IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING ORNAMENTAL RAISED SURFACES ON PAPER
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WERTHEIMER, of West Street, Finsbury Circus, in the City of London, Printer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Nineteenth day of September, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and graut unto me, the said John
Wertheimer, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said John Wertheimer, my exors, adñors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Wertheimer, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the terin
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING ORNAMENTAL RAISED SURFACES ON
PAPER," communicated to me by a certain foreigner residing abroad; in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said John Wertheimer,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Wertheimer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say)—
All attempts hitherto to discover a means of imitating the reliefs of sculpture
by stamping or moulding, as I obtain by printing the lines and designs of
painting, have proved fruitless. In fact, whether for the decoration of apart-
ments to hanging mouldings, the imitation of carved furniture and ornaments,
or the artificial reproduction of works of art, it would be of great utility to fix
the hollows and reliefs of sculpture on thin flexible light substances capable of
being stretched, folded, and applied to other bodies. For this purpose, sheets
of metal, leather, paper, pasteboard stuffs, prepared and united with clammy
or gumming substances have been successively employed.
Among the
substances, that which is best adapted to the exigencies of the work is un-
questionably paper, used here as a generic term for all kinds of paper and
pasteboard, whatever it may be composed of, as cotton rags, ligneous sub-
stances, &c. From its natural whiteness, its lightness, its smoothness, its
flexibility, its cheapness, its solidity, its toughness, the facility with which it
can be stretched and fixed with paste, paper more than other material, would
render usual and applicable this kind of vencering in relief; hence, paper has
been the object of numberless preparations for the purpose alluded to. I do
not intend to write an history of all the fabrics of this kind, and will only
state that all the modes, more or less varied, of working the paper, may be
ranged in two categories. In the former, the paper is in the state of a
sheet, in the latter it is in the state of pulp; when the paper is worked
in relief in the form of a sheet, whether it be dry or wet, and the work be
done with heat or without, the difficulties that present themselves are insur-
mountable. In fact, placed between two moulds and forcibly compressed,
the paper ought to give, to stretch, to cover the projections, and line the
depressions of the moulds; but manufactured paper, paper in sheets, is as
one may say, non-elastic. The forced extension which is obtained, arises from
the rupture of its tissue, whence it follows, that all such parts as are angular
and a little projecting are made thin, torn, cracked. Hence the absolute impos-
sibility of copying, even imperfectly, large reliefs, and of obtaining any thing
beyond a sort of figuring or goffering (ganfrage). In the state of pulp, more or
less liquid, paper could not up to this time be cast in hollow forms or moulds
but by the addition of various substances. By the aid solely of these adinixtures
I obtain smooth surfaces and correct reliefs. But this is an article of con-
Buniption which has no analogy with that, the advantages of which I have

page_text: mentioned. It is a decoration (décor) only, and not paper in relief or
embossed, it is breakable, heavy, thick; it is neither elastic nor flexible, it
cannot be made to cover other bodies like a veneer; in a word, it does not
realize any of the conditions of the problem. In the substance used for making
the pulp castings known by the name of papier mache, cuttings of paper are
reduced to pulp, and mixed with size, Spanish white, powdered slate, and other
substances. The pulp of paper then is here but a sort of canvas containing
and retaining in mutual connexion sundry materials, the admixture of which
forms a mass lighter and less brittle than plaster, but which constitutes only
the perfection of works of this kind.
pass over a third mode of employing
paper in the fabrication of masks and dolls. The uniting sheets of paper or
pasteboard in a mill by means of a cementing substance has no analogy to
the object in question; besides, even in this manufacture, the pasteboard is
necessarily united with clammy substances, which are breakable when dry.
Thus then, that manufacturing problem remains unsolved, which consists in
fixing the depressions and reliefs of sculpture on a thin flexible body, hard,
light, elastic, and that will admit of being fitted and pasted to other bodies for
the purpose, either of decorating apartments, for hangings, mouldings, or fancy
devices, or to imitate valuable carved furniture or ornaments; or to reproduce
at a low price works of art of every kind. It is the solution of this problem
which has been discovered, and for which I have obtained Her Majesty's
Letters Patent. I beg to repeat, in order to distinguish that which is novel in
the process more effectually, first, that I do not employ paper, card, or paste-
board in sheets, except occasionally, in an unfinished state; secondly, that I do
not employ the pulp of paper cuttings, of rags, or any other analogous subtance
in the state of pulp firm, and that will admit of being handled as in the manu-
facture of dolls; thirdly, that I do not mix with the pulp of paper, any of
the materials employed in the fabrication of articles of papier mâche, and that
if I do occasionally make an addition, it is solely with the view of changing
the color or aspect of the work, and by no means to assist in moulding the
pulp of paper, from which I obtain the better effects the purer it is;.
fourthly, finally, that I work with the pulp of paper cuttings, rags, or any
other fibrous or ligneous substances in a liquid state, and in the same quantity
as they are used in common paper mills. Thus I make paper in relief of all
sizes as common paper is daily made in sheets and pieces with a smooth and
plain surface. My process consists then in substituting for the wire moulds.
that are employed in common or mechanical mills, moulds carved in relief or
concave. And as the liquid which holds in suspension the fibrous particles of
the diluted pulp cannot run through the carved moulds as it does through those

page_text: proceed to explain in the following description of the process and apparatus.
DESCRIPTION OF THE APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE of
EMBOSSED PAPER.
In the manufacture of paper without machinery, the pounded rags are
diluted to a proper degree in a vat slightly heated, from which the workman
takes in a form or mould the quantity of material necessary for the formation
of each sheet of paper. Figure 1 represents this vat. Figure 2 respresents
a strong wooden table composed of a certain number of parallel laths or blades
like those of a blind or shade (Persienne) with an interval of some lines
between them. Under this table a sort of apron or large funnel of wood or
zine is destined to receive the water that passes between the laths and to
conduct it to a receptical fixed in the most convenient situation. Figure 3, a
frame composed of four pieces of wood joined at the cuds (like a box). Its
height measured on the line A, B, is six to eight inches, the thickness of the
board is one inch on two of its sides, and following the direction of the line
A, B, holes are bored from six to nine lines in diameter, and six lines one
above another. These holes are stopped by corks, which are easily withdrawn
to suffer the liquid that the frame may contain to escape. There must be a
certain number of similar frames varying in length and breadth according to
the size of the moulds as the edges of the latter must always exceed by one
inch at least the dimensions of these frames. Figure 4, sash frame (chassis)
of slight wood or better of copper, the exterior length and breadth of which
should be rather less than the exterior length and breadth of the frame
Figure 3, into which they must be inserted; these sashes are covered with
cloth of silk or hair, which makes them represent a very elastic paper mould;
(this cloth can be likewise made of each other substance). Figure 5, a mould of
carved wood, representing inverse the subjects to be worked in paper; these
may be made of any material, provided they have sufficient strength to support
a pressuro frequently repeated between a hard body (the platform of the press)
and an elastic body (the counterpart of felt and cloth shearings). Figure 6,
table on which are represented the mould and the frame in which the diluted
material is to be poured; A, the mould; B, the frame. Figure 7, section of the
same frame, the line C, D, (Figure 3,) the letter C marks the chassis or sash,
which precipitates the solid matter upon the mould M; the disengaged water
E escapes at the orifices O. Figure 8, plan of Figures 2 nd 6. To this

page_text: thousand pounds, of any construction; sixth, jugs and vessels of such sizes and
forms as may be required; seventh, shelves or frames to complete the drying
of the work in stoves, or by the air, arranged as convenience will admit.
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE.
First Method. A workman places on the table, Figure 2, the mould required;
on this he places the frame Figure 3, in the manner shown in Figure 6; he
then takes out of the vat Figure 1, by means of a vessel of sufficient capacity,
the diluted pulp, with which he fills the frame to about one inch of the edge;
he then stirs it with his hand that it may spread itself uniformly over the
surface of the mould. The only object now is to precipitate the matter
regularly upon this surface, and to make the water which holds it in suspen-
sion run off; for this purpose the workman takes the sash or sieve, No. 4, he
presses it down quite horizontally into the frame, as is shewn in the section,
Figure 7, and by this action carries down all the particles of solid matter, and
the water passing through the distended tissue upon the sieve is thus dis-
engaged. It is now only necessary to procure its egress, which is done by
opening the holes bored in the sides of the frame, when the greater portion of
the water has run off out of the frames, what remains is absorbed by applying
to the cloth of the sieve large sponges, which are there compressed until the
stuff has acquired a certain consistence, which is known by the cloth ceasing
to adhere to it. The sieve is then removed and afterwards the frame, and
there remains upon the mould a regular layer of paper in process of manu-
facture, which covers it equally in the hollows and flat parts with sponges
of different sizes. I continue to absorb the water, and to press the material
chiefly into the hollows, and when satisfied that it touches everywhere and
is sufficiently dried, I prepare to put it to press; I fill the hollows carefully
with shearings of cloth (tontures de draps), which are to be pressed in a
little, and which are to be left a few lines higher than the flat portions of the
mould; it is then placed on the bed of a powerful press and covered with a
layer of felts, the thickness of which must be proportioned to the depth of the
carving, and pressed with the whole power of the machine, (this operation
imparts to the work all the consistence and tenacity requisite). The shearings

page_text: of cloth are then removed from the cavities with small brushes. Every
possible impression may be obtained by this method, you may even have
ground patterns (dis dissons).
Second Method. When the subjects to be reproduced in paper are not in very
high relief, but which, however, could not be worked by the means at present
known, and especially when they are softened down so that the edges are lost in
the ground, I can operate in the following manner:-The workman plunges into
the vat a common paper mould, he withdraws it, lets it drain, and places on
the felt (fentre) the unfinished sheet of paper, as is done in making paper
without machinery. He lightly presses on this sheet a second felt which
absorbs the excess of water that it contains, and be stops when it has acquired
the consistence requisite to support itself (it must not be put to press);
a second workman then carefully lifts it up and applies it to the mould, into
the hollow of which he is careful to make it enter by means of sponges, or by
striking it with brushes of different sizes, for the work has not yet acquired
the tenacity which is imparted to it by pressing and drying. If there should
be any fractures they may be covered by applying to them a morsel of the
same sheet or of another in the same stage. As many sheets are thus placed
in succession as may be deemed requisite, side by side, taking care to make
the edges meet, or one upon another, according as you wish to obtain a surface
of greater or smaller extent and thickness. The precautions used in sub-
mitting this work to the action of the press are the same as those employed in
the first method.
Third Method. Instead of taking up the pulp from the vat in a vase or paper
mould, as mentioned in the first and second methods, the workman dips a sieve
into the vat, which he shakes slightly in order that the pulp in draining may
form an homogenous mass; and before it is completely drained, that is when it
has acquired only so much consistency as to admit of its being lifted in parts by
the hand, the workman takes a piece of it, sliding his hand between the
bottom of the sieve and the mass of pulp that covers it, and taking care not to
disturb the amalgamation of the component parts. He removes this fragment
to the mould and lays it out by beating it lightly and quickly with a brush,
the hairs of which are very much divided and very elastic. In this manner
the pulp distends like a malleable body, and the hairs of the brush will
separate regularly the fibrous particles, which is always an indispensible
condition to obtain a good result. The first fragment being finished, the
workman takes a second in the same manner, then a third, and so on, which
he spreads successively with the brush side by side, taking care that the edges

page_text: unite and amalgamate completely. He thus continues until the mould is
entirely covered and the hollows filled up. Over the whole he then places a
cloth of silk, hair, or other material sufficiently elastic, and sponges the whole
surface, continuing the operation as explained in the first and second
methods.
HIS
efore stated, that accidents happening in
the first method are to be repaired. It is with sheets in the same stage that
I can reload or augment the thickness of the specimens that I desire to have
stouter; for these linings or additions a pulp of inferior quality is used. To
ensure the most complete success in these operations, it is essential to size the
pulp before hand, therefore the moulds must be slightly oiled. It is well to
let every specimen dry in the mould, it then comes off perfectly straight and
clean. The drying goes on rapidly enough in summer in the open air, and in
winter in a stove with a stream of hot and dry air. By tinting the pulp before
hand with such colors as are employed for threads and cottons, I can obtain
a great variety of colors and tones. If black or colored printing inks be
applied to the flat parts of the mould by means of a roller or dabber (rubber);
these inks will attach themselves to the ground of the work, and you will
obtain two colors by a single operation. These effects may be multiplied by
employing precisely similar means to those that are in use for this kind
of printing. In short, paper on account of its whiteness is better suited than
any other material whatever to receive all kinds of tints and hues, and that in
distemper varnish or oil when properly sized for the purpose. To preserve
the reliefs which an infinity of causes will tend to deface, I reserve to myself
to fill the cavities of my papers with various substances capable of being
accurately moulded into them. The specimens prepared in this manner will
offer superior advantages for decoration. The tendency of paper to imbibe
moisture being likely to become a cause of deterioration to articles prepared by
my process, I also reserve to myself to saturate or cover with resinous or oily
liquids, as varnish, &c. the material which I employ.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Wertheimer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
Oue thousand eight hundred and forty.
JOHN WERTHEIMER. (L.s.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid John Wertheimer came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty.