IMPROVEMENTS IN INKSTANDS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN INKSTANDS." -A communication from abroad by Howell Evans and
Henry Howson, both of the City of Philadelphia, in the United States
of America.
Sealed the 22nd June 1860, and dated the 27th January 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th January 1860.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN INKSTANDS," a communication from abroad by Howell Evans and
Henry Howson, both of the City of Philadelphia, in the United States of
America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of ink-
stand, whereby the main body of the ink is unexposed to dust and dirt, whilst
a constant and uniform supply of ink is maintained in the dipping cup, the
whole forming a cheap and simple inkstand.
According to this Invention, it is proposed to employ a closed reservoir or

page_text: receptacle for the ink, having a cup-shaped mouth or dipping cup formed on
one side, and being so hung or pivotted on any suitable stand, and combined
with one or more adjusting screws, that by operating the said screw or screws,
the reservoir will be more or less tilted on the stand, and cause the ink to
flow either to or from the dipping cup or mouth according to the direction in
which the reservoir is tilted by the adjusting screw or screws. The main
body of the ink is thus protected from dust and dirt, and is supplied to the
dipping cup only when required for use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th July 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and 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 INKSTANDS," a communication from
abroad by Howell Evans and Henry Howson, both of the City of Philadelphia,
in the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
inkstand, whereby the main body of the ink is unexposed to dust and dirt,
whilst a constant and uniform supply of ink is maintained in the dipping cup,
the whole forming a cheap and simple inkstand.
According to this Invention, it is proposed to employ a closed reservoir or
receptacle for the ink having a cup-shaped mouth or dipping cup formed on
one side, and being so hung or pivotted on any suitable stand, and combined
with one or more adjusting screws, that by operating the said screw or screws
the reservoir will be more or less tilted on the stand, and cause the ink to
flow either to or from the dipping cup or mouth according to the direction in
which the reservoir is tilted. The main body of the ink is thus procted
from dust and dirt, whilst a constant supply is afforded in a convenient manner
when required for use, and the dipping cup can be readily emptied when a
supply of ink is not wanted.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all
the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a vertical section of the improved inkstand;
Figure 2 is a plan of the same; Figure 3 represents a modified form of the
same; Figure 4 is the same, with the position of the reservoir altered ready
for use; Figure 5, a plan view of Figures 3 and 4; Figures 6 and 7 repre-
sent respectively a side elevation and plan of another modification of the
improved inkstand; and Figure 8 is a side elevation of an ornamental ink-
stand constructed according to this Invention.
In Figures 1 and 2, A represents the stand, and B the ink reservoir;
this reservoir may consist of a vessel of glass, metal, or other suitable material.
It may be made (as represented in the Drawings) of a circular form, flat, or
nearly so on the top and convex on the under side, so as to be adapted to the
cup-shaped stand A. The latter has an opening in front to admit the neck of
the dipping cup a, which projects from and forms part of the reservoir B, the
cup being open at the top, and divided from the main body of the reservoir-
by the bridge b. On the under side of the reservoir is an elongated sharp-
edged projection e (see dotted lines, Figure 2,) which rests in an elongated:
notch in a projection f on the inside of the cup or stand A... Over the neck.

page_text: of the vessel passes a bridge piece d, which is secured to the edge of the
stand A, and receives the set screw h, the lower end of which bears on the
neck of the vessel B, near the opening of the projecting dipping cup a.
It will be observed that the cup of the stand A is somewhat larger than
the body of the reservoir B, which, however, fits so close to the upper edge of
the stand as to prevent any excessive lateral play of the reservoir. The
sharp-edged projection e is the only point where the reservoir rests on the
stand, and this projection being situated in front of the centre of gravity of
the reservoir, the weight of the latter and its contents will cause the pro-.
jecting portion of the vessel to bear upwards against the end of the set
screw h. In screwing down the latter the dipping cup a will be depressed,
and the ink in the body of the vessel will pass over the bridge b, and flow
into the cup, where its depth may be increased at pleasure by simply turning the
set screw so as to tilt the vessel further over in front. It will be readily seen
that by this arrangement the main body of the ink is retained in the vessel
free from the access of dust and dirt, and comparitively free from exposure to
the air.
In order to impart additional steadiness to the vessel, a spring a on the
stand (shewn in red lines in Figure 1) may be arranged to press on the top
of the reservoir, which will be thereby more steadily confined to the stand.
By arranging the fulcrum point e, however, so that it may be nearer the screw,
as seen in Figures 3, 4, and 5, the overhanging portion of the vessel will
present a leverage by which it is confined steadily between the fulcrum point
and the point of the screw. In the last-named Figures, both the stand and
the reservoir are of a modified form, the same principle, however, being main-
tained. The stand in this instance consists of a simple metal ring closed on
the top, with the exception of an opening just large enough to admit the main
body of the reservoir, and allow it to vibrate freely on the fixed point, which is
nearer the screw h than in the previously described views.
The reservoir B also is of a form differing somewhat from that shewn in
Figures 1 and 2; its shape on the under side in respect to that of the pro-
jecting cup being such that when the rear or overhanging portion of the vessel
is allowed to fall by raising the screw, the ink will flow back over the
bridge into the body of the vessel, leaving the cup nearly empty. When
the screw is turned so as to raise the rear of the vessel, the ink will flow back
into the projecting cup, and will there retain the same level as the ink in the
reservoir, so that the constant dipping of the pen into the cup does not
diminish the depth of the ink in the latter to any greater extent than if it was
dipped directly into the body of the reservoir. When the ink. in the reser-

page_text: voir, and consequently in the cup becomes diminished, a slight turn of the
screw will tilt the reservoir, and increase the depth of the ink in the dipping
cup. The depression of the cup may be repeated at such intervals as circum-
stances require until the whole of the ink in the reservoir is consumed, when
the vessel may be readily refilled by pouring the ink into it through the neck
of the cup.
In the modification illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the vessel is provided
with trunnions e, e, which fit into bearings on the opposite sides of the
stand A. A bridge d is secured to the upper edge of the stand, and through
this bridge pass two adjusting screws.h', h³, the ends of which bear upon the
vessel, one on each side of its centre of vibration. By tightening one screw
and slackening the other, the front of the reservoir, with its cup a, can be
raised or depressed at pleasure, the two screws together serving to secure the
reservoir steadily to the stand after adjustment.
It will be evident that both the stand and reservoir of this inkstand may be
varied in form without altering the result, and that both admit of being highly
ornamented and made of different materials. It will be also evident that the
reservoir may be so connected with the stand as to vibrate by arrangements
other than those shewn.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the saiḍ
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction and arrangement of inkstands, as herein-
before described.
Second, the application and use, in inkstands, of a reservoir and dipping
cup so hung or supported on any suitable stand so as to be capable of being tilted
in opposite directions by means of an adjusting screw or screws, in the manner
and for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)