An Improved Appliance for Facilitating Reference to Business Names and Addresses, particularly for Telephonic Purposes.
Year: 1897

page_text: An Improved Appliance for Facilitating Reference to Business Names
and Addresses, particularly for Telephonic Purposes.
I, EDWARD HOWE, of 7, Ridgmount Street, in the County of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication to me by John D.
Browning, of Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America, Manufacturer)
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to an improved appliance for facilitating reference to
business names and addresses in general, but more particularly to telephone
subscribers' names, numbers, and businesses of which it forms a combined index
and directory.
The invention consists in the arrangement, on sheets or boards, constituting the
body of the directory and bearing the names of subscribers arranged in alpha-
betical order, of the names and addresses of other parties having various occupa-
tions, while on the margin of such sheets or cards are printed the titles which
indicate such occupations and whose initials are the same as those of the sub-
scribers' names on the same page or sheet thereof. Thus the directory affords a con-
venient and ready reference to parties carrying on different kinds of business,
such as caterers, druggists, architects, builders, etc., and all arranged in the
same alphabetical order as the names of subscribers, so that no separate marginal
index is required.
The sheets or cards composing the body of the directory are bound loosely to a
backing or board adapted to be hung up when not in use.
The cards are made of thin pasteboard and will remain flat and lie in any
position desired, and may also be turned one way or the other with great facility.
The directory is composed of two parts or divisions, the main part having the
subscribers' names arranged alphabetically, while in the smaller part they are
arranged numerically. I will describe the main part. On the margin of the cards
are printed alphabetical indices A, B, C, &c. corresponding to the alphabetical
order of the subscribers' names printed on said cards in the usual way. Each
page of the directory bears, in addition to such ordinary alphabetical name-list
of subscribers the names of several individuals firms, or corporations and a state-
ment of their business, all properly spaced, and visually quickly distinguishable.
These are arranged by classes in alphabetical order. Thus on pages bearing the
subscribers' surnames beginning with a particular letter I print in addition thereto
other names of business men, firms or corporations, the names of whose business,
occupation, or function also begin with the same letter as the subscribers' names.
For example, on the first page bearing names of subscribers having the initial "A.".
I print also in separate places or spaces the names of three parties the initials of
the names of whose occupations also begin with the said letter "A." Thus the
first of such parties is the Firm of "Alsup & Johnson Accountants. The second
"

page_text: 66
is "Doe Bros." Architects, and the third party is "Tent & Co." Awning Manu-
facturers. The addresses of these several parties are given with the names.
On
the margin of the sheet or board, directly opposite the respective names of the said
parties, are printed the titles Accountants" "Architects" and Awnings."
Again for further illustration, on the opposite page, bearing subscribers' names
having the initial "B," appear also the names of three parties the names of whose
occupations have the same initial "B." Thus the title "Baker" appears in the
margin opposite the name of John Cube" a Bread and Biscuit Baker, and the
title Builders opposite the name of Pritchard Bros." Carpenters and Con-
tractors, and the title Bottling Works" opposite the name of Bartlett's
Bottling Co." These several titles indicate the respective occupations of the said
parties opposite which they are printed.
"
"
"
Thus throughout the directory on each page appear several—say three-names
of parties whose business occupations have the same initial letters as the sub-
scribers' names on the same page, and on the margin are the titles of such
businesses or occupations directly opposite the names of said parties. The names
and titles are preferably printed in a color (say red) different and distinguished
from the color (say black) in which the subscribers' names appear, so that they are
readily distinguished and no confusion can arise. Besides this the subscribers'
names are printed in letters of a different size, and a horizontal division-line
appears between them and the names of the parties whose business is indicated by
marginal titles.
66
The marginal titles have the same initials as the indices "A, B, C" of the sub-
scribers' names, so that reference to the titles is easily and quickly made by the
same means as to the subscribers' names. Thus any one wishing to find the address
of an Accountant refers first to the page bearing the alphabetical index "A"
and then to the marginal business indication-to wit, "Accountant" and opposite
the latter he finds the desired reference, or supposing one desires to find the
address of a dentist he opens the directory at the letter "D" and then refers to
the title
"
'Dentist in the margin. In connection with the list of telephone
subscribers' names alphabetically arranged as before described, I employ a
numerical list in which the numbers appropriated to the different sub-
scribers are printed in columns, in regular order, on successive pages from
1 upwards opposite the respective names, and on the margin of each page are
printed the two numbers between which the subscribers' numbers on said page are
included. Thus page 6, for example, shows names whose numbers are ranged
numerically from "415" to "626." Thus one may quickly find the name of any
subscriber whose number is known, or if a subscriber be called on the telephone
during his absence from home or place of business and told to call up a certain
number on his return he may, if he desires, ascertain who called him by reference
to the number in the numerical list.
Dated this Twenty-third day of September 1897.
An Improved Appliance for Facilitating Reference to Business Names
and Addresses, particularly for Telephonic Purposes.
I, EDWARD HOWE, of 7, Ridgmount Street, Russell Square, London, W.C.,
England, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improved appliance for facilitating reference to
business names and addresses in general and to other useful information, but more
particularly to telephone subscribers' names, numbers and businesses of which it
forms a combined index and directory.
For this purpose my improved appliance, used as a telephone directory embody-
ing a novel system of indexing and classification with a view to instantaneous
reference to any kind of subject matter contained therein, comprises a board
which forms a stand or wall bracket presenting an inclined plane to which a
series of sheets or cards used for classification are fastened at certain distances
apart with the object of leaving indexing margins at their outer edges when turned
to one or the other side. In some instances I insert leaves between the before-
mentioned sheets or cards, such leaves being laced or fastened and indexed in-
dependently of the latter. The front and sides of the stand or wall bracket are
reinforced by bands which present suspension hooks or eyes and stops for the
sheets, cards.
By way of example I have shown in the accompanying drawing how my said
invention may be carried into effect, the appliance embodying my improvements
being in this case used as a telephone directory.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of this appliance, and
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of same on the line at of Figure 1.
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a mode of fastening the cards to the inclined plane of
the stand or wall bracket.
This appliance consists of a stand or wall bracket A made of pasteboard or other
suitable material, which has a front a forming an inclined plane by reason of the
sides a extending backwards and tapering upwards. The lower edges of the
front a and sides a¹ form a secure basis for enabling the appliance to stand on a
table or other support. Said front a is strengthened by means of metal bands b
riveted or otherwise fixed to its back and extending across the sides a¹ in order to
hold them firmly in position. At their extremities these bands b form hooks or
eyes 61 by which the bracket A may be fastened to the wall. Projections 62 on
the bands pass through the front a at or in proximity to its two lateral edges
and form stops.
To the front a of this stand or wall bracket I fasten, at distances of say one
centimetre apart, a series of cards B, on which the subject matter of the directory
is printed, by means of eyelets c and strings or laces d passing through holes in
the front a and corresponding holes in the bands 6 of the stand or wall bracket A
as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In a modification represented in Figures 3 and 4
the rear edge of each card B is clamped between a folded stripe of tin or other
suitable material which strengthens such card and terminates at its upper and
lower extremities in pivots el adapted to engage with holes formed in angle irons f
which are secured across the top and bottom parts of the inclined plane a, and
have their two extremities bent to form stops f¹ for the cards. Thus fastened
to the inclined plane the cards B, whether turned over to the left hand side as
shown in Figures 1 and 2 or to the right hand side or partly to one side and partly
to the other, will always lie flat, the two outer cards or covers bearing against the
aforesaid projections or stops 62 or f¹, and will display at their outer edges the
margins corresponding in width to the intervals between the backs of the cards
and designed to be used for indexing purposes.
If the cards B, which are usually limited in number to obviate bulkiness
do not afford sufficient space for bearing all the business names, addresses and
other useful information afforded, such as the names, addresses and
the like of the telephone directory for any particular district, I insert thin
leaves between such cards, the number of which leaves may be varied at
will to suit requirements. These leaves are fastened to the front a independently

page_text: of the cards B and are indexed independently of the latter, being made of less
width than said cards so as not to interfere with the indexing margins g.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First. An apparatus for facilitating reference to business names and addresses
and to like useful information, consisting of a board which forms a stand or wall
bracket having a series of sheets or cards fastened thereto.
Second. In the apparatus characterized in the First Claim the combination,
with the stand or wall bracket A, of metal bands designed to strengthen the
inclined plane a and the holes therein for the lacing, to hold the sides a¹ of the
stand or bracket in position, to form suspension hooks or eyes 6¹, and to present
stops 62 for said sheets or cards, substantially as set forth.
Third. In the apparatus characterized in the First Claim the fastening of the
sheets or cards B by clamping to the rear edge of each sheet or card a folded
strip e of tin or other suitable material for strengthening such sheet
or card, which strip has pivots el passing through holes in L irons f
provided with bent extremities to form stops fl and fixed to the inclined plane a,
substantially as set forth.
Fourth. In the apparatus characterized in the First Claim the insertion of thin
leaves between the sheets or cards B, said leaves being fastened and indexed
independently of the sheets or cards, substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.