AN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND AFFIXING POSTAGE STAMPS OR OTHER LIKE STAMPS OR LABELS to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I VICTORIA ISABELLA HELIODORA BUNDSEN of 41 George Street, Portman
Square in the County of Middlesex, Spinster do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "AN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND AFFIXING POSTAGE STAMPS OR
OTHER LIKE STAMPS OR LABELS to be as follows:-
"
The object of my invention is to construct an apparatus which will hold a
number of separate stamps (or labels) and which by a single action of the apparatus
will moisten the envelope and affix a stamp thereto.
My apparatus is composed essentially of a box or receptacle for the stamps and
of a box or pad or sponge for holding water or other liquid these 2 devices being
held in a suitable frame the stamp box being above the water receptacle. The
stamp box is open at the bottom but has lips or springs to prevent the stamps
falling out, and there is a piston or plunger within the box and an actuating handle
above. The water receptacle, when in the form of a box has a number of small
perforations in the bottom; and when in the form of a pad or sponge the pad or
sponge is enclosed in a box open at bottom.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When it is desired to affix a stamp,
the apparatus is placed on the corner of the envelope, and the handle is then
pressed down; in the first part of this movement a connection between the handle
and the water receptacle brings the receptacle in contact by its bottom face with
the envelope so as to moisten it and then causes the receptacle to turn up out of
the way; and in the second portion of the downward movement of the handle the
bottom face of the stamp holder comes in contact with the envelope and the lowest
stamp adheres to the moistened surface. Pressure is then removed from the handle
and the parts are returned to their normal position by a spring.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: I VICTORIA ISABELLA HELIODORA BUNDSEN, of 41 George Street, Portman
Square in the County of Middlesex, Spinster do hereby declare the nature of
my invention for " AN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND AFFIXING POSTAGE STAMPS
OR OTHER LIKE STAMPS OR LABELS " and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of my invention is to construct an apparatus which will hold a
number of separate stamps (or labels) and which by a single action of the apparatus
will moisten the envelope and affix a stamp thereto.
My apparatus is composed essentially of a box or receptacle for the stamps and
of a box or pad or sponge for holding water or other liquid these two devices
being held in a suitable frame the stamp box being above the water receptacle.
The stamp box is open at the bottom but has lips or springs to prevent the stamps
falling out, and there is a piston or plunger within the box and an actuating handle
above.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 represent an apparatus constructed according to my invention,
Figure 1 being a side view and Figure 2 a front view shewing the parts in their
normal positions while Figure 3 is a transverse section shewing the parts in the
positions they occupy when the actuating handle is pushed down. a is the box or
receptacle for the stamps; it is open at bottom but has lips or flanges to prevent
the stamps falling out; it is carried by arms b, b the ends of which pass through
slots c in the sides of the fixed frame d and are attached to legs e, e; these legs
form part of a bracket f which is in a piece with a sleeve g; this sleeve is
surrounded by a handle h and a spring i is placed between the top of the sleeve
and the top of the inside of the handle. To the top of the frame d'is fixed a tubej
whose upper end enters the sleeve g, and between the top of this tube and a boss k
is a spring ; this boss k is on a rod m which passes down through the tube 'j and
into the stamp box a in which it carries a piston or plunger n. Within the box a
below the plunger is a piece o of india rubber or other suitable yielding material.
(Figure 3) represents a number of superposed stamps in the box. q is the water
receptacle which in the apparatus shown is in the form of a cylindrical vessel with
an aperture for filling it, this aperture being fitted with a screw plug r. The lower
part of the vessel q is formed with small perforations to allow the water to exude
and the vessel is covered with felt or other like absorbent material 8. The vessel
is pivoted in the ends of small levers t,t which are centred at u and have springs v
attached to their other ends; there is another spring w connecting a pin on the
vessel g with a pin y; this spring w tends to keep the vessel q in its normal
position, that is to say, with the bead of the plug against the stop 3. The
levers t, t which carry the vessel q are attached to side frames A, A which are
pivoted at B, B to the fixed frame d. These side frames A, A have slots C, C
through which the arms b, b of the box a pass and in which the arms move when
the apparatus is operated. In order to ease the movement, the arms have anti-
friction rollers or collars at D, D. It will be observed, in Figure 1, that in the
normal position the vessel q is at one side of the central vertical line of the
apparatus.
Having described the various parts of the apparatus I will now explain its
action. The box a being supplied with stamps superposed with their gummed

page_text: face downwards and the vessel 9 being supplied with water all that is necessary
for the purpose of moistening the corner of an envelope and affixing a stamp thereto
is to place the apparatus upon the envelope and then force down the handle h into
the position seen in Figure 3; after holding the handle down for an instant it
should be suddenly released when the various springs return the parts to their
normal position and a stamp will be left adhering to the envelope. In the first part
of the downward movement of the handle, the arms b, b (which with the box a,
legs e, e-bracket f and sleeve g descend with the handle) by moving in the upper
parts of the slots C, C cause the side frames A, A with the water vessel q to turn
on the pivots or centres at B, B into the position seen in Figure 3; in this
movement the vessel q is brought into forcible contact with the envelope, and is
caused to turn on its axis; it travels over and moistens a sufficient amount of the
surface of the envelope, the levers t, t and springs v affording it the necessary
amount of elasticity, and after doing so it has got out of the way of the stamp
box a (see Figure 3). In the second part of the downward movement of the handle
the armis b, b move in the lower parts of the slots C, C and the bottom face of the
stamp box comes in contact with the envelope and then the stamp box not being
able to move further the piston n descends a short distance in the box and ensures
that the lowest stamp shall be brought into contact with the paper. On removing
the pressure from the handle, the spring / returns the piston n, the spring i returns
the handle with the box a, legs e, e-bracket f and sleeve g and the arins b, b in
their upward movement return the side frames A, A with the vessel q.
Figure 4 represents in front view and Figure 5 in transverse section a modified
and simplified form of my apparatus but which although cheaper to manufacture
1 do not consider so good as the form of apparatus shewn in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
The water receptacle consists of a pad q carried by a rod q¹ which is pivoted at its
ends in the fixed frame d. On the rod q¹ is an arm q² which is connected by a
As the handle h descends one of
link q³ to a lever A pivoted at B to the frame d.
the arms b, b on the stamp box in passing down the slot c pushes the lever to onė
side and this movement of the lever, through the intermediation of the link q³ and
arm causes the rod q¹ to turn on its axis so that the pad q is turned out of the
way of the box a and the latter is free to pass it in the latter portion of the
downward movement. q' is a projection on the frame d against which an arm q³
on the rod q' comes so as to act as a stop to this rod in its return movement. The
lever A is returned to its normal position by a spring 9º and the rod q¹ with a pad
by a spring q².
Figures 6 and 7 represent another form of my apparatus differing slightly from
that shewn in Figures 4 and 5. The pad g is carried on the lower ends of
levers A, A which are pivoted at B, B. The upper ends of these levers are connected
together by a rod A¹; a piece A' projecting from this rod is connected by a rod or
As the box a is
link A to a similar piece A* on the side of the stamp box a.
pushed down by the handle h, the link or rod A³ causes the rod A¹ to turn on its
axis together with the levers A so that the pad q is turned out of the way of the
stamp box. In Figure 6 I show at E a slot in the side of the box a through which
the stamps may be inserted. The stamp box in the other forms of apparatus may
also be made with this slot but I find that the stamps can be pushed into the box
at the bottom without difficulty.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A stamp or label holding and affixing apparatus in which are combined a
stamp box, a water receptacle below the said box, and a handle for forcing down
the box, the water receptacle being so connected with the handle that in the first
part of the downward movement of the latter, the water receptacle after having
moistened the envelope or other surface is turned out of the way of the stamp box

page_text: which is then by the continued downward movement of the handle brought down
upon the moistened surface and affixes a stamp or label thereto all substantially as
herein before described.
2. The several modifications of stamp or label holding and affixing apparatus
herein before described and represented in the annexed drawings.
Dr
.
T
1