IMPROVEMENTS IN LETTER COPYING PRESSES
Year: 1885

page_text: I ARTHUR CHARLES HENDERSON of 46 Southampton Buildings Holborn in the
county of Middlesex Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of the said
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN LETTER COPYING PRESSES a communication to
me from abroad by Amand Claude Rolland, Armourer, and François Lachnitt
Merchant, both of the city of Paris in the Republic of France to be as follows:-
The press consists of two tolerably thick wood or other boards partly surrounded
with a leather or other light and suitable band.
These boards which for the .better comprehension of the press may be designated
as a and b, are or may be of any convenient dimensions, and flat or slightly rounded*
on. their external surfaces, whilst they are plain inside.
•
The band is of good supple leather, one of its ends is fixed to one of the boards
say for example a, by means of small metal bands which attach the leather closely
to the wood by means of screws.
t
The opposite end of this band is firmly held and nipped between two metal
bands united one with the other by aid of screws, one of these bands is furnished
with a handle in its centre, and is also provided at each of its ends with a projecting
knob, each of which hook into the teeth of a rack.
These racks are fixed on the back of the board a, the space between then being
sufficient to accommodate the width of the metal band which bears the handle
already referred to.
The second board b, is free, the leather or other band being here connected to it
by screws or other convenient means.
In making use of the press the usual letter copying sheets are placed between
the two boards a and b, and the leather or other band is energetically tightened by
inserting the projecting knobs of the metal band bearing the handle, in the furthest
teeth of the racks it is possible to employ, so as to exercise the utmost pressure
which operation is effected by aid of the handle by pressing it downwards.
The press is specially intended for use in travelling, as being a neat and compact
article occupying little room whilst capable of use for copying letters of full sized
sheets it is particularly serviceable to commercial travellers..
D

page_text: Improvements in Letter Copying Presses. .
I ARTHUR CHARLES HENDERSON of 46, Southampton Buildings, Holborn in the
county of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of the said
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN LETTER COPYING PRESSES (a communication to
me from abroad by. Amand Claude Rolland, Armourer and François Lachnitt,
Merchant of the city of Paris in the Republic of France), and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention is specially intended for use in travelling as being a neat and
compact article occupying little room, whilst capable of taking copies of letters of
full sized sheets, and is particularly serviceable to commercial travellers.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a front view or plan of a press
of the description embodying my invention in this Figure it is supposed closed
and in use a letter or letters being copied by pressure.
Fig. 2, is a section of Fig. 1 taken at the line 1-2.
Fig. 3 represents the press closed and free from any letters and copying
materials.
The press consists of two boards a and b and of a leather band c. The two
boards a and b are of wood or other light matter, their form and dimensions are
such as to admit of copying letters of the largest size used by commercials.
The outsides of the boards may be plain or smooth or slightly rounded, the inner
surfaces are plain. The band c is of good leather and sufficiently supple. One of
the ends c¹ is fixed to one of the boards a for example, by means of small strips or
bands of metal & which press it closely between them and the boards by incans of
screws v. The other end c² of the band c, is firmly secured between metal bands
or strips f and g connected one with the other by screws h. One of the strips or
bands is of a piece with a handle p, and at each of its ends are projections
trunnions or knobs t, t' which hook the band fin one or other of the teeth of the
racks m, m. These latter are fixed on the back of the board a the distance
between the two racks being sufficient to admit the band or strip f between them
whilst its projecting ends t t¹ enter the rack.
The second, board b is free, two leather bands n. n. simply secure it to the
leather c without limiting the displacement of either.
For example supposing the letters and copying sheets x are inserted between the
boards a, b for producing a copy of a letter or letters, it suffices to energetically
stretch the leather c by hooking the projections t. t¹ of the strip of metal f into the
furthest teeth of the racks m, m¹ which it is possible to place them.
In this operation the handle p occupies the position shown by the dotted lines
Fig. 2. It then only remains to push this handle backwards which brings to bear
an additional pressure forming a complete circuit of the boards by which the
copying process is effected,
When no copying sheets or letters are between the two boards these latter rest
one on the other and are held secure by the tension of the leather c.

page_text: Finally it may be observed that the leather may be replaced by other suitable
material used in single or several strips as long as the object is secured of
encircling the boards with a pressure adequate to the requirements of letter or
other copying.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
The novel method of acquiring. the pressure requisite for taking impressions of
letters and so forth such pressure being effected by the joint action of a band of
leather or other material encircling the two boards of the press and the racks and
bar or strip of metal with projecting ends or trunnions fixing into the teeth of the
racks in the manner by the means and for the purposes as hereinbefore explained
and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings reservation being made to vary the
form, dimensions and materials of construction to adapt the press for office purposes
as well as for travelling.
11° PALL
1
D