CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OR MANUFACTURE OF BLANK FORMS FOR BANKERS' CHECKS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE, PROMISSORY NOTES, POST BILLS, AND OTHER SIMILAR INSTRUMENTS OR SECURITIES FOR THE EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT OF MONIES, BY WHICH FORGERIES AND ALTERATIONS IN THE SAME ARE PREVENTED OR DETECTED
Year: 1829

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NATHANIEL
JOCELYN, of New Haven, State of Connecticut, in North America, now
residing in the City of London, Artist, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, having date the Third day of August, in the tenth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
Nathaniel Jocelyn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Nathaniel
Jocelyn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Nathaniel Jocelyn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any.
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OR MANUFACTURE OF
BLANK FORMS FOR BANKERS' CHECKS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE, PROMISSORY NOTES, POST
BILLS, AND OTHER SIMILAR INSTRUMENTS OR SECURITIES FOR THE EXCHANGE OR
PAYMENT OF MONIES, BY WHICH FORGERIES AND ALTERATIONS IN THE SAME ARE
PREVENTED OR DETECTED;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Nathaniel Jocelyn, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
four calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited

page_text: Letters. Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Nathaniel Jocelyn, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described and ascer-
tained as follows; ..that is to say:
Those institutions or individuals upon whom checks and bills are drawn,
or by whom notes or similar instruments, as letters, of credits, are to be paid,
should furnish their customers with blank forms to be filled up by the drawer
or correspondent with a date, sum of money, payee's name, drawer's or cor-
'respondent's name, or other necessary matter. The common blank forms of
these instruments are well known, and differ but very little from each other;
and each institution or individual generally delivers out the same form of
checks to all their customers or correspondents, but seldom delivers out any
forms of bills or notes. It is necessary. that they should all deliver out the
latter forins. Forgeries may even then be easily committed by any one
possessed of: the blank forms who will venture to imitate the handwriting, and
it may
be done either by filling up a blank form entirely, or by making an
alteration to a larger sum of a check or bill already filled up. My improve-
ments in blank forms provide against, these two descriptions of forgery. To
prevent forgeries by filling up blank forms I use a register book thus:Print
upon a conspicuous part of a certain number of blank checks or bills; making
a set sufficiently numerous for one person, a figure, number, letter, or mark,
or other apparent device, so, that no two sets of blank forms for different
persons: shall be similar to each other; and when any one set so, marked is.
appropriated to a particular person, the same, figure, number, letter, or mark
must be registered with that: person's name to it, and it becomes his register
mark or number. Also; for the greater security of the payer, he keeps a key
book, which contains, certain rows or combinations of letters, figures, marks:
emblems, or symbols that are printed upon each blank form, with progressive
numbers on the blank forms, to make them correspond with a like progressive
numbering in the book. I.call this the payer's test mark. It is thus done:
Print upon each of every set of blank forms a row or combination of letters,
figures, marks, emblems, or symbols, so, that, each row or combination may
consist of two, three, four, five, or some arbitrary number of these letters or
symbols; and the row or combination on, each blank, form being unlike, that
on any other blank form of the same set; it is a matter of indifference.
whether the drawer or correspondent has a copy of the key book, but care
must be taken that the progressive numbers on the blank forms correspond

page_text: with the progressive numbers attached to the rows or combinations in the key
book. Again, as blank forms for checks are generally printed in books of
five blank forms in a page or leaf, I have devised a method of connecting
together a number of adjacent blank forms of the same set by means of small
figures or designs of any shape, each fourth part of which, an entire figure, is
different from every other fourth in the work or appearance thereof. This
I call the diversified match mark. This object is effected by stamps or
dies made to impress or print the designs or figures intended to be used,
with dissimilar lines dividing them into four parts, and marked with letters
thus:-
By bringing the outer edge of the second leaf to match on or upon any appro-
priate part of the first leaf, the operator, by one impression, places the figure
upon the back of four blank forms (except in matching the top and bottom
corners of the book, in which case only two blank forms are impressed at one
operation), one half more or less upon two blanks in one leaf, and one half upon
two corresponding ones in the next leaf; so that, when those blank forms are
cut. from the book of forms, the one fourth part more or less of the design or
figure so impressed will be found on the corners and other appropriate parts of
the four blank forms. In the same manner, and by successive impressions made
with figures or designs different from the first and from each other, and with
different coloured inks promiscuously used, all the remaining blank forms on
the said two leaves are to be impressed and matched, and so proceed to match
the third leaf of blank forms from the second, and the fourth upon the third,
and so on through all the leaves of the book. When the match mark is to
appear on the face of the blank forms, the first leaf must be laid on the second,
and the second on the third, &c. When a check comes for payment, if
suspected, it can be compared with either of those on file which were con-
nected with it by the matching, and with which it will agree, if genuine, in
the line of separation between the two checks, or by the diagonal line and
letters.
Having described the alterations or additions which may be made in or püt
on the common blank forms to great advantage, I subjoin specimens of my
new blank forms for checks and bills. [See annexed Drawing.]

page_text: After an inspection of the above blank forms the following description of my
Invention will easily be understood:-Place in some convenient part, or the
margin of the blank form, the series of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, with
or without the word units connected therewith, for a heading; and on some
other part or margin the series of numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, !
with or without the word tens or the figures 10, as a heading connected there-
with; 'and on some other part or margin the series of numbers 100, 200, *300,
400, 500, 600,.700, 800, 900, with or without the word hundreds or the
figures-100,-as-a-heading_connected therewith; and on some other part or
margin, the series of numbers 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000,-
8000, 9000, with or without the word thousands or the figures 1000, as a
heading connected therewith; and so on, if required, for tens of thousands.
These series may be expressed in figures or words, or in both, and also by
abbreviations. The word denoting the currency, as pounds, should be placed
on the forms.
The mode of manufacturing or using my blank forms is-as follows:- If the
sum to be inserted in the check is some pounds sterling, but less than ten
pounds, separate that part of the blank form which has upon it the series of
units and common-form-of-a-check from the residue containing the series of
tens, hundreds, thousands, &c., but cutting or tearing it in a straight line from
the top to the bottom of the check, and you have a perfect. blank form of
check for any sum less than ten pounds. Fill up this form in the usual way,
and with a punch or knife, or other suitable instrument, cut out in the series of
units the figure or figures next in amount above, that denoting the number of
pounds being the number drawn for. If the check is intended to be for a
sum less than one hundred pounds, but more than ten pounds, cut or divido
the blank form between such of the different numbers in the series of tens as
to leave upon the blank form no higher number in that series than is to be
inserted in the body of the check. Then. use the series of units, as before,
to denote the units contained in the sum, or cut out the figure 1 when the
series is not wanted, and it becomes a perfect blank form of check..for
that sum so denoted by the figures, and then fill it up in the usual way,
If the sum is less than one thousand pounds, and more than one hundred
pounds, proceed in a similar manner, using the series of tens in the manner
before described for units. If the sum of money be more than one thou-
sand, and less than ten thousand, and also contains hundreds and a unit,
as £7502, proceed as follows:-Cut away or divide the check between the
figures 8 and 7 in the thousands, punch or cut out the figure 6 in the
hundreds, and the figure one in the tens, and the figure 3 in the units,

page_text: and men un up the check in the usual manner, and in the same manner
checks may be made for tens of thousands, and so on. The fractional parts
of a pound sterling may of course be written in the body of the check, but
will not be denoted by my Invention. In the specimens above given it will
be observed that
415
is the register mark, 103 in the check, and
110 in the bill, as the progressive number; THMZAYVDQ ERDIOGCBO
BKLTX**WT in the check, and DOdWTMNLA mABYBCE in the
bill, is the payer's test mark, which is found to correspond with the key by
means of the progressive number. The figure
is the diver-
sified match mark; the lines V, W, shew the parts that are to be torn off
from the check and bill; the marks at x, y, and z shew the holes whence
the figures have been cut from or punched out. And thus every security
against a forgery, either by filling up a blank check or bill, or by altering it
after it has been filled up, is given to the parties interested.
From the above description, and the examples given, it is quite evident in
what way blank forms may be made for promissory notes and post bills, and
for all similar instruments or securities, as foreign bills of exchange, letters
of credit, stock receipts, &c. Now I do not claim in particular the register
number, nor the payer's test mark with the key book, nor the diversified
match mark. But I claim the combination of them with blank forms for a
check or bill, or other similar instrument so manufactured or made that, by
the manual operation of cutting and punching them in parts, the payer of the
check, bill, or instrument has great facilities for discovering whether the
check or bill was really drawn by the person who purports to have made it,
and can immediately see for what sum the check, bill, or instrument was
intended to be drawn, without even reading the body part of the check, bill,
or instrument, so as clearly and readily to ascertain by inspection whether it
has been altered since it was drawn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathaniel Jocelyn, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, the Third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.
NATHANIEL (Ls.) JOCELYN.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED; that on the same Third day of December;
in the year above mentioned; the aforesaid Nathaniel Jocelyn came before
our Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid; and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case-made and provided.
Inrolled the same Third day of December, in the year above written....