A NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "A NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO
OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS."-A. communication from abroad by
Claude Gavioli, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th July 1868.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE
TO OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," a communication to me from abroad by
Claude Gavioli, of Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates principally to that class of wind musical
instruments known as accordians, and to other musical instruments pro-
vided with free reeds or tongues, and consists in so modifying the
arrangement of the bellows and mechanism used in connection there-

page_text: with for working the same as to admit of the adaptation of the pianoforte
system of key board without impairing the expressiveness of the
instrument, and in the application of other improvements whereby a
more regular action of the bellows and a greater compactness of the
parts are obtained and the harshness of tone to which the ordinary
instruments of small size are liable is considerably diminished. This
instrument so modified the inventor designates an "orphonium."
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to employ a double pair
of bellows on the system used in ordinary organs which work with a
crank, but in lieu of using one pump or moveable part two pumps or
moveable parts are employed for each bellows, such pumps being
connected together by wire at their moving extremity, space being left
between them to admit air through the valves with which they are pro-
vided and hinged at their other end to the top and bottom of the bellows
instead of to the fixed piece attached thereto as in the ordinary manner.
The bellows with their pumps are placed one above the other in the
reverse direction. A spindle passes longitudinally through the instrument
and is provided with a crank or eccentric at each extremity placed at
right angles the one to the other and with connecting rods, which are
secured to the ends of the pumps. On to one extremity of the spindle
there is fitted a knob or handle, by turning which the spindle is rotated
and the requisite motion communicated to the pumps through the
eccentric and connecting rods. The connecting rods are made in two
parts and united by copper wire, the ends of which are bent round and
passed through the connecting rods so as to admit of the latter adjusting
themselves to the circular motion of the pumps, that part of the
connecting rod which is attached to the pump being pivoted on to an
additional piece of wood glued or otherwise secured to the plank of
which the pump is composed. The top and bottom of each bellows
between which the pumps vibrate are connected together by iron wire so
as to render the parts more rigid. The spindle is enclosed in a species
of box, and the openings through which it passes are protected by a
lining of paper or leather to prevent escape of air; it has its bearings in
the ends of the box forming the air chamber. Four alternate impulsions
of air take place at every revolution of the knob and spindle, so that a
continuous supply of air is kept up. The air which is compressed by the
upward motion of the lower pair of pumps passes direct through an
aperture above to the sound board, and that compressed by the descending

page_text: motion passes through a conduit formed in the planking of the bellows
to the sound board through another aperture formed at the top, and
so with the upper pair of pumps, the air which is compressed by
the upward motion passing out direct, and that compressed by the
descending motion traversing a conduit formed in the bellows to the
sound board. Helical springs are disposed underneath the pumps to
increase the regularity of work and equalise the weight, and all the
apertures are provided with valves. All the rubbing parts are covered
with a copper coating to prevent oxydation, and the openings through
which the parts pass are lined with cloth to obviate the necessity for
lubrication. The keys of the key board are held at their extremity by a
copper centre, as in some existing instruments, but the grooves or notches
which guide the keys and act as stops are formed according to this
Invention in an additional piece of wood attached to the sound board.
Strips of iron or copper are also employed to connect the keys with the
valves in lieu of the wires used in the ordinary manner. The key board
is provided with a cover which conceals the valves, leaving the keys
exposed, and is of sufficient length to protect the ends of the key board
from injury. The cover is openworked and lined with thin silk so as not
to intercept the sound. An harmonic table of deal or pine open in the
middle to imitate the hautboy may be substituted for the cover lined
with silk.
In order to diminish the harshness of tone to which small instruments
arc subject there is placed in the space above the valves and between
them and the cover a quantity of crumpled paper (by preference thin
and unglazed), which forms what the inventor designates an "acoustic
diaphragm;" the sound as it passes from the notes traverses the interstices
of the paper and becomes considerably softened and improved. Any
desired length of scale may be employed according to the purpose for
which the orphonium is intended to be used. A length of two octaves
and a fifth will be sufficient for the pieces performed by an orchestra.
When intended to be used for accompaniment the scale should descend
to four octaves, retaining the same proportion of the parts, except the
depth which should be slightly increased to provide room for the
insertion of two elastic appendages which are indispensable for the
vibration of the bass notes. These appendages are formed of a thin
piece of wood over which leather is spread so as to entirely cover one of
its surfaces and is glued or otherwise attached all round so as to allow
the air to enter between the wood and the leather through an aperture

page_text: formed in the piece of wood and communicating with the air chamber.
They should be as large as possible and placed on the back and front of
the bellows and fixed on one side to the air chamber, with which they
communicate by two openings.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my 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
"A NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," a communication from abroad by Claude Gavioli,
of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accom-

page_text: panying Drawings, and the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
The said Invention relates principally to that class of wind musical
instruments known as accordians, and to other musical instruments
provided with free reeds or tongues, and consists in so modifying the
arrangement of the bellows and mechanism used in connection therewith
for working the same as to admit of the adaptation of the pianoforte
system of key board without impairing the impressiveness of the
instrument, and in the application. of other improvements whereby a
more regular action of the bellows and a greater compactness of the
parts are obtained and the harshness of tone to which the ordinary
instruments of small size are liable is considerably diminished. This
instrument. so modified. the inventor designates an "orphonium."
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to employ a double pair-
of bellows on the system used in ordinary organs which work with a crank
or handle, but in lieu of using a bellows composed of one moveable part
two moveable parts are employed for each pair of bellows, such parts being
connected together by wire at their moving extremity and space being
left between them to admit air through the valves with which they are
provided; these moveable parts are hinged at their other ends to the
top and bottom sides of the bellows instead of a fixed piece attached
thereto as in the ordinary manner. The bellows are placed one above.
the other in the reverse direction. A spindle passes longitudinally
through the instrument and is provided with a crank or eccentric at
each extremity placed at right angles the one to the other and with-
connecting rods which are secured to the ends of the bellows. On to
one extremity of the spindle there is fitted a knob or handle, by turning
which the spindle is rotated and the requisite motion communicated to
the bellows through the eccentrics or cranks and connecting rods. The
connecting rods are made in two parts and united by copper wire, the
ends of which are bent round and passed through the connecting rods
so as to admit of their more readily adjusting themselves to the
curvilinear motion of the bellows, that part of the connecting rod
which is attached to the bellows being pivotted on to an additional
piece of wood glued or otherwise secured to the moveable part of the
bellows. The top and bottom of each pair of bellows between which:
the moveable parts or diaphragms vibrate are connected together. by
iron wire so as to reuder the parts more rigid. The spindle is enclosed

page_text: Four
in a species of box, and the openings through which it passes are
protected by a lining of paper or skin to prevent escape of air. It has
its bearings in the ends of the box forming the wind chest.
alternate impulsions of air take place at every revolution of the
knob and spindle, so that a continuous supply of air is maintained.
The air which is expelled by the upward motion of the lower
pair of bellows passes direct through an aperture above to the wind
chest, and that expelled by the descending motion of the same pair
passes through a conduit formed in the top and bottom sides of the
bellows to the wind chest through another aperture formed at the top,
and so with the upper pair of bellows, the air which is expelled by the
upward motion passing out direct into the wind chest, whilst that
expelled by the descending motion traverses a conduit formed in the
bellows and leading to the wind chest. Helical springs are disposed
underneath the bellows to increase the regularity of work and equalize the
weight, and all the apertures are provided with valves. All the rubbing
parts are covered with a copper coating to prevent oxydation, and the
openings through which the parts pass are lined with cloth to obviate
the necessity for lubrication. The keys of the key board are held at
their extremity by a copper centre, as in some existing instruments,
but the grooves or notches which guide the keys and act as stops are
formed according to this Invention in an additional piece of wood
attached to the sound board. Strips of iron or copper are also employed
to connect the keys with the valves in lieu of the wires used in the
ordinary manner. The key board may, if desired, be provided with a
cover which conceals the valves, leaving the keys exposed, and is of
sufficient length to protect the ends of the key board from injury. The
cover when used consists of open or fretwork lined with thin silk so as
not to intercept the sound. An harmonic table of deal or pine may
be substituted for the hollows or cavities ordinarily employed to effect
the reverberation of the sounds.
In order to diminish the harshness of tone to which small instruments
are subject there may be placed, if desired, in the space above the
valves and between them and the cover a quantity of crumpled paper
(by preference thin and unglazed), which forms what the inventor
designates an "acoustic diaphragm;" the sound as it passes from the
notes traverses the interstices of the paper and becomes considerably
softened and improved. This acoustic diaphragm may be placed with
success in other musical instruments of the accordian class.

page_text: And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in
all the corresponding figures.
The new musical instrument, which is represented on the Drawings
hereunto annexed, is intended to perform the same part as the violin,
violincello, tenor, and counter-base, and to be advantageously substituted
for the various descriptions of accordions hitherto employed.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a plan of the instrument with the sound board
removed, shewing the interior of the wind chest formed by the top of the
bellows; Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same; Figure 3
(Sheet 2) is a transverse section taken at the front end of the instru-
ment; Figure 4 is a plan representing the interior of the instrument and
shewing the tongues or free reeds; and Figure 5 is a detail of one of the
free reeds or tongues. The dimensions of the orphonium may be varied
according to either the number or dimensions of the keys and tongues.
The extension of the key board of the instrument illustrated by the
annexed Drawings is that of the orphonium, tenor, and violin, that is to
say, four octaves minus one note, commencing at "do" of four feet.
The proportions of the orphonium which is intended for accompaniments,
whether violincello or counter-basc, will be arranged relatively to the
notes to be vibrated. The internal length of the box exceeds that of
the key board in order to contain the mechanism which is provided
at each end of the bellows for the purpose of operating the same. The
dimensions of this box admit of disposing at each extremity of the
bellows a small piece or bar of wood or iron A (Figure 3), which servo
to strengthen the planks of the bellows, and prevent any bending
thereof. The length of the bellows is equal to that of the key board,
and the top forms the wind chest in which the tongues corresponding
to the keys of the key board are enclosed; the lower part of bellows
forms the bottom of the instrument. The bellows is put in motion by
means of a knob or handle C fixed to a spindle or axis provided at each
extremity with a crank or excentric, the two being placed at right
angles the one to the other, as shewn at B. The spindle passes
longitudinally through the middle of the wind chest, and is covered
in by a board D forming a species of box which contains it, and which
is lined with paper or parchment pasted or glued thereto, so as to prevent

page_text: the escape of air from the wind chest. The spindle extends beyond the
wind chest at both ends in order to communicate motion by means of
two connecting rods E to the bellows; the spindle has its bearings in
the ends of the wind chest situate above the bellows. All the move-
able rubbing parts of the instrument, both of the spindle and cranks,
are coated with copper in order to prevent oxidation, and the bearings
are covered or lined with cloth to obviate the necessity for lubrication...
The bearings are made in two parts, the one of wood and the other of
sheet iron, forming a spring, and secured by two screws in order to
constantly maintain the rubbing parts in close contact. The connecting
rods which transmit the motion of the eranks to the bellows aro
formed of two pieces united by wire so as to form a hinge, as shewn
at E, in order to admit of their readily following the curvilinear motion
of the ends of the bellows. Each connecting rod is fixed to the end of
the bellows by means of a pivot passing through a small block F attached
to the moveable parts H of the bellows. The system of bellows employed
is similar to that of an ordinary barrel organ which work with a crank
or handle, but it is so modified as to prevent any rigidity in the motion,
and to admit of the apparatus being disposed in a limited space. This
blowing apparatus is composed of two double-action bellows, giving for
each turn of the knob or handle four alternate impulsions of air, so as to
supply the air regularly to the reeds. The two double bellows are placed
the one over the other in reverse directions; they thus receive the motion
which is transmitted to them at their two extremities by means of the
two connecting rods. Each bellows is formed of two moveable parts H
united at their extremities by means of copper wire bent round to the
shape shown more clearly at I (Figure 3), which admits of their readily
following the motion resulting from the position of their hinges, shewn
at N. The wires I are moreover made of sufficient size to leave between
the two moveable parts H, H, of the bellows a sufficient space for the
passage of the air to the inlet valves J for the down stroke. The inlet
valves Jbs for the two up strokes of the bellows are placed the one on
the bottom of the bellows and the other on the diagonal partition O
between the two pairs of bellows; the air is thus exhausted through
openings formed in the thickness of the said planks. These two valves
being thus disposed close naturally by their own weight without the
necessity of being supported by a piece of stretched leather or skin as
used in the ordinary bellows. The position of the bellows in this system
differs from that which is employed in the construction of the ordinary

page_text: bellows. The air from the lower bellows is transmitted to the wind
chest by means of opening P, M, made in the piece L, whilst the air
passes direct from the upper bellows to the sound board through the
openings K and R. The arrows colored red on the Drawing shew that
the passage of the air for the up stroke is through the openings M, K,
and for the down stroke through the openings P and R. The air
passages conducting to the openings P, R, are formed in the thickness
of the plank O, and rendered tight by the application of stout paper or
leather or skin pasted or glued on to the plank O. All the openings
M, P, R, K, leading to the wind chest are provided with valves, as shewn
over the opening K in Figure 1. In order to effect the utmost regularity
in the working of the bellows I apply underneath the same two spiral
springs (not shown in the Drawings) which equalize their weight; this
effect may also be obtained by counterweights.
In lieu of the ends being fixed at their extremities over the openings
in the sound board in the ordinary manner they are fixed simply at
one extremity in the following manner :-The tongue, with the piece
to which it is riveted, enters an opening formed for this purpose in a
metal plate, leaving round it a space of about one-eighth of an inch. This
metal plate is of the same thickness as the free reed, and is screwed
at both ends over the opening of the sound board. At the end where
the reed is riveted the piece to which the said reed is attached extends
a sufficient distance beyond in order to be fixed in a flexible manner
to the perforated plate above referred to. The advantage of this
arrangement is that the reed is capable of fully vibrating, as well as the
piece to which it is riveted, in the same manner as the limbs of an
ordinary tuning or pitch fork. The interval which exists between this plate
and the free reed is closed by a piece of thin skin glued thereto, so as
to intercept the passage of the air, which should only take place through
the vibrating tongue; this application of the tongues may be employed
in all other instruments provided with free reeds. For that purpose it
is simply necessary to provide the sound board with large openings in
order to admit of the free vibration of the reeds.
In the sound board constructed according to this Invention the hollows
or cavities which are employed to effect the reverberation of the sound
are replaced by a simple harmonic table of deal or pine entirely covering
the surface of the tongues at a distance of from about three-sixteenths to
three-eighths of an inch. The valves ordinarily disposed at the outlet of

page_text: the sounds are dispensed with, and in lieu thereof they are placed in the
opposite direction, that is to say, in the interior of the wind chest, as
shewn at X (Figure 3). These valves are provided with a spring which
effects the hermetical closing of the same. They occupy the whole width
of the sound board. Motion is imparted to them by a spindle and copper
rod acting on their centre and communicating with the keys of the
key board after traversing the sound board and the harmonic table. The
tongues are disposed in two rows in order to provide the space required
for this new application. They are screwed on to a piece composed of
compartments serving for the passage of the wind. The size of these
compartments should be as large as possible in order not to interrupt
the current of air; the inlet through the valves may however be smaller
so as to retain the average dimensions, as shewn at U. The height of these
compartments should be sufficient to contain the percussion mechanism,
which is composed as in the ordinary manner of an escapement actuated
by valves, which for this purpose are provided at their moveable extremity
with a small copper hook which at the moment of their opening causes
the mechanism to operate.
The arrangement for producing the effect of the tremulant or one or
more notes according to the expression required consists in placing keys
in relation with the harmonic table, which is then made moveable on
a hinge so as to admit of its oscillating and thereby producing the
tremulant effect. Beneath the keys of the key board there is fixed a
blade spring attached by two screws, which when the tremulant is not
used rests on the part covered with cloth, which serves to limit the
stroke of the keys. A screw passes through this spring at its moveable
extremity leaving it free to move but holding it in a state of tension, so
that a greater effort is required to depress the keys to the point where
they actuate the parts connected with the tremulant. This motion is
then communicated by a rod W to the harmonic table, against which the
keys are caused to bear when the spring is bent. In order to muffle
the sounds and produce a distant effect the place where the sounds
are emitted at the two lateral sides is intercepted by means of Colle's
skins cemented underneath the frame and connected at the opposite
side to the hinge of the harmonic table by means of a piece of sheet
iron. This sheet-iron plate is fixed to a rod forming a pivot and receives
its motion from a button leading to the interior of the instrument.
The extremity of this rod, which is made of an angular form, imparts

page_text: Third. The peculiar arrangement of mechanism for actuating or working
the bellows in musical instruments of the class herein-before referred to,
as herein set forth.
Fourth. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting
a new musical instrument to which the inventor gives the name of
orphonium, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by
the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Eighth day
of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.