A New KIND OF DAMPER FOR MOISTENING STAMPS AND PAPER
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Claude Mamès Augustin Marion, of Paris,
in the Republic of France, and of Regent Street, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "A New KIND OF DAMPER FOR
MOISTENING STAMPS AND PAPER."
Sealed the 26th April 1858, and dated the 26th October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Claude Mamès
Augustin Marion, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 26th October 1852.
I, CLAUDE MAMES AUGUSTIN MABION, of Paris, in the Republic of
France, now residing in Regent St., in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW KIND OF
DAMPER FOR MOISTENING STAMPS AND PAPER" to be as follows:-
This new kind of stamp and paper damper, &c. can be applied to
hydraulic inkstands, or separately.
The annexed Drawing shows its application to hydraulic inkstands.
A, is a reservoir for water. In this reservoir the lower part of the
stamp damper B, is to be immersed (it may be of porcelain or any
other substance). It is cylindrical at the bottom, and terminated at its
upper extremity by a receptacle to contain sponge, cotton, cloth, or any

page_text: other fibrous material, which is covered at the upper part with a piece
of cloth, which is then fixed to the edges of the stamp damper. The
latter is pierced at its lower end with small holes a, a; & when
once the porous body with which it is filled is damped, the capillary
attraction raises the water from the interior of the reservoir, and con-
stantly keeps damp the cloth which is at the upper part of the stamp
damper B. It is evident that, in order that the water should be raised
into the interior of the stamp damper, it is necessary, that the openings
which it has at its lower part, as well as a part of the fibrous body with
which it is filled, should be dipped into the water contained in the
reservoir of the inkstand.
This arrangement is very convenient for wetting wafers and postage
stamps; to do which, slightly press them to the upper part of the stamp
damper. It presents, besides, the greatest facility for damping the p
of copies of letters; the stamp damper has only to be withdrawn from
the vessel in which it dips, and made use of as a tampion.
pages
In order that the stamp damper may be applied to hydraulic ink-
stands, it is necessary that the screw C, by the assistance of which the
reservoir is made to ascend or descend, be of a large diameter and
hollow. It is joined to the lid of the inkstand by 2 collars, placed one
above, the other below, the said lid, & which permit it to turn without
any possibility of being displaced from top to bottom. It is by the
interior of this screw that the water is introduced into the reservoir
without any risk of its mixing with the ink. The stamp damper B,
serves to turn this screw, and to produce the raising or lowering of
the reservoir; for this purpose it has at the top of its cylindrical part
two small stops, which are shown in Figure 2, by the letters f, fi
which stops enter into notches made in the screw, and carry it away
with the stamp damper, when it is made to turn to the right or left.
These stops, instead of being fixed on the stamp damper, can be fixed
on the screw; the stamp damper would then have 2 notches in which
these stops would fit.
I can be easily conceived that instead of uniting the stamp damper
with hydraulic inkstands, it could be fitted into a separate vessel of
any shape, into which it would dip. It would be similar to that repre-

page_text: sented by the letter B, in the annexed Drawing. When the stamp
damper is not united to an hydraulic inkstand the button used in the
latter to elevate or depress the reservoir is dispensed with, & is re-
placed by a small vertical brush, Fig. 4, which serves to wipe the pen.
This brush may be made of horse hair, or any other material.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Claude Mamès Augustin Marion in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 26th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
CLAUDE MAMES AUGUSTIN MARION, of Paris, in the Empiro of France,
and of Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Claude Mamès Augustin Marion,
Her especial license that I, the said Claude Mamès Augustin Marion,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Claude Mamès Augustin Marion, any 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 "A NEW KIND OF DAMPER FOR
MOISTENING STAMPS AND PAPER," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Claude Mamès Augustin Marion, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
Itain 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 Claude Mamès Augustin Marion,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, that is to say:
The new kind of stamp and paper damper, &c. of my Invention can
be applied to hydraulic inkstands, or employed separately. The Drawing
annexed indicates these two applications. The interior of the reservoir
A, is hollow, and serves to contain water. It is in this reservoir that
the lower part of the stamp B, plunges, and which may be in porcelain
or any other material. It is cylindrical from its base, and terminated
at its upper part by a portion having the form of a half sphere; it is
hollow in the interior, and filled with sponge, cotton, cloth, or any other
fibrous material, covered at its upper part with a piece of cloth, and is
then fixed with a little interior ring of metal upon the edges of the
damper stamp. This last is pierced at its lower part with little
holes a, a, and when once the porous body with which it is filled is
damped the capillary attraction raises the water from the interior of
the reservoir, and keeps the cloth which is at the upper part of the
stamp B, constantly wet. It is evident that, in order that the water
may become raised into the interior of the damper stamp, it is neces-
sary that the openings which it bears at its lower part, as well as a
part of the fibrous body with which it is filled, should be dipped into
the water which contains the interior of the plunger of the inkstand.
This arrangement is very convenient for damping tickets and
postage stamps; for this they are only to be applied lightly upon
the upper part of the damper stamps. It affords, besides, the greatest
facility for damping the pages of books for copying letters; the damper
has only to be taken from the vessel in which it is placed, and to be
used as a "tampion."
In order that the damper stamps of my Invention may be applied
to hydraulic inkstands, it is necessary that the screw C, by the aid of
which the plunger is made to ascend or descend, should be of a large
diameter, and hollow in the interior. It is joined to the lid of the ink-
stand by two collars, placed one above and one below the said lid, and
which allow it to turn without being liable at any time to be displaced
above or below. It is by the interior of this screw that the water is
introduced into the reservoir, without which it would be insecure, as it

page_text: might flow into the inkstand and mix with the ink. The damper stamp
B, serves to make this screw turn, and thus produce the ascent or
descent of the plunger; for this purpose it bears above its cylindrical
part two little stops, which are shown in Fig. 2, by the letters f. f.
which stops enter into the notches made in the screw, and cause it to
move with the damper when it is turned to the right or the left.
These stops, in place of being fixed upon the damper stamps, may be
upon the screw; then the damper stamp would bear two notches in
which the stops would fit.
It
may
:
"
be easily understood that, instead of joining the damper stamp
of my Invention to the hydraulic inkstands, I could place them in a
separate vessel, which could assume any form whatever, and in which
they might be plunged. Figs. 4, and 5, indicate this arrangement. A,
is a vessel of porcelain, metal, or any other material, in which the water
is placed; and B, is the damper stamp, which is entirely like that pre-
viously described.
Fig. 6, indicates an arrangement of damper stamp a little different
from that which I have indicated.
In order that the fingers need not be wetted when the damper stamp
is used as a "tampion" for copying letters, I place it upon a little
cylinder C, which is fixed at the bottom of the vessel A. This cylinder
is hollow, and furnished at its lower part with openings, which permit
the water to penetrate into its interior. It is filled with sponge, cloth.
or any other fibrous materials, which form at its upper part a pad of a
semi-spherical shape. It is upon this pad that the sponge rests, or the
fibrous material of the damper stamp B. The water will be raised into
the latter in consequence of the contact of the two sponges, which
operate as if they only formed one, and the damper stamp is only in
contact at its interior with the water.
It may be easily understood, that all possible forins may be given to
the vessel A; it might even be superseded and replaced by the cylinder
C, which would then be made larger in its lower part, as shown in
Fig. 8, or the sponge might be removed from the cylinder to fill it with
water, and might then be replaced.
The same arrangement as Fig. 8, may be adopted, with this variation

page_text: only, that the interior sponge is raised with the lid of the damper stamp
when it is necessary to place water in the vessel. The water which flows
from the "tampion" may return into the vessel by the little holes made
upon the lid.
I claim as my Invention,-1st, the arrangements of the damper
stamps which I have herein described, and their adaptation either as
I apply them to hydraulic inkstands, or as I employ them separately,
but without confining myself to the precise forms herein described;
& 2ndly, the herein described adaptation of capillary attraction.
In witness whereof, I, the said Claude Mamès Augustin Marion,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three
CLAUDE MAMES AUGUSTIN MARION. (L.S.)
Taken and acknowledged by the said
Claude Mamès Augustin Marion,
at Paris, this Twenty-first day of
April 1853.
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Paris,
THOMAS PICKFORD. (LS.)