Improvements in Appliances for Teaching Penmanship.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Appliances for Teaching Penmanship.
I, SAMUEL HEY of 56 Low Street, Keighley, in the County of York, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, as communicated to me from
abroad by William Henry Kingman of Reading in the County of Middlesex and
State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient device for
inculcating the habit of holding a peu-stock in such position that it will point
directly over the right shoulder of the writer, this being the position recommended
by teachers and experts in penmanship, in preference to the position in which a
pen-stock is ordinarily held, namely, inclining considerably to the right of the
position above named.
The invention consists in an appliance comprising a rod, an arm projecting from
said rod at a point about midway of its length, and a pen-stock-holding tube or
sleeve affixed to the outer end of said arm and standing substantially at a right
angle with the rod. The parts of the improved appliance are so arranged
relatively to each other that, when a penstock inserted in said tube is grasped
between the thumb and the first and second fingers, one end of the rod will rest,
upon the third and fourth fingers, and the other end will rest upon the paper or
surface upon which the pen is held in the act of writing, the result being that the
pen-stock is held at the desired angle and points directly over the shoulder of the
writer.
On the accompanying drawings forming a part of this Specification,
Figure represents a perspective view, showing my improved appliance holding
a pen-stock and occupying its operative position in the hand of a writer.
Figure 2 represents a front view, showing the improved appliance, the pen-stock
and the hand.
Figure 3 represents a perspective view of the appliance, the pen-stock being
removed from its holder.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all of the figures.
In the drawings:
a represents a rod, which may be of any suitable length, and is preferably from six
to eight inches long. To the rod, at a point about midway between its ends, is
suitably affixed an arm projecting outwardly from the rod. I prefer to connect
the arm to the rod, by means of a sleeve 6, to which the inner end of the arm is
affixed, said sleeve being of suitable size to surround and fit closely upon the rod.
c represents a tube or sleeve affixed rigidly to the outer end of the arm b, and of
suitable size to receive a pen-stock d or other writing appliance, the tube c being
preferably large enough to permit the pen-stock to fit somewhat loosely and turn
freely in it. The tube c stands at substantially a right angle with the rod a, and
is elevated above said rod by the arm to such a height that, when the pen-stock
held by the tube is grasped in the usual way between the thumb and the first and
second fingers of the hand, the rod will pass under the thumb and over the inwardly-
bent third and fourth fingers of the hand, the rod standing in an inclined position,
so that, when in use, one end of it will bear upon the paper, as indicated in
Figures 1 and 2, the other end being somewhat elevated above the paper, as clearly
shown in Figure 2.
When the appliance is held in the manner described, and as shown in the
drawings, the pen-stock necessarily points directly over the right shoulder of the

page_text: writer. This position of the pen-stock is the one which is now generally approved
by experts and teachers of penmanship, and the habit of holding the pen-stock in
this position is easily acquired by the use of this appliance. Many people naturally
hold the pen-stock at the inclination represented by dotted lines in Figure 2, this
being considered an incorrect position. The use of my improved appliance enables
the habit of incorrectly holding the pen-stock to be readily overcome.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is ;-
The improved appliance for teaching penmanship, the same comprising a rod, an
arm projecting from said rod at a point about midway of its length, and a pen-
stock-holding tube or sleeve affixed to the outer end of said arm and standing
substantially at a right angle with the rod, the relative arrangement of the said
parts being such that, when a pen-stock inserted in said tube is grasped between
the thumb and the first and second fingers one end of the rod may rest on the third
and fourth fingers, and the other end on the paper or surface on which the pen
bears, the penstock being thus caused to stand at the desired angle relatively to the
body of the user, as set forth.
Dated this 8th day of February 1894.