In- PROVEMENTS IN BOXES, DRAWERS, AND OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Philip Hill at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th June
1867.
I, GEORGE PHILIP HILL, of Wood Street, in the City of London, Trimming
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN BOXES, DRAWERS, AND OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES," to be as
follows:-
The Invention relates to boxes, drawers, and other like receptacles, but
more especially to such as are intended for holding trimmings and other fancy
goods and similar articles intended for sale, the principal object of the
Invention being to construct such boxes and receptacles in such manner that
a portion of their contents shall be exhibited to view sufficiently for commercial
or trading purposes, and shall be at the same time fully protected. This is.
Boxes and.
an object of considerable importance in fancy warehouses.
receptacles constructed according to this Invention shew sufficient of the
contents to serve the purchaser as a sample, so that he can examine the nature
of the goods, and the seller does not require to take down and unfasten various
parcels, thus occasioning a most important economy of time and trouble,
while at the same time in a box or receptacle constructed according to my
Invention the contents may be fully protected from the action of light when
required, which is very important in respect of the delicate colours of trimmings,
haberdashery, or other fancy goods.

page_text: seen.
My Invention consists in combining opaque and transparent materials in
the manufacture of boxes and other receptacles in the following manner:
The box is made of the usual construction, except at one end thereof. This
end is fitted with a plate of glass or other transparent material, which occupies
and forms the whole or nearly the whole surface of such end, thus constituting
a transparent end to the box through which a portion of its contents may be
A flap of cardboard, wood, or other opaque material is hinged, jointed,
or attached by a flexible connection to or at this end of the box on the outside
and at the bottom edge thereof, its free end being uppermost, so that it opens
outward or downward. It is closed by being raised, and in that position it
closes entirely over the transparent plate. When the cover of the box is on
the same its edge drops over the top of the flap and holds it in its place. When
the cover is removed or raised it liberates the flap and allows it to fall and
uncover the transparent plate.
The Figures illustrate the improvement. Figure 1 is a perspective view
shewing the box open; Figure 2, end.view, and Figure 3, vertical section
shewing it closed.
"A, box; B, cover; C, glass plate fitted in frame d; E, flap hinged to tho
box at e.
It is clear that when this flap is closed the contents of the box are protected
from the action of light, and when the flap is open a sufficient portion of the
contents may be inspected for purposes of selling or exposing to sale or for
purchasing or approval.
Instead of the flap being held in its
closed position by the lid it may be
so held or fastened by other means; also the flap may open upward or even
sidewise instead of downward, that is to say, it may be jointed to the top or
side of the end holding the transparent plate, instead of to the bottom of such
end; or instead of a flap a sliding shutter may be used, or a lid, screen,
curtain, or other cover of opaque material capable of being readily
actuated or manipulated so as to expose and conceal the transparent end as
required.
The Invention may be applied to both ends of a box or receptacle, or to one
or more sides thereof, whether the box or receptacle be square, oblong, or
polygonal; or to one or more portions of its periphery, supposing it to be
round, oval, or of curved or rounded form.