IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR PENS, BRUSHES, AND THE LIKE USES, THE SAME BEING APPLICABLE TO PENCILS."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Wilson, of the Firm of R. Wilson and Company,
of Keswick, in the County of Cumberland, Pencil Manufacturer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR PENS, BRUSHES, AND THE LIKE USES,
THE SAME BEING APPLICABLE TO PENCILS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Wilson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th June 1879.
ROBERT WILSON, of the Firm of R. Wilson and Company, of Keswick, in the
County of Cumberland, Pencil Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR
PENS, BRUSHES, AND THE LIKE USES, THE SAME BEING APPLICABLE TO PENCILS."
Hitherto penholders, whether made of metal or of wood, or both of metal and
wood, have been found to present many unserviceable qualities. The holder, when
of metal and in use, cracks, corrodes, or gets trampled out of shape, and consequently
useless; or the pen becoming corroded in the holder renders it at times a difficult
and a dangerous task to separate the two, and both may afterwards be useless for
their respective purposes through the damage sustained in the operation of
extracting the nib or pen from the penholder.
The means I employ to remedy these and other defects is to furnish the cedar or
wooden handle of the penholder with a broad elastic band or tube of india rubber,
or other suitable material; the cedar is pared or turned to a less diameter to receive
it, so that it shall lie snug and present no raised projection, but be uniform
throughout with the handle.
When in use the nib or pen is inserted in the usual manner between the elastic
band and the wooden core, and thus securely but elastically held.
These elastic bands or tubes may be made in lengths as india rubber tubing, and
afterwards cut in sections of the required lengths.
The sections for holding a brush or a pencil should however be somewhat larger
than and project beyond the wooden core in order to receive the stump of the
brush or pencil.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Robert Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th December
1879.
ROBERT WILSON, of the Firm of R. Wilson and Company, of Keswick, in the
County of Cumberland, Pencil Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR
PENS, BRUSHES, AND THE LIKE USES, THE SAME BEING APPLICABLE TO PENCILS."
All penholders hitherto made of wood, bone, ivory, or metal have been found to
possess many objectionable qualities. The tip of the holder or that portion which
receives the pen when made of metal is liable to rust or corrode, and when trodden
upon is rendered unfit for further use, and being made of an inelastic material the 1
said tip offers a resistance to the free and easy use of the pen.
My improvements consist in providing the stick for the penholder with a tube or
band of india rubber or other elastic material in place of the metal tip, the said
stick being pared, turned, or otherwise formed to receive the said tube or band, so
that when the said tube or band is placed in position upon the said stick it shall fit 1
snugly upon it and present no uneven surface. The pen is inserted under the said
tube or band and between it and the said stick, and is firmly yet elastically held,
giving to the pen when in use all the freedom and elasticity of a quill pen.
My improvement further consists in providing the said stick with a modified
form of the ordinary tip, in which case the pen is inserted in the said tip or holder 2
and the latter inserted under the elastic tube or band instead of the pen, as above
described. By this improvement I secure all the advantages of the rubber band or
tube, while the fingers are less likely to be soiled by the ink.
The elastic band being non-corrosive is very much more durable than the metal
tip, and being a non-conductor prevents the magnetic current passing from the pen
to the fingers, making the holder more pleasant to use.
The portion of the said stick for receiving the elastic tube or band may be of an
equal diameter throughout, or the outer end may be of a greater diameter then the
part next to the body of the said stick. In the latter case the pen, when inserted,
has its point at a slight angle to the said stick, giving a greater amount of freedom 3
when in use, especially when writing upon uneven or rough surfaces; or the same
angle may be obtained by slightly bending the tip inserted under the band, as
before described.
Any ordinary pencil may be fitted with my improvements, as above described,
and thus be made to answer the two purposes of pencil and penholder.
8
I also apply the said improvements to all kinds of brushes, rendering them more
durable and more easily made than heretofore.
The elastic band or tube above described may be made in lengths in the same
manner as ordinary india rubber tubing, and afterwards cut into sections or pieces
of the required length, according to the purpose for which they are to be used, and 4
may also be made of any durable substance or strength.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING,
Figure 1 shows a sectional plan of one of my improved holders with pen inserted

page_text: and is thus held firmly and elastically between them. The advantage of the holder
provided with the tip D is that as the distance is increased between the pen and
the fingers they are less likely to become soiled, while the said holder still retains
all the advantages of the elasticity of the tube C. The tip D may be made of
3 metal or other suitable material. The pen may be raised at any angle to the
circumferential axis of the stick by slightly bending the said tip or holder D.
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the different form of the core for receiving the elastic
band or tube. The core B may be of an equal diameter throughout, as shewn in
Figure 4; or its diameter may be gradually reduced from the end b, as shown in
Figure 3. This latter form raises the point of the pen when inserted to an angle
from the said stick, giving greater freedom in writing, especially upon rough-
surfaces.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 illustrate my improvement as applied to brushes, Figure 7
being a longitudinal section of Figure 8. The said improvement can be applied to
3 brushes of all kinds, from small camel hair to large dusting or sweeping brushes.
The elastic band or tube C may project beyond the stick to receive the stump of
the brush or pencil; or the bristles or hair of which the brush is composed may be
held together and made to grasp the stick of the said brush by the said elastic
band.
Figure 9 shews the applicability of my improvements to pencils. When carried
in the pocket the point of the pen is inserted between the elastic band and the said -
stick, as shown.
I claim, first, the improvements in pen holders, substantially as described and set
forth and illustrated by the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The application of the improvements to pencils and all kinds of brushes,
substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, the said Robert Wilson hath hereunto set his hand and
•
seal, this Twenty second day of December, in the year of our Lord One.
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
4
ROBERT WILSON. (LS.)