IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE VIOLIN CLASS (BOW INSTRUMENTS).
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Howells, late of the City of Auckland, in the
Colony of New Zealand, but now of No. 848, Old Kent Road, in the Parish of
Saint Giles, Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE VIOLIN CLASS
(BOW INSTRUMENTS)."
ealed the 20th January 1880, and dated the 25th July 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Howells at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th July 1879.
THOMAS HOWELLS, late of the City of Auckland, in the Colony of New Zealand,
but now of No. 848, Old Kent Road, in the Parish of Saint Giles, Camberwell, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
OF THE VIOLIN CLASS (BOW INSTRUMENTS)."
The principal features of novelty of this Invention consist of the strings being
placed on the side or edge of the body of the instrument instead of on one of its
principal surfaces (the belly) as they have been hitherto placed, and in the modi-
fication of the shape and arrangement of the instrument thereby rendered
practicable, by which a longer sound board is obtained as well as greater facility in
manipulating and greater compactness and portability, both of the instrument itself
and of the case to contain it.
I construct the body of a curvilinear figure of somewhat oblong form and termi-
nating at each end with suitable curves, one end of the instruments corresponding
in size and tone to the violin or similar small instruments being so fashioned as to
fit conveniently under the player's chin, while the ends of larger instruments, such
as that corresponding to the base viol, are shaped differently.
Part of the side along which the strings are placed is rounded and otherwise
shaped as a finger board, or or supports a fingerboard, the neck of the instrument
being formed by an opening under part of the finger board, and between it and the
body, or through the body just under the finger board, of sufficient width and length
to allow the player's thumb to pass through, and to be shifted, with the hand freely
up and down the finger board so as to have full command of the strings.

page_text: The bridge I prefer to support on two projections within the body of the instru-
ment, one from each soundboard, opposite each other, and placed nearly under the
upper or wide end of the finger board, and over these projections I make an
opening through which the bridge projects to support the strings. The manner
of supporting the bridge admits of considerable variation depending on a variety of
circumstances.
I prefer to place the tuning pins two beyond each end of the finger board, that
is to say, two between the bridge and where the chin is placed, and two between
the other end of the finger board and the scroll forming that end of the instrument.
I also provide fixed blocks or pegs or other arrangement for securing the knotted
ends of the strings, and I make suitable openings in the body of the instrument as
sound holes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thomas Howells in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
January 1880.
THOMAS HOWELLS, late of the City of Auckland, in the Colony of New Zealand,
but now of 848, Old Kent Road, in the Parish of Saint Giles, Camberwell, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
OF THE VIOLIN CLASS (BOW INSTRUMENTS)."
The principal features of novelty in this Invention consist of the strings being
placed on the side or edge of the body of the instrument, as hereinafter more
particularly described, instead of on one of its principal surfaces (the belly) as they
have been hitherto placed, and in the modification of the shape and arrangement
of the instrument thereby rendered practicable, by which a longer sound board is
obtained as well as greater facility in manipulating and greater compactness and
portability both of the instrument itself and of the case to contain it.
I construct the body of a curvilinear figure of somewhat oblong form with
curved ends, one end of the instruments corresponding in size and tone to the
violin or similar small instruments, being so fashioned as to fit conveniently under
the player's chin, while larger instruments, such as that corresponding to the base
viol, are shaped differently.
Part of the side along which the strings are placed is rounded and otherwise
shaped as a finger board, or supports a fingerboard, the neck of the instrument
being formed by an opening under part of the finger board, and between it and the
body, or through the body just under the finger board, of sufficient width and
length to allow the player's thumb to pass through and to be shifted with the hand
freely up and down the finger board so as to have full command of the strings.
The bridge I prefer to support on two projections within the body of the instru-
ment, one from each sound board opposite each other and placed nearly under the
upper or wide end of the finger board, and over these projections I make an

page_text: opening through which the bridge projects to support the strings. The manner of
supporting the bridge admits of considerable variation depending on a variety of
circumstances.
I prefer to place the tuning pins two beyond each end of the finger board, that
is to say, two between the bridge and where the chin is placed and two between,
the other end of the finger board and the scroll forming that end of the instrument.
I also provide fixed blocks or pegs or other arrangement for securing the knotted
ends of the strings, and I make one or more additional openings in the body of the
instrument as sound holes.
In order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to the
several Figures on the annexed Sheets of Drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of one of my improved instruments corre-
sponding to a violin; Fig. 2 is a top view of the same; Fig. 3 is a section through
the line a, b, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section through the line c, d, Fig. 2; and Fig. 5
represents one of the larger instruments drawn to a smaller scale.
A, A, are the sound boards forming part of the body of the instrument; B is the
part shaped to fit under the player's chin; C is the finger board; D, the neck of
the instrument; E, the bridge projecting through the opening G and resting on
the two projections F, F, which are fixed into the sound boards, the latter being
strengthened at that part by thin slips of wood glued to them and shewn at f, f;
H; H, are the tuning pins; and I, I, are fixed pegs or blocks through kerfs in
which the strings are passed, and in which they are held by a knot at the end of each
of them: Besides the opening G I make such other sound holes as I may think either
useful or ornamental, and I find those shown in the Drawings, namely, one under
the neck of the instrument at K and one at L, answer all the purposes. The side
of the instrument on which the finger board is fixed I make slightly oblique to the
other parts, as also but in the opposite direction the surface under the neck about
the opening K, as shewn in the sections Figs. 3 and 4, and by the dotted line g,
Fig. 1, which indicates the position of the opposite edge of the instrument. :
For larger instruments, such as would correspond to the violoncello and double
bass, and which are played with the finger board end upwards, the curved part for
the chin is not required, and I make these, as shown in Fig. 5, with this end
simply rounded off and fitted with a foot block L, into which either a foot M or leg
may be screwed, and I prefer to fasten the strings by their knotted ends to a tail
board N placed within the instrument and secured by a piece of gut to a button on
the foot block L. The strings in this arrangement after passing over the bridge
pass into the body of the instrument through the opening G, which I make for this
purpose longer than in the smaller instruments, and which arrangement is shown
by dotted lines in Fig. 5.
In making the double bass I find it advantageous in order to lessen the incon-
venience arising from the great size of such instruments to modify the before
described arrangement in the manner shown in Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, of which
Fig. 6 represents a side view; Fig. 7, a front view; Fig. 8, a back view; Fig. 9,
a section through the line a', 6', in Fig. 6; and Fig. 10 some of the parts
separately.
In this arrangement I reverse the finger board and strings so as to place the
strings between the finger board C and the body of the instrument, so that the
player may place the instrument with the finger board towards him and pass
the bow when playing between the strings and the body of the instrument, and as
consequently the finger board and the bridge are on opposite sides of the strings,
instead of making the upper edge of the bridge convex as is usual I make it
concave, as shewn at E' and E' in Fig. 10, so that the centre string or strings may
be slightly beyond the plane of the other strings.
The tail end of the strings I either pass through the sound hole G into the body
of the instrument, as shewn in Figure 6, and fasten to one of the foot blocks, or I

page_text: fasten them to blocks I on the finger board, as shewn by the dotted lines h in
Fig. 6, in which case as the bridge has to hold the strings down towards the body
of the instrument I secure it to the blocks on which in the other arrangement it
rests and pass the strings through holes near the upper edge of it; such a bridge is
shewn separately at E2 in Fig. 10.
The blocks to support or retain the bridge, together with the slips of wood which
I glue to the sound boards inside the instrument, are shown at f¹ and ƒ in Figs.
and 10, the former being the form I use with the bridge E' when the strings are
fastened through the body of the instrument, and the latter the form I use with
the bridge E³ when the strings are fastened to blocks I on the finger board.
I make sound holes in the body of the instrument under the finger board of
suitable proportionate size and shape, similar to those described in the smaller
instruments.
It will be observed that the advantage of my Invention is at least as great for
these larger instruments as for the smaller ones, because in playing a bass viol the
player's legs are inconveniently extended, whereas these instruments being held
edgewise towards the player are free from this inconvenience, and the advantage
of greater compactness and portability is important in large instruments.
The sound boards may either be made flat as are those shown in the Drawings,
or they may be shaped as those of the ordinary violin either by being cut of solid
wood for the best work or by steaming and moulding under pressure thin boards
for the cheaper ones.
For playing on these instruments I use the ordinary bows.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be carried into effect, I wish it to be
understood that what I claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein before
in part recited Letters Patent is, the construction instruments of the violin class
of whatever size or pitch with the strings strung on the narrow side or edge,
substantially in the manner described and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Howells, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty third day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and eighty.
THOMAS HOWELLS. (L.S.)