IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF WRITING AND PRINTING MUSIC TO FACILI TATE THE STUDY THEREOF
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lewis Normandy, of 67, Judd Street, Brunswick
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF WRITING AND PRINTING MUSIC TO FACILI
TATE THE STUDY THEREOF."-A communication from l'Abbé Eugène
Cormier.
Sealed the 7th October 1856, and dated the 11th April 1856.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Lewis Normandy at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 11th April 1856, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patenţ
Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEWIS
NORMANDY, of 67, Judd Street, Brunswick Square, in the County of Middlesex;
Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MODE OF WRITING AND PRINTING MUSIC TO FACILITATE THE STUDY THEREOF," being
a communication from l'Abbé Eugéne Cormier, and have petitioned Her
Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns Her
Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that the
same has been communicated to me as before mentioned.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Lewis Normandy, 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:-.

page_text: The object of the Invention is to facilitate the study of music and singing;
for that purpose, the lines of the musical scale used in this mode of writing
are of several colours, by which contrivance the reading of music is learned
much more rapidly than heretofore. The annexed Drawing shews the principle
of the Invention in reference to the reading and printing of music.
Figure 2 shows the musical scale for the use of medium instruments or for
the human voice. The five lines of the scale are indicated in their natural
order by the Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the first line being green, the second black,
the third dotted red, the fourth black, and the fifth red. The fundamental do
is on an accidental dotted green line under the first line of the scale, and the
tuning or diapason la is on another accidental dotted black line over the fifth
line of the scale. In writing pieces of music on this medium scale, corre-
sponding to the G or treble clef, the notes which are higher than la or lower
than do should be on accidental lines placed in the same order as in the scale,
namely, the acute or upper do on a dotted green line, the mi on a plain green
line, and so on. In the same manner for the lower notes, the la below the
fundamental do should be on an accidental dotted black line, the fa on a plain
red line, and so on, following always the same order for accidental lines, as
represented in Figure 2.
With respect to base instruments, the music of which is written with the
clef of F, the order of the standing scale should be altered, as seen in Figure 7,
that is to say, the medium or fundamental do being in such music on the first
upper accidental line, the said line is, of course, dotted green, and the order of
the scale is, as may be seen, the first line black, the second dotted red, the
third black, the fourth red, and the fifth dotted black; the first accidental line
below is a plain green one, and so on. In Figures 2 and 7 there are two
corresponding gamuts written on the scales, the notes being on or between
their respective lines, and the names of the notes are written over or under
them; the two relative gamuts are in the major or minor key. In this system
of writing music the keys become useless, since the do medium being placed
on the dotted green line, this line may occupy any position in the scale,
according to the acuteness of the instruments for which the music is written.
Figure 1 of the Drawing is a front view of a common hand printing press,
on the table of which is a compound printing plate, so arranged as to print at
once the three required colours for my system of music writing. B is the
frame; L, the hand lever for working the press; D, screw; C, squeezing
board; P, cast-iron table bearing the printing plates N, V, R; the said plates
may be removed, they are placed upon one another. Figure 6 is a longi-
tudinal section of the said plates. The plate N, seen aloue, Figure 3, is for

page_text: printing all the blacks, namely, the lines where the notes sol, re, and la, as well
as any other signs, and the writing. The plate V, seen alone, Figure 4, is for
printing the green lines, that is to say, the lines on which do and mi are
written. The plate R, seen alone, Figure 5, is for printing the red lines, that
is to say, the lines on which the notes si and fa are placed. The said plates,
as already stated, are moveable, so that each may be taken out separately in
order to ink them with the different colours required, just as this operation is
performed with ordinary presses. The plates are always placed in the same
order as seen in Figure 6, that is to say, the plate R lying directly on the
table P of the press; the plate V lying on the plate R; and, lastly, the plate N
over the latter. The plates V and R, which serve to print lines only, have
projecting blades on their upper face, whilst the plate N, which serves to print
lines, notes, and other musical signs, has also projecting blades I, but likewise
all the notes and other signs that are to be printed in black. It is evident that
for printing at once all the said notes and lines they must rise all to the same
level, so as to give a single printing surface. The lines and notes of the upper
plate N project as much as in common stereotype plates, namely about 1 of
an inch above the face of the plate; the blades of the plate V should have tho
same elevation, namely, of an inch, plus the thickness of the plate N.
Lastly, the blades of the plate R, which are to print the red lines, should have
an elevation equal to the thickness of both the plates V and N, plus of an
inch. The three plates should be in close contact over one another and on the
table P of the press, so as to resist the pressure without giving way; in order
that the printing plates may be in close contact as required, and that their
printing blades may rise to the same level the blades of the under plates
should traverse the upper plates so as to have a same printing surface, as
seen Figure 6; for that purpose the upper plates should have long slots or
mortices for the passage of the blades of the lower plates, which may be done
by the ordinary well-known processes at the foundry. The lower plate R is
entirely plain without mortices, it has blades only as already stated, the two
upper ones alone have mortices. The three plates are intended each of them
to print at once the different colour required for my system of music on
the tri-colored scale, as already stated, and as seen in Figure 2, which is
a sample printed with the three plates together. Each one should have
been inked separately with a differently coloured ink; this can be done in
several ways.
I intend to use the pluiner and quicker method of doing
this operation; for instance, after printing a copy I take out the two upper
plates N and V, and put them on a separate table for inking them separately
each one with its own colour, the first one black, the second green, and the

page_text: plate R, which remains on the table P, is charged with red ink. These three
plates being replaced over one another, a second proof is printed, and so on.
In order that the plates may always be in the same precise position, there are
four pegs t, t, projecting from either the table P or the under plate R, and the
other plates have holes bored through corresponding to the pegs t, so that
when fitted no deviation of the printing position can take place. There are,
however, various other methods of obtaining the same results which will
naturally suggest themselves, but which need not be mentioned here. What I
claim more especially is, the composition and contrivance of the plates N, V,
and R, as they are represented, either together ready to work, as in Figure 1
and 6, or each one alone, as in Figure 3, 4, and 5, ready to be inked with
different colours for printing the transpositive three-coloured musical scales as
aforesaid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Lewis Normandy, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-six.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in the
presence of
A. NORMANDY.
LEWIS NORMANDY. (L.S.)