IMPROVEMENTS IN STANDS FOR LETTER-COPYING PRESSES AND OTHER SMALL MACHINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Muir, of Strangeways, in the City of
Manchester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STANDS
FOR LETTER-COPYING PRESSES AND OTHER SMALL MACHINES."
Sealed the 9th July 1858, and dated the 20th January 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Muir at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th January 1858.
I, WILLIAM MUIR, of Strangeways, in the City of Manchester, Engineer;
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STANDS FOR LETTER-COPYING PRESSES AND OTHER SMALL MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists in making the bottom plates of. letter-
copying presses with recesses or holes to receive the legs of the stand; also in
making such recesses or holes in a plate or frame, on to which a copying
press of the usual construction is placed and held between ribs or otherwise.
I prefer to make the legs of the stand of cast or wrought iron, and they may
be connected by stretchers or by the supports for the drawers, or by either
or both..
Such stands may also be employed to support sewing machines, lithographio
presses, knife-cleaning machines, and other small machines such as have
hitherto been fixed upon tables.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Muir in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th July 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MUIR, of Strangeways, in the City of Manchester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Muir, Her special licence that I, the said William
Muir, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Muir, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STANDS FOR LETTER-COPYING PRESSES AND OTHER SMALL MACHINES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that 1, the said William Muir, 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 William Muir, 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 (that is to say) :-
The nature of my said Invention of improvements in stands for letter
copying presses and other small machines, consists in making the bottom
plates thereof with recesses or holes to receive the legs of the stand or the
bolts, which legs are made of cast or wrought iron, and they may be connected
by stretchers or by the supports for the drawers, or by both.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a stand for a letter-copying press; and Figure 2
is a section through the line A, B, with a plan of the under side of the table.

page_text: a is the beam of a letter-copying press, which is screwed to the plate b forming
the upper part of the stand. To each corner of the plate is bolted one of the
cast-iron legs c, and these legs are stayed by the tension rods d, the inner ends
of which are screwed into or otherwise connected to the centre piece e; by
this means the legs c are firmly secured to the plate b and to each other.
Figure 3 is an elevation of a modification of my improved stands, and
Figure 4 is a plan in section through the line C, D. In these views a is the
beam of the press; b, the plate; and c, the legs of the stand; the upper parts
of these legs are connected by the supports for the drawers f, f.
Figure 5 is an elevation of another modification of my Invention; Figure 6
is a plan of the under side of the table. In this instance the beam a of the
press is screwed to the bottom plate 6 which rests upon the table g, and the
legs c are let into recesses in the table g. These legs are constructed to
support the drawers f and the cupboard h.
I wish to remark that the shape of my improved stands may be considerably
modified, and that the legs thereof may be made of wrought iron instead of
cast iron, as described, but I prefer cast iron, as being more rigid and less
expensive. I would also remark that although I have only shewn my improved
stands as applied to letter-copying presses, they are equally applicable to
support certain other small machines.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that I claim the improved stands for letter-
copying presses and other small machines, as shewn and as described. .
In witness whereof, I, the said William Muir, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
W MUIR. (L.S.)