AN IMPROVED Box OR CASE FOR PACKING SARDINES OR OTHER PROVISIONS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John Gedge
and Son, No. 4, Wellington Street South, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED Box OR
CASE FOR PACKING SARDINES OR OTHER PROVISIONS."-A communication
from abroad by Etienne Chatonet, junior, of La Rochelle, in the Empire
of France.
Sealed the 22nd June 1860, and dated the 23rd December 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou
the 23rd December 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son,.
No. 4, Wellington Street South, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN.
IMPROVED BOX OR CASE FOR PACKING SARDINES OR OTHER PROVISIONS,"
municated to me from abroad by Etienne Chatonet, junior, of La Rochelle, in.
the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
Tins or cases of preserved provisions of whatever size or form have hitherto,
been opened with difficulty, and only by the use of a sharp pointed instrument.
combined with a knife, the result being, that the upper layer of the preserve
is always damaged, that rough and jagged edges are left, tearing the preserve
on its withdrawal; and further, that the liquid is spurted in every direction.,
To remedy these inconveniences, I propose making a box with a very thin lid
or cover, strengthening such lid or cover with a piece which will prevent too
great dilatation in the boiling, and leave a projection where the box is to be
opened, which will be done horizontally, using any cutting instrument; oven a

page_text: penknife will, without other assistance, easily cut open such box, leaving a
clean edge, and causing no spurting of the liquid or damage to the contents of
the box.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
'
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd June 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 4, Wellington
Street South, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Gedge, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, should at any timo 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 of "AN IMPROVED Box OR CASE FOR PACKING SARDINES OR
OTHER PROVISIONS," (communicated from abroad by Etienne Chatonet, junior,
of La Rochelle, in the Empire of France,) upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 William Edward Gedge, 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 illustrative Sheet of Drawing
hereunto annexed, and forming part of this my Specification:-
Tins or cases made to contain preserved provisions of whatever form or

page_text: capacity have hitherto been opened with difficulty, and usually by the use of a
sharp pointed and cutting instrument, aided by taps from a hammer, as
illustrated at Figure 1 of the annexed Drawing, the result of such a forcible
operation being, that the upper layer of the fish (sardines, for example,) or
other provisions is damaged, the oil (or other liquid) spilled, and the case
rendered useless for repacking, or otherwise. To avoid or remedy these
inconveniences, and preserve the box or case for future use, I make the box
or case with a very thin lid or covering, strengthening such lid or cover with
a piece of tinsel or tinfoil (which prevents too great a dilatation in the boiling
process), and leaving a projection where the box should be opened, which is
(so prepared) easily effected without using any considerable force. Or I make
box or case of tin, which is laminated or beat out (at the part of the lid or
cover where the opening is to be made) to an extreme thinness. Such a box
is shewn at Figures 2 and 3 of the Drawing, and in section at Figure 4. A
box or case so made is opened with great facility, a small knife lightly pressed
against the thinnest portion of the case (at the bottom of the rib A (or pro-
jection) as shewn at Figures 2, 3, and 4,) easily raises and removes it, if no knife
be handy, a bodkin, or even a large needle or pin will effect the operation
without injury to the case, its contents, or spilling the oil or other liquid.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, as communicated
to me by the said Etienne Chatonet, and the means by which it is carried into
practical effect, I would here observe, that I do not confine myself to the
making or constructing of boxes or cases of any precise form, as I make or
construct them of any of the ordinary shapes or forms, nor do I confine myself
to the construction or making of cases or boxes to or of any particular size, as
they may be made of any required size.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
JOHN GEDGE,
11, late 4, Wellington Street, Strand,
London.
W. E. GEDGE. (L.S.)