IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
CLARKE, of Boston, in the County of Lincoln, Printer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her 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 Fourteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty, did, for Herself, Her
beirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Clarke, Her
especial licence, that I, the said Joseph Clarke, my exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Joseph Clarke, 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 England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES;" in
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said
Joseph Clarke, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particu-
larly to describe and ascertain the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said.
Joseph Clarke, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained by
the Drawings annexed hereto, and in the words following, that is to say:-
My improvements refer generally to two descriptions of pianofortes, known
by the name of upright pianofortes, comprising cabinet, cottage, and picolo, and
to the horizontal grand and semi-grand. My Invention consists in a new
mode of putting in the sounding board, one portion whereof is firmly fixed, and
other portions of which are free, which I call a free sounding board. The
modes by which I carry that Invention into operation are as follows, reference
being had to the annexed Drawings:-
Figure 1 A, A, the braces; B and D, the upper or wrest pin block, com-
posed of two parts, between the lower portions of which the sounding board is
glued and screwed, and a piece of hard wood c, of equal thickness with the
sounding board, is inserted, and fills the space above it; E, the sound board
bridge; F, the lower or hitch pin block, upon which is firmly screwed a metal
plate K; two strips of hard wood, about two inches wide and a quarter of an
inch thick, embracing the bottom margin of the sounding board, the under one
of which resting upon the braces or portion of the hitch pin block reduced to
the level of the braces, the upper one being bevelled off towards the hitch pin
block, and upon which is firmly screwed a flat metal plate to receive the hitch
pins. On the upper part of this plate is placed a small strip of wood, to raise
the strings to the level of the bridge, between this marginal boundary and the
hitch pin block F, I leave a space, varying from a quarter to half an inch, on
the lower block, which I have hitherto called the hitch pin block, because it is
better known by that name to the workmen, and which, as I before observed,
is covered with a plate of metal, is inserted a series of screws or pins, with
friction pulleys, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2, G, G. The string H is looped
on the hitch-pin at the bottom of the marginal boundary K, passing round the
pulley G, and carried up to the wrest pin.
Figure 2 is an enlarged representation of this part of the instrument, having
similar letters of reference to similar parts.
With regard to the passing of all or any number of the strings round
separate pulleys, I do not exclude myself from the use of pins without pulleys,
or from the use of a long rod running the length of and supported by the
hitch pin block, also with or without pulleys. Having already stated that I
fix my sounding board firmly into the upper or wrest pin block, and that the
lower portion of my sounding board, on which the parts composing the
marginal boundary are glued, and upon the upper one of which the metal plato
containing the hitch pins is firmly screwed, it will readily be perceived that the
strings, when looped on the hitch pins and carried round the pulleys up to the

page_text: wrest pins, as before described, will exert a force upon the board, keep it
always in a perfectly flat position, and render it more susceptible of vibration
by increasing its elasticity.
Figure 3 exhibits a front view of the upright pianoforte. B, upper or wrest
pin block; E, E, sounding board bridge; G, G, pulleys and screws through
the metal plate in the lower or hitch pin block; H, H, springs; S, S, sounding
board; M, margin to the vibrating portion of the sounding board in this
direction, having a similar and corresponding piece on the other side, through
both of which, including the board between them, screws are passed into the
braces, but not so firmly as to prevent the free action of the tending force of
the strings upon the board, the holes N, N, N, being cut in an elongated form
for the purpose; 0, 0, metal plate, containing the hitch pins; P, P, metal
plate to receive the screws with the pulleys. The margin M, to the vibrating
portion of the sounding board behind the bridge, is adopted to allow of the
board being extended over the whole front of the instrument, for the con-
venience of obtaining a straight boundary to the bottom of the board on which
to loop the strings; but I do not exclude myself from using a curved
boundary to this part of the board on which to loop the strings, the pulleys
being then fixed on the bent side, usually so termed in common instruments.
Figure 4, horizontal grand pianoforte. B, B, braces; C, C, cross braces
placed under the others; D, a strong block, upon which the upper end of the
sounding board is glued, and again covered with another piece of hard wood
and a metal plate, and further secured by screws. It will be observed that a
portion of this block is cut away at E, to permit a sufficient extent of sounding
board for the treble notes. F, F, wrest-pin block; G, G, G, stout side and
end blocks, part of which, H, H, H, is reduced to a level with the braces G, G, G,
being left about a quarter of an inch higher, as also the block D.
Figure 5 represents the same, with the sounding board in its place. S,
sounding board; E, E, E, bridge; 0, 0, 0, strings; H, F, H, marginal
boundary and metal plate, bevelled off as in the upright instruments embracing
the board, the under part of which rests upon the lower portion of the end and
side blocks, represented in Figure 4. H, H, H, G, G, G, end and side blocks,
with metal plate, in which are fixed the screws and pulleys, round which the
strings 0, 0, 0, pass, after being looped on the pins on the marginal boundary
of the board H, H, H, and thence carried onwards to the wrest pins in the
block F, F. D, metal plate on the hard wood, used for firmly securing this
end of the sounding board to the block underneath, the sounding board being
only fixed in a firm manner on this block, excepting so far as the tension of the
strings acts upon its boundaries at the end and curved side. It is necessary to

page_text: observe that the cases must be more strongly constructed than those of instru-
ments on the common plan; but as I accomplish this by adding extra braces
and extra tubes, or metal bars, and the stronger hitch pin or bottom block, I
do not think it requisite to give any particular instruction with reference to
these, as any intelligent workman will be able to impart sufficient strength to
resist the strain. I must also observe that the grain of wood of the sounding
board must run in a direction parallel with that of the strings. It may further
be noticed that the force with which the board is acted upon by the tension of
the strings renders ribs adopted merely for the purpose of supporting the
sounding board unnecessary; but they may be serviceably employed to connect
the fibres of the wood transversely, increasing its elasticity in that direction.
Having thus described generally my Invention, and different modes of
carrying it into operation, I claim, first, the new method of free sounding
boards; and, secondly, the modes above described of producing the desired
effect.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Clarke, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand