IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGRAVING, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO LITHOGRAPHY
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISHAM
BAGGS, of Cheltenham, in the County of Gloucester, Gentleman, 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 Seventeenth day of March, in the third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Isham Baggs, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Isham Baggs, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Isham Baggs, my exors, adññiors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGRAVING, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS
ARE APPLICABLE TO LITHOGRAPHY;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso, that I, the said Isham Baggs, 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 there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Isham Baggs, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly 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):-
DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVING MACHINE.
In the annexed Drawing, Figure 1 represents a front, and Figure 2 a
side view. In each of these views the same letters indicate similar parts.
A represents the frame on which the machine is placed; B is the table
upon which the drawing or design to be copied is laid down; C, C, are two
vertical pillars, connected with the frame and jointed to the horizontal piece
D, to which are fastened the two centre carriages E, E; F, F, are two
vertical iron bars, suspended from centre points at G, G, thus forming an
universal joint; H is an iron frame, suspended by the two centre carriages
E, having an eccentric bar H' connected therewith, and to which are sus-
pended, by means of small cords, the tracing or cutting points J, J, J, by
the action of which they are lifted from the surface of the plate during the
process of either cutting or etching, as may be required; K, K, K, K, are
moveable tables, on which the plates to be engraved are made fast by means,
of the clamps or dogs, as at L, and which may be shifted to any part of the
pillars C, C, and fastened by a binding bolt and nut, as at M, so as to suit
the height of the etching points when they are adjusted to the size of the
drawing required; N, N, N, N, are four horizontal frames, suspended from
the vertical iron bars F, F, by the screws f¹, f¹, and by which they may be
placed at any part of the vertical bars. On these frames are placed any
number of fixed centre carriages, as at O, from which are suspended the
tracing or cutting points J, J; as there may be as many of these frames N,
and as many carriages for the tracing points J as the machine will take in,
the number of engravings or etchings that may be taken at once (and their
sizes also, are limited only by the size of the machine. P is a frame, attached
to the bottom of the vertical bars F by means of centres, and to which is
fixed the centre carriage Q; R is a lever, working at one end on the centre
Q, and near the other is the universal joint S (as shewn in the plan, Figure 6),
through which the bent tracing point T works, and which is used for tracing
from the original drawing or design; to the lower part of the spindle, to
which the point is attached, an arm or bar of the pentograph U is fixed,
by means of a nut and screw, the other arm working on the rest V at the
centres W; to the long arm of the pentograph is affixed the other tracing
point X, which is used for making the drawing from the original design,

page_text: and from which enlarged drawing the engravings are executed. Y is a centre
carriage, fixed on the horizontal frame N; X' is a friction roller, attached-
to the pentograph; X³ is a handle, attached to the tracing point X, for the
purpose of facilitating its action. To the carriage frame Y is connected, by
means of the centre, the cutting frame Z, which is used for making wood
engravings, matrixes, &c., or cutting in relief. In order to raise the eccentric
bar H, to which is attached the small cords by which the tracing points are
taken from the surface of the plates, the following means are taken :-At the
handle a is fastened a small cord b, which passes on the one side over a
friction pulley c, and to this end of the cord is fastened a weight d; on the
other side of the handle a the cord passes over the friction pulley e to the
friction pulley f, it then passes up to the pulley g, round which it runs, and
is fastened at the point h; another cord i is fastened to the pulley g, and
passes over the friction pulley ; at top of frame, and round another friction
pulley k, where it is fastened to the frame at the point 7; to the pulley k is
fastened another cord m, which passes over the friction pulley n to the
eccentric n in the frame H, round which it is twisted twice or thrice, so as
to give sufficient hold, and then passes to the other eccentric wheel n² in the
frame H, and twisted round it in the same manner; the cord is then brought
over the friction pulley n³ and is attached to the weight o, which is made
sufficiently heavy to overcome the friction of the weight of the eccentric
tracings, points, &c., and keep the cord tight.
Figure 3 is a front view, full size, of the smallest etching or cutting point J.
a is a flat bar of steel with bevilled edges, working into the slide b, to which
slide is attached the carriage c, at the bottom of which is a small stud d
upon which the weights are placed, so as to regulate the depth of the cut
or dot to be made on the plate; e is a small drawing screw, working in the
end of the steel bar a, and passing through the cutting or tracing point f,
by means of which the point is regulated to any particular part of the
plate to be engraved; 9 is the centre, by which the whole is suspended
on the centre carriages o in Figure 1; h is a small set screw, which is
used for fastening the steel bar a to the slide b; H' is a portion of the
eccentric bar, to which the end of the steel bar is attached by means of
the cord H being fastened to the end of it, as shewn in Figure 1; H³ is
a small pulley on the eccentric bar, for the purpose of raising the points
from the surface of the plate during any temporary adjustment that may
be required to one or more of the plates, without shifting the whole of
them at once by raising the eccentric bar.
Figure 4 is a full-size view of the bent tracing point of the pentograph and ats

page_text: appendages. a is the point or tracer at the end of the spindle b, sliding through
the socket c; at the end of the socket at d is fastened by means of a nut and
screw one end of the pentograph U. e is a steel clasp, fastened on the socket
by means of a binding screw f, to carry the magnifying glass 9; his one part
of the universal joint S, attached to the lever R, Figure 1, by means of two
centre screws; i is the other part of it, attached to the frame h by means of two
centre screws also; j is an outer case connected with c, through which the
spindle 6 passes, so as to have a long fitting and prevent shaking; k is a pieco
of thin steel, forming a spring under the tracing point a, and is used by
pressing it down by the screw / until it touches the drawing being copied, it
consequently raises the tracing point from the surface and protects it from
injury.
b
Figure 5 represents a plan of the table or plate k upon which the plates
are held, as at a, (marked L in Figure 1,) by means of the moveable dogs b, b.
Figure 6 represents the plan of the rest and pentograph. V is the
rest; fastened down by means of the flat bar V₁ and the screw in the mor-
tice V2; W, centre, to which one arm of the pentograph is connected; R is
the lever, suspended by means of centres at R', and to which is attached by
means of centre screws the universal joint S, in the centre of which is the
spindle for the bent tracing point, as shewn in Figure 4; X' is the handle by
which the tracing point X is moved, and by which the motion is communicated
to the swinging frame. Note.-In Figure 1 the vertical bars F, F, are con-
tinued upwards through the top of the frame, in which there are mortices cut
to allow the bar to swing to and fro, and above the frame there is a weight
attached to each bar made with a binding screw to tighten into the centre
holes of the bar, so regulated as to counterbalance the whole of the weight of
the lever swinging frame, or the machine might be so constructed as to have
another series of frames, tables, &c. over the centre joint, the same as that
below, and thus to make one counterbalance the other. The drawing or
design to be copied is placed firmly on the table B by any convenient method
under the bent tracing point, and a sheet of drawing paper placed under the
other tracing point X at the end of the long arm of the pentograph; the
drawing or design is more carefully traced over by the bent tracer T, the right
motion being given to it by means of the handle X2 attached to the tracer X,
which at the same time draws or dots on the paper beneath an enlarged copy
of the drawing; the enlarged drawing thus obtained may be more conveniently
employed than the smaller one in the following manner:-The frames N
which carry the etching point are fastened to the vertical bars at their different
positions, so as to produce the required sized engravings; the plates are

page_text: fastened on the moveable tables by means of the dogs or clamps, the move-
able tables are then placed near the cutting or etching point, suspended or
attached to the frames N, N, and then secured in this position by means of
the screws at the back of the frame. The depth of the cut is regulated by
small flat weights placed on the end of the bar of the cutting or tracing point,
as described; the deeper the cut, the greater of course the weight required.
The tracing points being connected with the eccentric bar by means of the
small cords, the small handle a, to which the strings are attached (by which
the eccentric bar is raised), is then taken in the left hand for the means of
taking the points from the surface of the plate when required; the tracer at
the end of the long arm of the pentograph is then taken in the right hand and
passed carefully over the enlarged drawing; thus, supposing the leaf, Figure 7,
were required to be engraved, the tracing point would be passed over a line,
say, a', from the extremity c² to the extremity d; the left hand holding the
small handle a would then be drawn gently towards the back of the frame,
by which means the eccentric bar m would be raised, and the etching or
cutting points removed from the surfaces of the plates; the tracing point must
then be passed to any other part of the drawing, say, the line 6, and proceeded
with in the same manner, and so on, until the whole of the outline is engraved.
The shading may be done in like manner, or the artist may use the tracer as a
pencil, and while shading the drawing he would by the above means also pro-
duce the engravings required on the plates.
And I would remark, that in applying this apparatus to the purposes of
lithography, I substitute nuxious or other suitable points for the tracing
points or cutting instruments herein described, and lithographic stones for
plates.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would wish it to be understood that what I
claim as new is the mode of constructing the swinging frame, by which it is
rendered capable of doing several plates at one time of the same or different
sizes.
Secondly, I claim the combination of the swinging frame with a pento-
graph, as herein described, or other such like instrument, for reducing or
enlarging drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isham Baggs, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty.
ISHIAM (L.S.) BAGGS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid Isham Baggs came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
T