IMPROVEMENTS IN DANCING TOYs
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Marcus Brown-Westhead, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Merchant and Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DANCING TOYs."-A communication from abroad by
Thomas Noe Crow and James Noe Crow, residing at Motthaven, in the
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Marcus Brown-Westhead
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th January 1864.
I, MARCUS BROWN-WESTHEAD, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchant and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DANCING TOYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in combining with a spring board or other devicé
(such for example as a drum head) to which a vibratory motion can be
imparted a human or other figure with jointed limbs, in such a manner that
by holding the feet of the figure in close proximity to the surface of the board,
and imparting to the spring board or its equivalent a vibrating motion, the
figure will begin to dance in the most ludicrous and comical manner. The
legs and arms, and it may be the head of the doll, must be so attached by
pivots to the body as to be perfectly free to move independently when the doll
is subjected to vibration. To the back of the jointed figure an élastic rod is
attached fitted with a handle for supporting the figure. To set the figure in

page_text: action it is only necessary to hold it by the elastic rod in contact with the
spring board and to set the board vibrating by tapping with the finger. The
doll will then make the most fantastic movements with its limbs. To give
variety to the toy it may be convenient to make the head detachable so that
one comic head may be substituted for another at pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Marcus Brown-Westhead in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARCUS
BROWN-WESTHEAD, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant
and Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Marcus Brown-Westhead, Her special license that I, the said Marcus
Brown-Westhead, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Marcus Brown-Westhead, 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 DANCING TOYS," a communication to me from abroad by
Thomas Noe Crow and James Noe Crow, residing at Motthaven, in the State
of New York, United States of America, upon the condition, amongst others,
that I, the said Marcus Brown-Westhead, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the 'same is 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 Marcus Brown-Westbead, 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 and accompanying Drawings, forwarded to me by foreign
correspondents, that is to say:-
Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of the Invention; Fig. 2 a side eleva-

page_text: tion of the upper part of the body of the dancer, similiar letters of reference in
.both views indicate corresponding parts.
This Invention consists in combining with a spring board or other device to
which a vibrating motion can be imparted, a human or other figure with
jointed limbs, in such a manner that by imparting to the said spring board a
vibrating motion, and holding the feet of the said figure in close proximity to
the surface of the board, the figure begins to dance in the most ludicrous and
comical manner.
The Invention consists also in the employment or use in combination with
the spring board and jointed figure of an elastic rod inserted in the back of the
figure in such a manner that the motions of the dancing figure on the vibrating
board are perfectly free and unobstructed.
.
To enable those skilled in the art to make and use our Invention we will
proceed to describe it. A represents a thin board or strip of sheet steel or
other elastic material which will assume a vibrating motion if one end is
firmly held down on a table and slight taps are applied to the loose end with
the finger or in any other desirable manner. The dancer B, represented by
the figure of a negro, or any other human figure, is suspended over the spring
board A, and the limbs of the said dancer, and particularly the legs, are con-
nected to the body by means of pivots a, b, leaving the same free to swing up
and down at pleasure. If a vibrating motion is imparted to the spring board,
and the legs of the dancer come in contact with its surface, the vibrating motion
of the board is transmitted to the legs, and the figure begins to dance in a most
comical manner. In order to facilitate the motions of the dancer we suspend
the same from an elastic rod C which may be provided with a suitable handle
and which is inserted in the back of the figure B. The dancer can be made
to perform in the most simple manner by placing one end of the spring on a
chair or table and holding it tight by sitting down on or otherwise fixing it,
one end takes hold of the elastic rod C which holds the dancer in the proper
position above the board, while the other hand by slight taps produces a
vibrating motion of the board. Instead of the board A however any other
surface may be used to which a vibrating motion can be imparted, such for
instance as a drum head, and the vibrating motion might be produced by some
mechanical contrivance such as a clock movement. The spring board, the
dancer, and the elastic rod however constitute the principal elements of the
Invention, and they are sufficient to make the dancer perform as above
described.
The effect of the toy may be varied by making the head of the figure
moveable, and providing heads of different shapes so that the head of the

page_text: negro can be removed and that of a clown put on its place, as indicated in
Fig. 2 of the Drawing. These toys may be of life size if desired, and as
ballet girls or other figures may be made to dance on a public stage, in which
case the board or other springing part may be caused to vibrate by a steam
engine or other motive power.
What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is,
first, the employment or use of the spring board A, or its equivalent, in
combination with the figure B having jointed limbs, and otherwise con-
structed and operating in the manner and for the purpose substantially as
specified; second, the combination of the elastic rod C with the figure. B and
spring board A, substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marcus Brown Westhead, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
MARCUS BROWN-WESTHEAD. (L.S.).