404 



BR AMAH'S MACHINE. 



lUvmi.li':> plied to cranes, ?.;id to the sluices of canals ; his im- 

 Machine. p rO vement on the steam engine; his planing machine, 

 V ^ f or producing parallel surfaces on wood ; his method 

 of cutting screws and turning spheres; his equalising 

 tool, or apparatus for turning cylinders at one opera- 

 tion ; his method of introducing steam into the up- 

 .per coppers of breweries ; his contrivance for lock- 

 ing carriages ; his improved pens, by which no part 

 of the quill is lost; and his new plug and sliding 

 cocks, will all come under notice in the course of 

 this work. 



It was formerly the custom in the Bank of Eng- 

 Jand to (ill up the numbers and dates of their notes 

 in writing, till the year 1809, when the machine in- 

 vented by Mr Bramah was adopted for this purpose. By 

 this contrivance, the numbers and dates were insert- 

 ed not only in a more uniform and elegant manner, 

 but the labour was diminished to less than one-sixth 

 of what it was before. 



The copperplates, from which the words of the 

 notes are printed, are double ; that is, they throw 

 off two notes at a time upon one long piece of pa- 

 per. This piece of paper, containing two notes, is 

 then put into the machine, which prints upon them 

 the number and dates in such a manner, that the 

 types change to the succeeding number, and that the 

 whole operation is performed without any attention 

 on the part of the clerk. If one of the notes, for 

 example, is No. 1, No. 1, and the other on the same 

 paper No. 201, No. 201, when these are printed, 

 the machine alters itself to No. 2, No. 2, and No. 

 202, No. 202; and in printing these, the types again 

 change to No. 3, No. 3, and 203, 203. The date, 

 and the word London, are cast in stereotype, and 

 each machine is furnished with one of these for each 

 day in the year, and they of course are changed 

 every day. 



The Bank of England have upwards of 40 of 

 these machines, the greater part of which are in con- 

 stant use. It was formerly considered sufficient 

 labour for each clerk to fill up with the number 

 twice repeated, and date twice repeated, 400 notes 

 per day ; but since the introduction of the machines, 

 one clerk has printed 1300 double notes, which are 

 equal to 2600 single ones ; for though in the ma- 

 chine the double notes do not require more labour 

 than single ones, yet to fill up the blanks by writing, 

 would occupy twice the time. 



The mechanism by which this is effected is ex- 

 tremely ingenious, and the principle is not limited 

 to the numbering of notes, but is equally appli- 

 cable to the purpose of printing any series of num- 

 VLATE bers which require continual alteration. In Plate 

 .LXXVI. LXXVI. we have represented one of these machines, 

 which is not, however, precisely the same as any of 

 those in use, being only a single one, and adapted 

 for printing one note at once ; but we have only to 

 suppose it extended to twice the length, and furnish- 

 ed with a double Get of types, in order to fit it for 

 printing two notes at the same time. In Fig. 2. 

 of Plate LXXVI., a perspective view of this 

 machine will be found, and a section of its parts at 

 Fig. 1. in both of which the same letters of reference 

 .ire employed. A solid piece of mahogany, A A, 



Fig. 1. and 



forms the base of the machine, and to this two iron 

 plates B B are screwed, forming the sides of a box, 

 the front of which is removed in Fig. 2. to exhibit 

 the interior, and the back is concealed behind the 

 mechanism. Across this box, an axis D is placed, 

 having its pivots fitted into sockets, which are fast- 

 ened in the sides of the frame, as is evident from the 

 figure. This axis carries the tympan E, which gives 

 the pressure to print off the note attached to it by 

 screws; and a lever F is also fixed to the axis, by which 

 the operator forces down the tympan. The move- 

 able types, in which the principal novelty of the in- 

 vention consists, are fitted into a scries of br.^ss cycles, 

 mounted upon an axis G, extending acruss tin- cen- 

 tre of the frame. These circles are sufficiently point- 

 ed out in the perspective view, by tiie numerals on 

 the types fixed in them ; they are ten in number, ar- 

 ranged in two lots of five each. Each circle (shewn 

 more plainly at [, Fig. 1.) is divided into 11 parts, 

 and at each a rectangular notch is cut, to receive 

 the types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, and a biank 

 type. Five of the circles, thus prepared, being 

 placed side by side, upon a fixed axis, G, on which 

 they revolve freely, are sufficient for printing any 

 number less than 100,000 ; because, as the circles 

 can be turned about on their axis independent of each 

 other, it is obvious, that any combination of the above 

 figures may be produced, by bringing them to the 

 highest point of the circle, which. is the situation in 

 which they are placed when an impression is to be 

 taken. This will be more easily understood, if we con- 

 sider that the brass plate, which covers up the circles, 

 is put in its place, as represented in Fig. 1. at a. This 

 brass plate has two apertures through it, to receive the 

 two series of types which project up a little above 

 its surface when at the highest. In Fig. 2. this plate 

 is removed, to exhibit the interior mechanism. The 

 circles are made to revolve by means of wheels H, 

 upon an axis, called the back axis, parallel to the 

 axis of the circles. The end of it is seen at I, Fig. 2. 

 projecting through the frame, and it carries three of 

 the wheels H, two of which are at the same distance 

 apart as the two series of figure circles to which they 

 apply. The third wheel is placed at an intermedi- 

 ate distance between the other two, and is acted upon 

 by a catch or pallet b, Fig. 1. attached to the axis 

 of the tympan, by means of a joint, in such a man- 

 ner, that it will strike against the highest tooth of 

 the wheel H, and turn it round one tooth. When 

 the handle is lifted up rather beyond the perpendi- 

 cular, where a stop d, Fig. 2. upon the axis, meeting 

 a projection d, Fig. 1. on the cover of the box, 

 prevents it from moving farther; but when the handle 

 is returned down into the position of Fig. I. the pal- 

 let, though it again meets the tooth of the wheel, 

 gives way upon its joint, and passes by without mov- 

 ing the wheel. In this manner, it will be seen, that 

 every time the handle is pressed down to take an im- 

 pression, in raising it up again, to place a fresh paper 

 upon the tympan, the pallet moves the wheels H 

 one tooth, and as the teeth of these wheels engage 

 the teeth of the figure circles, a similar motion is 

 communicated to them, bringing a fresh number be- 

 neath the tympan, ready for printing. 



If is to be observed, that the wheels Hare of such 



