CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE METHODS OF DISCHARGING THE SAME; ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
HENRI GUSTAVE DELVIGNE, of Brixton, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster,
the Seventeenth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
two, in the fifteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henri Gustave Delvigne,
my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Henri Gustave Delvigne, my
exors, adiiors, and assigns, or such others I, the said Henri Gustave
Delvigne, my exors, admiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE
METHODS OF DISCHARGING THE SAME; ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said

page_text: Henri Gustave Delvigne, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Henri Gustave Delvigne, do hereby declare that the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:
Figures 1, and 2, represent side elevations of one of my improvements;
the sides of the body of the pistol being removed in Figure 1, in order
that the parts in the interior may be seen. a, is the barrel which turns
upon a joint b, connecting it with the body of the pistol c. d, is the
nipple on which the percussion cap is put for the discharge of the
pistol. The breech end a' of the barrel a, is open, and the loading of
the said barrel is effected at the said open breech end. e, is a screw
which passes through the part c' of the body of the pistol c; an arm or
lever f, is fixed on the end of the screw e, for the purpose of giving
facility in turning the said screw; the end of the screw e is made
slightly conical, and fits accurately the end a¹ of the barrel a, into
which it enters, when by the arm f the said screw is made to advance in
the part c of the body of the pistol. By the end of the said screw e,
entering the open end of the barrel a', the said open end of the barrel
is closed, and the said barrel fixed in its position, as represented in
Figure 2
e 2. 9, is the hammer, by which the percussion cap placed on the
.nipple d is struck, and the pistol discharged. The said hammer is con-
cealed in the interior of the lock, but the arm h on the head of the said
hammer projects through a slot in the lower part of the body of the
pistol, and by pressing the thumb plate h' on the end of the said 'arm‘h
in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, the said hammer is
brought first into half and afterwards into full cock. i, is the main

page_text: spring; the end of the said spring enters the recess k in the hammer,
and presses the said hammer upwards. The other end of the said spring
bears against the trigger 1, and presses the end of the said trigger
against the end g' of the hammer. Two teeth m, n, are formed on the
end g' of the hammer, and the end of the trigger l', by engaging in the
tooth m, holds the hammer g at half cock, and by entering the tooth n,
holds the said hammer at full cock. When the pistol is to be discharged
it is grasped by the right hand, in the manner indicated in Figure 2;
and by the pressure of the second finger on the trigger 1, the hammer g
is disengaged from the said trigger, and falling upon the percussion cap
on the nipple d, discharges the pistol. The barrel a may either be rifled
or plain. By turning the arni f, the screw e may be withdrawn from
the end a' of the barrel a, the said barrel raised into the position repre-
sented in Figure 1, the barrel loaded, and a fresh percussion cap put
on the nipple d.
:
Figure 3, represents in side elevation another of my improvements..
o, is the barrel, which is loaded in the ordinary manner, that is to say,
from the end o¹. p, is the nipple on which the percussion cap is
placed, by the detonation of which the pistol is discharged.
:
The said nipple being situated in a line with the axis of the barrel o,
the ignition of the powder is effected in the centre of the same instead
of at the side, as in ordinary fire-arms. q, r, t, is the hammer, by.
which the percussion cap on the nipple p is struck and detonated.
The said hammer consists of a rod r, sliding in the tube s, in a direc-
tion parallel to the axis of the barrel o; one end of the said rod 'r is
furnished with the cap or head 7, which on the discharge of the pistol
strikes the percussion cap on the nipple p; and the other end of the
said rod is furnished with a thumb plate t, for the purpose of cocking
the pistol. u, v, are two teeth, forined on the under side of the rod 1.
w. is a helical or coiled spring, which surrounds the rod. The said
spring is confined between the shoulder r¹ on the said rod and the
plate s¹ screwed on the end of the barrel s; the said spring being in a
state of compression, presses upon the shoulder, and tends to force
the cap q against the nipple p. x, is a spring which is attached at
one end by the screw a¹ to the under side of the barrel s; an army,

page_text: affixed to the said spring passes through a slot on the body of the
pistol, and the external part of the said arm constitutes the trigger y'.
is a tooth attached also to the spring a; the said tooth is pressed
against the rod by the said spring, and when by pressing with the
thumb or finger upon the thumb plate t, the rod is made to slide in
the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 3, the said tooth
engages in one or other of the said teeth on the rod r, and holds the
hammer at half or full cock. By grasping the body of the pistol in
the hand, in the manner herein-before described and represented in
Figure 2, and pressing the second finger upon the trigger y¹, the tooth
z becomes disengaged from the teeth on the rod r, and the spring w
expanding, causes the cap or head of the hammer to strike upon
the percussion.cap on the nipple p, and discharge the pistol.
The general arrangement and construction of the parts of pistols
herein described, and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the accom-
panying Drawings, may be applied to guns and other fire-arins; but
the said application will be so evident to a workman acquainted with
the construction of fire-arms that I do not deem it necessary to enter
into further details.
Figure 4, represents in elevation my improved projectile to be used
with the pistol, represented in Figures 1 and 2, or any other rifled
pistol or fire-arm, loaded at the breech end. It consists of a bullet of
a conical form, in the base of which a wire or stem 1 is inserted, as
shewn in the Figure. The use of the said wire or sten is to prevent
the crushing and compressing of the powder with which the barrel is
charged. The length of the said stem 1 is such that it projects above
the charge of powder with which the pistol is charged; and when the
end of the said barrel a', Figure 1, is closed by the plug on the end
of the screw e, the said plug pressing against the end of the wire or
stem 1, forces the projectile forward in the barrel, and thus enlarging
the cavity in which the powder is contained prevents the crushing
and wedging of the said powder. The said projectile may also be used
with fire-arms loaded in the ordinary way.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be under-

page_text: stood that I do not limit myself to the precise methods herein described
of carrying my Invention into effect, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my said Invention; but I claim,
First, the general arrangements of the parts of pistols herein-before
described, and represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the accompanying
Drawing, and the application of the same arrangement to guns and
other fire-arms to which they may be applicable.
Second, the construction of the projectile herein-before described,
and represented in Figure 4, of the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Gustave Delvigne, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
HENRI GUSTAVE (L.s.) DELVIGNE.
Taken and acknowledged by Henri Gustave
Delvigne (party hereto), at Paris, in the
Republic of France, this 11th day of
October 1852, before me.

page_text: the Specification was acknowledged by him, the said Henri Gustave
Delvinge, before the said Thomas Pickford, on the said Eleventh day
of October, at Paris aforesaid, is of the proper handwriting of the said
Thomas Pickford.
Enrolled the Fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.