AN INVENTION APPLICABLE TO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, THE PRINCIPLES OF WHICH ARE ALSO DESIGNED TO BE APPLIED TO OTHER MACHINERY
Year: 1800

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAC
HAWKINS, of Glossop, in the County Derby, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of November, in the forty-first year of
His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Isaac Hawkins, my exors,
adors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Isaac Hawkins, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
and every of them, by myself or by my deputy or deputies, servants or agents,
or such others as I, the said Isaac Hawkins, my exors, adñiors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend the Invention communicated unto
me by John Isaac Hawkins, of Philadelphia, in North America, being "AN
INVENTION APPLICABLE TO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, THE PRINCIPLES OF WHICH ARE
ALSO DESIGNED TO BE APPLIED TO OTHER MACHINERY," within that part of His
Kingdom of Great Britain called England, the Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as to me, the said Isaac
Hawkins, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or any of then, should in my and
their discretion seem meet; in which said Letters Patent there is con-
tained a proviso that if I, the said Isaac Hawkins, should not particularly

page_text: describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, and cause the san:e to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within one calendar month then next immediately after the date
of the said recited Letters Patent, that the same should be void, anything
therein-before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding,
as by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had, may more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE,. that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Isaac Hawkins, do hereby declare that the said Invention of improvements
was communicated in confidence to me by my son, John Isaac Hawkins,
residing in Philadelphia, North America, and is described in manner following,
that is to say:-
First, metallic elastic wire strings are to be made by the wire being turned
up into a spiral curved serpentine or crooked form, or made with links like a
chain to produce a bass sound, and occupy a much shorter space than is usual.
These strings are also intended to be applied as bands, either single or two or
more sewed side by side into a piece of cloth, leather, or other substance, for
turning lathes and all other machinery where bands are used for turning of
wheels, &c. These elastic strings are also designed to be fixed to saddles and
stirrup straps to render them elastic, and thereby hinder the jolting of horses
from affecting the rider. It is likewise contemplated to combine a number of
these elastic strings together, and apply them to coaches and all other car
riages where springs are used.
Secondly, gut, silk, or
other strings, rendered waterproof by being impreg
nated with drying oils or gums, or other drying substances dissolved in oils of
other menstrua, designed to resist the action of the atmosphere, by which
strings are frequently put out of tune; these are to be applied to all-instru-
ments of music where they can be used..
.
Thirdly, the strings of pianofortes and all other finger-key'd instruments
to be fixed in a perpendicular or nearly perpendicular position, running from
about three or four feet high to within a few inches of the floor. The object
of this is to make pianofortes, &c. in a more convenient and elegant shape
than any heretofore made.
Fourthly, one end of the string of all stringed musical instruments to be
connected with a spring, or fuzee, or levers, to which a spring is fixed, so con-
trived that the spring shall act with equal force or weight on the string when
it contracts or expands. It is intended to apply this principle with a little
variation to the equalizing of any irregular power, such as the action of winds

page_text: or other irregular power upon machinery. The spring in this case will be a
barrel spring. The irregular power is to act upon the spring to wind it up
while the spring spends its force regularly on the movements which it is
designed to work.
Fifthly, for the purpose of tuning the strings of musical instruments, there
are to be frames or carriages, each worked by a screw, to which frame or car-
riage a string is attached, in which also (which may be termed primary) are
one, two, or more secondary carriages, to each of which a string is attached,
worked also by a screw in the primary carriage, so that two, three, or more
strings may be stretched at the same time by turning the screw of the primary
carriage; and they may be put in tune one with another by turning the screws
of the secondary carriages.
Sixthly, there is to be connected with all instruments, where it will apply,
a roller worked by a pedal. or pedals, having pins or other projections acting
upon levars, which press on any of the strings at the pleasure of the performer,
in order to vary the tones by shortening their vibrating part.
Seventhly, there is also to be affixed to instruments from which the tones
are produced from hammers a roller made to turn with considerable velocity,
having projecting parts to strike either immediately or mediately by levers on
a certain part of the hammer, so as make the hammer continue striking the
strings as long as the finger key is kept down. This may be called the
poiatorise stop.
Eighthly, it is intended to make pianofortes, harps, violins, and indeed all
musical stringed instruments, without any box or hollow space under the
sound board, or board which vibrates.from the motion of the strings; or, in
other words, the sound board is to be exposed on both sides.
Ninthly, it is designed to draw a lengthened tone from a string or bell, or
other vibrating body, by the revolution of a hoop or ring, on the inside of
which hair is stretched so as to form an elastic surface.
Tenthly, in all instruments where the tone is produced by hammers striking
strings or bells, or other bodies, there are to be introduced between the ham-
mers and sounding bodies gradually, at the pleasure of the performer, by a
pedal or otherwise, pieces of leather or other substances, the parts of which
are of different degrees of density, thickness, or hardness, so as gradually to
vary the tone from loud to soft, or vice versa, by the hammers striking through
the medium of the hard, soft, thick, or thin parts of the said pieces.
.:
Eleventhly, the frame which contains the finger keys of pianofortes, organs,
&c., is to turn on pivots or axes, to shut up, so as to contract the space which
the instrument occupies when not used.

page_text: Twelfthly, a piece of machinery worked with a pedal, or otherwise attached
to a stand on which a book is placed, to turn over the leaves at pleasure, while
the hands are employed otherwise. This may be done in several ways, but as
the thing is intirely new, the Inventor claims it in every possible manner in
which it can be done, of which the following plan is one, videlicet:-A num-
ber of pieces of metal or other substance turning on an axis near, under, or
over where the back of the book is put; each of these pieces has a long
arm, with a forked end taking hold of a leaf of the book, and a short arm, to
which a wire is fixed, communicating with the pedal. When the pedal is
pressed down it turns the short arm by means of the wire and thereby the
long arm which carries the leaf with it; the pedal then disengages itself,
and communicates with the arm holding the next leaf, so that there may be as
many leaves turned over as their arms turning on their axes.
The principle of these several improvements the Inventor intends to apply
to all kinds of machinery where they are applicable.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Hawkins, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, One
thousand eight hundred.
Atty-at-Law.
DAN PRESTWICH,
Ctk. to said 'Mr. Mellor.
1
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1800, the aforesaid Isaac Hawkins came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according
to the Statutes made for that purpose.
Inrolled the First day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred.