Im- PROVEMENTS IN PERCUSSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN PERCUSSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS."-A communication
from abroad by Victor Mustel, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 24th October 1866, and dated the 30th April 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
80th April 1866.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PERCUSSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," a communication to
me from abroad by Victor Mustel, of Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the construction of musical instruments wherein
the notes are produced by the percussion of hammers against metallic vibrators,
whether the hammers be actuated by the fingers of the operator playing upon
an ordinary pianoforte keyboard or by a barrel set to the music required and
rotated by a handle or by self-acting mechanism.

page_text: In carrying out this Invention a wooden box or case is fitted into the
interior of the outer casing or frame of the instrument, which may be con-
structed on the harmonium type or receive any other desired form. One
surface of this inner box or case is covered by a thin board which constitutes
the sound board of the instrument, and has a number of oblong apertures
made therein corresponding to the number of notes required or to the range or
compass of the instrument. The length of these apertures gradually diminishes
from the base to the treble notes, and the interior of the box is subdivided
by a number of wooden partitions into a series of narrow chambers, the
several chambers Leing disposed side by side, and each chamber having one
of the above-mentioned oblong apertures opening into it. These chambers
gradually diminish in height and depth towards the treble end of the box,
and their depth from front to back is capable of variation by means of
moveable stoppers or plugs inserted therein at the back, the quality of the
note being regulated by inserting or withdrawing the stoppers more or less.
Immediately in front of each of the before-mentioned oblong apertures there
is fixed a metal vibrating tongue, which is by preference made forked, some-
what similar to an ordinary tuning fork, the fork being secured firmly at its
lower extremity between a pair of fixed jaws by'a pin passing transversely
through the base of the vibrating tongue or fork and through the holding
jaws, which are screwed to the face of the sound board below the oblong
slots or openings therein. These forks or vibrators are of different sizes, so as
to produce, when struck, the several notes required. In order to prevent
jarring, care must be taken to insert a piece of cloth between the metal
vibrator and the surface of the sound board at the lower portion of the fork or
vibrator. The upper or vibrating and sound-producing portion of the fork
should be immediately in front of the oblong aperture and in sufficiently
close proximity thereto to allow of it vibrating without coming in actual
contact with any part of the sound board. These farks are struck by ordinary
pianoforte hammers worked from the keys by any convenient or well-known
pianoforte action. The damping is effected by a wedge-shaped pad which
drops in between the vibrating ends of the fork so soon as the key is released,
and is elevated simultaneously with the action of the hammer when a key is
depressed, such dampers being coupled with the striking or hammer action, as
in a pianoforte. The several dampers are carried by separate levers; and
these levers may be all elevated simultaneously so as to lift the dampers clear
of the forks by the usual pedal action when a loud and prolonged tone is
required. The vibrating forks may obviously be brought into play by a
pegged barrel, and they may either be use alone so as to form a novel

page_text: instrument in itself, or they may be combined with the strings of a pianoforte,
or with a harmonium, or with a wind organ, so as to constitute a compound
instrument capable of producing certain novel musical effects.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th October 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN HENRY
JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN PERCUSSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," a communication to
me from abroad by Victor Mustel, of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same.
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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to the construction of musical instruments
wherein the notes are produced by the percussion of hammers against metallic
..vibrators, whether the hammers be actuated by the fingers of the operator

page_text: playing upon an ordinary pianoforte keyboard or by a barrel set to the music
required and rotated by a handle or by self-acting mechanism.
In carrying out this Invention a wooden box or case is fitted into the
interior of the outer casing or frame of the instrument, which may be con-
structed on the harmonium type or receive any other desired form. One
.surface of this inner box or case is covered by a thin board which constitutes
the sound board of the instrument, and has a number of oblong apertures
made therein corresponding to the number of notes required or to the range
or compass of the instrument. The length of these apertures gradually
'diminishes from the base to the treble notes, and the interior of the box is
subdivided by a number of wooden partitions into a series of narrow chambers,
the several chambers being disposed side by side, and each chamber having
one of the above-mentioned oblong apertures opening into it. These
chambers gradually diminish in height and depth towards the treble end of
the box, and their depth from front to back is capable of variation by means
of moveable stoppers or plugs inserted therein at the back, the quality of the
'note being regulated by inserting or withdrawing the stoppers more or
less. Immediately in front of each of the before-mentioned oblong apertures
there is fixed a metal vibrating tongue which is by preference made forked,
somewhat similar to an ordinary tuning fork, being secured firmly at its
lower extremity between a pair of fixed jaws by a pin passing transversely
through the base of the vibrating tongue or fork and through the holding
jaws, which are secured to the face of the sound board below the oblong
'slots or openings therein. These forks or vibrators are of different sizes,
so as to produce, when struck, the several notes required. In order to
"prevent jarring care must be taken to insert a piece of cloth between the
metal vibrator and the surface of the sound board at the lower portion of
the fork or vibrator. The upper or vibrating and sound-producing portion
of the fork should be immediately in front of the oblong aperture and in
sufficiently close proximity thereto to allow of it vibrating without coming in
actual contact with any part of the sound board. These forks are struck
by ordinary pianoforte hammers worked from the keys by any convenient or
well-known pianoforte action. The damping is effected by a wedge-shaped
pad which drops in between or upon the vibrating ends of the fork so soon
as the key is released, and is elevated simultaneously with the action of the
hammer when a key. is depressed, such dampers being coupled with the
striking or hammer action, as in a pianoforte. The several dampers are
carried by separate levers, and these levers may be all elevated simultaneously
so as to lift the dampers clear of the forks by the usual pedal action when

page_text: .
a loud and prolonged tone is required; I prefer to employ for this purpose
the system adopted in the Martin harmonium or other suitable means. The
vibrating forks may obviously be brought into play by a pegged barrel, and
they may either be used alone so as to form a novel instrument in itself, or
they may be combined with the strings of a pianoforte, or with a harmonium,
or with a wind organ, so as to constitute a compound instrument capable of
producing certain novel musical effects.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I
shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all
the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a tranverse section of the improved
musical instrument complete; Figure 2 is a back elevation, showing
the series of rods which actuate the hammers and dampers; Figure 3
is a front elevation, showing the forks or metal vibrators disposed each
in front of its separate sound box or chest; and Figure 4 is an external
front elevation of the frame or fretwork casing protecting or covering the
hammer mechanism.
In order to avoid unnecessary width and to obtain economy of space with
elegance of form, the mechanism is disposed in two or more tiers. In the
Drawings annexed I have represented three of such tiers or rows situate one
above another.
:
The sound boxes a are completely independent of each other; they are
arranged to form quincunx, that is to say, those of one tier break joint with
those above or below, or are situate out of a vertical line in order to afford
greater facility for the disposal of the action, as shown in Figure 2. In front
of each sound box.a is fixed the corresponding vibrator C acted upon by its
hammer D, which is operated by a combination of mechanism clearly
illustrated in the Drawings. These vibrators may, if desired, be situate each
in front of the mouth of open pipes similar to those used in organs, which
will then "speak" equally well as when acted on by wind, but I prefer to
adopt the arrangement of sound boxes shown in the Drawings, as this affords
the greatest volume of sound in proportion to the space occupied. In lieu of
forging the vibrators I take plain steel bars, and by means of a suitable too!
I impart the correct external form to them, and then split them by means of
a slotting tool, cutter, or file, according to the tone to be produced; by this
means a well graduated scale is obtained; the vibrators also thus manufactured
are already tuned, and the tuner has little more to do with them. The mass

page_text: of metal at the heel of the vibrator which serves to fix the same in the
'wooden fork or jaw F has also another function, namely, the arresting the
vibrations at the desired. point in the prongs, whereas in forged forks or
vibrators if the curved part be rather weak it also affects the length of the
vibrations, thus preventing the accurate fixing of the length of the vibrators
excepting by a tedious use of the file. This system therefore possesses the
undoubted advantage of producing a regular scale with considerable saving
of labor. Each vibrator is insulated from its sound box, and the holder or
fork to which it is fixed is itself fixed to one end of the box or in a place
where any
shock will produce no vibration whatever. These forks or holding
jaws for the vibrators are fitted a short distance from the fronts of the sound
boxes, thereby allowing a sufficient elasticity to deaden the sound produced
by the blow of the hammer. The vibrators may also be insulated from
their sound boxes by fixing them on bars independent of these latter, these
bars being themselves so combined as not to vibrate or to impart other
vibrations to the sound-boxes. I prefer to use for this purpose a hollow bar
filled with sand, and to insert between it and the sound boxes a good packing
of soft fabric or leather. A bar packed with lead or other substance not
susceptable of vibrations will answer the same purpose. The particular
form of the sound boxes is not of great importance; they may be made
deeper and consequently less high, and vice versa, this depending on the
situation in which they are to be placed and the form of the case which
is to contain them. I recommend a medium however, as, if made wide,
they will occupy too large a space, and if very narrow, the sound will be less
voluminous and full. The mechanism I prefer to employ for elevating the
dampers by the pedal when increased and prolonged sound is required is
a modification of that adopted by M. Martin, of Provins, in his harmonium
This mechanism consists of a vertical rod P¹ jointed to the pedal P, and
upon which are two tappets x, x²; the lower one a serves to actuate the
bar L round the centre 7, whilst the upper one a¹, which is only brought in
contact by a further depression of the pedal with the bar L', which oscillates
on the centre l¹. This latter bar is provided with as many upright lever
arms pas there are vibrating levers A and B, and it is these which serve to
keep the levers A, B, elevated when the heads or tips y engage under the
notch i. The spring R brings back the bar L'. The vibrating levers A, B,
are each actuated by their corresponding key E, and by the levers H raise
the hammers D, whilst through the levers H¹ they also raise the dampers K.
By the time the foot has completely depressed the pedal P the mechanism
connected with the pedal prepares the range of lever -arms p for passing

page_text: under the levers A, B, should one .or other of these be elevated by the
depression of the keys E by the performer, thereby preventing the levers
A, B, from falling again. When the.required duration of the note or chord
has been completed and it is necessary to produce the next note or chord,
a fresh depression of the pedal P effects a release which throws out of action
by the bar L those lever arms p which had last operated, and at the same
time presents a new combination of notes or chords. Should it be required
to terminate these notes without at the same time producing others to
succeed them, then a half. depression of the pedal will suffice, for, as will be
seen, between the point of release and that of the movement of the general
mechanism there is a space or distance which admits of the first movement
being effected, independently of the second; thus by this system any number
of notes may be sustained without the necessity for keeping the fingers upon
the corresponding keys during such period, the two hands being in fact at
liberty to operate in the meantime upon any other part of the keyboard,
thus giving in effect the advantage of a third hand to the performer. It
must, of course, be understood that the foot should be raised as soon as the
notes which are to be sustained are operated upon, for then all the others
without distinction may be similarly treated. The mechanism may either
be as one throughout the entire length of the keyboard or it may be separated
in the middle and form two series, or it may embrace only a portion of the
instrument.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the application and use to and in musical instruments of vibrating
forks struck by hammers actuated from a keyboard, substantially in the manner
herein-before described.
Second, the separation or isolation of the sound boxes, as herein-before
described.
Third, the peculiar manufacture of the vibrators, and the insulation of the
same from their respective sound boxes, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
Fourth, the production in the said improved musical instrument of sus-
tained or prolonged notes or chords, and the peculiar mechanism employed
therefor, as herein-before described.
Fifth, the combination of my improved arrangement for obtianing musical

page_text: sounds with a piano, harmonium, organ, or other similar musical, instrument,
whether manipulated by the fingers upon a keyboard or by the mechanical
action of a barrel rotated by a handle or clockwork...
Sixth, the general construction and arrangement of musical instruments
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six
;;
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)