IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE DWELLINGS 17 VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLERS OR EMIGRANTS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Esnouf and Charles Mauger, junior, both of
the Island of Jersey, and George Washington Lewis, also of Jersey,
Carpenter, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE DWELLINGS
17
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Esnouf, Charles
Mauger, and George Washington Lewis at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th March 1854.
We, EDWARD ESNOUF and CHARLES MAUGER, j, both of the Island of
Jersey, & GEORGE WASHINGTON LEWIS, also of Jersey, Carpenter, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE
DWELLINGS AND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLERS OR EMIGRANTS" to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of an improved cart or vehicle adapted for emigrants,
which we propose to designate the isometrical tent, the several parts of which
form, when taken asunder, portions of a tent or dwelling, furniture, &c. For
example, the shafts of the cart when taken out and secured together by a suit-
able metal ring or band form the central pole of the tent or dwelling, the sides
of which are formed of a number of rectangular frames, covered with wood
or other suitable material; these frames are connected with the central pole

page_text: by iron rods, which screw into the ring or band before refferred to. A canvas
covering is fastened to the top of the pole; this covering forms the roof, and it
may, if necessary, be made to cover the sides or be fastened to the upper part
of the rectangular frames. The covering should be made in several parts for
portability, and have eyelot holes in the edges, by which the parts may be laced
or drawn together. The wheels of the cart when supported on iron legs and
furnished with a cover, form tables, The framework sides of the tent are
intended to be packed in a chest, and the bottom of this chest forms a bed-
stead; suitable legs are fitted to it for the purpose. The seats of the cart, in a
similar manner,.are to be used.as.forms or seats for the tent; they may be sup-
ported by light iron legs, as in the other cases. The foregoing is an outline
description of our Invention, the details of which may be modified in various
ways without departing from the principle of the improvements.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Esnouf, and Charles Mauger, and George Washing-
ton Lewis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th September 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
ESNOUF and CHARLES MAUGER, junior, both of the Island of Jersey, and GEORGE
WASHINGTON LEWIS, also of Jersey, Carpenter; send-greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Edward Esnouf, Charles Mauger, and George Washington Lewis, Her special
licence that we, the said Edward Esnouf, Charles Mauger, and George
Washington Lewis, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Edward Esnouf, Charles Mauger, and George Washington
Lewis, our executors, administrators, and 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 PORTABLE
DWELLINGS AND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLERS OR EMIGRANTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Edward Esnouf, Charles Mauger, and

page_text: George Washington Lewis, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, 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 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 we, the said Edward Esnouf, Charles Mauger, and
George Washington Lewis, do hereby declare the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our Invention consists of improved tents or dwellings adapted for travellers
or emigrants, and which form (when not in use as a tent) a chest, or the body
of a vehicle. The framing of one of these tents consists of a series of rect-
angular or other shaped frames of wood or metal; a number of these are
hinged together in such manner as to fold one upon another when closed,
similar to the leaves of a screen. Several of these frames are hinged or other-
wise fastened together, according to the size of the tent required, one of the
end frames being fitted with a door, which forms the entrance to the tent, and
when the frames are closed together the edges of the frames form the sides of
a box or chest, and the door serves as a lid for the same. A rectangular piece
of wood, the size of the frames, is placed beneath the lower frame and forms
the bottom of the chest; four or any other number of rods or bolts are passed
through holes made in the frames for the purpose, and secured to the bottom
by nuts, which fasten the whole firmly together. When the tent is in use the
bottom of the chest forms either a table or bedstead by screwing four legs into
the under side of it. The framing before referred to is covered with canvas in
the ordinary manner, the peak or apex of which is supported by a central pole.
If a permanent dwelling or building is required, the framing may be covered
with wood, metal, or other suitable material. In some cases the pole may be
made of tubes of metal, to slide one within another, or a pair of shafts may be
joined together by a collar or fid, to form the pole. To give the framing the
necessary rigidity and prevent it folding or collapsing, each pair of frames is
held together by a metal clip, or by radial rods screwed into the tent pole or
into a collar or flange fitted thereon. The sides of the tent being perpendicular,
it is much more commodious than those of the ordinary conical shape, and as
the framing may be bent or folded in any direction, the shape of the tent may
be varied at pleasure. The chest or box before referred to forms the body of
a cart or vehicle; an axle is fitted in sockets or bearings beneath the chest,
and a pair of wheels secured upon it in the ordinary manner; a pair of shafts

page_text: secured to the front by bolts and pins, or other suitable fastenings, completes
the vehicle. The iron legs of the table and bedstead are made to screw into
each other and into the edge of the chest; these form a support for a tilt or
cover to the cart or vehicle. A couple of planks are fitted inside the body of
the cart for seats; these are made to form convenient seats for the tent by
screwing light metal legs into them. A vehicle of the foregoing description is
well adapted for the use of sportsmen and tourists, as it can be used as a vehicle
during the day and a tent by night. A highly ornamental appearance may be
given to the vehicle if desired, or it may be made to resemble those used by
sportsmen and known as dog carts, or be adapted for pic-nic parties and many
other useful purposes.
The different parts of the tent, and some of the modifications of form of
which it is susceptible, are represented in the accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1,
Sheet A, is an elevation of one of the rectangular frames which form the
sides or wall of the tent. A, A, is the frame; B, a cross bar or strength-
ening piece; C, the hinges; D, holes through which the rods are passed for
binding or holding the frames together. Where the framing or wall of the
tent does not exceed three or four feet in height, the cross bar B is not
required; the frames may be secured together either by hinges, bolts, and
nuts, or by straps or bands, if of elastic or flexible materials, or by any
other suitable mechanical means of securing or fastening the same together.
In Fig. 2 a series of these frames are represented hinged together; they are
made to fold together and open in the manner of a screen, as shown by Fig. 3.
Fig. 4 represents a chest or box formed of eighteen of these frames; and
Fig. 5 shews the same opened and formed into a rectangular tent. E is
the door of the tent, which also forms the lid of the chest or box, as shown
by Fig. 4. The covering of the tent is of canvas or other suitable material,
and made in the ordinary manner; the upper part which rises above the
frames is supported by a central pole F; the covering is fastened to the lower
part of the frames by loops, eyelot holes, or other suitable contrivance. Thus
in tents of this description no ropes are used for securing the tent, and it may
be set up upon a lawn or in a flower garden without injury to anything beneath
or around it, and without waste of space, as in tents of the ordinary description,
arising from the angles formed by the supporting ropes.
The necessary
rigidity and stability is given to the framing to prevent it folding or collapsing by
clips of metal or other suitable material; the frames at the bottom are held to
the ground by metal pegs, to prevent the tent being overthrown by the wind
or other causes. Fig. 6, Sheet B, represents one of the clips for holding a

page_text: pair of frames firmly together; this form of fastening is adapted for tents of
an oblong or other rectangular figure. Fig. 7 represents a clip adapted for
fastening the frames at the angles of a rectangular tent. For tents of a poly-
gonal form the clip represented by Fig. 8 is used; the form of the clip must
of course be adapted to the particular figure of the framing, if any other shape
than those referred to is required. The framing of the tent may, if desired, be
secured to the central pole by radial rods screwed or otherwise fastened to a
collar or flange fitted on the pole, and dropped into eyes or holes made in the
frames; this mode of securing the framing dispenses with the clips before
described. For emigrants this description of tent is very useful, the space
above the rods forming a convenient store for articles not in immediate use,
the rods forming a support for the same. Fig. 9 represents the bottom of the
chest made into a table by screwing into it four iron legs or supports, or it
may be made into a bedstead by fitting a head board to it. The wheels of the
cart form a pair of tables, as shewn in plan and elevation by Fig. 10, 11, by
screwing iron legs into the feloes and placing a circular top upon the upper
side of the wheels; the tops may be made to fold into two or three, for conve-
nience of carriage when not in use. The metal legs here referred to are to be
made with an external or male screw at one end, and an internal screw at the
other, so as to screw together and form a support for the tilt or cover of the
cart. Fig. 12 represents a tent of a polygonal form; the edges of the frames
for tents of this shape are bevilled off from the centre, to allow of their being
placed at the required angle. Fig. 13 is an elevation of the cart or vehicle'
fitted with a tilt; it may be made either with shafts or a handle to draw it
by hand. Fig. 14 represents the chest or tent frame modified to form a dog
cart, adapted for the use of sportsmen or tourists; a double seat is fitted across
the centre of the chest, and the apron in front is made to cover a portion of the
sides, so as to give it the appearance of an ordinary sporting vehicle. Fig. 15
represents a vehicle of a larger size, adapted for conveying pic-nic parties and
other similar uses, forming a commodious tent when required; the cover, pole,
and other parts are packed beneath the seat. Fig. 16, Sheet C, represents a
tent pole of the telescopic form; it consists of an outer or lower iron tube G,
in which another tube I slides up and down, and is capable of adjustment to
any required height by means of a set screw or other similar arrangement.
The tube I fits within the tube H, and when in use is screwed into the
internal screw made in the collar of the tube H; a rod of metal having a small
disc fitted to the end of it screws into the tube I, and completes the pole; at
the lower end is a spike to hold it firmly in the ground, which, when not in

page_text: use, is screwed inside the outer tube. Fig. 17 represents this form of tent pole
when closed. In some cases we should make the pole of wood, fitted together
similar to the joints of a fishing rod, or it may be made by fastening together
the shafts of the cart or vehicle either by bolts or nuts, or by a fid or collar, or
other suitable fastening. A very portable form of tent is shewn by Figs. 18,
19, 20, 21, and 22, in which the tent is complete is packed in the lower part
of the tent pole. L, Figs. 18, 19, is a metal tube made wide enough to hold
the cover of the tent when closely rolled up; this tube or case forms the
bottom joint of the pole, the second joint of which, M, is fitted with a disc
corresponding in size with the internal diameter of the lower tube L; the
upper joint N of the pole is a tube or rod which slides within the tube M.
At the top of the tube N is fitted a cone of wood or other suitable material,
which sustains the apex of the tent cover; the height of the pole is regu-
lated by a set screw or other equivalent arrangement, which passes through
holes or a slot made in the tube M, and screws into the disc of the tube N.
Fig. 19 represents the tent when closed. Fig. 20 shews the cover folded in
a rectangular form and ready to wind upon the tube N, Fig. 21, in order
to fit it within the case M. Fig. 22 represents the tent set up ready for
use; there being no framing to this description of tent it is very portable and
well adapted for military purposes, or for tourists, &c. Figs. 23 and 24 repré-
sent in plan and side elevation our mode of constructing tents without a central
pole. O is a disc of metal, wood, or other suitable material; into the edge of
this disc are screwed or otherwise fastened a number of radial rods P, which
are secured to the clips of the framing by passing them into slots cut in the
clip, or fastening them by bolts and screws or other suitable arrangement; by
this means the framing is securely held together, and the tent pole dispensed
with.
Having described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not
confine ourselves to the precise mechanical arrangement of the details
herein-before described and shewn by the accompanying Drawings. But
what we claim, and desire to secure by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,
Firstly, constructing the walls or sides of tents of a series of frames hinged
or otherwise secured together, and the telescopic pole for supporting the cover,
as herein-before described and shewn.
Secondly, the application of the frames to form a chest or box, and a cart or
other form of vehicle, as herein described and shown.

page_text: Thirdly, the clip or fastening for securing the frames, and the application of
parts of the chest or vehicle to form articles of furniture, as before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Mauger and George Washington
Lewis, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifteenth day of
Santember 1854
(L.S.) C. MAUGER.
(L.S.) G. W. LEWIS.