AN IMPROVED CON- STRUCTION OF CARTRIDGE Box
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Mechanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF CARTRIDGE Box."-A communication from abroad by
Henry D. Cooke, junior, of Washington, in the District of Columbia,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th December 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION
OF CARTRIDGE Box," to be as follows:-
The improved cartridge box consists of a plate of leather or other
suitable flexible material fitted with parallel rows of loops to receive

page_text: the cartridges, which rows of loops are so arranged that when the plate
is folded over to close the box their contents will be effectually covered
and protected. Supposing there are three rows of loops, two of these,
say 1 and 2, will be secured to the inner face of the plate of leather,
and the third, say 3, will be secured to the outer face and near one end
of the plate or at the back of the loop 2. When the loops are fitted
with cartridges and the box is folded up the three rows of cartridges
will stand parallel to each other. Those in the loops 1 and 2 will be
within the folds of the box, and the row 3 will be covered by a flap
extension of the leather plate. The part forming the bottom of the
box is stiffened with a strip of leather or other material, and side pieces
are provided for partially closing the ends of the box with the aid of
short straps and studs. The like provision is made for securing the
flap that overlaps the outer row of cartridges.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
licence, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
“AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF CARTRIDGE Box," being a communication
to me, from abroad by Henry D. Cooke, junior, of Washington, in the

page_text: District of Columbia, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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.
'
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to construct at a small cost a cartridge
box which when opened shall present the cartridges ready to the hand
of the soldier, and will atlmit of the reduction in weight and size of the
cartridge box without contracting its holding capacity, thereby rendering
it the better suited for the soldier to carry on his person.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the
box when closed, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the box when open, and
Fig. 3 a transverse section of the same.
This Invention consists of a plate of leather or other suitable material
made in one or more pieces and provided with rows of loops for holding
cartridges, the plate and loops being so arranged relatively to each other
that the former may be folded together in such manner as to form a
box that incloses and protects the cartridges, the rows of which lie in a
compact body within the box when the same is thus formed. Referring
to the Drawing, A is the plate, the same being preferably formed of one
piece that may be cut of suitable size out of leather or other suitable
flexible material. Parallel rows of loops a and b are secured to one
side of the plate A said rows being placed at a distance apart depending
on the length of the cartridges to be used and each row containing as
many loops as may be required. A stiff strip of leather c is secured to
the plate A between and parallel with the rows of loops, the function
of said strip being to stiffen that part of the plate to which it is applied,

page_text: in order that it may serve as a bottom to the box when the plate is
folded up.
A third row of loops d is secured to the outside of the
plate A opposite the row b and the cartridges that are inserted in the
row d point in the contrary direction to those in the row b. When the
plate A is folded together the cartridges in the rows a and b are brought
side by side, the points of one row being next to the heads of the other,
both to attain compactness of packing and also to prevent concussion
between the heads of the two rows and the injuries or explosions that
might result therefrom. The upper part of the plate A. folds as a flap f
over the cartridges of the row d. A strip of leather e having a slit cut
in it is secured to the flap f, and when the plate is folded up the slit is
passed over the stud ½ that projects from the part forming the bottom of
the box, by which means the flap is fastened. Small flaps i are formed
at the extremities of that part of the plate A which bears the rows of
loops 6 and d, and when the plate is folded together the flaps i are turned
in so as to cover the end cartridges of the row b. Studs n extend
outward from the flaps i, and strips m, provided with slits and secured to
the outside of the plate A at suitable points, are fastened over the studs n
when the plate is folded up.
The Invention herein described is superior to the ordinary cartridge:
box by reason not only of the reduction in expense of manufacture
but in consequence of its reduced weight and size, it is a better device
for transportation by the quantity in wagons or cars. The stiffening
strip c may be secured to the outside of the plate A if preferred. The
fastening strips may be struck out of the same piece with the plate A 2
so as to avoid securing said strips and plate together. The expense of
constructing this cartridge box is still further lessened from that of the
ordinary box by reason of the plate being struck out of one piece of
leather or equivalent fabric, and its capacity for compact packing is
increased by its capability of being laid out flat in the vehicle that 3
transports it.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Imnuned

page_text: vided with rows of loops for holding cartridges, and fitted with flaps and
fastenings, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.