IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH- LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Harding, of 1, Park Villas, Forest Hill, in
the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 3rd September 1858, and dated the 10th March 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Harding at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
March 1858.
I, WILLIAM HARDING, of 1, Park Villas, Forest Hill, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
In order to obviate the general objection urged against all breech-loading
guns for sporting purposes at present in use, namely, that the detonating"
compound by which the gun is discharged is contained within the cartridge,
I provide that mine shall be fired by the copper cap, as in any ordinary gun.
For this purpose I make the barrels to turn upon a pin, which is connected
with and forms part of the female plug or breech, almost parallel with. the
upper surface of the rib, which pin is inserted in the false breech just below
its surface, so that on the barrels being turned upward to the right or left,
the breech end is exposed sufficiently to receive the cartridge.
In order to secure the barrels after the insertion of the cartridge, I make
use of the guard as a lever. Attached to and forming part of the guard is a
spindle, which works in the false breech on the underneath edge; attached to
the spindle is a hook, which catches upon a projection upon the under side of
the female plug, so that on the guard being turned from left to right at-right-
angles with the gun, the barrels are in a position to be turned for the purpose.

page_text: of being loaded, and on the return of the guard to its proper place, the barrels
are securely fastened.
That the barrels may be yet more securely fastened, I make use of a bolt
under each barrel, moved backwards and forwards by an eccentric attached to
the spindle aforesaid, which prevents the barrels moving on either side on the
tfall of the cock or hanımer.
The breeches are bored through to the same size as the barrels, and to prevent
any escape of the gases formed by the combustion of the powder, I use a
leaden shoe or thimble in the base of the cartridge. In the event of the
sportsman not being provided with cartridges, he may use the gun as one of 1
the ordinary muzzle-loading kind, by first ramming down a wad of sheet lead,
fitting the bore, which, by its expansion on the discharge of the gun, will
prevent the escape of the gases.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Harding in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HARDING, of 1, Park Villas, Forest Hill, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand. eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Harding, Her special licence that I, the said William
Harding, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Harding, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed,-should-and-lawfully-might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
-the-Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Harding, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months.next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Harding, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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, that is to say:
In order to obviate the general objection urged against all breech-loading
guns for sporting purposes at present in use, namely, that the detonating
compound by which the gun is discharged is contained within the cartridge,
I provide that mine shall be fired by the copper cap, as in any ordinary gun.
For this purpose I make the barrels to turn upon a pin, which is connected
with and forms part of the female plug or breech, almost parallel with the
upper surface of the rib,.which pin is inserted in the false breech just below
its surface, so that on the barrels being turned upwards to the right or left
the breech end is exposed sufficiently to receive the cartridge. In order to
secure the barrels after insertion of the cartridge I make use of the guard as
a lever. Attached to and forming part of the guard is a spindle which works
in the false breech on the underneath ridge; attached to the spindle is a hook
which catches upon a projection upon the under side of the female plug, so
that on the guard being turned from left to right at right angles with the gun,
the barrels are in a position to be turned for the purpose of being loaded, and
on the return of the guard to its proper place the barrels are securely fastened..
.
That the barrels may be yet more securely fastened, I make use of a bolt
under each barrel, moved backwards and forwards by an eccentric attached to
the spindle aforesaid, which prevents the barrels moving on either side on the
fall of the cock or hammer. The breeches are bored through to the same
size, as the barrels, and to prevent any escape of the gases formed by the
combustion of the powder, I use a leaden shoe or thimble on the base of the
cartridge. In the event of the sportsmen not being provided with, cartridges,
he may use the gun as one of the ordinary muzzle-loading kind, by first
ramming down a wad of sheet lead fitting the bore, which, by its expansion
on the discharge of the gun, will prevent the escape of the gases.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
according to my Invention, with the barrels in position for firing; Figure 2 is
an under side view of the same; Figure 3 is a side view with the barrels.
in position for loading; a, a, are the barrels of the fire-arm furnished, with

page_text: breeches of the ordinary construction, except that they are bored through to
the same size as the barrels. The barrels are shewn separately, in side and
end views, at Figures 4 and 5 respectively. 6 is a pin connected with and
forming part of the breech; this pin is inserted into the false breech c, shewn
separately in front view and longitudinal section respectively at Figures 6 and
7; d is the hole into which the pin b enters, and it is fixed by a screw passing
through the hole e, and entering the groove in the pin b, in order to lock the
barrels securely in position; the guard f is mounted on an axis g, which enters
the hole h bored in the false breech, and the axis is fixed by a screw passing
through the hole i into a groove formed in the axis g; underneath the barrels
there is a projection j; and when the barrels are in position this projection is
embraced by the hook k mounted on the axis g, and the barrels are thus firmly
held. The guard is retained in its position by a small projection ? formed on it,
which springs into a notch in the trigger plate. To free the barrels in order to
bring them into position for loading, the guard is turned into the position shewn
by dotted lines in the Drawing, Figs. 2 and 6; m is a bolt employed to lock
the barrels in addition to the hook k, and which is placed immediately over
the hook; this bolt is clearly shewn at Figure 8; it is, when the guard is in
position, caused to project beyond the false breech by an excentric surface
formed on the upper side of the hook k, and its ends then enter holes formed
for them under the "bars" of the barrels, when the guard is turned so as to
release the barrels, the bolt m is at the same time withdrawn.
Figure 9 is a side view partly in section of a ball cartridge suitable to be
used with fire-arms constructed according to my Invention; the manner in
which the leaden shoe or thimble is applied to the base of the cartridge is
clearly shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Harding, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
-FRED HARRIS.
WILLIAM HARDING.-(L.S.)---