IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS TO BE ADAPTED AS A SELF-ACTING AND INK-SUPPLYING WRITING APPARATUS OR FOUNTAIN PEN
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Henry Thurnham, of No. 47, Chichester
Villas, Kilburn, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION OF
CERTAIN MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS TO BE ADAPTED AS A SELF-ACTING AND
INK-SUPPLYING WRITING APPARATUS OR FOUNTAIN PEN."
Sealed the 19th November 1867, and dated the 21st May 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Henry Thurnham-
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st May 1867,
I, CHARLES HENRY THURNHAM, of No. 47, Chichester Villas, Kilburn, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN
MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS TO BE ADAPTED AS A SELF-ACTING AND INK-SUPPLYING
WRITING APPARATUS OF FOUNTAIN PEN," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of an efficient arrangement of mechanical parts,
whereby a copious supply of ink is secured for a period of from eight to twenty-
four hours consecutively according to the size of the holder.

page_text: The Invention is entirely free from internal and external incumbrances,
such as springs, plugs, pistons, syringes, valves, and other obstructions to the
free flowing of such a fluid as ink, which various disadvantages almost invariably
accompanies the numerous attempts hitherto made to make a really efficient
fountain pen.
My Invention consists of four parts only, viz., the holder, a cap at each
end, & the pen.
The holder is a hollow tube made of glass, china, porcelain, and other
compounds, or of gold, silver, aluminium, and other metals, and two caps of a
peculiar construction fitting air and fluid tight at each end; the configurations
and designs of these caps are the causes of the efficiency and success of my
Invention, and constitute the novelty and utility thereof. The size of the
holder (for illustration) may be four inches in length, and the 4th of an inch
in internal diameter. The hollow tube is made to taper down to a point at
the end intended for the pen, with a view of lessening the pressure of the
superincumbent column of ink from off the point of the pen. The pen is
fixed in the usual manner on the exterior of the holder, and may be removed.
for a fresh pen when required.
The cap at the pen end of the holder is made of india-rubber or other
elastic material; it is of an elegant shape, a bulb tapering down to a point,
and a great variety of elegant and fancy shapes may be employed, so long as
the pointed end for the pen to protrude through is retained. The open end of
the cap is made of a proper size to draw over the pen and embrace tightly the
lower end of the holder for about an inch. At. the other and pointed end of
the cap is a pin hole pierced for the point of the pen to protrude about
the 12th to the 20th part of an inch. The pen thus becomes almost
totally immersed in the ink right up to the point where it is tightly
embraced by the elastic material employed, and the ink will not flow out
except it is pressed out, or it flows out naturally by the action of the
pen in writing. On the neck of the cap is a small ring of the same
diameter as the neck at the open part thereof, the object of this (on first
using the pen) is, by drawing the ring in the direction of the point of the
pen the ink in the bulb is pressed well up to the point just to lubricate or
moisten it, the action of the pen afterwards keeping up the supply. The cap
being now drawn over the pen and the lower part of the holder the holder is
now ready to receive the ink, for this purpose the ordinary ink bottle may be
used, but the cork should be furnished with the barrel of a quill or small
taper tube run through it, so that the ink may be poured out in a fine gentle
stream into the holder. I need scarcely say that ink of a good quality ought

page_text: only to be used. When the holder is thus filled press in the other cap, which
is a hollow stopper, on the lower part of which is tightly stretched a small
piece of india-rubber piping which will effectually prevent the ink from oozing
through in that direction; running through this stopper is a hollow screw, the
top part of which near the head is pierced with four or five pin holes, one
under the other from the top, which are intended to admit air when required,
that is, when the ring before-mentioned is drawn back to its original position
the artificial pressure is removed from the point, but by turning the screw
upwards it exposes the pin air holes, the atmosphere now comes into operation
by gently pressing upon the interior fluid and forcing it well up to the point
of the
pen, care must be taken not to open too many holes or the ink will run
out apace.
In fine weather with light air two or three holes may be exposed,
but in dull heavy weather one hole perhaps will be sufficient, so that the
screw supply of air is entirely under the command of the writer. The top of
the head of the screw may form a seal for crest, &c.
Although ordinary steel pens may be used in my apparatus, yet I prefer
using the pen which I make specially adapted to the foregoing arrangements,
that is, with a series of fine boles graduating in size from the point to the
place of the usual slit or hole in the pen; by this arrangement a slight
pressure on the nib will cause the ink to flow more freely and readily than
with the pen ordinarily in use, which must be pressed very much before the
slit opens right up to the hole. It will be seen that by this arrangement the
pen becomes very efficient, for by leaving one of the holes outside the point
where it is tightly embraced by the enveloping point of the cap, and by slightly
pressing on the nib a communication is instantly made with the open air hole
in the screw at the top of the other end of the holder, and the ink immediately
flows to the point by the pressure of the atmosphere, which is, however,
regulated by the screw according to the state of its density.
The apparatus will thus be found very efficient for in-door work, but for
out-door purposes, for Custom House officers, excise, overseers, collectors,
registrars, and others a slight deviation would be found more convenient in
the action of the pen and the shape of the bulb. In this case the bulb or
cap is drawn right over the pen (which has a well) down to the beginning of
the shank, where the cap after stretching from the point now contracts and
fits closely, the shank effectually keeping in the ink. The pressure of the
second finger on the neck of the cap while writing will press out the
quantity necessary to fill the well of the peu, and the supply can be afterwards
regulated by the air screw.
The general elegant appearance of my apparatus will be a recommendation

page_text: and by slipping on a metal cap over the bulb it can be worn in the pocket &
it can be taken to pieces & cleaned when necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Henry Thurnham in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
HENRY THURNHAM, of No. 47, Chichester Villas, Kilburn, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Henry Thurnham, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Henry
Thurnham, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles Henry Thurnham, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MECHANICAL ARRANGE-
MENTS TO BE ADAPTED AS A SELF-ACTING AND INK-SUPPLYING WRITING APPARATUS
OR FOUNTAIN PEN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Charles Henry Thurnham, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Charles Henry Thurnham, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
and the figures and letters thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists of a combination of certain mechanical arrangements
or parts to be adapted to the exterior of a hollow tube of a cylindrical,

page_text: hexagonal, or other form, and which parts are capable of being taken to pieces
and cleaned by any intelligent person, forming when put together again a self-
acting and ink-supplying writing apparatus or fountain pen, furnishing a supply
of ink greater or less according to the size of the tube.
My Invention is entirely free from any internal or external incumbrances,
such as springs, plugs, pistons, syringes, valves, and other such obstructions
to the free flowing of the writing fluid.
My Invention consists of four parts, videlicit, the tubular holder, a cap at
each end thereof, and the pen. Three of these apart from the combination
forming my writing apparatus or fountain pen, are old, videlicit, the hollow tube
or holder, the stopper or air screw at the top of the holder, and the pen; the
fourth part, so far as I am aware is novel, and consists of a cap or bulb B
made of vulcanised india-rubber, caoutchouc, or other elastic material, or
partly of india-rubber and gold or silver in combination therewith, or wholly
in those or any other suitable metal, that is to say, the body of the cap or
bulb is of the metal, and a small portion forming the pointed end of the said
cap or bulb must be made solely of india-rubber or other suitable elastic
material, so as to embrace the point of the pen, as represented in the Drawings.
The cap is made in the form of a bulb, tapering down to a point, and a great
variety of shapes may be thus employed so long as the pointed end for the pen
to protrude through is retained; they may be made in various sizes, according
to the size of the pen with which they are to be used, and are manufactured
in the same way and of about the same substance as the ordinary caoutchouc
teat or nipple attached to infants' feeding bottles.
Since filing my Provisional Specification I find that there have been several
modifications of air screws in former Patents relating to fountain pens, and
I wish, therefore, it to be distinctly understood that I do not claim any part of
the air screw. What variation and modification of the details of the air
screw have introduced in my Invention is done with the view of making it
act more efficiently in conjunction and combination with the extra small holes
I have introduced in the point of the pen, and also with the cap or bulb B.
As my Invention has no internal mechanism it will be only necessary to
explain by Diagram the internal arrangement by a general view of the interior
of the apparatus, Figure 4, which will shew that the whole of the internal
space or capacity of the holder A and cap B may be occupied by a column of
ink or other coloring matter or fluid pigment from the point of the pen (or
brush, which may be substituted for a pen,) to the stopper at the top of the
holder, where it is filled, by which a much larger space is gained to be fully
occupied by the ink than has hitherto been practicable.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my said Invention I will proceed to
explain, by means of the Drawings hereunto annexed, the manner in which
it may be performed or carried into effect.
EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure J. is a view of the several parts disconnected. A, the holder, with
its socket for the ren; B, the bulb or cap; C, the stopper, with its internal
air screw d; D, the pen, perforated with two or three extra holes between the
point and the usual slit hole. The pen may have a well if desired.
Figure 2. The several parts arranged in the order in which they are to be
put together, videlicit, the holder (in the middle), which has a socket (for the
pen), which may be a fixture and go with it. The pen is thrust into the
socket, then the bulb B is drawn over the pen at the open part until the
point of the pen is seen to protrude through the pin hole at the point, let it so
protrude for about the twelfth part of an inch from the point, or at a greater
distance, if desired. The bulb has a small hollow metal case E thrust into
the open neck thereof, which fits air and fluid tight the socket of the pen,
over which socket is stretched tightly a piece of india-rubber piping to
increase the hold or bite of the case or neck of the bulb. The apparatus,
having the bulb or cap thus pushed (or it may be screwed) ou, is now ready
to receive the ink at the top when filled, then press in the stopper C with its
air screw d, and it is complete.
Figure 3 is a general view of the apparatus when all the parts are fitted
together as used for the desk or writing table.
Figure 4 is a view in section of the space or capacity of the holder A and
bulb B, the black part showing the position occupied by the ink, the double
lines being the section of the holder and bulb.
Figure 5 is a variation of the situation of the air screw, which being placed
sideways in the holder enables two short tubes to be screwed on to a socket in
the centre, thus forming a double pen, one for the black ink, the other for
red ink.
Figure 6 is a view of the apparatus adaped as an out-door pen, to be carried
in a case.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are a few variations in shape of bulb
or cap.
In Figures 1 and 2 A is a tube of a cylindrical, bexagonal, or other form,
which may be made of glass, metal, wood, ivory, ebonite, gutta percha, or other
suitable material or substance forming the handle or holder of the pen;
B and C are two caps of a peculiar construction fitting air and fluid tight at

page_text: each end of the holder. The cap or bulb B is fitted to the pen end of the
bolder, and the cap C, consisting of the air screw shewn detached at d, and
stopper as fitted to the end of the holder at C, Fig. 2. The holder may be
of any convenient length, and the internal diameter from the 4th to the 20th
part of an inch according to the time it is desired that the ink in the apparatus
shall last without requiring it to be refilled. The hollow tube I prefer to be
made to taper down to a point, as represented at Figure 4 at the end intended
for the pen, with a view of lessening the pressure of the superincumbent
column of ink from off the point of the pen, and thus make it more sus-
ceptable to the pressure of the atmosphere when admitted. The pen D is fixed
in the usual manner in a socket on the exterior of the holder, and may be
removed for a fresh pen when required. The pen may also be fixed in a
socket fixed in the neck of the bulb or cap B, and thus be slipped on or off
with the bulb itself, and if the end of the socket has a screw thread it may be
screwed on to the holder at F. When a fresh pen is desired, draw off or
unscrew the cap B, then substitute a new pen, draw the bulb or cap over it
again, taking care that the point of the new pen protrudes through the pinhole
in the point of the bulb or cap. The open end of the cap B at a is made of
a proper size to draw over the pen, and embrace tightly the lower or pen end
of the holder or socket for about half an inch, some of them may be fitted on
to a metal case of the same diameter as the neck of the cap, and it would
thus (by being pushed on) fix itself tightly on the socket of the holder, which
may have a piece of india-rubber piping tightly stretched over it, which would
very much increase its adhesion with the neck of the cap. At the other and
pointed end of the cap B at c is a pinhole pierced, or a very small slit for the
point of the pen to protrude through for about the 12th part of an inch. The
pen D thus becomes almost immersed in the ink right up to the point, where
it is embraced by the pointed end of the cap B or other elastic material
employed, but the ink will not flow out, except it is pressed out, or it flows
out naturally by the action of the nib in writing, the flowing of the ink being
accelerated or diminished by the action of the open air holes or hole at d,
Figures 1 and 2, in the screw at the top of the holder, neither will the ink
be liable to blot (a defect usually attending former attempts at fountain pens).
On the neck of the cap at b is a small metal ring of the same diameter as the
neck at the open part thereof, the object of this (on first using the pen) is by
drawing the ring in the direction of the point of the pen the ink in the cap or
bulb B is pressed well up to the point of the pen, where a slight pressure on
the nib will draw or force out a small quantity of ink sufficient to moisten the
point of the pen, and the action of the pen afterwards will keep up the supply.

page_text: The cap B on being drawn over the pen D, and the lower part of the holder
or socket at F, the holder is ready to receive the ink, which may be poured
in from an ordinary ink bottle or in any convenient way, the holder being held
in a slanting position to allow the air to escape therefrom as the ink is poured
in. When the holder is thus filled, press in the other cap C, which is a
hollow stopper and air screw combined, over the lower part of which is tightly
stretched a small piece of vulcanized india-rubber piping, which will effectually
prevent the ink from percolating through in that direction. Running through
this stopper is a hollow screw d, between the threads of which screw are
pierced four or five pinholes, one under the other from the top, which holes
are intended to admit air when required, such as when the ring before men-
tioned is drawn back to its original position, the artificial pressure is removed
from off the point of the pen, but by turning the screw upwards it exposes
the pin air holes, and the pressure is resumed by the entering of the air, which
pressing upon the interior fluid ink forces it well up to the point of the pen,
and the pressure on the nib by the act of writing will cause an opening or
vent, and the ink will be liberated, and thus flow out at the point of the pen
for large or small text according to the will of the writer, the elastic india-
rubber point of the cap or bulb B accompanying all the movements of the nib,
and only allowing such a portion of ink to flow as is necessary to supply the
stroke required. The air screw being thus easily managed is entirely under
the command of the writer. The top of the head of the screw may form a
seal for crest, &e., made so as to screw on and off so that the hollow screw
itself may be cleaned when necessary.
Although ordinary steel and other pens with a shank of a size fitting the
holder may be used in my apparatus yet I prefer using the pen which I
make specially adapted to the foregoing arrangements. This pen represented
at D, Figures 1 and 2, is perforated with two or three extra holes (in addition.
to the usual slit hole) which graduate in size from the point of the pen to the
place of the usual slit hole, and thus when the nib is pressed in the act of
writing it acts as a vent, allowing the ink to drop from hole to hole every
time the slit of the nib opens, that is to say, by leaving one or two of
these holes outside the pin hole point of the cap B, and the other holes being
inside thereof, and on the nib being slightly pressed a communication is
instantly made with the open air hole or holes in the screw, and the ink in the
small hole just inside the said point of the cap B drops from thence along the
open slit into the hole just outside the said pointed end of the cap, and from
thence down to the nib. It will therefore be found that a slight pressure on
the nib of my pen with the extra holes near the point acting in conjunction and

page_text: combination with the open air screw will cause the ink to flow more freely and
readily than with the pen ordinarily in use, which must be pressed very much
before the slit opens right up to the usual slit hole, and thus liberates the ink.
The distance of the first hole from the nib may be about the twelfth part of an
inch, and the same distance from hole to hole right up to the usual slit hole.
Although these holes are desirable (for the full efficiency of my apparatus, yet
I make no claim to them.
The apparatus as thus arranged will be found very efficient for in-door pur-
poses, but for out-door work a slight deviation may be found more convenient
in the action of the pen and the position of the bulb or cap. This is repre-
sented at Figure 6. In this case the bulb or cap B is drawn right over the
pen D (which may have a well) down to the beginning of the shank, where
the
cap after stretching (over the well part of the pen) now contracts and fits
closely the shank, thus effectually keeping in the ink; the ring before-men-
tioned being drawn towards the point of the pen the ink is thus forced well
up to the point of the bulb, and a slight pressure on the nib will cause the ink
to follow so as to fill the well of the pen, and the supply is afterwards kept up
by the action of the air screw.
It will be observed that by the peculiar combination, construction, and
application of the several parts the apparatus is entirely free from any internal
or external mechanism or obstruction, and consequently the ink becomes an
uninterrupted column of fluid matter from the point of the pen to the top of
the holder when filled, that the ink is thus effectually retained at both ends
of the holder, and can only flow out by the act of writing. Then it has
the very great advantage of being capable of being taken to pieces and
cleaned, and put together again with facility. The cap or bulb B may alone
be applied to a quill pen, or to the ordinary steel pen and holder, by which
they become to all intents and purposes temporary fountain pens, furnishing a
supply of ink, by dipping the bulb in the inkstand a sufficient depth) to last
for an hour or so, a small piece of sponge or medicated cotton wool being
thrust in the cap or bulb will assist in retaining the ink therein after being
dipped.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details, so long as the peculiar features of my Invention are
retained; but what I claim as my Invention, and intend to be protected by
the said Letters Patent are as follows:-
Firstly, the self-acting and ink supplying writing apparatus or fountain pen,
herein-before described and represented in the Drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: Secondly, the construction and application of a bulb or cap B to a pen, in
the manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Henry Thurnham have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-seven.
CHARLES HENRY THURNHAM. (L.S.)