AN IMPROVED HEAD FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NELSON JOHN
HOLLOWAY, of Pentonville, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirteenth
day of August, in the third year of Her reign, did, for Herself,. Her
heirs and successors, give and grant' unto me, the said Nelson John Holloway,
my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Nelson John Holloway, my
exors,. admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Nelson John
Holloway, my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all' times during the term of years therein
expressed; should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
that part of Her said United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, Her Dominion of Wales, Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in al
Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention communicated to
me by a certain foreigner residing abroad, of " AN IMPROVED HEAD FOR CARRIAGES;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Nelson
John: Holloway, shall cause a particular description of the nature of the said
Invention; and the manner in which the same is to be performed, to be inrolled
in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the sanie, reference being thereunto. had, will more fully and at
large appear:

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Nelson John Holloway, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
communicated to me by a foreigner residing abroad, consists in constructing
a head for a double-seated carriage in such manner that though made all of
one piece, or one permanently connected series of pieces, it may nevertheless
be at pleasure expanded over the whole of the body part, or thrown wholly or
partially back, so that a double-seated carriage provided with such an improved
head may combine in itself all the advantages both of a close and an open
carriage, that is to say, may be used either as the one or the other, and may
be changed from the one to the other with great expedition and facility, and
I declare that the manner in which the said Invention is performed is fully
set forth in the following description thereof and in the illustrative Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
A head of this improved description may consist of four five, or six
bows connected together and covered in the usual manner, except as is herein-
after particularly pointed out; but in the Drawings hereunto annexed, marked
A, B, and C, I have represented a carriage with a head consisting of five bows,
indicated in the Drawings B and C by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. When
this head is fully expanded, as shewn in the Drawing C, the top of the front
bow, number 1, should be in a line coinciding perpendicularly with the front
rail or back of the front seat; the bow number 2 in a perpendicular line,
or nearly so, with the front door pillar; the bow number 3 in a perpendicular
line, or nearly so, with the hind door pillar; the top part of the bow number
5 in a line with the back rail or back of the hind seat; and the bow number 4,
between numbers 3 and 5, at about an equal distance from both. To fit a
carriage body for bearing or carrying a head of this description, the following
additions to or alterations in it must be made. First, the hind quarter door
pillars must rise or project from two to three inches above the elbows, and
should these pillars have been cut off short, a block of wood of from two to
three inches in thickness must be firmly secured to the top of each elbow and
as close as may be to the corresponding pillar, taking care that the grain of
'the block runs obliquely and that it is of width enough to stand out fair with
the outside of the elbow, and to receive inside and hold fast the elbow trimming.
Second, to the top of each of the front quarter elbows and at the extremities
thereof, there must be firmly secured a perpendicular iron stud or holdfast,
such as is separately represented by the accompanying Drawing marked D,
from two to three inches in height, about. an inch and a half in width, and a
quarter of an inch in thickness, near to the top of which stud or holdfast a
circular hole of half an inch to an inch in diameter is drilled through
11

page_text: for the reception of the pin or bolt herein-after mentioned, as being
pendant from the bow number 2. I proceed now to shew how the bows
of the said improved head are connected with one another, and how
with the aid of the additions to or alterations in the carriage body herein-
before directed to be made, the said head may be expanded or contracted at
pleasure to any desirable extent.
The front bow, number 1, is connected at each side with the bow number 2
by means of a hinge placed quite at the lower extremity of number 1, but at
a distance of about two inches from the lower extremity of number 2, as shewn
separately in the accompanying Drawing marked E. To the outside of the bow
number 2, and at each extremity, there is attached a plate of iron (shewn sepa-
rately in the Drawing marked F), of the width of the bow; from four to five
inches in length, and a quarter of an inch thick. About half an inch from the
lower end of this plate there is a projecting piece of about three-quarters of an
inch in length and half an inch thick, through the middle of which a hole is made
to receive a split-iron key, which is made to fit it exactly, and is suspended
from the bow by a chain of two or three inches long. The bow number 3 is
connected at its extremities by hinges to the hind quarter door pillars, providing
they rise sufficiently high above the elbows for the purpose, or failing these
to the block of wood herein-before directed to be attached in such case to the
top of each elbow. These hinges should be of the same width as the bow, but
the leaf which is attached to the bow should be from five to six inches long,
and the other, which is attached to the pillar or elbow-piece of only half that
length. The bow, number 4, is attached by a goose neck to the hinge of
number 3, and the bow number 5 by another goose neck to the goose neck of
number 4. The manner in which the bows 3, 4, and 5, are thus connected
together is shewn separately in the Drawing marked Ġ. The bow number 2
should be from one inch and a quarter to one inch and three-quarters square,
according to the size of the carriage; the bow number 3 should at the
extremities be from one inch and a quarter to two inches wide, and three-
quarters of an inch thick, preserving the same width till within about seven
inches from the top, when the width may be enlarged, but gradually increasing
in thickness until at about twenty inches from the top it is of the ordinary.
thickness; the bows number 1, 4, and 5 are all of the usual dimensions. The
bows are connected together by a web as usual, but in addition to this, a piece
of webbing, after being previously strained, is drawn on each side from the
bow number 3 to the bow number 1, the lower edge of which is about
eight inches from the top, and at right angles with the front of the bow
number 3; the ends of this piece are securely nailed, as is also the upper

page_text: edge where it passes across the second bow. The cloth or leather with which
the whole is covered is so shaped that it shall cover the bows numbers 3, 4,
and 5, in the usual manner, being nailed on the front or inside of the bow
number 3, from the elbow to the lower edge of the additional piece of webbing
before mentioned, and continued across numbers 2 and 1, being kept even on
each side with the lower edge of the said webbing, and nailed on the front
of number 1. The edge of the leather or cloth along the additional piece of
webbing, is lined with leather for an inch or two; in width the edge is also
bound over with leather, and slightly, but sufficiently stitched to the lower
edge of the said webbing. The bows numbers 1 and 2 are covered with cloth
or leather from an inch or two above the web to the lower extremities; and
number 1 has a leather vallant, which reaches, however, no further down than
to make a neat finish of the leather of the head. The inside lining is
made in the usual manner, but following the line of the additional piece
of webbing from the bow number 3, to the bow number 1; the edge is
bound or lined with a piece of pasting lace to regulate the expansion and
contraction of the head; there may be either four or six joints employed.
When four only are used, the hindmost pair should extend from the back
stud or holdfast on the elbow to the bow number 3, and the front pair from
the bow number 3 to the bow number 1. When six are employed, as in
carriages represented in the Drawing B and C, the hind pair should extend
from the back stud or holdfast on the elbow to the bow number 3, the middle
pair from number 3 to number 2, and the front pair from number 2 to
number 1; where the hinges occur, the leaves of each hinge are let into
the wood of the bow to which it is attached, so that when the cloth or
leather is put on, the knuckle only is left visible. The leather at the joint
of the hinge on the bow number 3 is slid through square across the
front of the knuckle of the hinge and for two inches on the side square with
the front of the bow, and the slit so made is lined with leather for an inch or
two on such, side, and stitched neatly within an eighth of an inch of the edge.
The open spaces between the bows may be filled in either with curtains or
glasses. If with curtains, the front quarter curtains must reach from the lower
edge of the web to the side of the front elbow, and from the back edge of the
bow number 2 to a line drawn from the end of the vallant on the front bow
number 1 to the corner of the front rail and front corner pillar, whence they
must be carried round some seven or eight inches on the front rail. On the
sides these curtains may be secured at top to the lower edge of the web and in
front under the vallant. The front curtain should reach from under the
vallant to the lower edge of the front rail, and be sufficiently wide to reach

page_text: three or four inches on to each quarter curtain, to which it may be secured by
buckles or straps, or in any other convenient mode. When drawn, these different
curtains may be secured by knobs on the bow number 2, the front elbows and
front rail, and when not required to be in use, as during dry and warm
weather, they may be rolled up and secured by buckles and straps. But
another and perhaps better mode of fixing these curtains may be adopted, by
means of which they may, when not wanted, be removed altogether, and
stowed away under the seats of the coachman, or in any other convenient
place, that is to say, a piece of thin hoop iron, about one inch in width, may
be slipped in between the leather and lining of the quarter curtains, but
secured to the leather, which piece of iron, by bearing on the outside of the
bows, under the additional webbing, will keep the top of the curtains up
while that portion of the quarter curtain under the vallant, as also the top of
the front curtain, may be secured when up by means of knobs. When
glasses are introduced over the doors, they are made to fit between the bows
numbers 2 and 3 at the sides, and the bound edge of the head leather and the
top of the door at top and bottom, and the hinges, are so arranged as to allow
the frame to pass under the leather to the distance of one half or three
quarters of an inch from the outside of the bows and doors, the knuckle of
each hinge being divided, and the upper half with the pivot being attached to
the glass frame, and the other to the bow number 2. The glasses are secured
by latches to the bow number 3; when not required to be in use, they may be
taken out and laid aside in a box made to fit them, which may be placed
under the coachman's seat, or beneath the boot, or in any other convenient
situation. When the doors of the carriage are deep enough, glasses may be
applied in the usual manner, but to enable this to be done readily, instead of
the hinge of the bow number 3 being attached to the front of the bow, as
before directed, it should be secured to the back, when the bow will be
found to project sufficiently over the joint and on the door to bring the front
of the bow on a line with the space allowed in the door rail for the passage of
the glass frame. The bow may be grooved or it may have a metal moulding
fastened on the front, so as to afford the necessary passage and security for
the glass.
The bow number 2 must project to the same extent as number 3
over the joint and on the door, and for this purpose instead of having the pro-
jecting pin on the side near the end of the bow, the plate must be so arranged
that the pin may project from the side of the plate and in front of the bow,
and the grooving or metal moulding for the passage and protection of the
glass must be in the back of the bow. The usual provision must also, of

page_text: course, be made against opening the doors when the glasses are up.
Let it now be supposed that the head is up and extended to its full
length, as represented in the Drawing C, and that it is desired to
take it down and throw it entirely back, as represented in the Drawing
marked A, the curtains or glasses are first removed as before directed,
the joints are then struck. The bows numbers 1 and 2 are sprung or
pressed inwards, to remove the pin on number 2 from out of the per-
pendicular stud or holdfast on the front elbow, and lifted over the doors, and as
the bows numbers 3, 4, and 5, fall down, numbers 1 and 2 are laid upon
them. But to keep the two last-mentioned bows steady when so down, an
iron plate similar in form and size to the perpendicular stud or holdfast on the
front elbow is rivetted to the side of the top of the hind door pillars under the
leather, and the upper part of this plate projects through the slit in the
leather at the knuckle of the hinge, sufficiently high not only to receive the pin
of the bow number 2, but to prevent any injury to the grooved slides where
such are used. The split iron pin before mentioned secures the pin in its
place in the same way as when the head is extended. When again it is desired
to raise the head and restore it to the position represented in the Drawing C,
the bows numbers 1 and 2 are lifted out of the iron plate last before described,
and over the doors, keeping them as perpendicular as possible. The pins of the
bow number 2 are inserted in the perpendicular studs or holdfasts on the
front elbows, and the joints then struck up. In putting up the curtains
the tops should be first secured, and to prevent mistakes in fixing the glasses
they may be marked "right" and "left." Instead of putting up either curtains
or glasses, they may in warm weather be dispensed with altogether. When
the head is of six bows, the additional bow is inserted between the bows
numbers 1 and 2, and the bow number 3 becomes in that case on a line
with the front door pillar; the bow number 2 is attached by hinges as before
described, and the bow number 1 is attached by hinges to the bow number 2.
Where the front quarters of the body of a carriage happen not to be so
deep as the hind ones, a proportional increase in the height of the perpen-
dicular studs or holdfasts secured to the top of the front elbows should be
made, but a very high plate ought by all means to be avoided, as both
unsightly and inconvenient. If the front bows were a little enlarged, this
would allow of a shorter stud or holdfast being employed, but there is an
objection to this also, for if the bows are made too large, they will, when down,
extend to an unseemly distance beyond the bows numbers 3, 4, and 5.
Instead of the front bow number 1 being permanently secured by hinges or

page_text: otherwise to the bow number 2, it may have pins projecting from the sides of its
extremities similar to that represented in the Drawing F, and small plates,
similar to that shewn in the Drawing D, may be affixed to the tops of the front
elbows on a line with the front rail, so that on the former being inserted in
the corresponding holes in the latter, the entire front of the bow number 1
will be brought on a line with the front of the front rail. From the front
edge of the plate on the bow number 2 a portion of the iron should project
sufficiently to receive the pins of the bow number 1. With the front bow in
this position, instead of a cloth or leather curtain in front, a German shutter
may be employed, being made to fit neatly inside a wooden vallant on the
front of the bow, and to fold up when the head is down, in which case the
front quarter curtains should be fastened to the front bow instead of reaching
round the corners, as before, directed. When the head, as thus altered, is
required to be taken down, the joints are first struck; the front bow number 1
is then lifted out of its studs or holdfasts, and secured in the projecting piece of
the bow number 2, after which the head may be thrown back in manner
before described. The time occupied in shifting the head from one position
to another is extremely short; from the position represented in the Drawing A,
it may be changed to that shewn in B in half a minute, and to that shown in
C in a minute and a half, or vice versa.
And having now fully specified the nature of the said Invention, communicated
to me by a foreigner residing abroad, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, I declare that I do not claim any of the parts of the carriage head
herein-before described as being in and by itself new, and that I do not limit
myself to the exact dimensions, proportions, and positions herein-before assigned
to any of these parts, nor to the particular modes of connection which I have
pointed out. But that what I claim as new and as having an exclusive right to
is the general but peculiar combination of parts embodied in and constituting the
improved head for carriages herein-before described, whereby a double-seated
carriage provided with such an improved head combines in itself all the
advantages of an open and a close carriage, and may be converted from the
one into the other with great expedition and facility, and such the said
Invention communicated to me as aforesaid being to the best of my knowledge
and belief entirely new, and never before used in that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion
of Wales, Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, or in any of Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification of
the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth comply

page_text: in all respects without reserve or disguise with the proviso in the said herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent contained. Wherefore I hereby claim to
maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Thirteenth day of February, One thousand eight hundred and forty.