IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT CLAss of Musical Instruments CALLED AMERICAN ODGITS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Leyster Courtice, of No. 22, College
Street West, Camden Town, and Frank Webb, of No. 93, Caledonian
Road, both in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
66
IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT CLAss of Musical Instruments CALLED AMERICAN
ODGITS"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Leyster Courtice
and Frank Webb at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 22nd December 1870.
We, JAMES LEXSTER COURTICE, of No. 22, College Street West,
Camden Town, and FRANK WEBB, of No. 93, Caledonian Road, both
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT CLASS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CALLED
AMERICAN ORGANS," to be as follows:-
The improvements relate to that class of reed instruments now called
American organs in which the wind is caused to flow through the
reeds by vacuum and in its passage to the reeds it passes through
separate tubes or channels.

page_text: The object of the improvements is to afford greater facility for the
action of the wind through the reeds in the opening of the valves or
pallets by the keys. For this purpose the reed valves in place of
being hinged at one end to the reed board by which they are caused
to open the widest at one end and progressively less to the hinged end
or being guided by guide pins are connected by jointed connection at
or about the middle of their length each to a separate lever arm and
they are borne to their wind passages by springs. The plungers as
acted upon by the keys act direct upon the respective valves in the
middle of their length. By these means facility is afforded for the
uniform or parallel opening of the valves throughout their whole length,
the reeds " speak" more quickly, and increased delicacy of touch is
obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Leyster Courtice and Frank Webb in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
LEYSTER COURTICE, of No. 22, College Street West, Camden Town, and
FRANK WEBB, of No. 93, Caledonian Road, both in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second 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 suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said James Leyster Courtice
and Frank Webb, Her special licence, that we, the said James Leyster
Courtice and Frank Webb, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said James Leyster Courtice and Frank
Webb, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT CLASS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CALLED AMERICAN
ORGANS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said James

page_text: Leyster Courtice and Frank Webb, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Leyster Courtice, on
behalf of myself and the said Frank Webb, 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 :-
The improvements relate to that class of reed instruments now called
American organs in which the wind is caused to flow through the reeds
by vacuum, and in its passage to the reeds it passes through separate
tubes or channels.
The object of the improvements is to afford greater facility for the
action of the wind through the reeds in the opening of the valves or
pallets by the keys. For this purpose the reed valves (in place of being
hinged at one end to the reed board by which they are caused to open
the widest at one end and progressively less to the hinged end, or of
being guided by guide pins at the opposite ends thereof, by which they
are liable to catch and be tilted at at either end) are connected by jointed
connection at or about the middle of their length each to a separate
lever arm and they are borne to their wind passages by springs. The
plungers as acted upon by the keys act direct upon the respective valves
in or about the middle of their length.
But that the Invention may be fully understood we will by the aid
of the accompanying Drawing proceed to describe means pursued by us
in carrying the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shews by a sectional view an arrangement of parts of an
American organ with an arrangement of our improvements applied
thereto. Figure 2 is an under side view of parts of Figure 1. The
dotted lines a in Figure 1 represent the position of the reeds, and 6 are
the passages to conduct the air thereto as it is drawn or caused to flow
into the chamber c on the opening of any of the pallets d. Each of

page_text: the pallets & in carrying out our improvements is connected by a jointed
connection to a separate arm e, and as shewn in these Figures each
pallet is formed with two horns d', by which, aided by the pin d³, it is
connected to one end of the arm e, so that when borne upon by its
plunger each pallet may move from over the reed passages a¹ in
parallel lines. Each of the lever arms e is capable of turning on a pin
joint whilst its opposite end with the pallet connected thereto is acted
upon by a wire spring 9, with a tendency to keep the pallets closed;
h is one of the keys which when pressed down acts by the plungers f
to open the pallets d.
Figures 3 and 4 shew by section and under side views a slight modi-
fication of the above in which the one endof each lever arm e is simply
connected to its pallet by a piece of thin felt or other suitable flexible
material i. By these means facility is afforded for the uniform or
parallel opening of the valves throughout their whole length, the reeds
speak" more quickly, and increased delicacy of touch is obtained.
"
Having thus described our Invention, and means which we adopt
in carrying the same into effect, we would have it understood that
we do not confine ourselves to the precise arrangements of parts as
shown and described as these may be varied without departing from
the peculiar character of our Invention substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Leyster Courtice, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of June, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.