IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WICK AND CHIMNEY HOLDERS FOR LAMPS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Whitehouse, Manufacturer, of Birming-
ham, in the County of Warwick, and Charles Priestland, Stamper and
Piercer, also of Birmingham aforesaid, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Whitehouse and
Charles Priestland at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 5th July 1864.
We, BENJAMIN WHITEHOUSE, Manufacturer, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, and CHARLES PRIESTLAND, Stamper and Piercer, also of
Birmingham aforesaid, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WICK AND CHIMNEY HOLDERS FOR
LAMPS," to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of wick and chimney holders for lamps as hitherto
practised, it is the invariable custom to make these parts in several distinct
pieces, and then to solder these distinct pieces together with soft or hard
solder, whereby a considerable amount of extra trouble, expence, and irre-
gularity of manufacture is incurred, a large amount of scrap or waste metal
produced, accompanied with frequent spoiling of the article in the process of
manufacture.
All these disadvantages are entirely obviated by our Invention, which

page_text: consists essentially in making the wick and chimney holders, with the
perforated bottom, angular or sunken neck, and concentric dome, which
surrounds the wick, all from one single piece of metal by the well-known
processes of stamping, piercing, and clipping, in contradistinction to manu:
facturing all these parts in distinct pieces from separate pieces of metal, and
then soldering them together, thus producing a new article of manufacture,
which is both cheaper and more durable than the corresponding parts of
lamps made in the ordinary manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Whitehouse and Charles Priestland in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 4th January 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, BENJAMIN
WHITEHOUSE, Manufacturer, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
and CHARLES PRIESTLAND, Stamper and Piercer, also of Birmingham afore-
said, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Benjamin Whitehouse and Charles Priestland, Her special license that we,
the said Benjamin Whitehouse and Charles Priestland, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Benjamin Whitehouse and
Charles Priestland, our executors, administrators, or 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF WICK AND CHIMNEY HOLDERS FOR LAMPS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that we, the said Benjamin Whitehouse and Charles
Priestland, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should parti-
cularly 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Benjamin Whitehouse and Charles
Priestland, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
Our Invention relates entirely and is confined solely to the manner in
which we shape or manufacture the metallic parts that form the gallery or
glass holder, and cover the wick holder of lamps for burning paraffin and
other illuminating fluids, and which consist in forming the above-named parts
with the perforated bottom, angular or sunken neck, and the concentric dome
that surrounds the wick holder of one piece of metal, by the well known and
commonly practised processes of stamping, piercing, and clipping, in contra-
distinction to manufacturing or forming these parts separately, and soldering
them together as ordinarily practised.
By our Invention much time is saved, and all liability to unfasten and
loosen (from the solder being melted necessary in joining the parts together
as ordinarily constructed) is entirely obviated, and the burner so called, as
thus produced, will be found to possess additional strength, with great truth
and general uniformity.
But in order to be well understood as to the nature and object of our
Invention, we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed,
reference being had to the various figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 represents simply a disc, by preference of rolled sheet brass, that
being a compound metal generally used for the production of the article to
which our Invention has reference, the thickness of such metal varying in
proportion to the strength that may be required. This disc we put centrally
between suitable tools put in operation by any convenient appliances, either
for receiving pressure or a blow, or a succession of blows, which may be
readily effected by au apparatus or an arrangement known as a "stamp" or a
fly-press, appliances well understood and commonly used by manufacturers
and artisans, producing stamped brass foundry; and after the disc, Figure 1,
has been so operated on, that is, the metal in the centre raised to the shape
of the working surfaces of the top and bottom tools or dies, it will assume the
shape represented in a top view at Fig. 2, and side view at Fig. 8, notwith+
standing to effect this as represented, the metal may require to be annealed
more or less according to its ductility, and the number of blows it requires
to raise it into the full depth of the concave die, whether that be placed top
or bottom; but in an ordinary way the concave die would be placed at the
bottom, and in further progressing we, in like manner, progressively alter the

page_text: tools and anneal the work, so that by a succession of blows it is reduced
to the form exhibited at Fig. 4, and side sectional view at Fig. 5, and in this
stage we prefer clipping the outer flange or rim as exhibited at Fig. 6, as also
piercing the oblong slot or opening A, A, necessary for the flame to come
through when in use; and we next prefer piercing the air-ways exhibited at
B, B, Fig. 7, and from this, after annealing, we reduce it to the shape
exhibited in section at Fig. 8, that is to say, we produce the ovolo form or its
equivalent as exhibited at C, C, in this Figure, and this shape or form is
exhibited in a top view at Fig. 9; we next place the partly-formed burner
between what are called "pulling through tools," that is, we pass the whole
part beneath a suitable tool concentrically through a suitably sized hole in the
bed tool, which has the effect of placing the metal extending beyond d and d,
which is now in a horizontal position, into a perpendicular one, or at right
'angles, as exhibited in the side view at Fig. 10; after which we pierce a
regular series of holes in the part marked C, G, as also exhibited in Figure 10,
the ovolo or part perforated being still marked C, C, and the reduction of the
disc, Figure 1, to this or any other shape required in this part of a lamp for
burning volatile oils essentially forms our Invention, as heretofore such lamp
burners have been made in parts and soldered together. Between thes parts,
which may be said to form the gallery or glass holder marked E, E, of the
last Figure, we drop a concentric flat metal ring, that has commonly been
perforated, but for economy we prefer using the concentric ring as exhibited
detached at Fig. 11; and in a top view, applied to the burner at Fig. 12,
marked F, F, the air being permitted to flow up from the perforations in the
ovolo C, C, before described, through the opening or concentric serrated edge
marked 9, 9, &c.; and Fig. 13 represents a vertical section of Figure 12,
showing the position of the part F, F, when in use, and in this view the
wickholder is also shown in section marked H, the vertical flat tube of which
it is composed united to a disc at the bottom marked N, N, and by which
means it is united to the búrner by soldering; but this forms no part
of our Invention of which we have now given a general description, but wish
it understood that we do not purpose confining ourselves to the general shape
or size exhibited in the Drawings herein-before referred to, as the same
may be varied without affecting the spirit of our Invention, which is the
making of as much of a lamp burner of one piece of metal as exhibited at
Figure 10, which being produced by the processes herein-before named or
other equivalent means, insure economy, strength, and great accuracy, and
the attainment of these objects forms substantially our Invention, and for

page_text: which protection is sought under these our in part recited Letters Patent, as
being the true and first Inventors.
In witness whereof, we, the said Benjamin Whitehouse and Charles
Priestland, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Third day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-five.
BENJAMIN WHITEHOUSE. (L.S.)
CHARLES PRIESTLAND.
(L.B.)
Witness,
WILLIAM LOACH,
Clerk to James S. Cockings,
Patent Agent,
Birmingham.