patent no. 10,617 · capt. j. arden-grey · 1898
a sash arrangement for the conveyance of brief sentiment
a sash window divided into four small shutters, each marked with a different chalk-figure, and operated by a cord from the inside. one shows the figure to the street to convey: all well; come up; stay away; or nothing at all. arden-grey, a retired signal officer, believed every window ought to do this.
the shutters work. the figures are clear. the difficulty is that no one has been told the key. the captain's neighbours, observing figure iii (a cross) for three consecutive evenings, sent for the doctor, who could find nothing wrong, and afterwards for the vicar, who could also find nothing wrong. the captain insists the figure iii means stay away. he insists it from behind the unlit window, having lit no lamp that week.
a signal without a reader is a window with a chalk mark on it. the system is, on its own terms, a complete success.
field-note · in fog the figures are illegible; the system reverts to figure iv, which the captain insists is also a signal.
silence box · letter-opener · self-winding book · window · unlit window