IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIND, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED BY THE MOUTH, AND IN MANDRILS USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clinton, of 35, Percy Street, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF WIND, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED BY THE MOUTH, AND IN MANDRILS USED
IN SUCH MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 29th June 1858, and dated the 30th December 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clinton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
December 1857.
I, JOHN CLINTON, of 35, Percy Street, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED BY THE MOUTH, AND IN
MANDRILS USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
The bore or internal configuration of wind instruments (blown into or filled
by the breath of the performer) has hitherto assumed one or other of the
following forms :-
.
No. 1, cylindrical in the body, with a conical head.
No. 2, entirely conical; with the small end at the mouthpiece.
No. 3, the head-piece cylindrical, and the body conical.
No. 4, which is the most perfect and natural form, the head cylindrical and
the body conical, but with enlargements or cells at various points of the body
at or near the apertures. Any of the above bores may be obtained for metal,

page_text: instruments by drawing the tubes upon or over a mandril in the ordinary way
of drawing tubes, except No. 4; when that form is required for a metal tube,
the cells or undulations have been obtained by the employment of boring bits
used with the hand in the usual manner of boring wooden instruments. I
employ mandrils of conical forms, with the proper undulations upon them, so
that when a tube is formed thereon the most perfect form of bore for wind
instruments may now be obtained in a metal tube, by which the internal con-
figuration is quite true and always the same,, while the process of producing
such tubes effects a saving of expence in the manufacture.
I apply a mechanical arrangement to enable the performer to pass rapidly and
smoothly from G, or Ab to Bb, with the. "fork." fingering
and all passages of a similar nature, where an easy and ready access or approach
to Bb is required, the tone producible from B flat being full, and well in tune
when fingered as above described, thus doo, that is to say, with the first-
and second fingers of the left hand upon their respective holes, and the middle
finger raised and known by the term "fork fingering for Bb," the other
fingers and thumb being employed or unemployed according to circumstances.
The tone of the fork Bb has hitherto been much too sharp and feeble, but by
this arrangement it is rendered full and well in tune. I improve the tone of
Bb on the third line, and A in the second space.
by means of
an increased opening below the hole usually employed or opened for Bb,
technically termed the "speaker" hole. This I have accomplished by allow-
ing the A key to act upon two holes instead of one as hitherto.
I have arranged: a new mode of applying: the keys of wind instruments,
which is as follows:-Firstly, a. pillar is soldered to the instrument, and. a
division made in the pillar to receive the key.. At the bottom of the division
there is a small piece of steel or other hard substance in, the form of a A, the
under part of the key has a groove, across it which rests on the piece of steel.
The key is kept in that position by a metal cap screwed on to the pillar, and
having a small screw passing through the. centre, which screw works in a
circular groove formed on the top of the key. To apply this improvement to
a wind instrument made of wood, a similar pillar is screwed or fixed thereto.
If for an instrument having the keys let, into the wood, there is a division
made in the knob, and a piece of steel (or other hard substance) inserted at
the bottom. Instead of using the former pin introduced into a hole drilled

page_text: through the wood and the key, a piece of metal or hard substance with a
knife edge is introduced, which acts in.a. groove made in the top of the key.
By the above improvement the former great friction in the working or action
of keys is obviated, and a more elastic, light, and durable action obtained,,as
well as a great facility and rapidity in taking off the keys, and putting them
on again, when new cushions, cleaning, or adjustment is required. For
securing the reed upon the mouthpiece of a musical instrument, I have con-
structed a new form of the apparatus termed the ligature. By means of a
piece of loose metal moving like a swivel it instantly adjusts itself to any
form or size of reed or mouthpiece, the reed being securely and evenly held
by a screw to which the swivel is affixed, the ligature is put on or taken off in
an instant without trouble or any liability of injuring the reed. To obviate
the warping of mouthpieces, or their frequent alteration of figure by the
immediate action of the warm breath, I employ a new material which remains
unaltered; I also make the mouthpiece and socket in one piece, (whatever
material may be employed,) by which the vacuum in that part of the instru-
ment is avoided, and the column of air is allowed a free and uninterrupted
passage, instead of having to pass over a fissure as formerly.
The bells of musical wind instruments being large, they are heavy and
bulky to carry in a case, I make them of vulcanized india-rubber or other
light, flexible, and elastic materials, so that they are light and more portable
and can be put into a very small compass, either in a case or in the
pocket..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Clinton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
June 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CLINTON, of 35, Percy Street, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting. .
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our. Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Clinton, Her special licence that I, the said John Clinton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Clinton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MAnu-
FACTURE OF WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED BY THE MOUTH, AND IN MANDRILS
USED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Clinton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately, after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Clinton, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
The bore or internal configuration of wind instruments (blown into or
filled by the breath of the performer) has hitherto assumed one or other of
the following forms:
No. 1, cylindrical in the body, with a conical head.
No. 2, entirely conical, with the small end at the mouthpiece.
No. 3, the head piece cylindrical and the body conical.
No. 4, which is the most perfect and natural form, the head cylindrical
and the body conical, but with enlargements or cells at various points of the
body at or near the apertures. Any of the above bores may be obtained for
metal instruments, by drawing the tubes upon or over a mandril in the
ordinary way of drawing tubes, except No. 4. When that form is required
for a metal tube, the cells or undulations have been obtained by the employ-
ment of boring bits, used with the hand in the usual manner of boring.
wooden instruments. I employ mandrils of conical forms, with the proper
undulations upon them, so that when a tube is formed thereon the most
perfect form of bore for wind instruments may now be obtained in a metal
tube, by which the internal configuration is quite true and always the same,
while the process of producing such tubes effects a saving of expense in
the manufacture. The exact size of the undulations upon the mandril
depend upon the size of the bore required, and the size and distance apart
of the holes for the fingers and keys, but in every case it will be undulating,
see Figure 1.

page_text: I apply a mechanical arrangement to enable the performer to pass rapidly and
smoothly from G or Ab to Bb, with the "fork" fingering
and all passages of a similar nature, where an easy and ready access or
approach to Bb is required, the tone produceable from B flat being full, and
well in tune when fingered as above described, thus ( •
• ), that is to
say, with the first and second fingers of the left hand upon their respective holes,
and the middle finger raised, and known by the term "fork fingering for Bb,".
the other fingers and thumb being employed or unemployed according to cir-
cumstances. The tone of the fork Bb has hithertoo been much too sharp and
feeble, but by this arrangement it is rendered full and well in tune, because the
B hole is kept closed, and the Bb hole allowed to open-by the application of
the following mechanism:-The hole acted upon by the third finger of the left
hand is surmounted with a moveable ring; the B hole has an open key over
it'; this and the ring are fastened to the tube, so that whenever the third finger
acts upon the ring, the B hole is closed. Between these two holes there is a
duplicate Bb hole, over which there is an open key moving loose upon the
tube above named; affixed to this key there is a dish upon which the second
finger acts, so that whenever that finger is put down the new Bb hole is closed,
and vice versa. There are many ways of doing this, but I prefer the plan now
described, see Figure 2. I improve the tone of Bb on the third line, and A
in the second space,
by means of an increased opening below the
hole usually employed or opened for Bb, technically termed the " speaker"
hole. This I have accomplished by allowing the A key to act upon two
holes instead of one as hitherto. By this arrangement the G natural and G
sharp holes may be placed in their true position for tone and tune, while to
the G sharp key I have prefixed two ears, so that it may be opened or acted
upon by either the first or second finger of the left hand, in contradistinction
to the former plan by which the G sharp key could only be opened by one
finger, namely, either the first or second, according to the wish or habit of the
player. See Figure 3 for the new A natural, and Figure 4 for the new G
sharp key..
I have arranged a new mode of applying the keys of wind instruments,
which is as follows:-Firstly, a "pillar" is soldered to the instrument, and a
division made in the pillar to receive the key, Figure 5. At the bottom of the

page_text: division there is a small piece of steel or other hard substance in the form
of a A; the under part of the key has a groove across it, which rests on the
piece of steel. The key is kept in that position by a metal cap, Figure 6,
screwed on to the pillar and having a small screw passing through the centre,
which screw works in a circular groove formed on the top of the key. To
apply this improvement to a wind instrument made of wood, a similar pillar is
screwed or fixed thereto. If for an instrument having the keys let into the
wood, there is a division made in the knob, and a piece of steel (or other hard
substance) inserted at the bottom. Instead of using the former pin introduced
into a hole drilled through the wood and the key, a piece of metal or hard
substance with a knife edge is introduced, which acts in a groove made in the
top of the key. By the above improvement, the former great friction in the
working or action of keys is obviated, and a more elastic, light, and durable action
obtained, as well as a great facility and rapidity in taking off the keys and putting
them on again when new cushions, cleaning, or adjustment is required.
For securing the reed upon the mouthpiece of a musical instrument, I have
constructed a new form of the apparatus termed the ligature; by means of a
piece of loose metal moving like a swivel, it instantly adjusts itself to any form or
size of reed or mouthpiece, the reed being securely and evenly held by a
screw to which the swivel is affixed; the ligature is put on or taken off in an
instant, without trouble or any liability of injuring the reed, Figure 7. I also
make the mouthpiece and socket in one piece (whatever material may be
employed), by which the vacuum in that part of the instrument is avoided,
and the column of air is allowed a free and uninterrupted passage, instead
of having to pass over a fissure as formerly. The bells of musical wind
instruments being large, they are heavy and bulky to carry in a case. I make
them of vulcanized indian-rubber or other light flexible and elastic materials,
so that they are light and more portable, and can be put into a very small
compass either in a case or in the pocket. What I claim for my Patent is,
Firstly, the using mandrils of an undulating form for the drawing of tubes
for musical instruments.
Secondly, the mechanism which enables the performer to close or keep
closed the B natural hole, and open the B flat hole when B flat is taken with
the fork fingering.
Thirdly, two holes for the A natural key instead of one as formerly.
Fourthly, the arrangement of the G sharp key, so that it may be acted upon
either by the first or second finger.
Fifthly, the new description of keys above explained.

page_text: Sixthly, the new form of ligature herein described.
Seventhly, the mouthpiece and socket made in one piece instead of
eparately, as heretofore.
And, lastly, the light or elastic material for the bells of musical instruments.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clinton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
JNO. ALCOCK.
J. CLINTON. (L.S.)