A PHANTASMAGORIE CHRONOMETER OR NOCTURNAL DIAL, REPRESENTING OR MAKING VISIBLE AT NICHT TO ANY ENLARGED SIZE THE DIAL OF A WATCH AGAINST THE WALL OF A ROOM, THE REFLECTION OBTAINED BY A LIGHT AND OPTICAL APPARATUS BLING THE AT THE SAME TIME SUFFICIENT TO GIVE THE ROOM A PLEASING ILLUMINATION. NOCTURNAL DIAL LIAY, WITH LITTLE ALTERATION, BE CONSTRUCTED OF ANY WATCH OR TIME-PIECE; DUT TO RENDER THE WHOLE AS SIMPLE AND USEFUL AS POSSIBLE, HE HAS ALSO INVENTED
Year: 1808

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Jonn
SCHMIDT, of Saint Mary Axe, London, Watch Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS, I, the said John Schmidt, did, by my Petition, most humbly
represent unto His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Third,
that I had, with great labour, study, and application, found out and invented
"A PHANTASMAGORIE CHRONOMETER OR NOCTURNAL DIAL, REPRESENTING OR MAKING
VISIBLE AT NICHT TO ANY ENLARGED SIZE THE DIAL OF A WATCH AGAINST THE WALL
OF A ROOM, THE REFLECTION OBTAINED BY A LIGHT AND OPTICAL APPARATUS BLING
THE
AT THE SAME TIME SUFFICIENT TO GIVE THE ROOM A PLEASING ILLUMINATION.
NOCTURNAL DIAL LIAY, WITH LITTLE ALTERATION, BE CONSTRUCTED OF ANY WATCH OR
TIME-PIECE; DUT TO RENDER THE WHOLE AS SIMPLE AND USEFUL AS POSSIBLE, HE HAS
ALSO INVENTED A MECHANISM OR INSTRUMENT WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO SEPARATELY
USEFUL FROM THE ABOVE, ON ACCOUNT OF ITS PECULIAR ACTION, WHICH HE CALLS
THE MYSTERIOUS CIRCULATOR OR CHRONOLOGICAL EQUILIBRIUM, REQUIRING ONLY ONE
HAND OR NONIUS TO SHEW SECONDS, MINUTES, AND HOURS; IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL,
AND MAY, IP REQUIRED, WITH LITTLE ALTERATION REPRESENT AN ORRERY;" and did,
therefore, pray His said Majesty to grant unto me, my exors, admors, and
assigns, His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
for the sole making and vending my said Inventions within that part of His
Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, His Dominion of
Wales and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years,

page_text: according to the Statute in that case made and provided. His said Majesty
taking the premises into His Royal consideration, and being willing to give
encouragement to all Arts and Inventions which might be for the public good,
was most graciously pleased to condescend to my request; and therefore His
said Majesty, by His Royal Letters Patent, bearing date at Westminster, the
Twentienth day of December, in the forty-ninth year of His reign, of His
special grace, certain knowledge, and meer motion, did give and grant unto
me, the said John Schmidt, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, His special licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Schmidt, my
exors, adñiors, and assigns, or any of us, by myself and ourselves, or by mino
and our deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said
John Schmidt, my exors, adññors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter, during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend my said Inventions within that part of His Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon, in such manner as to me, the said John Schmidt,
my exors, admors, or assigns, or to any of us, should in our discretion
scem meet, and that I, the said John Schmidt, my exors, adiñors, and assigns,
should and lawfully might have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity,
and advantage from time to time arising, growing, accruing, and arising by
reason of the said Inventions, for and during the terms therein mentioned, to
have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said licence, powers, priviledges, and advan-
tages therein-before granted or mentioned to be granted unto me, the said
John Schmidt, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, for and during and unto the
full end and term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent
next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be complete and ended, according
to the Statute in that case made and provided; and in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that if I, the said John Schmidt, should not
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Inventions, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, in writing under my hand and seal,
and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within one calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent, then all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted
should cease, determine, and become void, any therein before contained to the
contrary in anywise notwithstanding; as in and by the said Letters Patent,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Schmidt, in compliance with the
said proviso, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my said Inven-

page_text: tions, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, in manner and
form following, that is to say :-
First, as to constructing and applying the following apparatus, which, for tho
sake of distinction, I call a Phantasmagorie Chronometer or Nocturnal Dial,
consisting of a vase A, Figure 1, or any ornamental case, either of wood,
stone, tin, or any other metal applicable, and so constructed as to allow a free
communication of the air, yet to prevent the rays of the light being visible,
and having on the one a side watch B with two dials, or what I call the day
and night dial; on the opposite side is a combination of or a single glass C,
moveable in a tube (the diameter of the glass is one inch and three-quarters,
and the focus two inches and three-quarters), serving to represent the inward
or nightly dial against the wall. In the foot of the vase is a light or lamp D
shut in, yet so constructed that by means of a little door E or slider it may be
taken out, and when in may be altered in its position and placed nearer or
further off the magnifier or dial. To illustrate more particularly and facilitate
as much as possible the manufacturing of this apparatus, referénce should be
bad to Figure 2. Let A, B, and C, D, represent the plates or body of a
watch or time piece, between and upon which the wheels are moveable,
E representing the common or day, and F the nightly dial, which is made of
highly polished metal, as silver, tin, or glass, forming a regular concavity, or
what is called a reflector, upon which the numbers representing the hours
are engraved reversely; this reflector is supported by the arm G fixed upon
the plate A, B. A steel center H is fixed upon the cock I, and carries tho
cylinders K and L, to which are attached the hands M and the minute and
hour wheels N; those wheels are double, namely, on each side of the body,
and made to act in union with one another by the wheel and pinion O. In
order to get a convenient place for the center of these wheels and pinions
which passes through the body, the diameter of the minute and hour wheels
should be enlarged; the whole of the apparatus, being fixed by the little pillars
P against the brass rim Q, which carries a glass R serving as a cover, is
screwed to the vase in such a manner that the reflector is a little inclined
towards the light, which renders the image of the dial more perfect. In the
bottom of the vase is a case to receive the waste oil of the lamp.
Having such far stated the particulars of the nocturnal dial, I proceed to
describe the Mysterious Circulator or Chronological Equilibrium, Figure 3.
This singular apparatus, which may be applied instead of the watchwork above
described, or may be used as a separate timepiece, or as an orrery, consists of
the work of a horizontal or vertical watch A, Figure 5, or other timepiece, fixed
in a box B or globe representing the earth. I fix to the hour-hand wheel Ca

page_text: a weight D; the box B with the watch A and weight D is fixed to the lever E,
Figure 3 and Figure 4, through which the steel center or axis F (made of
hardened steel turned very smooth and thin to prevent friction) is fixed. On
the other end of the lever is attached a box G containing lead sufficient to
counterbalance the watch in every position when in motion, to obtain which
with facility the weight should be fastened in such a manner as to be moveable
out and in, up and downwards, &c., &c., or filed smaller as occasion may
require; when adjusting it the proper weight and quantity of the counterpoise
should be found by trials, as the weight and size of different timepieces are
not alike. In the present one, made of a pocket watch, Figure 5 representing
the real size, the box containing the watch is three quarters of an inch high,
and the distance from the steel center F is one inch and seven eighths long,
the counterpoise is one inch and a quarter in diameter and half an inch high,
and the listance from the steel center is two inches and one eighth of an inch
long; the weight D fixed to the hour-hand wheel forms a semicirele, and is
one eighth of an inch thick; the whole rests upon two ornamental and jewelled
supporters or friction rollers which are screwed upon a stand I, upon which
is also fastened the supporter K for the rim I, serving as a dial, which may be
divided into 12 or 24 hours, according to the construction of the timepiece;
the hours and minutes are shewn by one hand only, or instead of which, if
required, a nonius may be applied to subdivide the minutes; the center picco
M serves to represent the sun. To use this apparatus as a nocturnal dial the
reflector F first described is fixed to the steel center Figure 4, and is confined
within the ornamental case or vase that contains the lamp and magnifier; the
hand shewing the hours is fixed within the case. In this contrivance the
watchwork is not exposed to the heat of the lamp as in the manner described
with the double dial, which, however, is very trifling. To represent the
increase and decrease, as well as the regular revolution of the moon round our
earth, I constructed the apparatus Figure 6, which is fixed to the back of the
globe or box B, Figure 3, in such a manner as to make the moon invisible
when between the sun and earth, and then when turning round gradually to
increase, shewing the first quarter, &c. &c., on the proper day, for which
reason the number of days in the month are engraved upon a brass circle
fixed round the globe. The motion is effected by the little weight A fixed to
the axis of a pinion with six teeth, this pinion acting into a wheel (not visible
on this side of the Drawing) with thirty teeth. To the axis of this wheel is
fixed a pinion B with six teeth, acting in the wheel D with thirty teeth. To
the axis of this wheel is attached the bent arm with the moon E, the other
cud of this arm serving as a counterpoise to the weight of the moon.
This

page_text: apparatus turning round with the box or globe B, occasions the pinion F to be
turned by the weight A always hanging perpendicularly, and thereby causing
the wheel with the moon to move one tooth every day.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Schmidt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and nine.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and nine.