The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-05-31
BlOtting-Paper,O or Wasl-I4eather

Iohe pIece or Duu material, wrinkled and dry,
cracking under the touch, light as paper, un-
elastic but strong, not to be torn or broken by
any ordinary application of strength This
singular material, which might be taken for
wash-leather, if it were trihe more flexible,
resembles more nearly than anything else the
dried skin OF some unknown animal. But on
examination it turns out to be double, and no
animal wears two skins OF identically the same
texture like these two layers. We are told by
Mr. Schmidt, that the article is simply piece
of buff blotting- paper, but our friend MIR. Dem
ison, who makes more paper than any other
man in Maine and thinks he knows something
about pulp and its products, declines to accept
the statement witho ut proof. Thereupon Mr..
Schmidt takes avariety Of pieces of paper, It's
sue paper, writing paper, paper with curious
patches cut out to identity it, paper marked
with autographs in ink and pencil and pres
entity brings them all back-the tissue paper
looking like dried bladder, the writ
ing paper like parchment, the blotting paper
like wash-leather, with all the marks as before.
What is more remarkable, the writing is set
in the paper, not to be erased, not to be remov-
ed by any acid; no acid or alkali will in the
slightest degree affect this remarkable paper.
1t will neither surrender the written word en-
trusted to its keeping to any chemical agency,
nor suffer it to be torn away by main force.
This is very singular. Mr.. Schmidt Is the
chemist and superintendent of the Ardesco
Oil Works, at Pittsburg, where Brown and
Hamill rowed the other day. He has been for
seventeen years in this country but was born in
in Prussia and studied chemistry at the Oniver
sity of Berlin attending Liebig's lectures there.
Last December Mr.. Schmidt was in his labora-
tory one night, experimenting on some glue,
which he hoped might serve to keep the mutt
nous oil from oozing through the barrels. He
had been seeking to form such a cdmpopnd Tor
months without success. Tired at last and nm
successful still he twisted piece of paper into
a cigar-hght, it, fungit down, and seri-
ously smoking pondered his vexatious prob
| lem The cigar went out in time, and Mr.,
| Schmidt preparing to go out too was proceed
| ing to Put away his glutinous solution, when
he noticed that the half burnt cigar-ligh. had
fallen into the vessel. Fishing it out, he was
about to throw it away, when he observed that
it had suffered remarkable change. 1t went
in flexible, brittle, Opaque; it was now incred-
IDLY tough and nearly TRANSPARENT a kind Of
vegetable parchment. After three weeks of
study and experiment, Mr. Schmidt applied
for patent on % new and useful improvement
in the manufacture of paper and treatment of
paper pulp" and ON the 18th day of January
the patent was duly issued.
1t is in chemistry alone that such happy ac-
cidents lie in wait for the discoverer. The in
yentor Of steam engine or of sewing ms
ch tne reaches his result by gradual and often
exceet,ingly toisome approach. The discover
ers of glass were intent on cookery, and the
monk who discovered gunpowder did not
dream of effectfag revolu..."n IN the art Oh
war. 1t is difficult to limit the rans Oh this
Pittsburg discovery. Here is a mode of tre
ing paper and textile fabrics, RENDERING
them water proof impervious to oil, air proof
and acid proof Your paper can be washed
without harm to the writing. 1t may be mould
ed into any required shape or formed into q
solid mass of any needed thickness. 1t NAV bs
used to form vessels for holding water or acids.
soles ofboots or shoes, buttons ARTICLES of cloth
ing, strong, water-tight bags, waterproof lin
ing for tanks in oil or acid manufactures, hat
bodies, book binding that will wash, letter en-
velopes, water or steam pipes-anything you
please. For legal and other important docu-
ments, it will be quite invaluable There is an
other circumstance to be considered. If our
postal currency were printed on this paper it
could not be torn and could be washed-two
desiderata Furthermore, it could not be al
tered or affected in the least degree by the use
of acids. Finally, the surface does not admit
Of photography and that art could no longer
ho oa,,ed IN the assistance of counterfeiters. If
!, vera useful for no other purpose, the i'm
nortapce of this discovery for the better prep
araton of paper money would be very great
Its possible uses in other directions are obvi-
Gus. Mr. Schmidt's cigar-hght may yet become
as famous as James Watts tea-kettle.