IMPROVEMENTS ON CERTAIN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN CHARLES
SCHWIESO, of Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex, Musical Instrument
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of August, in the seventh year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Charles Schwieso, His especial licence that I, the said John Charles
Schwieso, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Charles Schwieso, my exors, admors, or 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 IMPROVEMENTS ON CERTAIN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said John
Charles Schwieso, 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 six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said recited 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.
John Charles Schwieso, do hereby declare, the nature of my said Invention.

page_text: to consist in three particulars or improvements, the first and second of which
are applicable particularly to the harp, and the third applicable equally to the
harp, piano, and some other stringed instruments.
Now, whereas the nature of my said first improvement consists in connecting
each of the forks which make the natural tones on the harp with a spring
placed immediately over it on the head of the harp, which keeps the fork
always steady, and prevents it from jarring, besides possessing many other
advantages over the system at present adopted:
And whereas the nature of my said second improvement consists in attaching
a spring to the back end of each of the arbors which carry the forks used to
make the sharp tones on the harp in such manner that the said spring shall
always be acting against the pedal action, so as to draw the fork to its open
position whenever the pedal is released; this second improvement is of course
applied to the back of the head of the harp, as will be more particularly
explained hereafter:
And whereas the nature of my said third improvement consists in a series
of small screw nuts, to be used in turning the strings, and placed in such a
situation as for one of the nuts to screw down upon each string of the instru
ment to which it may be applied at some place on the said string between the
extreme end of the string and the next nearest bridge or stop, as the case
may be; this improvement is not a substitute for, but is to be added to the
modes of tuning now in use, and will enable the tuner to bring the instrument
to a much greater degree of exactness than can now be done:
And whereas, in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said John
Charles Schwieso, do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention
is to be performed by the following description of the three several particulars
or improvements herein-before mentioned, reference being had to the Drawing
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say) :-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Fig. 1 represents the harp movement for one string in the situation it
would take when the pedal was released or raised to its highest point
for the flat tones, both forks being at the time open.
In this Figure
A represents the fork for raising a string to the natural tone in its open
position; B is a steel bar or connecting arm, fastened at one end by
a pivot screw to the fork at r, and at the other end by a pivot joint to a
spring, in the nature of a watch spring acting round a fixed point or stud
fixed into the head of the harp, and covered with the brass cap C. This
spring draws the fork back to its open position after it has been acting on the

page_text: string. S is the stud, over which the string is nipped as it passes up to the
turning peg; this stud screws on to the fixed point after the cap C is put over
it, and thus confines the cap to its place. The numbers 5, 6, and 7 show the
several parts herein-before mentioned separately; B being the steel bar or con-
necting arm; D, the spring, connected with it; and e is the fixed point round
which the spring acts; C is the cap, and S is the stud, which screws down
upon the cap on to the fixed point e, thereby keeping all the other parts to
their places, and serving at the same time the purpose of a nipping stud.. And
whereas it is the parts herein-before described, and marked B, D, e, and C,
which constitute the said first particular or improvement of my said Invention;
the numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11 only represent the parts immediately connected
with the ordinary fork for the natural tones separately, to show that they
require no alteration for the purposes of my new plan.
And now I will describe the said second particular of my said Invention,
which being at the back of the harp does not appear in Fig. 1, which only.
shows the crank movements, which have nothing particular or new in them,
and the fork F for the sharp tones; and it is to the arbors and caps of these:
sorts of forks that I am now confining my description. No. 12 is the fork F,.
shewn separately; No. 13 is the arbor, shewn separately, and it will be seen.
that the end G of this arbor is furnished with an additional shoulder and a
small stud or catch at a; this shoulder works in the cap H, and the stud a
catches into a small spring, in the nature of a watch spring, which is coiled up.
and fastened into the said cap; the cap is furnished with a flange in the ordi-
nary way, and is screwed into the back of the head of the harp in the same
position as the ordinary cap. By this means it will be seen, that when the
pedals draw the forks that are furnished with these springs at the end of their
arbors into the position for making the sharp tones the springs will be acting
against the pedals, and thus, when the pedals are released or raised, the springs
will bring the said forks back to their open position; and the application of
this spring to the back of the arbor constitutes the said second particular or
improvement of my said Invention. t is only the screw usually screwed into
the back of the arbor to tighten it up and prevent jarring. No. 14 is a plan of
the cap, shewing the spring coiled up within it, and the flange with the holes for
screwing it on. Fig. 2 shows the position of the movement when the pedal is
depressed for the natural tones; and Fig. 3 the position of the movement when
the pedal is still further depressed for the sharp tones.
Figure 4 represents the said third particular or improvement of my said.
Invention. K is a brass plate, into which is fixed the series of upright screws
marked V. This plate K is to be screwed firmly down upon any .convenient part

page_text: of the instrument to which it is to be applied, provided only that it should be
somewhere between the end of the string and the next bridge where a bridge
is used, or stop where a stop is used, and so placed that one string shall pass
between each screw. It will be seen that each screw is furnished with a nut, the
one at W being shown off, the better to explain the Figure. The object of this
improvement is as follows:-When the strings of the instrument have been
drawn into tune as accurately as this can be effected by the ordinary tuning
pegs, then by turning down the nuts, here shewn, with a small tuning key till
they press upon the strings, any additional degree of tension may be given to
the strings, and thus they may be tuned to the most delicate nicety without
that constant working of the tuning pegs, which often loosens them, and pre-
vents the instrument from remaining in tune. L'is a plan of Fig. 4.
Now whereas I claim as my Invention the three particulars or improvements
herein-before particularly specified and pointed out; and such Invention
being to the best of my knowledge and belief entirely new, and never before
used within that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification of the same, and
that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth comply in all respects
fully and without reserve or disguise with the proviso in the said herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim
to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Charles Schwieso, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven.