AN IMPROVED PLATE WARMER
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Bartholomew Martin, of Suffolk
Street, Haymarket, London, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
PLATE WARMER."
Sealed the 6th February 1854, and dated the 6th August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Bartholo-
mew Martin at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 6th August 1853.
I, RICHARD BARTHOLOMEW MARTIN, of Suffolk St., Haymarket,
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
MPROVED PLATE WARMER" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of apparatus for heating or warming plates
and such like articles for the table by means of hot water. The appa-
ratus made of tin or other metal is to be so constructed as that hot
water poured in through a pipe at the top may circulate down the sides
of the apparatus and across a series of shelves, being discharged by a
tap at the bottom. If required, an iron receptacle for a heater is to be
affixed at the bottom, so that a high temperature may be kept up.
The apparatus may be portable or fixed in the wall or other convenient

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Bartholomew Martin in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 6th February 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
RICHARD BARTHOLOMEW MARTIN, of Suffolk Street. Haymarket,
London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Richard Bartholomew Martin, Her
special licence that I, the said Richard Bartholomew Martin, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Richard Bartholomew Martin, my executors, administrators, and as-
signs, 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 "AN IMPROVED PLATE WARMER," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Bartholomew
Martin, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
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 Richard Bartholomew Martin,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:
My Invention consists of an improved plate warmer or apparatus
for heating or warming plates and viands for the table by means of

page_text: hot water circulating therein. The plate warmers in present use arc
either intended to be placed before a fire, having one side open for this
purpose, or are heated by means of a charcoal fire in the interior
thereof. The former description of apparatus is inefficient, unsightly;
and adapted only for a kitchen, while in the latter the heating medium
is of an offensive character. My improved apparatus is well adapted
for use in the dining room, and not merely for warming plates but for
keeping the "removes" hot for service. For the heat given off by hot
water, although sufficiently high for all the required objects, does not
dry up or evaporate the gravy of meats, or communicate any un-
pleasant taste to them. And when, as is often the case, it is desired
to keep a dinner hot for a person who is prevented joining the family
circle at the appointed dinner hour, this improved plato warmer will
retain the reserved dinner at a proper and agreeable temperature.
Moreover, it is portable, and can be readily moved by the butler or
attendant at the dinner table to suit the requirements of the service.
Figure 1, of the accompanying Drawings represents a vertical section
of the improved plate warmer; this section is taken in a line parallel
with the front of the apparatus; Fig. 2, represents a section parallel
with the sides; and Fig. 3, shews the apparatus complete. a, a, is the
outer casing of block tin or other metal, but I prefer the former,
within which is another of similar form b, b, placed about an inch
from the outer one a, a; the shelves c, c, are made in a similar
manner, and so as to communicate with the space between the parts a,
and b. At the top of the apparatus is an aperture d, through which
hot water is poured so as to fill the space between the sides a, b, and
shelves c; the heat given off by the water is communicated to plates or
dishes placed within the warmer. In order to maintain the heat
during a greater length of time an iron heater e, is made red hot and
placed inside the chamber f, immediately below the lower shelf .c.
In some cases it may be preferable to heat the water by means of a
lamp suspended below the bottom of the warmer, and to make the nut
that secures the aperture d, with a small spring valve to permit the
escape of steam when it accumulates beyond a certain pressure. At
the back of the warmer is a tap g, to draw off the water when done

page_text: with; the other parts of the apparatus do not differ from those known.
In some cases it may be desirable to have the improved apparatus in
the kitchen, and it may then be fixed to the wall, or built in the wall
by the side of the range or boiler. In the latter construction a pipe
furnished with a stop cock may supply hot water to the apparatus
direct from the boiler; in this arrangement the apparatus does not
require legs or standards, and, as is obvious, there are other minor
modifications with regard to the supply of the hot water, &c., which
do not require any particular description; the principle and main
features being the same in both arrangements.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, what I claim as ny Invention, and desire
to secure by these Letters Patent, is,―
Constructing plate warmers with spaces between the sides and shelves
to be filled with hot water, and the modes of imparting additional heat
to the water, as herein-before described and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Bartholomew Martin,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Third day of
February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
⚫ and fifty-four.
RICHARD BARTHOLOMEW MARTIN. (L.S.)