A NEW OR IMPROVED GAME OR GAMES FOR USE IN THE OPEN AIR, IN ROOMS, OR IN OTHER PLACES, AND IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Nehemiah Edward Stevens
and Charles Cullum at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 13th September 1872.
We, NEHEMIAH EDWARD STEVENS, of Cheddar, in the County of
Somerset, and CHARLES CULLUM, of Newport, in the County of
Monmouth, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"A NEW OR IMPROVED GAME OR GAMES FOR USE IN THE OPEN AIR, IN ROOMS, OR
IN OTHER PLACES, AND IN APPARATUS OR APPLIANCES TO BE USED THEREWITH, " to
be as follows :—
The chief object of this Invention is to provide a game, scientific or
otherwise, which is capable of being used or played in rooms or other
covered places, or in the open air as desired.
The game which it is particularly intended to resemble and which we
will describe it with particular reference to, is that known as billiards,
and to which it is in many respects allied, but it is applicable to
bagatelle, or to any other game capable of being applied or played in
a frame constructed substantially as hereafter described, and in the open
air or under cover.

page_text: We form a frame of metal or of other suitable material, such as of
wood, capable of being divided, and say preferably in four parts without
the corner picces, but which may if desired be made to form a portion of
the side and end pieces, and in such manner that the parts may be taken
to picces when required.
According to our Invention we enclose a piece of ground (in the open
air for example, and say part of a lawn, which ought to be as level as
possible, or it may be the floor of a room, shed, or other covered place)
by a frame preferably made of metal plates ornamented or not of an
L shape, and say in lengths of six feet each. These L shaped plates are
connected at the corners and sides by curved or rounded pieces, which
are by preference made separate and detached from the side and end
pieces, but which are connected thereto by links, studs, or bolts passing
through the overlapping portions of the corner and the side or end pieces
with a staple or pin passing through the link driven into the ground, or
screwed into the floor or other bed as the case may be, in order to hold
or connect and to firmly secure the corner to the side and end pieces of
the aforesaid frame. The object of having the frames of an L shape or
of angle iron is in order that the bottom flange shall form a support
and protection from wet for the cushion at the sides, ends, and corners
of the frame or frames, but the frame may be of flat metal or other
material if desired.
The cushions we prefer to make of wood set at an incline to prevent
the ball or balls from passing over the sides or ends, the wood we cover
with felt and vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable materials capable
of producing an elastic and flexible cushion round the sides, ends, and
corners of the frame aforesaid; the wood which carries a layer of felt
and rubber or other suitable material such as waterproof canvas or
cloth is secured to the metal frames by screws, clamps, or otherwise.
Frames made as before described are capable of being used for
several purposes, but they are particularly intended to be used for
playing a game in the open air or under cover, somewhat similar to the
game of billiards, which is now confined to use in rooms, and is expensive
to manufacture, whereas according to our Invention we are enabled to
provide an apparatus which is cheap, as compared with the ordinary
billiard table, and which is capable of being used in the open air or
under cover as desired, and to a very great extent acts as a substitute
for the game known as "croquet," and makes it as nearly as possible a

page_text: scientific game similar in many respects to billiards if required or desired
so to be made.
Our object in making the side pieces of say six feet each in length is
to have them of a convenient length for transport, but several lengths
may be jointed together with or without curved pieces or pockets as
hereafter described between each piece or section, and in this way any
desired space or size of ground, say a portion of a lawn or other place
covered with asphalte, wood, tiles, slate, stone, or other material may be
enclosed.
The pockets consist of boxes made preferably of a conical shape, and
of metal (of galvanized iron for example) in order to facilitate their
introduction into the ground; these pockets may be made of any desired
depth, according to the size and number of balls they may be intended
to hold; in some cases they are provided with projections near the top
to support a net to hold the balls similar to an ordinary pocket in a
billiard table, and a cover fits over the top to keep out water when
required; the cover and prominent parts of the socket (which if fitted in
a lawn ought to be flush therewith) are preferably painted green to
correspond with the colour of the lawn.
The frame may be made if desired without pockets, and holes formed
in the enclosed place at any part or position, for example in similar
positions to those in an ordinary bagatello board, and an endless variety
of games may be arranged and played with frames and pockets made
substantially as before described, either on a lawn or other place in the
open air, or under cover, in a room, or other place.
For bagatelle the pockets or cups would be semi-spherical with
covers and greatings, and be secured to the earth by an iron spoke or
spokes at the bottom, or on other surfaces by screws, bolts, or otherwise.
The frames are made so that only a portion or portions if required of
them need be used to make a perfect frame in a room or other covered
place where, for example, the covered place is not so large as the open
or uncovered lawn, asphalte, and other prepared out door position.
Our Invention further consits in forming the heads of mallets of a
tapered or conical shape, and we cover the ends with some flexible
material, such as india-rubber, which may be connected to the same by
screws screwed into the wood, and the india-rubber cast or laid over the

page_text: same, thus forming a head to the screw which retains the same in
position and makes it elastic, long, and flexible.
Our Invention lastly consists in providing a rest for cues, consisting
of a roller supported by side guides, and a pin passing through the
samo or through the ends thereof and through the "cue" in such 5
manner that the cue may be turned or guided as required, and at the
same time be run along the table or within the frame as required to
adjust it for any particular stroke. The cues may be bent if desired.