IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM NEEDHAM, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun-
smith, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Needham, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Needham,
my exors, adiiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Needham, my exors, admiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Need-

page_text: ham, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 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 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 1, the
said William Needham, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention relates, first, to improvements in the construction of
locks and nipples on touch-holes, and of caps or primers combined with
grooves or reservoirs for supplying such caps or primers to the said
nipples or touch-holes of fire-arms. And in order that. the Inven-
tion may be fully understood I will proceed to describe the Drawing
.hereunto annexed, in the various Figures of which the same letters are
used to indicate the same parts wherever they occur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
In place of the nipple being formed so as to receive the cap thercon
in the manner heretofore practised, the nipple or instrument for holding
the cap or primer over the touch-hole has an opening formed in a
direction from front to back through it, to receive the peculiarly
formed cap or primer made to be used within it, and the hammer
strikes the cap or primer by a part of it passing through another
opening formed in the top of the nipple, and the caps or primers are
formed of a slightly larger diameter than the upper part of the first-
named opening through the nipple, so that the upper edges of the caps
or primers as they are forced into the first-named opening are slightly
compressed, and thereby the caps or primers are securely held until
removed as after mentioned. And in order that there may be a con-
stant and large supply of caps or primers at all times with the gun or
other fire-arm (to which these improvements are applicable) there is a

page_text: groove or reservoir formed in the stock, capable of receiving a consider-
able number of caps or primers, and so arranged that it only requires
to incline the barrel of the gun or other fire-arm momentarily down-
wards previous to cocking the lock; and the lock is so arranged that
the first or nearest cap to the nipple, on the hammer being drawn back
to cock the lock, is passed into the first-named opening in the nipple,
and the previous or discharged cap or primer will be forced out through
the opposite side of the same opening in the nipple. And it is impor-
tant to remark, that in consequence of the peculiar form of cap or
primer, and its being received within the nipple, that when the cap or
primer is discharged it is not liable to fly off, but it will be held secure
within the nipple till another cap or primer is forced within it by cock-
ing or moving back the hammer; and the novel construction of caps or
primers and nipples constitute important improvements in fire-arms.
Figure 1, shews two full size views of a nipple or instrument for
holding the cap or primer for a fowling piece separately, there being a
hole through it, as shown at a, into which the caps or primers are suc-
cessively passed, and there being also a small hole drilled downwards
through the screw of the nipple for communicating with the touch-hole,
and there is likewise a hole (as before mentioned) through the upper
part of the nipple through which the part b, (in Figure 7,) of the
hammer passes, in order to strike the cap or primer on the centre
thereof. The nature of the construction of the caps or primers will
readily be understood on examining Figure 2, where an edge view, a
plan (internal and external), and a section of the cap or primer used
with the gun or other fire-arm are shown; and it will be seen that the
cap or primer consists of a disc of metal raised at the edges, and that
the centre is sunk into a recess at c, to receive the detonating material
used; hence the detonating matter to the cap will be in the recess c.
which is external (at the bottom) of the cap; and in place of the cap
going on and covering a nipple formed of a size to receive it as hereto-
fore, the hollow of the cap or primer is placed upwards within the
nipple, and the part b, of the hammer enters into the cap at its centre.
Figure 3, is a side view of a fowling piece, the groove d, being covered
with a plate of metal, and there is a small door at e, by which the caps

page_text: or primers are introduced into the groove or reservoir d. Figure 4,
shews a side view of the fire-arm with the lock removed, and also the
cover to the groove d, removed, exposing therein the caps or primers
as they roll up to the lock on momentarily depressing the muzzle of the
fire-arm. Figures 5, and 6, shew two views of a lock (full size), with
the caps or primers as they pass through it into the nipple, the first or
nearest cap to the nipple dropping into a small recess at f, whence in
the process of drawing back the hammer it is passed out into the
nipple by the lever g, (represented in Figure 8, as attached to the
tumbler of the lock, and in Figure 9, as detached therefrom,) and there
securely held until removed by the succeeding cap. Figure 7, shews a
section of part of the hammer, in order that the form of the striking
part b, which passes through the upper part of the nipple, and strikes
the cap or primer on its centre, may be more readily understood.
Figures 8, 9, and 10, shew different views of the lever,
which brings
9,
forward one of the caps or primers into the nipple when the hammer is
drawn back, and the gun or other fire-arm thereby cocked. An exami-
nation of the Drawing, aided by the foregoing description, will enable
workmen readily to construct and apply the parts necessary to the
carrying out my Invention, and readily to vary the parts according to
the class of fire-arms to which the Invention is to be applied.
I would remark that I do not confine myself to the precise details
shewn, so long as any parts of my improvements be retained. And I
would wish it to be understood that what I claim is, first, the mode of
constructing and applying nipples for holding and applying caps or
primers to fire-arms, and the construction of caps or primers described
to be used in combination with such nipples.
And, secondly, I claim the mode of arranging the parts of locks com-
bined with a nipple and with a groove or reservoir as above shewn and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Needham, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this
day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
WILLIAM (L.s.) NEEDHAM.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of Decem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid William Needham
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specifi-
cation aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made
for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.