AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ATTACHMENT OF ADHESIVE STAMPS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Bogue, of Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Publisher, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING
THE ATTACHMENT OF ADHESIVE STAMPS "A communication
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Bogue at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
June 1854.
I, DAVID BOGUE, of Fleet Street, in the City of London, Publisher, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "An IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR FACILITATING THE ATTACHMENT OF ADHESIVE STAMPS" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain means whereby postage and other adhesive
stamps or labels may be applied to envelopes, letters, and documents with
great expedition. The envelope, letter, or other document is damped by a
moist sponge contained in a tray; the damped surface is then brought into
contact with the gummed back of the uppermost one of a pile of stamps, and
to it the stamp adheres. To secure the adhesion of the stamp to the letter, the
stamp is placed on an elastic cushion covered with india-rubber, and the pres-
sure of the fingers being applied thereto, complete contact is obtained. The
stamps or labels when cut up are arranged in a pile and placed in a box, the
sides of which are formed of four vertical plates hinged to a fixed bottom plate.
These hinged plates are kept in a vertical position by means of bow springs

page_text: affixed to the bottom of the box, and their upper edges are bent over out-
wards, to permit of their yielding when pressed upon vertically by the descent
of the damped paper, while being brought into contact with the pile of stamps
contained therein. By this arrangement the stamps or labels will be held
in position, ready to be taken up singly by the damped surfaces applied
thereto, without the aid of a plunger or other contrivance for feeding up the
stamps into contact with the surfaces to which they are required to be
attached.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Bogue in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
December 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
BOGUE, of Fleet Street, in the City of London, Publisher, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said David Bogue, Her special license that I, the said David Bogue,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said David
Bogue, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
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 "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
FACILITATING THE ATTACHMENT OP ADHESIVE STAMPS," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said David
Bogue, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 David Bogue, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-

page_text: This Invention of "An Improved Apparatus for Facilitating the Attach-
ment of Adhesive Stamps," as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, relates to certain means whereby postage and other adhesive stamps
or labels may be applied to envelopes, letters, and documents with great expe-
dition. The envelope, letter, or other document is damped by a moist sponge
contained in a tray, and the damped surface is then brought into contact with
the gummed back of the uppermost one of a pile of stamps, and the stamp is
thus made to adhere to the letter. To secure the adhesion of the stamp to the
letter, the stamp is placed on an elastic cushion covered with india-rubber, and
the pressure of the fingers being applied thereto complete contact is obtained.
The stamps or labels when cut up are arranged in a pile and placed in a box,
the sides of which are formed of four vertical plates, binged to a fixed bottom
plate. These hinged plates are kept in a vertical position by means of bow
springs affixed to the bottom of the box, and their upper edges are bent over
outwards, to permit of the sides of the box yielding when pressed upon verti-
cally by the descent of the damped paper, while being brought into contact
with the pile of stamps contained therein.
By this arrangement the stamps or labels will be held in position, ready to
be taken up singly by the damped surface (when applied thereto), without the
aid of a plunger or other contrivance for feeding up the stamps into contact
with the surfaces to which they are required to be attached.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing is a side elevation of this improved
apparatus; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. a is a tray, or shallow box
or vessel, containing a sponge b, and supplied from time to time, when
required, with a small quantity of water to keep the sponge moist. c, c, are
two plates, secured to the sponge tray or box, and placed at right angles to
each other, so as to form a recess or angle to receive the corner of the letter
when it is brought above the pile of stamps, which are placed in the spring
box d, d, as shewn in the detached sectional view, Fig. 3. The four sides of
the box, which is placed immediately below the angle formed by the plates
c, c, are hinged to a bottom plate e, as shewn in the Figures, and are sup-
ported in a vertical position by springs f,f.f. An india-rubber cushion
or pad g is fixed on the foundation block h, h, for the purpose hereafter
explained.
When it is required to affix a stamp to a letter or envelope, one corner
thereof must first be damped by pressing it lightly on the damp sponge 6 in
the tray a, a, after which the letter is brought down on to the pile of stamps
in the spring box d, d. Upon doing this the sides of the box will be forced
back, as shewn by dots in Fig. 1, and the damped corner of the letter being

page_text: pressed lightly on the adhesive surface. of the uppermost stamp will cause the
same to adhere thereto, so that it may be removed from the box d, d. with the
letter; the sides of the box will then resume their original vertical position by
means of the upward pressure of the springs f,f.f. All that now remains to
be done will be simply to press the stamp on the pad or cushion 9, and the
stamp will then firmly adhere to the letter.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved Appa-
ratus for Facilitating the Attachment of Adhesive Stamps," as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim, the combination of parts as herein shewn and
described. And particularly I claim the use of a box d, with yielding sides,
for containing the stamps and permitting of their being taken up by the
damped surface, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Bogue, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
66, Chancery Lane.
DAVID BOGUE. (L.S.)