IMPROVEMENTS IN RIFLES & OTHER SMALL FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Whitehead Walton, Esther Cottages, Ponders
End, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RIFLES & OTHER SMALL FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 20th July 1860, and dated the 6th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Whitehead Walton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th February 1860.
I, JOHN WHITEHEAD WALTON, Esther Cottages, Ponders End, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RIPLES & OTHER SMALL FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the application of certain parts & appliances
to rifles whereby facilities for accurate firing at long distances are afforded,
it consists in the application of a telescope to a rifle in such manner that an
accurate aim at a far object may be readily taken by viewing it through the
telescope. The telescope I employ, I prefer to be as small, and at same
time as powerful as possible. Such telescope I mount on an upright stem
sliding vertically through a hole made in the stock of the rifle, or other suit-
able slide provided & fixed thereto, and in such position that the eyeglass of
the telescope is in a convenient position to look through it while firing the
rifle. This upright stem is graduated to show its positions for aiming at the
different distances required. The distances being judged, and the graduated

page_text: stem adjusted in its elevation, the axis of the telescope is brought in line with
the sight at the muzzle of the rifle, the object to be fired at is then viewed
through the glass, and brought into the centre of the field of the telescope. The
rifle is then discharged. In order to permit of this adjustment of the telescope,
it is mounted on a joint or axis, by which it is attached to its graduated
stem. In order to facilitate bringing the object to be fired at in the centre of
the field, I place cross wires, or angular or other pointers in the telescope to in-
dicate the exact centre. These wires or pointers may also be used to judge the
distance of the object by observing the space, an object of known size occupies
in the field of the glass. Instead of aiming by bring the axis of the glass in
line with the sight on the barrel, a graduated quadrant may be attached to
the telescope, whereby to adjust the inclination of its axis to the axis of the
barrel according to the distance of the object, so that by viewing the object
through the glass irrespective of any other sight, accurate aim for firing may
be taken. These improvements are also applicable to other small guns.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Whitehead Walton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WHITEHEAD WALTON, Esther Cottages, Ponders End, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign, did
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto I, the said
John Whitehead Walton, Her special licence that I, the said John Whitehead
Walton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Whitehead Walton, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RIFLES AND OTHER SMALL FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Whitehead Walton, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the

page_text: 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 Whitehead Walton, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention relates to the application of certain parts and appliances to
rifles, whereby facilities for accurate firing at long distances are afforded, it
consists in the application of a telescope to a rifle in such manner that an
accurate aim at a far object may be readily taken by viewing it through the
telescope. The telescope I employ, I prefer to be as small, and at same
time as powerful as possible. Such telescope I mount on an upright stem
sliding vertically through a hole made in the stock of the rifle, or other suit-
able slide provided and fixed thereto, and in such position that the eye glass of
the telescope is in a convenient position to look through it while firing the rifle.
This upright stem is graduated to show its position for aiming at the different
distances required. The distance being judged, and the graduated stem
adjusted in its elevation, the axis of the telescope is brought in line with the
sight at the muzzle of the rifle, the object to be fired at is then viewed
through the glass, and brought into the centre of the field of the telescope and
in line with the foresight, the rifle is then discharged. In order to permit of
this adjustment of the telescope, it is mounted on a joint or axis by whch it
is attached to its graduated stem. To facilitate bringing the object to be fired
at in the centre of the field, cross wires or angular or other pointers may be
disposed in the telescope to indicate the exact centre. These pointers I prefer
to form by the application of an opaque body on the object glass of the teles-
cope, terniinating in points in the centre of that glass, such pointers may, how-
ever be for the most part dispensed with, as after a little practice a marksman
will readily be able to adjust the centre of the field of the telescope in line with
foresight, & the object to be fired at. Instead of aiming by bringing the
axis of the glass in line with the sight on the barrel, a graduated quadrant
may be attached to the telescope, by which to adjust the inclination of its
axis with the axis of the barrel according to the distance of the object, so
that by viewing the object through the glass irrespective of any other sight,
accurate aim for firing may be taken. These improvements are also applicable
to other small fire-arms.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of so much as is necessary of a rifle, and
showing a telescope fitted thereto in manner according to my Invention; Fig. 2
is a plan of the same; while Figs. 3 & 4 represent detached views of the
telescope. a is the telescope, which it will be observed is of small dimensions,
but should be such as to afford the requisite magnifying power for the distances
required. It is constructed in the ordinary manner of telescopes, and I place
it on a ring clip b, by which I mount it on the stem c, the connection of the
ring b with c being by a screw or rivet d, on which the telescope is free to
oscillate as exhibited by the dotted position in Fig. 1. The stem c is fitted to
a socket or hole cut through the stock of the rifle, in which it is slid and
sustained therein by a spring e, which presses on stem c with sufficient force
for that purpose.
In the aperture cut in the stock for stem c I fit a metal
socket f, or the sustaining socket may be otherwise supported or placed in other
convenient situation, the stem c being suitably arranged to sustain the teles-
cope a in proper position. The stem c is graduated to indicate the position
of the telescope in firing at different distances, as for instance at 200, 300,
400 yards, and so on as far as the rifle will carry. For most persons it may
however, be unnecessary to use the telescope for the shorter distances as the
naked eye will be sufficient, during which time the telescope may be removed
by simply withdrawing the stem c from the socket f. In using the telescope
with the rifle, it is as before mentioned elevated to position according to the
distance of the object to be fired at, the elevation being indicated by the gra-
duations in the same manner as ordinary rifle sights, the telescope is at same
time laid in line with the fore sight of the rifle by moving it on its fulcrum d,
which may be effected while raising the rifle in order to fire. The object being
observed in line with the centre of the field of the glass and foresight, may be
fired at with a considerable degree of precision, by reason of the object viewed
appearing so much larger than it would appear to the naked eye in firing
without the telescope.
Fig. 5 represents an object glass showing the indicators or pointers herein-
before described. Instead of sighting the object to be fired at only by means
of the telescope and fore sight, the back sight may also be used in addition, to
restrict and guide the view of the eye in looking through the telescope, it being
interposed between the telescope and the fore sight in its ordinary position.
As before mentioned, a graduated quadrant may be attached to the telescope
working on the stem c, so that by the combination of graduations on the
stem c and on this quadrant, having as its centre of motion the point d, the

page_text: desired angle of inclination of the axis of the telescope to the axis of the
barrel may be adjusted without reference to the fore sight, and according to
the distance of the object to be fired at, which may then be simply viewed
through the telescope, & brought into the centre of the field at the time of
firing without reference to the fore sight.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, fitting and applying telescopes
to rifles and other small fire-arms, in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Whitehead Walton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOHN WHITEHEAD WALTON. (L.S.)