IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SECURING POCKET BOOKS AND OTHER PORTABLE ARTICLES ON THE PERSON
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra, of Sise
Lane, in the City of London, Wholesale Stationer, carrying on Business
under the Style or Designation of Gustavus Dromtra, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SECURING POCKET BOOKS AND OTHER
PORTABLE ARTICLES ON THE PERSON."-A communication from abroad by
Sealed the 26th March 1867, and dated the 27th September 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Friedrich Wilhelm
Constantin Dromtra at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 27th September 1866.
I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM CONSTANTIN DROMTRA, of Sise Lane, in the City
of London, Wholesale Stationer, carrying on Business under the Style or
Designation of Gustavus Dromtra, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SECURING POCKET BOOKS AND
OTHER PORTABLE ARTICLES ON THE PERSON," communicated to me from abroad
by Theodore Neuscheller, of Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxony, to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to secure pocket books, wallets, purses,
watches, and other portable articles on the person, with a view to prevent

page_text: their loss or felonious abstraction therefrom. For this purpose I attach to
or combine with the pocket book or other article to be secured a curved, bent,
or hooked pin, or a hook terminating in a point, such pin or hook being
capable of being turned to a certain extent in both directions. When it is
turned in one direction it penetrates and traverses the fabric or material of
the pocket in which (or garment on which) the article is to be secured and
holds it firmly in place, and when the pin or hook is turned in the opposite
direction it releases the article. Springs or equivalent contrivances may be
employed to retain the pin or hook firmly in the position into which it is
moved.
In order that the Invention may be fully understood I proceed to describe
in what manner it may be applied to a pocket book or like article by way of
example. The curved pin or book is on the end of a shank or stem, which
is passed under the material which forms one of the outer sides of the pocket
book; its upper end protrudes and is fitted with a knob or thumb-piece for
convenience of manipulation. The pin or hook enters a socket provided on
the side of the pocket book. A spring is provided on each side of the stem
to keep the appliance in the required position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 27th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRIEDRICH
WILHELM CONSTANTIN DROMTRA, of Sise Lane, in the City of London,
Wholesale Stationer, carrying on Business under the Style or Designation of
Gustavus Dromtra, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra, Her special licence that I,
the said Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin
Dromtra, 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

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS
OF SECURING POCKET BOOKS AND OTHER PORTABLE ARTICLES ON THE PERSON," com-
municated to me from abroad by Theodore Neuscheller, of Dresden, in the
Kingdom of Saxony, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra, 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 Inven-
tion, 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 Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra,
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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
The object of this Invention is to secure pocket books, wallets, purses, watches,
and other portable articles on the person, with a view to prevent their loss or
felonious abstraction. For this purpose I attach to or combine with the pocket
book or other article to be secured a curved, bent, or hooked pin, or a hook
terminating in a point, such pin or hook being capable of being turned to a
certain extent in both directions. When it is turned in one direction it
penetrates into and traverses the fabric or material of the pocket in which or
garment on which the article is to be secured and holds it firmly in place, and
when it (the pin or hook) is turned in the opposite direction it releases the
article. A spring or springs are employed to retain the pin or hook firmly in
the position into which it is moved.
In order that the Invention may be fully understood I proceed to describe,
by way of example, in what manner it may be applied to a pocket book or
like article. For this purpose I place the curved pin or hook on the end of a
shank or stem passed under the material which forms one of the outer sides
of the pocket book, the upper end of the shank protrudes and is fitted with a
knob or thumb-piece for convenience of manipulation. The pin or hook enters
a socket provided for the purpose on the side of the pocket book. A spring
extends on each side of the stem to keep the same in the required position.
I now proceed, with reference to the Drawings, to exemplify more parti-
cularly in what manner the Invention may be carried into effect.
Figure 1 is a plan, and Figure 2 an edge view of a pocket book to which
the Invention is applied; Figure 3 is a plan ou an enlarged scale, showing

page_text: some of the parts more clearly: In these Figures, as also in Figure 8, the
apparatus is shewn in its closed or fastened position.
Figure 4 is a plan of part of the pocket book shewing the apparatus in its
unfastened or opened position, in which position it is also shewn in Figures 5,
6, and 7; Figure 5 is a plan of the upper side, Figure 6 plan of the under
side, and Figure 7 edge view of the working parts of the apparatus, the
pocket book and the outer plate being removed; Figure 8 is a transverse
section on an enlarged scale taken on the line x, x, of Figure 1.
A, A, is a pocket book to which the Invention is applied; a, a, is a metal
plate riveted under the outside leather of the pocket book; c is a rod working
in staples b, b, fixed to the plate a, such rod being capable of turning in the
staples in either direction of rotation to a certain extent, when actuated for
that purpose by one of its ends, which is extended and protrudes beyond the
edge of the pocket book, and carries at its outer extremity a thumb-piece or
handle d, for convenience of manipulation; e is a hook secured to or formed
on the rod c; this hook is pointed at its outer or free end; f is a slot in the
plate a to receive the back of the hook when the latter is in its opened or
disengaged position; 9 is a spring or springy plate riveted at one end to the
plate a, and extending under a slot i in such plate a; h is a button, stud, or
knob fixed at one end to the rod c, and working at its outer end against the
free or springy end of the spring 9, which is slightly rounded or convex for the
purpose, though the rest of the spring is flat. The plate a is slotted at i for
the stud h to work through. The lateral edges of this slot are bent up, as
shewn at j, j, to form stops or abutments. When the stud h in moving with
the rod c in either direction abuts against one or other of these stops j it is
stopped in its travel; the stops j thus limit the travel of the rod c and hook e,
and with the aid of the spring g retain them (the rod and hook) in the
position into which they are moved. k is a raised or convex metal plate fixed
on the outside of the pocket book; l is a slot, and m is a round orifice formed
in this plate k for the hook e to work in, the material of the pocket book
between the plates a and k having of course openings in it for the hook to
work through. When it is desired to secure the pocket book to the pocket of
the garment in which it is carried, the rod c is turned by its handled, so as
to raise the hook e and move it through the slot 1, and cause it to penetrate
the lining of the pocket; the user continues to turn the rod c, and thereby
passes the pointed end of the hook again through the lining of the pocket, and
out of such lining into the orifice m, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 8. The
book is securely retained in this position by the construction and arrangements
before described, and thus the pocket book will be secured to the pocket

page_text: which contains it. It is released by turning the rod c in the reverse direction
to that before described, so as to withdraw the hook from the hole m, and
disengage it entirely from the lining of the pocket, as shewn in Figures 5
and 7. Of course I do not restrict myself to the exact mechanical details
shewn in the Drawings for turning the hook, nor for stopping the rod in its
travel and keeping it in position.
Although I have described the apparatus as applied to a pocket book, it is
evident that it may be applied in like manner to other portable articles, the
apparatus being secured to any convenient part thereof; for example, in the
case of a watch it may be attached to the pendant. The above description
suffices to explain how the Invention may be applied to portable articles other
than pocket books.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim the employment (in
combination with a pocket book or other portable article) of a bent or hooked
pin or of a pointed hook capable of being turned to a certain extent, so as to
secure the article to a pocket or other part of a garment, and to release it
therefrom, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Dromtra,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
ERNEST DE PASS,
68, Fleet Street,
London.
FR. WILH. CONST. DROMTRA. (L.S.)