MANUFACTURE OF INKS AND DYES
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME GREETING,
I, the said ALPHONSE RENÉ LE MIRE DE NORMANDY, M.D., of Rouen, Dé-
partment de la Seine Inferieure, France, now residing at No. 142, Cheap-
side, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria the First, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the First day of August, in the third year of Her reign, did give and
grant unto me, the said Alphonse René le Mire de Normandy, my exors,
áditors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said Alphonse René le Mire de Normandy, my exors, adiñors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Alphonse René le Mire de Nor-
mandy, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time, and at all times hereafter during the term of years
herein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Inven-
tion and improvements in the "MANUFACTURE OF INKS AND DYES;" in which
said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the said Alphonse
René le Mire de Normandy, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention and improvements, and in what manner the same are to
be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be
enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alphonse René le Mire de Normandy, do hereby declare that the nature of

page_text: my Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention and improvements consist, in the first place, in replacing
nutgalls by other substances containing tanin and gallic acid, or either, and
converting into black or purple, or blue black, or other tints, the brown,
green, or otherwise colored precipitates which they produce when in combina-
tion with salts of iron, by the addition of other colouring matter, so as to
produce a superior black or purple of different shades of colour, applicable to
writing, staining, and dyeing.
Secondly, in a particular method of treating or operating upon Campeachy
woods (Hæmatoxylum Campechianum), by dissolving in its aqueous decoction
metallic salts and oxydes for the production of a purple dahlia color, appli-
cable also to writing, staining, and dyeing.
Thirdly, in a certain process of operating upon Chinese blue (cyanoferruret
of iron), so as to produce a blue fluid, also applicable to the cases above cited..
Fourthly, in a certain way of combining catechu and the extract of hæma-
toxylon and decoction of Campeachy with salts of iron, of alumine, and of
potash,, and salts of copper and sulphate of indigo, in the production of a solid,
semi-solid, and. soluble ink, applicable to the same purposes as. above.
And, fifthly, in combining, carbon with other colours and. acids; so as to form
an indelible writing ink,, which cannot be defaced. or obliterated. by any known
chemical agent, all of which Inventions and improvements I will now describe
under different heads.
My first improvement, namely, the mode of superseding the use of nutgalls
by other vegetable matters in the production of a black or purple colour of
different shades, and applicable to the purposes of dyeing, staining, coloring,
and writing, I effect in the following manner. :-
I take either sumac, elm wood, chestnut, beach, willow, elder, oak,, plumb,
sycamore, cherry, poplar wood, catchu, or any other wood or berry, or extract
of vegetable substances containing gallic acid and taurin, or either, and put
this, previously reduced to powder, into a copper full of common: water, and
boil it until a sufficiently strong decoction. be obtained. The quantity of water
must vary, of course, according to the sort of vegetable substance employed.
catechu, for example, requiring more water than sumac, on account of catechu,
being almost totally soluble. To this I add a certain quantity of Campeachy
wood,. of acetate and hydrate of dentoxide of copper, of sulphate of alumine,
and of potash of sulphate of protoxide of iron, in quantities which vary also
according to the vegetable material first employed, and gum arabic, or the

page_text: '
best sort of gum senegal, in the proportion of 80 lbs., or thereabouts, for 840
gallons of liquid, also, a variable quantity of sulphate of indigo. The whole
of these last ingredients depending on the shade of the colour intended to be
produced, it is not possible to indicate absolutely the proportion in which they
are to be used, as the state or fancy of the operator cannot be guessed at.
In order, however, to guide the operator as far as I am enabled, I should
say, that supposing a blue black to be the colour wished for, and sumac, for
example, the vegetable ingredient selected for the purpose, the proportions
should be for 340 gallons:-Sumac, from 12 to 15 sacks of 4 bushels each;
Campeachy, 200 cwt., or thereabouts, according as a new or old chip is used;
gum arabic, 80 lbs. or 1 cwt; sulphate of protoxide of iron, 1 cwt.; acetate
and hydrate of dentoxide of copper, 4 tbs.; sulphate of alumine and of potash;
37 lbs.; sulphate of indigo, 6 tbs., or even more, according to the intensity of
the blue cast desired.
If catechu were to be used instead of sumac, 1 cwt., I should say, would
be required, the proportions of the other materials remaining the same.
The variously coloured precipitates, which salts of iron form in the solutions
of the cited vegetable astringent substances, all of which precipitates vary from
the green to the brown (the decoction of nuttgalls only yielding with salts of
iron a dark purple,) are the obstacles which have hitherto prevented the use of
these vegetable substances, with a view to supersede nutgalls; but by means
of the sulphate of indigo in various proportions, I obtain from the above cited
substances a liquid of different shades of colour, from the dark blue down to
the most intense black, and which solution or fluid is applicable to either
dyeing or staining, or may be employed as a writing ink, to be used with
every description of pen.
My second improvement, consisting in a particular method of treating and
operating upon Campeachy wood, for the purpose of obtaining a fluid of that
dahlia colour called "king of purples," also applicable to writing and dyeing,
I effect in the following manner :-
I boil in a copper a certain quantity of Campeachy wood chips, in the pro-
portion of 12 lbs. to 12 gallons of water, until a strong solution is produced,
and pour the boiling solution through a sieve upon one pound of acetate and
hydrate of dentoxide of copper previously pulverized, and to which I add
almost immediately fourteen pounds of sulphate acid of alumine and potash,
or thereabouts, gum-in the same proportions as for the black, namely, eighty
pounds per three hundred and forty gallons of the liquid, and after a few days
(two or three days are sufficient), a beautiful dahlia "king of purples" colour
is produced.

page_text: My third improvement, consisting in a certain process of operating upon
Chinese blue so as to produce a blue fluid, also applicable to the purposes of
dyeing, staining, and writing, I effect as follows:-
I take Chinese blue, that is, a cyanoferruret of iron which contains no
alumine, and grind it in water with oxalate acid or bioxalate of potash (super-
oxalas potasse), adding also a sufficient quantity of gum. The proportions
should be for 7 ounces of water :-
Chinese blue
Oxalate acid of potash
Gum
-
3 drachms.
1 drachm.
1 drachm.
I find, however, that there is advantage in saturating the Chinese blue with
solution of tin previous to mixing it with the water and the other ingredients,
in which case I pour one drachm of solution of tin upon the 3 drachms of
Chinese blue, and stirring it, adding at the same time a little water; then
join the drachm of oxalate acid of potash, pouring at the same time the
remainder of the seven ounces of water and the drachm of gum.
I have given here the proportions on a very small scale. It will thus be
easy proportionably to augment them, according to the quantity of blue fluid
the operator may wish to produce.
My fourth improvement, referring to the production of a solid, semi-solid,
and soluble ink, of combining the salts of iron, of alumine, and potash of
copper, and the sulphate of indigo, with catechu extract of hæmatoxylon and
decoction of Campeachy, is performed as hereunder written.
I take three drachms of catechu, one drachm of extract of hæmatoxylon, ten
grains of acetate and hydrate of dentoxyde of copper, one scruple of sulphate s
of alumine and potash, one drachm of gum arabic, one drachm of sulphate of
protoxyde of iron, and a variable quantity of sulphate of indigo evaporated to
dryness, the whole of these ingredients being previously reduced to a fine
powder, and I pour upon them as much of a strong decoction of Campeachy
wood as will make them by stirring into a thick paste. This paste I dry s
either by leaving it to itself, or by exposing it to a gentle temperature, or
otherwise; and when dry, cut it into squares, or balls, or lozenges, or other
figures of variable sizes, which, when mixed with water and dissolved in it,
will form a very good black, or purple, or blue black fluid, according to the
quantity of sulphate of indigo employed. This is what I call the solid soluble 3
ink. To obtain the semi-solid one, I operate as above, and add from half a
drachm to one drachm of uncrystallisable sugar or molasses, which prevents it
from becoming hard.
Lastly, my fifth improvement, namely, combining carbon with other colours

page_text: and acids, so as to form a really indelible writing ink, which cannot be
defaced or obliterated by any known chemical reagent, I obtain in the fol-
lowing manner :-
:
I take twenty-four pounds of carbon (Frankfort lamp black is the sort I
generally use), and grind it with a mucilage of gum and water (the propor-
tion of gum is twenty pounds for sixty gallons of water). I filter the mixture
through a very coarse flannel, or through a funnel, the spout of which is
stopped with a sponge, and add four pounds of oxalic acid, to which mixture I
add a variable quantity of decoction of cochineal and of sulphate of indigo,
according to the intensity or shade of colour desired.
Having thus concluded the mode of performing these my improvements, I
would observe, that with respect to the first, I do not claim the use of sumac,
catechu, or any other of the vegetable astringent substances, nor that of the
sulphate of protoxide of iron, of the acetate of hydrate, of deutoxide of copper,
or of the sulphate of alumine and potash; but I do claim, as one of my
improvements; the use of the sulphate of indigo in combination with the above,
as a corrective of the green or brown precipitates yielded by the above astrin-
gent substances, when combined with sulphate of iron, so as to form an ink or
dye of a good black or purple colour.
Secondly, I claim the method of acting and operating upon the decoction of
Campeachy wood by means of acetate and hydrate of dentoxide of copper,
with sulphate of alumine and potash, for making a purple dahlia coloured
fluid for writing or dyeing.
Thirdly, I claim the use of bioxalate of potash, with or without solution
of tin, and the solution of tin with bioxalate of potash, as a method of ren-
dering Chinese blue applicable to the manufacture of a blue writing ink,
stain, or dye.
Fourthly, I claim as my Invention the method of combining together, and
the use of catechu with extract of hæmatoxylon and sulphate of indigo, in the
production of a solid, semi-solid, and soluble writing ink.
And fifthly, I claim the application of oxalic acid in combination with
carbon, cochineal, and sulphate of indigo, for the purpose of forming an
indelible writing ink, which known chemical reagents cannot remove or
obliterate.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alphonse René le Mire de Normandy,
have set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of September, One thou-
sand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
A. LE MIRE DE NOR (L.s.) MANDY, M.D.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1839, the aforesaid Alphonse René le Mire de Nor-
mandy came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Specification aforesaid, 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 Twelfth day of September, in the year of our Lord Oné
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.