Typewritten draft ('Provisional Specification') by George William Dennistoun Scott of his patent application for 'Improvements in or relative to variable speed reducing gears', with manuscript descriptions of the invention, initialed by him.

A native of Derby, Scott is a notable figure in the history of the development of the bicycle. In 1878, together with George Henry Phillott, he seems to have received the first practicable patent (No. 860 of 1878) for an epicyclic change-speed gear for cycles. All items clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The typewritten draft, in blue ink, with a few manuscript corrections, covers two folio pages. Scott, of 76 Edith Grove, West Kensington (corrected from '30 Princes Square Kennington Cross') describes himself as an 'Engineer', and declares: 'This invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of epicycloidal gears for varying reducing or reversing the speed from any motor, turbine, shaft, and the like.' Accompanying the document, on five folio leaves, are five pages of manuscript, consisting of: first, a one-page 'Description of Gearing', initialed by Scott; second, two-pages on the 'Advantages of gearing', initialed by Scott; third, a one-page 'General Description of Car'; fourth, one page on the 'Advantages of Car', initialed by Scott. Diagrams called for in Scott's text are not present.