AN APPARATUS FOR INKING STAMPS USED BY BANKERS AND OTHERS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Thomas Crofton, of Leeds, in the County
of York, for the Invention of "AN APPARATUS FOR INKING STAMPS USED BY
BANKERS AND OTHERS."
Sealed the 19th December 1856, and dated the 20th June 1856.
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Thomas Crofton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th June 1856.
I, MICHAEL THOMAS CROFTON, of Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention of "AN APPARATUS FOR INKING STAMPS
USED BY BANKERS AND OTHERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of a combination of inking rollers, so arranged and
disposed as to distribute the ink uniformly upon the dabber, which is in the
form of a roller, instead of being a flat surface, as heretofore employed for
inking stamps used by bankers and others. The mode heretofore commonly
practised of performing the operation of inking stamps has been to to spread
the coloring matter upon the dabber by hand, the objection to which is, the
tediousness and uncertainty of uniformly spreading the said coloring matter,
which by this Invention is entirely obviated.
The following is the mode of arranging the above-mentioned rollers into an
apparatus, which, for the sake of portability, I make in the form of a box,

page_text: within which is placed a metal trough, one part of which contains ink, which
surrounds one of the rollers, upon the axis of which there is a handle, and a
pall, and ratchet, to ensure its turning in only one direction; there is a doctor
or scraper for removing the surplus ink from the aforesaid roller previous to
the inked surface thereof coming into contact with another roller of smaller
dimensions than the former one. The dabber roller is made of treacle and
glue, such as is comnionly used in printers' rollers. The axis of this said
dabber roller works in heart-shaped slots formed in the sides of the box,
for the purpose of adjusting the roller to the proper amount of forced
contact by means of screw nuts on the ends of said axis. The front of the
aforesaid box is hinged to the bottom thereof, and when turned down forms
1.
a pad for stamping on, same being suitably formed for that purpose. In
using the above apparatus, the operator, having first imparted ink to the
dabber, as before stated, presses the stamping instrument thereon, by which
ink or other coloring matter will be imparted thereto in a more simple,
efficient, and speedy manner than heretofore. A portion of the above-
mentioned box serves as a depository for the stamping instruments.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Michael Thomas-Crofton, in-the-Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
"THOMAS CROFTON, of 'Leeds, in tlie County of York, send 'greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; bý Her Letters
Patent, bearing date, the Twentieth day of June, in the year. of our Lord One
thousand eiglit hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year Jofi Her, reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give. and grant unto me, the
'said Michael Thomas Crofton, Her special licence that I, the (said: Michael
Thomas Crofton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Michael Thomas Crofton, my executors, administrators, ¡and
assigns; 'should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to tiine
'and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully 'imight make,. use, -exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland; 'the Channel Islands, Tand Isle of Man, an
Invention for "AN APPARATUS FOR INKING STAMPS USED BY BANKERS AND
OTHERS," upon the condition (amongst others) 'that I, the said Michael
Thomas Crofton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing

page_text: 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 Michael Thomas-Crofton, 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 thereof, that is to say:
.
My Invention consists of a combination of inking rollers so arranged and
disposed as to distribute ink uniformly upon a dabber, said dabber being made.
in the form of a roller, instead of a flat surface, as heretofore commonly
employed for inking stamps used by bankers and others. The mode heretofore,
generally practised of performing the operation of imparting ink to such said
stamps has been .to spread the coloring, matter upon the dabber by hand, which
is both tedious and uncertain in its action; at one time imparting too much.
ink to the stamp, and at another time not sufficient. And the object and
intention of my: said Invention is to obviate the above objections, and to
render the operation of inking stamps less tedious and more efficient than
heretofore.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawing
annexed to these Presents, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference
marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a top plan view of my apparatus for inking stamps used by
bankers and others; Figure 2 is a transverse and vertical section through the
line A, B, at Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end view of the apparatus at Z,
Figure 1. At each of the foregoing Figures I employ similar letters of
reference to denote corresponding parts, in so far as such parts appear or can
be seen at each of such said Figures respectively.,
A, A, is the case of the apparatus, which may be made of sheet iron, and
fitted into a wooden box if necessary; B is a metal, trough for containing
printers'. ink or other coloring matter. This trough is. connected to the casing
A by screws at a, a, and there are screws b, b, passing through the back of the
casing A,. for the purpose of either drawing back or forcing forward the edge
of said trough, which is made perfectly straight, and serves as a doctor or

page_text: scraper for taking off uniformly some of the ink or other coloring matter from
the surface of the ink roller C, with which it is in contact, or only a slight.
distance therefrom, according to the quantity of coloring matter which it is
desired to distribute over or upon the surface of the inking roller C. The
pivots of this roller work in suitable holes in the casing A, and one of such
said pivots passes through the end of said casing, and has a winch handle D
fixed thereon for imparting rotatory motion to said roller; a ratchet wheel E
is also fixed on the aforesaid protruding pivot, into which a pall c takes, to
ensure the roller C being turned only in one direction (as denoted by the
arrow's flight at Figure 2). The roller C is formed of gun metal or brass turned
perfectly true and cylindrical, and the trough B is adjusted thereto by the
screws b, b, so as to bring the edge or doctor in a parallel line with the surface
of the roller C. G is a dabber roller, made of treacle and glue, as commonly
practised in the manufacture of rollers used by printers. The dabber roller G
works in heart-shaped openings d, d', (as shewn at Figure 3,) formed in the
sides of the case A. The opening d is that in which the axis g of the dabber G
is inserted when it is desired to impart coloring matter thereto from the inking
roller C, the roller G being moulded of such diameter as to bring it into close
forced contact with the roller C when. placed in the openings d, d. When
sufficient coloring matter has been distributed over and upon the surface of the
dabber roller G, (which is effected by imparting rotatory motion to the handle
D,) the dabber roller is then removed and placed within the openings, and
is ready for use, the operator having simply to press the stamping instrument
upon the surface of the roller G, by which it receives the necessary quantity of
coloring matter. The quantity taken up by the aforesaid dabber roller from
the roller C being adjusted and determined by advancing or drawing back the
screws b, b, as before stated. If the above-mentioned apparatus is placed in a
box, the front of such box may be hinged to the bottom thereof, and be covered
with any suitable elastic substance, so that when such said front is turned
down it may serve as a pad for stamping the article, upon which it is required
to mark.
When it is desired to form a cheap description of inking apparatus, I then
dispense with the said box, and simply use the casing A, which may be
japanned, or otherwise rendered ornamental, and I furnish the top of the
trough B with a lid H, to exclude dust and dirt from the coloring matter
contained in said trough. I propose also so to form the ends of said trough as
that the edges thereof fit against the smaller diameter of the roller C, by
which I prevent the coloring matter éscaping at the ends of the said trough.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said

page_text: Invention of "An Apparatus for Inking Stamps used by Bankers and others,"
together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that what I claim as my
Invention, intended to be secured to me by the above in part recited Letters
Patent, is, the combining of the trough B and inking roller C with the dabber.
roller G into an apparatus, for the purpose of imparting ink or other coloring
matter to such said dabber roller more uniformly and less frequently than by
the means heretofore employed of imparting coloring matter to flat dabbers of
the ordinary kind, as above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Thomas Crofton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six
Witness,
WILLIAM REYNER,
White Hart Inn,
Pool, n' Otley.
MICHAEL THOMAS CROFTON. (L.S.)