Year: 1889

page_text: I, JOSEPH EDWIN TOWNSHEND of No. 334 St. James Street West Montreal in the
Province of Quebec, Canada, Manufacturer of Bedding do hereby declare the nature .
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It is often the desire of persons who cause brick buildings to be constructed, or of
Architects who design them, to have their names and the number of the year in which
they are erected, cut or engraved in the wall or walls of such buildings, and this has
heretofore been done by the assistance of a sculptor, who cuts such word or words,
letters or figures or any or all of them as might be desired, either upon some stone
placed in the wall, or upon or in the bricks, in the desired situation. According to
my present invention I form building-bricks with all the letters of the alphabet, also
all the figures or numerals, one on the end of a brick. By making a quantity of
bricks, having on each brick one of the letters and numerals, and by selecting out of
them such bricks, having the required letter on each, or numeral, and by properly
arranging the bricks when building them into the wall, any desired word or words,
number or numbers may be formed in, or on, the wall, without the sculptor, and
without cutting through the crust of the brick, which is very objectionable, as they
are then much more rapidly destroyed by the action of the atmosphere. After the
moulds have been provided, the said bricks are made at little or no greater cost than
the ordinary ones in use.
My invention therefore may be summed up by stating, that it consists in the use in
combination with ordinary building-bricks of bricks having a character upon each of
them as will be hereinafter described.
In the drawings hereunto annexed, in which similar letters of reference indicate
like parts, Fig. 1, is an isometrical view of a brick having a letter formed in relief
thereon, Fig. 2, is an isometrical view of a brick having a letter impressed thereinto.-
Fig. 3 is a plan of the brick shewn in Fig. 1, also showing a plan of the mould in
which it is formed, in relation therewith; Fig. 4, is a plan of the brick shewn in
Fig. 2, also shewing a plan of the mould in which it is formed. Fig. 5 is an

page_text: isometrical view of a brick having the figure 1, in block, impressed therein, Fig. 6
is a diagram illustrating the manner of using the bricks with ordinary bricks in
building.
In carrying my invention into effect I first make a set of moulds having each at
one end of them a letter or figure of any desired size and form required; therefore,
for the alphabet I require twenty six moulds, and for the figures or numerals I have
to make ten moulds, one for each, letters and figures.
If the letters or figures are to be impressed in the bricks a as shewn in Fig. 2, a
projection b, forming a letter or figure will be attached on the mould c, in which the
clay to form the bricks is pressed in any ordinary way. If the letters and figures
are to be in relief on the bricks, I form a recess d in the mould c, see Fig. 3.
1 would here remark that bricks having the letters and figures impressed in them
will stand the action of the atmosphere much better, and are far less liable to be
damaged in handling than bricks having raised letters formed upon them, nevertheless
some persons may desire to have them raised.
The moulds in which the clay is moulded must be arranged to draw apart without
injury to the letters or figures; one manner of doing this is shewn in dotted lines
in Fig. 4.
In a similar manner as letters and figures, punctuations, namely the period,
colon &c. may be formed in or on bricks.
"
"
"
In forming walls with bricks according to one mode of building, a number of
layers of bricks are laid as stretchers and then a layer of "headers." I prefer
to use my invention in "henders as shown in Fig. 6; e are layers of stretchers
and is a layer of headers. We will suppose that I have made a set of moulds
for all the letters in the alphabet, and all the numerals and punctuations, and that
I have had a number of bricks made from each mould, and further, that I am
having a building erected on which I wish to put my initials and the number of
this year. I select from my bricks, a brick having J, another having E, another
.having T, four bricks each having a period, one brick having the figure 1, two
bricks having 8, and one having 9, upon them; these bricks are built into the
wall in the manner shewn in Fig. 6, and, as shewn, two ordinary bricks g are
combined with them to form the spacing off between the letters and figures.
Thus by a proper arrangement of the bricks having various letters and figures
as above stated, any desired word or words, number or numbers, may be formed
and properly spaced off as desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
In the construction of brickwork structures, the use of bricks having characters
formed upon them by moulding as described, in combination with ordinary bricks,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 28th day of January 1889