A CERTAIN INSTRUMENT TO SERVE AS A GENERAL STANDARD FOR REGULATING THE PROPER TIME IN MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, FOR ENABLING AUTHORS TO DENOTE WITH PRECISION THE TIME THEY HAVE FIXED UPON, AND TO ASSIST PERFORMERS IN ACCOMPLISHING THE COMPOSER'S INTENTION
Year: 1798

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANTHONY
GEORGE ECKHARDT, of Brompton, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the
Royal Society, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty, in and by His certain Letters Patent under
the Great Seal of Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the
Thirteenth day of November, in the thirty-ninth year of His reign, did; of
His especial grace, certain knowledge, & meer motion, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Anthony George Eckhardt,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Anthony George Eckhardt, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their
deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said Anthony
George Eckhardt, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter, during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend my Invention of "A CERTAIN INSTRUMENT TO SERVE AS A GENERAL
STANDARD FOR REGULATING THE PROPER TIME IN MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, FOR
ENABLING AUTHORS TO DENOTE WITH PRECISION THE TIME THEY HAVE FIXED
UPON, AND TO ASSIST PERFORMERS IN ACCOMPLISHING THE COMPOSER'S INTENTION

page_text: "
WITH MORE FACILITY AND CORRECTNESS THAN BY THE MODE AT PRESENT USED,"
within that part of the Kingdom of Great Britain called England, the Domi-
nion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as to me,
the said Anthony George Eckhardt, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or any of
them, should seem meet, and that I, the said Anthony George Eckhardt, my
exors, admors, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and. enjoy the
whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage from time to time coming,
growing, accruing, & arising by reason of the said Invention, for and during
the term of years therein mentioned, to hold, exercise, and enjoy the said
licence, powers, privileges, and advantages therein-before granted or mentioned
to be granted unto me, the said Anthony George Eckhardt, my exors, adñiors,
and assigns, for and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years
from the date of the said Letters Patent next and immediately ensuing, and
fully to be compleat and ended, according to the Statute in that case made
and provided; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that the
same should be void unless I, the said Anthony George Eckhardt, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in the High
Court of Chancery within one calendar month next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Anthony George Eckhardt, in pursuance
of the said proviso in the said Letters Patent, do hereby describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, as follows (that is to say):-
For better understanding the improvement accomplished by my Invention,
it may be necessary to premise that at present the duration of time used in
music is in a great arbitrary, as, for instance, the author or composer intending
to have his production executed in a deliberate or slow manner denotes it by
the word lento, largo, or adagio; in the quick time, by the word presto, pres-
tissimo, &c. Now one person's idea of what is slow or what is quick frequently
differs from another, and therefore the notion entertained by performers of
music must be arbitrary, for they cannot with any certainty know the precise
time the composer meant, and consequently cannot give all the effect to the
composition which it is susceptible of. To obviate this inconvenience, I intend
that composers, for denoting time with greater nicety and precision, should (in
addition to the vague and uncertain terms or denominations at present used)
express time by moments and seconds in the following manner :-I assume
the shortest time to be half a second, or five moments, and the longest time

page_text: ten seconds, or one hundred moments, to a bar of music; there will then
remain ninety-five intermediate degrees for the composer to adopt between
the quickest and the slowest time. The degrees the instrument I have
invented, and which will hereafter be described, will, amongst other purposes,
denote; as, for instance, suppose a musical author possessed of my instrument
desirous of expressing the time in which he would have his work performed, it
will only be necessary for him to affix to his production the number of these
degrees, moments, or seconds, to enable the performer to execute his intention.
As, for example, suppose the slowest adagio to occupy ninety out of the one
hundred moments of time to a bar, and that the composer should be desirous
of having his music performed somewhat less slow, it will only be necessary for
him to express it by adagio eighty-nine, eighty-eight, or any less number,
according to the degree in which he wishes to have it less slow than ninety.
In like manner all other times to be used in music may be denoted by presto
seven, allegro thirty, andante sixty, &c. This method of denoting time will
be of particular use to those who are learners, as it will enable them to perform
the music according to the time prescribed, and to keep it with accuracy
during the whole time of performance.
There are two modes I intend to adopt in making the instruments; the first,
by the movement of a small vertical wheel on the top of an horizontal
wheel, the horizontal wheel to be turned once round in eight seconds by
any mechanical or other power, the small vertical wheel to carry three
click wheels with four clicks to each wheel, every wheel to have a separate
bammer, and to be so constructed that the first will raise the hammer attached
to it two lifts, the second three lifts, and the third four lifts, before they
respectively beat or strike; the diameter of the small vertical wheel to
be of such dimensions as will turn four times round in one revolution of
the horizontal wheel, when such vertical wheel is placed at the most remote
distance from the center, so that when such horizontal wheel turns once
round, the small vertical wheel shall make any of the three haiumers strike or
beat sixteen times in each revolution, which will denote the quickest motion,
or half a second of music, according to my proposed standard of time;"
and when such vertical wheel is placed near to the center of the horizontal
wheel, it will cause any of the hammers to beat or strike once in half a second,
which will denote the shortest time. The difference between the farthermost
and nearest distance from the center of the horizontal wheel is to be divided
into ninety-five degrees, which degrees will form a scale to denote all the
different movements according to my proposed standard of time.
My second mode cousists in having a cylinder, which is to be turned

page_text: regularly round by any of the means aforesaid once in fifty seconds, to answer
to the proposed standard. This cylinder is to have one hundred rows of teeth,
in the same manner as the barrels of hand organs. The first row is only to
have five teeth; the second six; the third seven; and so on progressively to
the last row, which is to have one hundred teeth. A moveable hammer is to
be so adapted that it may be applied to any one of those rows of teeth. The
first row will make the hammer beat five times in one revolution of the
cylinder, which being moved round in fifty seconds, makes the slowest motion
of time, or ten seconds. The last row of one hundred teeth will make the
hammer beat one hundred times in the same revolution of the cylinder, which
makes the shortest time, or half a second for each beating of the hammer.
If great exactness should not be required, then ten, twenty, or thirty rows
will answer the purpose; and in that case the first row must have five
teeth, and the last row ten, twenty, or thirty teeth, instead of one hundred
teeth.
The above descriptions will be more fully explained by the Drawings
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES REPRESENTED BY THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a side view, and Figure 8 a top view, of my Invention
according to my first mode. A, B, is the horizontal wheel, to be turned
round once in eight seconds, as already mentioned. C, D, is the vertical
wheel. H, H, I, I, is the frame or stand of the vertical wheel, which is to
slide in a paralel groove or dovetail K, K, L, L, so as to move it to and from
the center of the horizontal wheel. In order to raise and discharge the
wheel C, D, occasionally from the wheel A, B, that groove or dovetail is
adapted to a frame F, G, suspended on two pivots a, b, by which the wheel.C, D,
may be raised up and discharged, or made stationary at any distance from the
center of the horizontal wheel A, B. The wheel C, D, is to be of such a
diameter as, when placed at the farthermost distance from the center, will turn
round four times in one revolution of the wheel A, B. On the axle of the
wheel C, D, are fixed three snail, click, or spiral wheels g, h, i, k, l, m, described
in Figures 4 and 5, each of which wheels is to have four large click teeth, and
each of those teeth to be subdivided; the first wheel g, h, to have two lifts, the
second wheel i, k, three lifts, and the third wheel l, m, to have four lifts. To
each of these three click wheels a hammer is adapted, described by the letters
M, M, M, which are moveable on a center H on the frame or stand II, H, I, I,
in such a manner that the first click wheel g, h, will make the hammer rise
twice, the second click wheel i, k, three times, and the third click wheel l, m,
four times, before it strikes, and thus mark the subdivisions of the bars.

page_text: R, R, is a scale of degrees of time according to my proposed plan. P, P, and
P are counterpoizes to the hammers M, M, M. c, d, e, f, are springs by
which the frame or stand H, H, I, I, is made to slide with steadiness into the
dovetail or groove K, K, L, L. Q, Q, is the counterpoize of the frame
F, F, G, G, Figure 8, and may be fixed at any distance by the two screws V, V.
S, S, S, S, is the top of a box or frame in which the power is to be contained,
whereby the wheel A, B, is to be turned round once in eight seconds. Figure 1
represents the mode by which the hammers M, M, M, are made to strike, but
there are other methods by which it may be done, some of which methods
I have represented by Figures 2, 3, and 9, and also by dotted lines in Figure 1.
The same number of beatings that are performed by the three hammers
M, M, M, and their respective lifts, may be performed by one hammer only,
as in Figures 2 and 3.
Description of Figure 2, or the Mode of Shifting a Hammer from one Click
Wheel to another.-a, a, a, a, denote the frame. b, b, two cocks for the
axis of the vertical and click wheels described in Figures 6 and 7. c, c, a
standard for the sliding pivot of the hammer P, K. d, d, a small-ark
with three divisions, equal to the divisions of the three spiral or click
wheels 1, i, g, Figures 6 and 7. e, e, a brass lever, in which is fixed a hook
or fork f, which goes on the collar of the cylindrical pivot for. shifting the
hammer P, K. 9, 9, a spring with a point, which goes through the hole in
the brass lever e, e, from thence through the hole in the ark d, d. j, j, two
springs for sliding in the groove or dovetail of the wooden frame F, G,
Figure 1. y, the index of the frame, to determine the movement of the
scale R, R, of Figure 8.
Description of Figure 3, or another Mode of Shifting the Hammer from
one Click Wheel to another.-1, l, two perpendicular cocks, fixed on the frame
a, a, a, a, as in Figure 2, for the sliding pivot of the hammer P, K. m, m, a small
spring pressing the cylindrical pivots against a stop wheel n, n, which, having
three stops on it, shifts the hammer by the movement of that wheel from one
click wheel to the other. p, the hammer tail by which the hammer P, K, is
raised by the spiral or click wheel of Figure 7.
Figure 9 represents the side view, and Figure 10 the top view, of my
second mode. A, A, is the cylinder wheel, which is to have one hundred
rows of teeth. C; C, is the frame or stand of the hammer F, B, which frame
is to slile in the dovetail or groove D, D, D, D, of the stand I, I, I, I,
parallel to the cylinder A, A. L, L, are the two cocks on which the pivots of
the said cylinder A, A, is supported. II is an index or hand. G, G, is the
scale on which the degrees are marked to correspond with the number of

page_text: rows of teeth in the cylinder. F, E, is the tail of the hammer F, B, by
which it is raised and made to beat, applicable to any rows of teeth in the
F is a counterpoize to ease or counteract the weight of the
cylinder.
hammer.
Respecting the mode of applying any mechanical means to move the
horizontal wheel A, B, of my first mode, and the cylinder A, A, of my second
mode, I have represented by Figures 11 and 12 an application of ordinary
clock-work, moved by a spring, as also the same power to move the
cylinder of my second mode, as represented by Figure 13, by which it will
be seen that those powers will move each of my modes in the velocity
required.
The Application and Mode of Using the Instrument.-Suppose the com-
poser to have expressed his intention, with reference to my instrument, that his
work should be performed in the time of presto five, it will only be necessary to
place the index W, Figure 8, or H Figure 10 opposite number 5, and the
hammer of the instrument will beat or strike at the end of every five moments
or half second (the quickest time). If the index is placed opposite number 100,
the hammer will beat or strike only at the end of every one hundred moments
or ten seconds (the slowest time). And to ascertain the time which the
composer intended by presto 7, allegro 30, andante 60, it will only be
necessary to place the index opposite to those numbers, and the hammer will
beat according to those dregrees of time. Thus the double purpose of
ascertaining the author's intention as to time, and of enabling the performer
to keep it, will be accomplished, with the assistance of the instrument
alone.
My first mode has the additional advantage to mark the sub-division of each
bar, having three different hammers, or one hammer that may be shifted from
one click wheel to another, according to the three different sub-divisions of each
bar, so that when the timekeeper is to beat a bar of two movements, the
hammer number 2 is to be made use of; when a bar of three, the hammer
number 3; and when a bar of four, the hammer number 4 is to be made
use of.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth
day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred
and ninety-eight.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that, on the Twelfth day of December, in
the year of our Lord 1798, the aforesaid Anthony George Eckhardt came
before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid and all and every thing therein contained and specified
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt
according to the tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twelfth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight.