IMPROVEMENTS IN HARMONIUMs
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Stefano Ventura Fontana at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th June 1869.-A communication from abroad by Messrs.
Lefèvre and Dupuy, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
I, STEFANO VENTURA FONTANA, of the Firm of Vaughan and Fontana,
of Copthall Court, in the County of Middlesex, Musical Instrument
Dealers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HARMONIUMs," a communication, to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to a musical instrument which possesses all the
desirable properties of an ordinary harmonium, and which will fold or
double up so that when not in use it will occupy but little space. The
said instrument may therefore be used without inconvenience in small
houses and under circumstances where an ordinary instrument would
not be available, and it may be readily removed from one room or part
of a house to another, or carried to any place for temporary use. It may
also be readily and conveniently packed for transport, or may be carried
by persons travelling on steamboats, ships, or otherwise, to afford a
means of recreation during a long journey.
The general form of my improved harmonium is like that of other
harmoniums, and the arrangement of its internal mechanism is also

page_text: substantially the same as hitherto adopted, though possessing some
peculiarities herein-after described.. My Invention, however, consists
chiefly in the novel construction whereby the folding or doubling up of
the instrument is conveniently effected.
My improved harmonium is constructed with a base or foot, upon
which the bellows are arranged in the usual manner. From this base
the back of the instrument extends upward to the horizontal case within
which the mechanism is enclosed, and whose front upper part carries
the keyboard and stops. The back of the instrument has a joint or
division about midway between the base and the horizontal upper case
and another joint or division just below the said case, and these joints
form the means whereby the folding up of the instrument is accom-
plished. As the back is thus jointed it is abvious that it would not by
itself afford the required support to the instrument when opened, and
that therefore some other means of support must be devised. And my
Invention consists partly in furnishing such means without the employ-
ment of an additional outer case or box, which would render the instru-
ment more bulky and weighty, and which would augment the cost and
render the same generally less convenient. For this purpose I provide
each end of the instrument with an adjustable bracket which extends
upward from the base to the horizontal case, and is divided into two
parts at the lower division of the hack of the instrument. The lower
part of these brackets is made fast to the base and back, while the upper
part is hinged or jointed to the bottom of the horizontal case, so that it
may be folded or turned up to lie close to the same when the instrument
is folded; but when the instrument is to be used the upper or adjustable
part of the bracket rests upon the top of the lower fixed part of the
same, which is properly formed to allow the upper part to be readily
adjusted thereon and to afford a firm support therefor. When the two
parts of the said brackets are thus adjusted together they are secured by
a small button or clip or other suitable fastening. The air is conveyed
from the bellows to the space below the keyboard through broad flat
vertical channels formed in the back of the instrument, and as these
channels are doubled or folded with the other part of the back it is
necessary that the joints should be covered with some flexible air-tight
material, such as leather or india-rubber, to prevent the escape of the air
at these parts. The upper part of the horizontal case 'which carries the
keys, the metal reeds or tongues, and the stops is hinged or jointed so
that it can be turned forward to allow the inner part of the said case to

page_text: be inspected. I may provide the instrument with any desired number
of keys, which are of the usual width, and therefore will not occasion
any inconvenience to a performer accustomed to ordinary harmoniums
and other instruments having similar keyboards, as would be the case
if the keys were narrower than such keys are usually made, and it will
therefore be seen that my instrument, though made capable of folding
into a small space, is not in anywise made less powerful, effective, or
convenient to the performer than an ordinary instrument with a corre-
sponding number of keys and stops. The wind is admitted from the
vertical passages to a space separated from the other part of the case by
suitable air-tight division boards, and passes therefrom to the tongues or
reeds through apertures which are covered with valves and controlled by
means of the stops. The said valves are held down by springs which
yield to a slight pressure exerted upon the stops. The stops of ordinary
harmoniums have heretofore been arranged to be drawn out and pushed
in horizontally over the key board; but the stops of my improved
instrument are adjusted by raising or depressing them in apertures
formed through a curved portion of the case at the back of the key-
board. The adjustable part of the stop is a lever provided with the usual
knob or handle outside, and supported inside the case on a pin or stud
which allows it to turn freely in the curved aperture. The inner ends
of the levers are formed to act upon rods which extend through the case
and lie over arms on the valves. When the knob or handle of a stop is
turned up or back the valve is held down, the said valve being released
by depressing the knob. Two of the stops control long valves or slips at
the back of the keyboard, by opening or closing which slips the sound
of the instrument is diminished or augmented. Relief apertures are also
provided to prevent injury to the instrument by a too great pressure of
air. When the instrument is closed or folded up the bellows are pressed
down and secured by small buttons or catches, the brackets are folded
under the keyboard, the back is folded down upon the base and is
secured by hooks or other suitable fastening. The instrument then
resembles a long narrow box or case, and may be conveniently lifted by
handles attached to its ends.