CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS FOR WRITING OR MARKING, PART OR PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO BRUSHES FOR WATER COLOR DRAWING
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
COBBOLD, of Melford, in the County of Suffolk, Master of Arts, Clerk,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Third day of December (One thousand eight hundred and
forty-two), in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Cobbold, my exors,
admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Edward Cobbold, my exors, adññors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Edward Cobbold, my exors, adññors, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and. no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Her Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, and also in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS FOR WRITING OR
MARKING, PART OR PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO BRUSHES
FOR WATER COLOR DRAWING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Edward Cobbold, shall particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and
cause the same to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said

page_text: .
in part 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, I, the said
Edward Cobbold, 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 thereof, and by the Drawings
therein referred to and hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to the construction and formation of an instrument
for writing, marking, and such like purposes, in which the ink is supplied
to the nib or point of the instrument from a reservoir in close connection
with the nib or point, and in which also the nib or point has in some cases
certain peculiarities of construction for affording greater pliability and freedom
of motion than has heretofore been obtained in metallic pens, whereby I
obtain the quality and touch in writing of the quill with greater permanancy
of point.
My Invention also relates to the construction of brushes to be
employed by artists in water-coloring drawings, whereby, by means of a
reservoir attached, such brushes are rendered capable of supplying a larger
.amount of water colors than the brushes in ordinary use and demand. The
above statement expresses the objects of my Invention, and I carry it into
effect in manner following:-
For constructing the instrument for writing, marking, and such like pur-
poses, according to one of my improvements, I make a cone, or conical or
spire-like or oblong supplier, of wood, cork, metal, or other suitable material,
and I cut or stamp, impress or form, in, upon, or around the said cone or
spire, or oblong substance, a variety of grooves or chambers, incisions, cells, or
reservoirs, from base to point, which grooves, chambers, cells, incisions, or
reservoirs are for receiving and retaining a supply of ink; I then insert at the
point or extremity of the said spire or cone or oblong substance, two pieces of
wire, or one piece of wire either split or doubled, and so arranged and com-
pacted as that the points or extremities are brought into exact and even
contact, and the said points or nibs or tips may be either twisted and compacted
by hand or by any machinery usually employed for twisting, compacting, and
cutting wire, care being taken to unite the said wires closely together, and
also to cut them exactly even and without burr or roughness at the points.
The wire points so inserted into the said cone or spire, or. oblong substance,
constitute an instrument for writing, and by means of the aforesaid grooves,
incisions, chambers, or cells in the oblong reservoir above mentioned, a
plentiful and continuous supply of ink is insured to the wire points from
the ink taken up and retained in the grooves on dipping the instrument in the

page_text: asual manner. And I would here remark that I do not confine myself to any.
particular size or shape of the said cones or spires or oblong substances as
receptacles of ink, neither do I confine myself to wood, cork, or metal for
their formation, but I apply for this purpose horn, ivory, bone, glass, tortoise.
shell, papier maché, caoutchouc, or any suitable substance capable of being.
wrought into receptacles for ink in such like mauner as above described.
Nor do I confine myself to wire in the manufacture of the said points, nibs, or
tips, but I apply for this purpose thin strips or shreds of metal or metallic
substance of any kind resembling the nibs or points of pens or metallic wire-
like points of any kind, and I insert into the said oblong receptacles, or
reservoirs the ordinary pens of commerce or nibs, or points of the ordinary.
pens resembling the points of the pens of commerce, or I make the said,
points, nibs, or strips of finely-pared ivory, bone, quill, tortoiseshell, hair,,
bristles, silkworm gut, or of any hard, tough, horny substance, capable of being.
wrought into fine wire-like or pen-like strips or shreds.
In constructing an instrument for writing or marking according to another:
part of my improvements, I take the said wire nibs, or tips, or shreds, or pen-:
like points as aforesaid, and I insert the base or obtuse extremity of the said
wire tips, nibs, or shreds, or pen-like points into a piece of cork, wood, or:
other suitable substance, and I introduce the said piece of cork, wood, or other
suitable substance with the wire tips, &c. so attached, into the barrel of the
ordinary pen of commerce. I then set fast the wire tips or nibs, or shreds or
pen-like points at the extremity of the said pen, either by a wire band, or by
any other effectual mode, so as to render the said wire tips, shreds, or strips:
capable of writing. And note, I do not confine myself to the application of
the aforesaid wire or wire-like tips, nibs, or shreds, or pen-like points to the
ordinary pens of commerce, but I adapt them to any pen-shaped substance,
capable of being formed into a suitable reservoir for ink, whether the same be
of quill, reed, metal, or any other material suitable for this purpose. The
wire tip, nib, or pen-like point being so introduced, the shoulders of the
ordinary pen form a reservoir, whereby the ink is supplied to the point of
the instrument. In constructing an instrument for writing or marking,
according to another of my improvements, I reduce the shoulder of the
common steel pen by means of a file or scissors, or other suitable process,
or in the manufacture of the said pens by a die constructed for the purpose,
so that there shall be to the split of the said pen no shoulder at all, as in
the ordinary pens of commerce, but that the entire substance of metal
throughout the whole length of the split, or even beyond it, shall be exactly or
nearly the same size or width, presenting the appearance of two pieces of wire
or thin strips of metal brought into close contact, as described and represented

page_text: at Figures 8, 9; and the instrument for writing constructed with a nib of
this peculiar shape I call the shoulderless or long beak or wire-like pointed.
pen, which peculiar form and construction gives to the steel pen great elasticity,
and the properties and touch of the quill. The whole length of the said
shoulderless point or beak may be employed for writing, the same being at all
times capable of renovation by perpendicular friction on a smooth stone or
other suitable substance, whereas the point alone of the ordinary pen of
commerce is effective, and when that is worn down the pen is inoperative. The
nib of the pen so constructed is incapable of retaining a sufficient supply of
ink, and, in order to render the common steel pen so altered applicable as an
instrument for writing, I insert into the barrel of the said pen an inner barrel
or reservoir of quill, metal, or other suitable substance, 'making the said barrel
or inner chamber somewhat of the form and construction of an ordinary pen,
with a split or open groove at the back; the inner chamber or pen-like substance
being inserted into the barrel of the shoulderless pen, the point of it terminating
about the sixteenth of an inch, more or less, short of the end of the said
shoulderless pen, forms at once a copious reservoir for ink and a conductor of
ink to the extreme point of the nibs of the shoulderless pen. I would here
remark, that I do not confine myself to any particular length of the said wire-
like or shoulderless nibs, points, or strips, neither do I confine myself to this
particular mode of retaining the ink and conducting it to the extremity of the
said wire-like shoulderless points; but the above-mentioned nibs may be used
in combination with an internal reservoir of a different shape, inserted into the
barrel of the shoulderless nib; if the upper part of the barrel of the pen be
removed, so as to leave only the shoulderless nibs without any barrel for an
internal reservoir, the said shoulderless nibs may be inserted into a conical or
oblong shaped internal reservoir, as firstly above described.
thus
And lastly, as regards that portion of my Invention which relates to the
construction of brushes to be employed by artists for water-color drawings,
I take a hollow body, of a conical oblong or egg-like shape, capable of
containing water, the external surface of the said body being grooved in the
manner before described. At one end of the body I insert the brush;
I have the brush inserted into the end of a conical or similar shaped body,
with inner and outer reservoirs, instead of the quill ordinarily used for this
purpose. I then insert into the upper end of the said conical body a quill or
other fit receptacle, to the upper end of which I adapt another body of a
similar shape, hollow in the interior, but without the exterior grooves or
incisions. The two above-mentioned conical or egg-shaped bodies are perforated
longitudinally, so that there may be a thorough communication the ene with the
other by means of a quill or other suitable micans. I then perforate the lower

page_text: part of the cone containing the brush, and insert one or more small screws into
the orifice, causing the said screw or screws to fit tightly therein. I also per-
forate the crown or apex of the said lower conical body, and insert in the said
perforation another screw; and I also make a similar perforation in the head
or apex of the upper conical body, into which I insert another screw or stopper.
When I am desirous of charging the brush by the action of dipping; -I'
partially unscrew all the screws, and immersing the entire lower cone into
liquid the inner and outer chambers become charged. I then set the lower
screw or screws fast, in order to retain the liquid enclosed in the inner
chamber, and I'regulate the supply to the brush by means of adjustment of
the said screws, and I also, if requisite, charge the entire quill into which the
said cone is inserted, as well as the upper cone itself, by drawing in the liquid
by the mouth or other suitable mode at the orifice in the said upper cone.
And I would remark, that the said cones or oblong bodies may be of wood,
cork, metal, glass, or any waterproof substance capable of being formed into
such like suitable reservoirs for water colors. And I do not confine myself to
screws for the retention and adjustment of the flow of such liquid 'to the said
brush, but I effect the same by means of tapering stoppers made to fit accurately
into the said perforations, and capable of adjustment by means of a spring and
lever, somewhat resembling the key's of a flute; or I'adopt any other conve-
nient mode of charging and discharging the said cones or reservoirs.
But in order that these improvements may be better understood and more
fully explained, I will proceed to describe the arrangement of parts which. I.
consider well calculated for carrying out my said Invention, and which will be
found to answer extremely well.
Figure 14 is a modification of Figures 10, 11, 12, and 12*.

page_text: Figure 15, an elevation of a brush for coloring. Figure 16, a longitudinal
section of the same. Figure 17, a plan view of the same.
Figure 18, a detached view of an arrangement for regulating the flow of
liquid through the brush.
In Figure 1, a, a, represents a plain piece of wire cut to any required
length. Figure 2 shews the wire as partly twisted, the ends being brought
flush with each other, shewing, by the red lines in Figure 3, the ends of the
wire (when doubled) as passed through the looped end 6 thereof.
In Figures 5 and 6, c, c, represents a reed or other hollow substance, into
which are inserted the nibs or points a, a, attached to the cork, as shown at
Figure 4, the same being firmly fixed to the point of the reed by passing the
loop b over the pen-shaped part of the reed, as shewn.
Figure 7 shews a similar arrangement to the foregoing, adapted to an'
ordinary steel pen.
In Figures 8, 9, d represents a piece of metal, shaped as shewn, constituting
a shoulderless pen, the nibs or points being supplied with ink from a pen-
shaped tube or reservoir e, inserted within the piece of metal d.
In Figure 10, f. f, represents an inverted cone, of any suitable material,'
having grooves g, g, cut upon its surface in the direction of its length, being
for the purpose of containing ink and supplying it to the nibs or points inserted
therein, as shewn.
In Figure 11, f, f, represents an oblong-shaped substance, having grooves g, g,
cut in the direction of its length, and likewise grooves h, h, around it, whereby
a greater supply of ink is retained.
In Figure 12, i represents.a pen constructed with flat nibs or points, formed
out of one or two pieces of flat metal, and inserted in the part f, forming the
reservoir, which has grooves g, g, cut in the direction of its length, as in
Figures 10 and 11.
Figure 12 is a modification of Figures 10 and 11.
In Figure 13, ff, represents a substance of conical form, having longi-
tudinal grooves 9, 9, and a spiral groove h, cut around its outer surface, into
which a wire or other ligament is inserted for the purpose of securing an
ordinary steel pen o, a groove being cut in the cone to admit the same.
In Figure 14, f. f, represents a pen, somewhat similar in construction to
those in Figures 10, 11, 12, 12*, and differs only therefrom by being con-
structed with conical holes or reservoirs p, p, at the top and bottom of the
piece ff. whereby it is capable of containing a greater quantity of ink than
the pens of the above-mentioned forms of construction.
In Figures 15, 16, 17, and 18, is represented an artist's color brush, arranged
as follows-k, k, the handle, of quill, into the lower end of which is inserted

page_text: a hollow vessel 1, carrying the brush. This vessel has grooves g, g, cut upon
its outer surface in the direction of its length. m, a reservoir inserted in
the upper end of the quill or handle k, when required to fill the hollow vessels
The same may be done by inserting the brush in the vessel con-
taining the color and applying the mouth to a hole in the upper reservoir m,
thereby exhausting the air and causing the color to flow through the orifices
hereafter described, and fill the vessels l, m, the quantity supplied to the brush
(while in use) being regulated by withdrawing or advancing the taper
screws n, n, or by an arrangement somewhat similar to the low C keys of a
flute (shewn in the detached Figure 18), in which it will appear evident that
by pressure of the finger upon the lever q, the plug n will be pressed into the
orifice, and thus prevent the flow of the liquid through the same, a set screw r
passing through the lever q', by which the artist is enabled to regulate the flow
of liquid or color through the orifice or orifices, as shewn.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and in what manner the
same may be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim the
exclusive use of the several well-known materials or parts of pens and brushes
herein-before mentioned, except so far as the said materials or parts may be
employed for the purpose of my said Invention, which I hereby declare to
consist in the use and application, in the manner herein-before described, of a
reservoir, in combination with nibs or points and brushes, in the construction
of instruments for writing, marking, and coloring.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Cobbold, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three.