A THIMBLE PILLAR WITH POINTS AND BRANCHES, TO BE USED IN PLACING GLOST' CHINA AND EARTHENWARE IN OVENS AND KILNS WHEN FIRING, BURNING, OR BAKING SUCH WARE, IN LIEU OF THE COCKSPURS AND STILTS NOW IN USE FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Elias Leak, of Longton, in the County of Stafford,
Lathe Maker, for the Invention of "A THIMBLE PILLAR WITH POINTS AND
BRANCHES, TO BE USED IN PLACING GLOST' CHINA AND EARTHENWARE IN
OVENS AND KILNS WHEN FIRING, BURNING, OR BAKING SUCH WARE, IN LIEU OF
THE COCKSPURS AND STILTS NOW IN USE FOR THAT PURPOSE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Elias Leak at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st July 1856.
I, ELIAS LEAK, of Longton, in the County of Stafford, Lathe Maker,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A THIMBLE PILLAR
WITH POINTS AND BRANCHES, TO BE USED IN PLACING GLOST CHINA AND EARTHEN-
WARE IN OVENS AND KILNS WHEN FIRING, BURNING, OR BAKING SUCH WARE IN LIEU
OF THE COCKSPURS AND STILTS NOW IN USE FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a means whereby various articles of "glost" china
and earthenware can be supported in the "seggars" during the operation
of firing, burning, or baking such ware, and by which not more than three
marks are made upon each piece of ware.
The Invention consists principally of a series of thimbles formed of earthen-
ware, having one or more points or branches projecting horizontally therefrom
for supporting the ware. Each of these thimbles is formed with a peg
projecting from the bottom and a corresponding hole formed in the top, or

page_text: vice versa, so that when a series of them are placed one above the other they
form a pillar with points or branches projecting horizontally. The lowest
thimble is supported by a suitable foot, or in a hole formed in the bottom of the
'seggar." Each pile of ware is supported by three of these pillars, placed at
about equal distances round the circumference thereof, the points or branches
extending under the edge of the ware in such a manner that each article only
bears its own weight, and will only have three marks instead of six or twelve,
as by the cockspurs and stilts ordinarily employed. This arrangement also
allows of the ware being placed closer together than ordinarily, and con-
sequently space and time are economised.
A modification of this Invention may be made by fixing three uprights in
the bottom of the "seggar," and placing thereon rings or bushes furnished with
points or branches projecting horizontally.
The thimbles and the rings or bushes may be made of any size, and may be
of a circular, triangular, or other suitable form.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Elias Leak in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st
January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ELIAS
LEAK, of Longton, in the County of Stafford, Lathe Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Elias
Leak, Her special licence that I, the said Elias Leak, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Elias Leak, 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "A.THIMBLE PILLAR WITH POINTS AND BRANCHES, TO BE USED IN
PLACING GLOST' CHINA AND EARTHENWARE IN OVENS AND KILNS WHEN FIRING,
BURNING, OR BAKING SUCH WARE, IN LIEU OF THE COCKSPURS AND STILTS NOW
IN USE FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Elias Leak, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe

page_text: 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 Elias Leak, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
in writing, and on reference to the Drawings hereunto attached, that is to
say-
My said Invention of a thimble pillar with points and branches, to be used
in placing "glost" china and earthenware in ovens and kilns when firing,
burning, or baking such ware, in lieu of the cockspurs and stilts-now in use for
that purpose, "relates to a means whereby various articles of "glost" china and
earthenware can be supported in the "saggars" in ovens and kilns during the
operation of baking or burning such ware, and by which not more than three
marks are made upon each piece of ware.
My Invention consists principally of a series of thimbles or cuping pins
formed of earthenware, having one or more points or branches projecting
horizontally or otherwise therefrom for supporting the ware. Each of these
thimbles or cuping pins is formed with a peg projecting from the bottom, and
a corresponding hole formed in the top, or vice versâ, cuping, matching,
and fitting in, and one on another, so that when a series of them are placed one
above the other they form a pillar, with points or branches projecting hori-
zontally or otherwise. The lowest thimble is supported by a suitable foot
(provided with a hole or peg), or in a hole formed in the bottom of the
"saggar." Each pile of ware is supported by three of these pillars, placed at
about equal distances apart round the circumference thereof, the points or
branches extending under the edge of the ware in such a manner that each
article only bears its own weight, and will only have three marks instead of six
or twelve, as by the "cockspurs" and "stilts" ordinarily employed. This
arrangement also allows of the ware being placed closer together than
ordinarily, and thus space and time are economized.
A modification of this Invention may be made by fixing three uprights
in the bottom of the "saggar" and placing thereon rings or bushes furnished
with points or branches projecting laterally; and a further modification may be
made by furnishing the said uprights with lateral projections or holes to receive
crank-formed arms or pins to support the articles of ware.
I would here remark that the thimbles or cuping pins above named, and the
rings or bushes, may be made of any size, and may be of a circular, semi-

page_text: circular, triangular, square, octagonal, polygonal, or any other suitable form;
and they may be furnished with one or more branches or arms, as may be
preferred or required, to place the different kinds and shapes of ware made.
And in order that the manner of carrying my Invention into practical effect
may be perfectly understood, I have annexed hereunto two Sheets of Drawings,
illustrating two or three modifications of the same, and have marked thereon
figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Figure 1 represents, in plan view, one method
of applying my thimble pillar or cuping pin for supporting articles of "glost"
china or earthenware; and Figure 2 is an elevation of the same. A, A, A, is
a ring of earthenware, furnished with three lugs or projections B, B, B, pro-
vided with holes for supporting the thimble pillars or cuping pins C, C, C; the
method of placing the ware is shewn by dotted lines. The peculiar form of
the thimbles is shewn in plan view at Figure 3, and in elevation at Figure 4.
Each thimble is provided with three arms or branches a, a, a, with points or
pins b, b, b, and is furnished with a conical peg c below and a corresponding
hole d above. Figure 5 shews a modification of the above, wherein the positions
of the peg and hole are reversed. Figure 6 represents three views of another
modification wherein only one arm or branch is employed; and the form of the
peg and socket is rather more than semicircular. Figure 7 shews a form of
foot that may be employed instead of the ring A (see Figures 1 and 2), a being
a hole or a peg for supporting the pillar; Figure 8 shews another form, in
which the pin and socket are wedge-formed; and Figure 9 shews a similar
form, with a curved arm, which is more suitable for particular kinds of ware.
In Sheet 2 of the Drawings, Figure 1 represents another modification of
my Invention, wherein the points a, a, are attached to rings or bosses b, b,
which are placed one above the other upon the upright c, c, which is supported
by a suitable foot, or in a hole in the bottom of the "saggar." Figure 2
shews one of the bosses detached. Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 shew further
modifications of my Invention. In Figures 3 and 4, a, a, is an upright,
furnished with lateral projections b, b, on to which the crank-formed pins c, C,
för supporting the ware are hooked or hung. The upright a may be fixed
in a similar manner to the upright c, in Figure 1; or it may be suspended
from the side of the "saggar" by the hook d. In Figures 5 and 6, the
upright a, a, is provided with holes b, b, in which the ends of the crank-formed
pins c, c, which support the ware are placed. Two forms of the pins c are
shewn detached at Figure 7. The object of making the pins in the crank-
form, shewn in Figures 6 and 7, is to increase the bearing surface, and to

page_text: diminish the liability of the pins to become broken, and at the same time to
give additional steadiness thereto.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention of "a
Thimble Pillar with Points and Branches, to be used in Placing 'Glost' China
and Earthenware in Ovens and Kilns when Firing, Burning, or Baking such
Ware, in lieu of the Cockspurs and Stilts now in Use for that Purpose," together
with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark, in
conclusion, that I wish it to be distinctly understood that I claim as my
Invention the forming a pillar with the cuping pin, cuping, matching, and
fitting in and on one another, or in any other way, so as to form a pillar
for such purposes by connecting together bosses furnished with branches
or points, either by pegs and sockets, or by placing them on an upright rod or
bearer, without confining myself to the particular form of such bosses, or to the
number of arms or branches with which they may be provided.
I also claim the cranked form of the pins, as shewn at Figures 6 and 7,
Sheet 2, or any modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Elias Leak, have hereunto set my hand
and scal, this Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
ELIAS LEAK.
(L.B.)