and if the projecting stud of the barrel X, is supposed to be at O, it
is evident the handle can have no effect in turning the barrel round,
and that it can only move it in a straight direction from O, towards K;
at this point the further progress of the barrel in this direction is stopped,
but it is now permitted to turn upon its axis, the stud working in the
opening P, so that in this situation the barrel C, can be screwed upon
or unscrewed from the moveable chamber B, by the handle D, R, and
as soon as it is unscrewed it will slide as far as from P, to O, for the
purpose of disengaging itself, in order that the moveable chamber B,
nay lift up for loading, as in Figure 1; but inasmuch as no common
screw can sufficiently secure the barrel and the moveable chamber
together without making several turns or revolutions, which would not
only be very inconvenient but attended with groat loss of time, I
prepare my screw as follows:- first cut my screws, male and feniale,
in the usual mauner, leaving the male screw upon the moveable cham-
ber B, Figures 3 and 6, while the female serew is formed in the barrel
C, or else I make them in the reverse manner, by placing the female
screw in the chamber piece B, while the male screw is upon the barrel
C; and I prefer a screw the threads of which are from 8 to 10 in an
inch. Having finished my serew in the ordinary manner, I divide its
circumference into a certain number of equal parts, suppose 8, and
then I file or otherwise cut away every alternate division of the screw
down to the cylinder upon which it is formed, as in the Figures 1, 3,
4, and 6, in all of which the screw has been divided into 8 parts, so
that four spaces and four portions of screw occur, as will be distinctly
seen at Figure 4, where a, a, a, a, show the four projecting pieces of
screw, and c, c, c, c, the four spaces which have been cut out, and the
same letters indicate the same parts in Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 6, The female
screw is treated in precisely the same manner, having a similar number
of spaces and projections left in it; and now, of course, since the stud

page_text: upon the barrel before-mentioned, by working in the metal guide O,
Figure 6, prevents it from moving in any other directions than back-
wards and forwards, so if after putting a charge into the chamber B,
Figure 1, it is turned down upon its centre M, in the direction of the
dotted line d, d, and the barrel C, is then pulled towards it by the
handle D, R, the projections in the one screw will pass through
the spaces in the other and allow the barrel to come immediately up to
the shoulder on the chamber; and now the eighth part of a turn of the
barrel by the handle D, R, will completely bring all the divided parts
of each screw into action together, and the one part will be forcibly
drawn or screwed towards the other, so as firmly to unite the barrel
and the breech when the hole is ready for firing, and will appear as in
Figure 2, in which the tail D, of the handle is represented as shut up
by turning it upon its pivot screw S, which will be more handy for
shouldering or carrying the gun. If the barrel is turned an eighth
part round in the contrary direction, so as to unscrew it, it may then be
pushed away from the moveable chamber, which becomes at liberty,
and may be raised as at B, Figure 1, to receive a new charge; and thus
the process of charging may be effected in less time and with more cer-
tainty than in any other kind of gun. In the above example I have
described the screw as being divided into eight equal parts, four of which
are alternately cut out and left, and it is almost needless to observe
that a greater or less number of such divisions may be used, tho' I find
eight the most convenient, because the handle has a less quantity of
motion, which must always increase as the number of divisions decrease,
and thus if the screw were divided into two parts the handle must
move thro' a semicircle, which would be very inconvenient. In all
cases, however, the stud upon the barrel must be so placed as by its
working in the guide O, Figures 5 and 6, it may bring the space
in the screw of one joint against the projection in the other; and
the manner in which this stands with regard to the handle and its
manner of working will perhaps be better seen in Figure 8, which is
transverse section thro' the barrel, showing the handle and the stud
X, which works in O, P, Figures 5 and 6. The part of the handle D,
n Figure 1, likewise appears shorter than those in Figures 2 and 8,

page_text: because it is elevated and consequently foreshortened. It must be
understood that I do not claim the exclusive right of loading fire-arms
at the breech by nieans of a moveable piece or pieces, but that my
claini is to the particular combination of machinery for the purpose of
fire-arms which is above described.
In witness whereof, I, the above-named Urbans Sartoris, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Second day of August, in
the year One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
URB. (L.S.) SARTORIS.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Urbanus. Sartoris in
the presence of
JOHN CROSLAND..
Broad Street London.
G.. W. PARRY,
of the same place..
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of August, in
the fifty-seventh year of the reign of His Majesty King George the
Third, the said Urbanus Sartoris came before our said Lord the King, in
His Chancery, and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and
every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written. And
also the instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of His said Majesty's reign.
Inrolled the Fourth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
"and seventeen.⚫

page_text: This Plan or Drawing was shewn to URBANUS SARTORIS
at the time of acknowledging the aunexed specification this second day of August 1817
and is the same Plan or Drawing as is therein mentioned and referred to
N.SMITH