A MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT ON A NEW CONSTRUCTION, APPLICABLE TO CLOCKS AND OTHER KINDS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1811

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CHANCELLOR, of Sackville Street, in the City of Dublin, Watch and Clock
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Ninth day of September, in the
fifty-first year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said John Chancellor,
my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said John Chancellor, my.exors, adiñors, and assigns,
during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT ON A NEW
CONSTRUCTION, APPLICABLE TO CLOCKS AND OTHER KINDS OF MACHINERY ;" in which
said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said John
Chancellor, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully
and at largo appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Chancellor, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained as follows, that is to say :-

page_text: In the Drawings hereunto annexed are exhibited three plans or views of
my said instrument, one of which is of the nature of a ground plan, and the
other is the nature of a vertical section or side view, and the other is of the
nature of a vertical section or end view; and the three other remaining Figures
represent one of the vibrating bars separate and apart from the instrument;
and in all the said Drawings the same letters of the alphabet do denote the
same things.
A, B, denote the body or belly of the instrument, which may be of any form,
according to the space it may be intended to occupy, and of which the upper
part may be considered as constituting the sound board; C, C, C, are bolts or
screws for fixing the instrument in its case, with interposition of felt or leather,
or any other suitable soft substance for preventing the tone being affected by any
jar or imperfection in the case itself; D, D, are two uprights, firmly secured to
the said body or belly by screw bolts F, F, passing through the sides thereof,
and the said sides are secured from any strain by the cross framing metalic
bar E, E. At D, D, there are two center screws, having points, which lodge in
correspondent holes in a solid piece H, H, of brass or elastic metal, and allows
the said piece to move upon the points of the said screws as an axis. G, G, are
two springs, of brass or other material, which are attached to the body or belly
of the instrument, and by pressing upwards against the piece H, H, at the
points g, g, would cause the opposite edge of that piece to bear against the
sound board, if this last effect where not prevented by the chain or bar I, which
is so adjusted as to suffer the said last-mentioned edge to approach very near
the sound board without touching it; and the section or figure of the base of
the said piece H, H, may be seen completed in its outline as to the pace thereof
in the Drawing of side view. But I do declare that I do most commonly, and
in preference, make the two similar ends of the said piece of different sizes, by
making the like sides of the end or extremity near which the longest bar K is
to be placed larger than those of the other end, in the proportion of about nine
to eight, more or less, in the space of one octave of bars, and the intermediate
parts regularly tapeing. K, K, &c. represents bars of steel or bell metal, or
other sonorous material, firmly fixed at one end of each to the solid piece
HI, H, and I do by preference make the said bars of steel of an eliptical
form in the section thereof, having the thickness and breadth as represented in
the bars k, k, k, the middle one of which is seen edgewise; but I do declare
that considerable variations may be allowed in the length, breadth, and thick-
ness and figure of the section of the said bars, which must be so proportioned as
to produce or afford the intended note by trial and adjustment. And, moreover,
I do file away about half the thickness and one third of the length of each bar

page_text: at that part which is nearest the place of fixture to the piece H, H, and in
this state I do harden each bar to a very high spring temper, excepting only
the extremity K, K, which affords the last adjustment for accurate time, by
filing. L, L, &c. are hammers, fixed in the hammer frame M, M; and m
shews the tail at which the pinned cylinder or barrel of a musical clock
performs its office. And, lastly, I do declare that keys may be applied instead
of the said cylinder for performing by hand, and that the number of bars or
musical notes, and size and dimensions of the instrument, may be varied at
pleasure, and that I have not put any scale to the Drawing hereunto annexed
because the same is accurately made according to the size and dimensions of
an instrument constructed for and in the possession of his Royal Highness the
Prince Regent.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Chancellor, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eleven.
Inrolled the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twelve.