Mr Messerer did not invent a new form of watchmakers' lathe, but instead proposed a system whereby a pair of ordinary 'turns' - as used for decades by watchmakers and also referred to a 'steel turns' - could be upgraded to carry a drive pulley and spindle complete with a draw-in collet assembly.
By 1888, Charles S. Moseley's game-changing invention (1857/8) of the hollow-spindle lathe with its drawn-in collet (called originally a 'chuck' or 'split chuck') had found widespread acclaim and employment (the lathe was first sold in 1859 and resembled what is now known as a "Geneva" type with its round bed and generally light build). All that Mr S. Messerer proclaimed in his patent was the idea of a Moseley-like headstock spindle and pulley (e), secured to the bed (a) of a pair of turns on a post (b) that could be slid on and off as required. The solid, drawn-in bar with a thread on its end that secured the collet (x) was bored in the handle end (j) with a recess that engaged the point of the slide-in-and-out centre bar (A) of the turns' solidly fixed tailstock (b¹).
Although it must have been of great importance to him, it appears that Moseley did not patent his first hollow-spindle lathe and collet assembly; hence, Messerer's - some 31 years later - seems to be the first to do this. However, one year earlier, in 1888, Horace Moseley did patent an adjustable length stop to be used in association with his collet assembly, and in this, he refers to established and "usual" parts as though these would, by then, have been in almost everyday use. A thorough search of US patents in regarding this matter has not revealed any material regarding Moseley's first invention - and so it remains a puzzle as to why he neglected this critical point. Might Messerer have seen this patent and realised that the draw-in collet had not been patented and decided to do something about it? If so, his patent fell short for its design precluded the possibility of a hollow tube to retain the collets and so allow long material to pass clear through the spindle.
Amusingly, the patent by Messerer contains a comment in regard to preventing the collet from turning when tightened or loosened - or not bothering: "The chuck may be longitudinally grooved, as at I Figs.3, and 6, or otherwise constructed to prevent it turning pivotally within the spindle, the latter being provided with setscrew l1 to engage the said chuck. Said setscrew l1 and grove may however be dispensed with.