IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF COPYING OR REPRODUCING MODELS OR FIGURES IN MARBLE, STONE, IVORY, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Antoine Hiron at the
-Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th January 1853.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within
the time prescribed by the Act.)
I, ANTOINE HIRON, of Broad Street, Golden Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Sculptor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF COPYING OR REPRODUCING MODELS OR
FIGURES IN MARBLE, STONE, IVORY, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:
These improvements consist in accurately copying any sculpture with
advantages not hitherto attained.
The first part of this Invention relates to sculpturing or carving
works, &c., of the same size as the model to be copied; the second
part relates to the machines for giving a reverse or exact counterpart of
any object; and the third part consists in copying such model or models
of reduced or augmented sizes.
In the accompanying Drawing figures and letters of reference are
used to denote corresponding parts at different figures.
Sheet 1, Fig. 1, represents a front elevation of the machine for

page_text: carrying out the first part of my Invention, namely, the copying
of any sculpture or other work of art, the same size as, the model.
The method by which such process, is accomplished is as follows:-
The model is placed on the iron plate A, and the block of marble
or other material from which the copy is to be sculptured or cast-is
placed on the plate B. The action of the machine is thus: There
is a drill c attached to a 'moving frame d, d, which drill, by the motion
of the frame, will cut off the marble as the frame advances, and will not
cut any more when the guide e comes in contact with the model; the
frame d, d, has its motion round the axis ff, and is maintained in its
position, as shewn in the Drawing, by the screw g. At Fig. 2, will be
seen a side elevation of the sanic machine, shewing the working of the
pullics in the act of putting the drill in motion. The new features of
this part of my Invention are the general combination of the parts of
the machine and their actions, which are greatly simplified in their
working.
The second part of my Invention consists in producing a reverse
or counterpart of the object to be copied. Fig. 3, is a front eleva-
tion of this machine. The drill being placed at h, and the guide at
i, the socket goes up and down freely, causing by that motion the drill
and guide to be more or less apart. To maintain the bottom socket k, in
its proper position, a screw is made use of, as shewn in the Drawing.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same machine, shewing the arrangement
to give strength, and preventing oscillation. This
part of my Invention
I consider altogether a novelty, that is the combination of the parts to
produce a reverse or counterpart of any object.
The third part of my Invention, as before stated, consists in copying
a sculpture or other work of art of an increased or reduced size, which
is fully illustrated in Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings, Figs. 5,
and 6, and may be thus described: Fig. 5, exhibits a side elevation of
this machine, shewing the mode of working the same. It will be seen
that the model being placed on the lower plate o, the drill being fixed
at L, and the guide at m, the copy cbtained is smaller than the model;
but by reversing it and putting the drill at m, and the model on the
upper plate n, the copy obtained will be larger than the model. The

page_text: working of the machine is not limited to obtaining one copy only of any
work of art, as by having as many drills as convenient, as many copies
can be produced, and in different proportions, each being smaller as it is
placed nearer the axis p. Fig. 6, shows a plan view of the machine.
The lever from which the drills and guides are suspended is weighted at
its furthest extremity, as will be seen upon reference to Figs. 5 and 6.
At Fig. 7, is represented the front view of the part marked , where the
shaft or lever is suspended, shewing more clearly the disposition of the
pullies, and the axis that supports it, to enable the picces to which the
drill is attached to have up and down motion, the horizontal motion
being shown at Fig. 5. Fig. 8, exhibits the front elevation of the drill
bearer, shewing the working of the pinions putting the drill in motion.
Fig. 9, is a front view of the guide bearer. In this part of my Iu-
vention, I consider the new features to be the general arrangement of
the tools and guide, as well as the position of the platform, which, by
the inclination I have given to it, instead of making it horizontal, as is
generally the case, it allows me to make a large statue with a small
machine.