US187139A - Improvement in advertising - Google Patents

Description

'UNITED STATES PATEN Frio BYRON s. HOWARD, oF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN ADVERTISING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 187,139, dated February 6, 1877 application iiled August 18, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BYRON S. HOWARD, of.

the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Advertising- Sign, of which the following is a full, clear, and accurate description, enabling others to practice my invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure I is a front elevation. Fig. II is a sectional view thereof, showing the mechanism 5 Fig. III, a cross-section on the line a b of Fig. I.

My invention relates to advertising-signs adapted for exhibition in street-cars or other moving vehicles, and is adapted to be used on ferry or other boats; and has for its object the combining or arranging of a show-card, bearing certain names, tigures, directions, 85o., with.

one or more moving acrobatic figures ot'men or animals, the figures being arranged to be moved or oscillated by the `jolting or jumping occasioned by the ordinary inequalities experienced by a car or other vehicle while in motion.

In the space in a Streetcar hired by the advertiser, I place an ordinary frame, A, but deeper than is generally used, as is seen at Fig. III. The t'ront ot' this frame may be protected by a sheet of glass, d. Behind this glass d, if glass is used, I place my show-card G, having upon it any desired names, direc-- tions. &c. lt will be noticed that O does not ll up the entire frame, but leaves a space at either end ofthe frame. Ifit is desired, C may be divided, and may occupy either end of the case or frame, leaving a space Vin the middle; but the construction which I have shown in the drawing is the best. In the spaces left in either end of the frame I place figures of men, Women, animals, 85o., as at h and h', these gures being fastened to the end ot' iiexible wires e and e', the other end of the wires being attached to the inside of the frame at j' and j. These wires e and e may be of brass or steel. Their flexibility should depend upon the Weight of the figures h and h', the wires heilig sufiiciently stii' to keep the figures freely suspended in the center of the space. The gures h and h are attached by their backs to the wire, and are painted in bright colors, and

may be arranged with strings to their legs, so that when the figures fall` their legs will appear to kick up, or the arms or other parts may be attached by strings to the frame, so that .the

parts thus attached will appear to perform the actions of living bodies. Horses or other animals may be arranged in substantially the same manner, and they will appear to perform characteristic actions. The back of the inside of the frame A should be blackened, forming an appropriate background to show off' the ligures h and h; also, such portions ot' the Wires e and e', as are seen between the figures and the ends ofthe show-card C, so that they will not show against the black background.

1t is evident that Wires of other forms and shapes may be usedv instead of e and e-i'or example, spiral springs, part of' which can be concealed behind the show-card O.

My advertisingsign, thus prepared, consists of a show-card within a frame larger -than the card, leaving spaces in which acrobatic tigures are suspended, is now placed in its appropriate position in a ferry or other boat, or in a street-car or other vehicle, and, as the boat or vehicle is moved or drawn along, the jolting and jarring will cause the figures to dance or oscillate so long as the movement of the vehicle continues, the attention of the passengers will be attracted by the dancing or movement of the iigures, and they will thus be led to read the inscription upon the showcard.

It will be noticed that the advertising-sign of my invention depends for its value upon the jolting motion of the vehicle to which it is attached, as no method can be used to oscillate the figures, excepting that ot' shaking the case.

Acrobatic figures are old, but combining them With a show-card for advertising purposes, so as to attract the `attention of the passengers, the whole adapted to be placed in some moving vehicle, the inequalities ot' the motion of which will set the figures dancing, and make my advertising-sign, as a whole, effective, is new and unknown before my invention thereof.

Aorobatic ligures have been made to move by the finger acting upon the spring to which they are attached, or by some clock-work mechanism, which could take the place ofthe operators finger. In these cases the figures were employed solely as a source of amusement in themselves, and not in conjunction 2. A frame containing a show-card, in comwith other thingsfor examplefa-show or' ad- -bination with ione Eor more'ac'robal'tic "figures vertising card-t0 which they draw attention, lsuspemledtheren by springs, constructed-end an' v'ithout which the gures are meaningless. operated as described.

c annl. The combination, iu an advertisingsign, Witnesses: of a show-card and one or more suspended acrobatic figures, substantially as described.

B. S. HOWARD.

- H. L. BREVOOR'T,

G. G. FRELINGHUYSEN.

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