IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jasper Henry Selwyn, of No. 16, Gloucester
Crescent, Hyde Park, in the County of Middlesex, Captain in the
Royal Navy, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS,'
"
Sealed the 4th May 1875, and dated the 20th November 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jasper Henry Selwyn
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th November 1874.
I, JASPER HENRY SELWYN, of No. 16, Gloucester Crescent, Hyde
Park, in the County of Middlesex, Captain in the Royal Navy, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention is designed to produce a simple, strong, and efficient
breech-loading action of few parts, capable of application within the
limits of an ordinary breech-loading gun stock, or it may be applied
with a divided stock if desired,

page_text: In this improved breech-loading action the opening of the breech and
the withdrawal of the empty cartridge case are effected by the downward
movement of a hand lever, the lifting of the hammer, the compressing
or setting in firing position of the mainspring, and the closing of the
breech being effected by the upward or return movement of the same
lever, thus distributing the work between the downward and upward
movements of the hand lever.
The breech block and the hammer both work on the same pin. This
pin traverses a space in the shoe or breech frame, and passes trans-
versely through the breech block and through the hammer near their
rearward ends. The breech block constitutes a lever of the first order,
its main body forming the longer arm. Its fore end carries an exploding
pin, and the block is recessed to receive the hammer, to which is linked
the longer arm of an ordinary double flat mainspring. I prefer to
arrange this mainspring within the breech block, but it may be placed
under the tang of the shoe in rear of the breech block.
The shorter arm of the breech block inclines downward; it is fokred
and carries a transverse pin, which works between prongs of the shorter
arm of the hand lever, which is also forked, but in the opposite direction
to the prongs of the breech block. This hand lever works on a transverse
pin, and when closed its longer arm lies up against the under part of the
trigger plate, where it is retained by a spring catch. Thus the hand
lever and breech block form together what may be termed a double
compound lever, the fore end of which operates the extractor for with-
drawing the empty cartridge case when the rear end is moved down-
ward. The shorter arm of the hand lever is made with a recess having
a shoulder to receive the transverse pin or projection of the shorter arm
of the breech block when in its closed position. Thus when in their
closed positions the shorter or rearward arm of the breech block and the
shorter or forward arm of the hand lever describe together an obtuse
angle, thereby forming a rigid abutment or support to counteract any
downward or opening tendency of the fore end of the breech block when
firing.
The hammer is an inverted one, and also constitutes a lever of the
first order. Its shorter or rearward arm is or may be connected to and
operate an indicator for shewing when the firing mechanism is cocked,
and by means of a sliding bolt in connection with this indicator the
mechanism may be locked at full cock or at half cock. The longer or

page_text: foreward arm of the hammer is formed with a tooth or projection which
when the hand lever is depressed for cocking engages with a bent in the
trigger, by which the hammer is retained in its depressed position during
the return movement of the hand lever, which effects the compression or
setting in firing position of the mainspring, so that on pulling the
trigger, the hammer being released, will strike the exploding pin, and so
fire the gun.
The breech block is firmly supported during the firing by the arrange-
ment of the two levers forming an obtuse angle before spoken of, and.
the safety of the arm when loaded is secured at will either by the bolt
on the indicator pin, or by holding back the trigger during closure,
which prevents the hammer being raised; or, again, the trigger itself-
may be bolted in place after the hammer is raised to full cock.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jasper Henry Selwyn in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th May 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JASPER
HENRY SELWYN, of No. 16, Gloucester Crescent, Hyde Park, in the
County of Middlesex, Captain in the Royal Navy, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of. November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Jasper Henry Selwyn, Her
special license that I, the said Jasper Henry Selwyn, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jasper Henry
Selwyn, my 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,
usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Jasper Henry Selwyn, my executors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their

page_text: hands and seals, 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 Jasper Henry Selwyn, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say)
:―
This Invention is designed to produce a simple, strong, and efficient
breech-loading action of few parts, capable of application within the
limits of an ordinary breech-loading gun stock, or it may be applied
with a divided stock if desired.
In the improved breech-loading action the opening of the breech and
the withdrawal of the empty cartridge case are effected by the downward
movement of a hand lever, the lifting of the hammer, the compressing
or setting in firing position of the mainspring, and the closing of the
breech being effected by the upward or return movement of the same
lever, thus distributing the work between the downward and upward
movements of the hand lever.
The breech block and the hammer both work on the same pin. This
pin traverses a space in the shoe or breech frame, and passes trans-
versely through the breech block and through the hammer near their
rearward ends. The breech block constitutes a lever of the first order,
its main body forming the longer arm. Its fore end carries an exploding
pin, and the block is recessed to receive the hammer, to which is linked
the longer arm of an ordinary double flat mainspring. I prefer in some
cases to arrange this mainspring within the breech block, but it may bo
placed under the tang of the shoe in rear of the breech block, in which
arrangement the compression of the mainspring will take place during
the downward movement of the hand lever.
The shorter arm of the breech block inclines downward; it is forked,
and carries a transverse pin, which works between prongs of the shorter
arm of the hand lever, which is also forked, but in the opposite direction
to the prongs of the breech block. This hand lever works on a transverse
pin, and when closed its longer arm lies up against the under part of the

page_text: trigger plate, where it is retained by a spring catch. Thus the hand
lever and breech block form together what may be termed a double
compound lever, the fore end of which operates the extractor for with-
drawing the empty cartridge case when the rear end (i.e. of the hand
lever) is moved downward. The shorter arm of the hand lever is made
with a recess having a shoulder to receive the transverse pin or projection
of the shorter arm of the breech block when in its closed position. Thus,
when in their closed positions, the shorter or rearward arm of the breech
block and the shorter or foreward arm of the hand lever describe together
an obtuse angle, thereby forming a rigid abutment or support to coun-
teract any downward or opening tendency of the fore end of the breech
block when firing. 、
The hammer is an inverted one, and also constitutes, a lever of the
first order. Its shorter or rearward arm is (or may be) connected to
and operates an indicator for shewing when the firing mechanism is
cocked, and by means of a sliding bolt in connection with this indicator
the mechanism may be locked at full cock or at half-cock. The longer
or foreward arm of the hammer is formed with a tooth or projection,
which when the hand lever is depressed for opening the breech action.
engages with a bent in a lever on which the trigger operates, by which
the hammer is retained in its depressed position during the return
movement of the hand lever, which movement in the ono arrangement
effects the compression or setting in firing position of the mainspring, so
that on pulling the trigger, the hammer being released, will strike the
exploding pin, and so fire the gun.
The breech block is firmly supported during the firing by the arrange-
ment of the two levers forming an obtuse angle before spoken of, and
the safety of the arm when loaded is secured at will either by the bolt
on the indicator pin, or by holding back the trigger during closure,
which prevents the hammer being raised; or, again, the trigger itself
may be bolted in place after the hammer is raised to full cock."
Such being the nature of my Invention, I now proceed to describe the
manner of carrying the same into practical effect, as illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, in which,―
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of part of a gun constructed according
to my Invention, the parts being in the position which obtains when the
gun has been fired; Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the breech block'

page_text: open; Fig. 3 is a plan; Fig. 4, a cross section in the line A, B, of
Fig. 1.
a is the shoe or breech frame, and 6 the barrel, whose rear end is
closed by the fore end c of a block swinging on a pin. d, which. also
carries the inverted hammer e, e¹, arranged partly within the breech
block, as shewn; f is the exploding pin. Within the recess. in the
breech block is arrangéd a double flat mainspring, one arm g of which
is linked, as shewn, to the hammer e, whilst the other arm g¹ is on a
pin h. The shorter arm c¹ of the breech block inclines downward; it is
forked, and carries a transverse pin i, which works between prongs k, k¹,
of the short arm k of the hand lever, which is also forked. The hand
lever works on a transverse pin 1, and when closed its longer arm k³ lies
up against the under part of the trigger plate m, where it is retained by
a spring catch. Thus, as stated, the band lever and brecchi block form
together what may be termed a double compound lever, the fore end of
which in descending comes in contact with the arm n of a bell-crank
lever, which extracts the cartridge, as is well known, when the arm n is
operated by the breech block c. The shorter arm ³ of the hand lever is
made with a recess k*, having a shoulder to receive the transverse
pin when the breech block is in its closed position, as shewn in Fig. 1,
so that in this position of the parts the rearward arm c¹ of the breech
block and the foreward arm k² of the hand lever describe together an
obtuse anglo, and form a rigid abutment or support to counteract any
downward or opening tendency of the fore end of the breech block when
firing. The shorter or rearward arm e' of the hammer operates an
indicator pin o for shewing when the firing mechanism is cocked.
a tooth or projection on the hammer, which when the hand lever is
depressed for cocking engages with a bent p in the sear, by which the
hammer is retained in its depressed position during the return movement
of the hand lever, which effects the compression or setting in firing
position of the mainspring, so that on pulling the trigger this lever or
sear is disengaged from the hammer, and the hammer being released
will strike the exploding pin, and so fire the gun.
is
Fig. 5 shews a modification, in which the mainspring is placed under
the tang of the shoe in rear of the breech block. In this arrangement
the longer arm of the spring is linked to the shorter arm e¹ of the
inverted hammer, or in rough forms of arm the link may be left out
altogether, and the shorter arm of the hammer may be caused to bear

page_text: directly against the lower arm or end of the spring. q is a safety bolt
operating in conjunction with the sear for locking the mechanism in
firing position, the indicator pin described with reference to the preceding
arrangement being in the present case dispensed with.
Where my improved guns are made with a divided stock the tang
above and the trigger plate below may be continued and united with a
heel plate, so as with light plates or lateral parts to form a hollow stock.
Having described the nature of my said Invention, and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would
have it understood that I do not claim as of my Invention or the
exclusive use of the several parts herein-before described or referred to;
except when the same are used in and for the purposes of my Invention
in respect of which I consider as novel and original and therefore claim
under the Letters Patent herein-before in part recited,-
First. Constructing and arranging the swinging breech block and
hand lever, as herein-before described, so that when in their closed
positions the rearward arm of the breech block and the foreward arm of
the hand lever describe together an obtuse angle, thereby forming a rigid
abutment or support to counteract any downward or opening tendency
of the fore end of the breech when firing.
Secondly. The combination of parts forming the breech-loading action,
constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as shewn in and
described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Thirdly. The combination of parts forming a breech-loading action,
constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as shewn in and
described with reference to Fig. 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jasper Henry Selwyn, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
JASPER HENRY SELWYN. (L.S.)·