IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF HIDES AND SKINS FOR THE MANU- FACTURE OF LEATHER
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaie Lippmann, of No. 4, Rue Geoffroy Saint
Hilaire, Paris, in the Empire of France, Tanner, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF HIDES AND SKINS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF LEATHER."
Sealed the 18th September 1855, and dated the 8th June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaie Lippmann at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
June 1855.
I, ISAIE LIPPMANN, of No. 4, Rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Paris, in the
Empire of France, Tanner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF HIDES AND SKINS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF LEATHER" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to divide the epidermis or grain of ox, calf,
horse, and other hides or skins, and by that means to abstract a valuable
portion of the skin (which may be used in the manufacture of gloves, Morocco
leather, and for other purposes), without materially diminishing the value
of the remaining portion of the skin, which may be employed for the various
useful purposes for which skins or leather are now used with the grain
untouched,

page_text: In carrying out this Invention, I first submit the hides or skins to a pre-
paring process, whereby they are softened, so as to bring them to a proper
state to be operated upon by the second machine....
The skins are prepared by means of a machine, which softens or renders
them pliable preparatory to their being split or divided. The preparing
machine consists of a chamber or chambers or troughs, in which are made to
work two or more wooden beaters or fullers, which, when set in motion, each
in turn strike the skins in a slanting direction. The beaters or fullers are set
in motion by cranks or excentrics on the driving or working shaft, and are so
arranged that they do not come into contact with the edges of the trough in
which they work, but merely beat and rub the skins or hides up against the
end of the trough or chamber, and by. that means soften the skins and render
them quite supple.
The skins or hides having been-thus-prepared. are then ready to be split or
divided, for which purpose they are removed to the second machine, in which
they are attached to a cylinder or roller, to which a slow rotary motion is
communicated by suitable gearing... 'The hides or skins are split by means of
a. long vibrating knife or blade, which is made to move with considerable
velocity, as the roller or cylinder to which the skins are attached moves round
slowly. By regulating the position of the knife or cutting blade and other
parts of the machine, a thicker or thinner sheet may be cut off from the hide
or skin, as may be desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters, Patent,. filed
by the said Isaie Lippmann in the Great Seal Patent Office, on the
8th December 1855...
+
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAIE
LIPPMANN, of No. 4, Rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Paris, in the Empire of
France, Tanner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord One.
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her. reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Isaie Lippmann, Her special license that I, the said Isaie Lippmann, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Isaie

page_text: Lippmann,my executors, "administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all. times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use;
exercise; and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF HIDES. AND SKINS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Isaie Lippmann, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention; and in what manner the same. was to be
performed, and cause the same. to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I; the said Isaie Lippmann, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked' thereon (that is to say):
This Invention relates to the treatment of the hides or skins of oxen, calves,
horses, and other large animals, and has for its object to cut or divide these
skins in such a manner that the epidermis or grain itself of such hides or skins
may be divided, so that by this means a valuable portion of the skin may be
cut off and abstracted, and used in the manufacture of gloves, Morocco leather,
and for other purposes, without materially diminishing the value of the
remaining portion of the skin, which 'may be employed for the various useful
purposes for which 'skins or leather are now used with the grain untouched.
I would observe that hides and skins have been heretofore split or divided;' for
the purpose of reducing them to one uniform thickness and cutting off the
fleshy parts, but hitherto when the operation has been effected, the inner half
of the skin or hide has been of little or no value, as it did not possess any grain
on' its surface. Various 'attempts have been made to split or divide calves'
skins, and to divide the epidermis or grain or upper part of the skin or hide
of oxen or horses, by cutting off a thin film of the skin, but hitherto without
success. After considerable trouble, and a great number of experiments, I have:
discovered, first, that to effect the desired object it was necessary to submit the
skins or hides to a preparatory process previous to splitting or dividing them;
second, I found that the ordinary machinery as heretofore used for splitting
sheepskins would not effect the desired purposes; I therefore found - it
necessary not only to submit the hides or skins to ȧ preparatory. process in

page_text: order to soften them, but also to considerably alter the construction of the
splitting machine, and modify the mode of working the said machinery, other-
wise I could not effect the desired object.
In carrying out my Invention, I first submit the hides or skins to a preparing
process, whereby they are softened, so as to bring them to a proper state to be
operated upon by the second machine, and without which preparing process
the subsequent operation of splitting the hides or skins could not be effected.
The skins are prepared by means of the machine shewn at Figures 1 and 2 in
Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, which softens or renders them pliable
preparatory to their being split or divided.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a section, taken vertically in the line A, B,
of Fig. 1. The machine consists of a chamber or chambers or troughs a, a, a,
in which are made to work two or more wooden beaters or fullers b, b, b, b,
which are affixed to the lower end of the levers c, c, c, c, and when set in
motion each of the beaters are in turn made to strike the skins in a slanting
direction, as shewn in Fig. 2. The beaters or fullers b, b, are set in motion by
cranks or excentrics d, d, d, d, on the driving or working shaft e, and the
beaters are so constructed and arranged that they do not come into contact
with the edges of the trough in which they work, but merely beat and rub
the skins or hides up against the end of the trough or chamber, and by that
means soften the skins and render them quite supple. The skins or hides
previous to being placed in the machine should be soaked in water to soften
them, and when they have been operated upon in this preparing machine in
the manner above described they are then ready to be split or divided, for
which purpose they are removed to the second machine, which is shewn
in perspective in Fig. 3, Sheet II. The skins or hides are attached to the
cylinder or roller A, A, by means of pins or hooks, and a slow rotary motion is
communicated to the cylinder A, by causing an endless screw i on the main
driving shaft j to gear, into a toothed wheel on the shaft of the cylinder or
roller A. The hides or skins are split by means of a long vibrating knife or
blade B, B, actuated by means of the excentric m and connecting rod H. The
shaft G, on which is mounted the excentric m, is made to move with con-
siderable velocity by means of the band or strap F, which passes from the
large, wheel E on the driving shaft j to the small pulley F on the excentric
shaft G. It will now be seen that the roller or cylinder to which the skins
are attached rotates, very slowly, while a very rapid vibration is communicated
to the vibrating knife. It is this extreme rapidity of the vibrating knife in
combination with the slow rotary motion of the cylinder or roller to which the

page_text: skin is attached, which constitutes the chief merit of my machine. The speeds
which I have found by experience to be the most suitable to be given to the
several parts for effecting the purpose I have in view, are as follows:-The
large wheel E should be driven about one hundred and twenty rotations per
one minute, and the crank shaft G with its excentric m made to rotate about one
thousand two hundred and sixty times per minute. The speed of the parts i, j,
and k, should be so regulated that the roller A should make one revolution for
every thirty rotations of the large wheel. The position of the knife or cutting
blade and other parts of the machine connected therewith may be regulated by
means of the screws s, s, s, so that a thicker or thinner sheet may be cut off
from the hide or skin, as may be desired. In order to keep the hide or skin
extended while under operation, it must be drawn over the grooved breast
bar t, t, which is shewn detached at Fig. 4. The hide or skin being damp will
cling somewhat to the breast bar t, t, and as the skin is drawn forward the
grooves in the breast bar will keep it spread out in full tension.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Treatment of
Hides and Skins for the Manufacture of Leather," I wish it to be understood that
I am aware that the hides and skins of oxen, horses, and other large animals
have heretofore been split or divided by means of vibrating knives; and I would
remark, that although the skins of sheep have been divided or split and both
parts rendered valuable and useful, yet no person has hitherto succeeded in
splitting or dividing the skins of calves, oxen, cows, horses, and other large
animals, and producing thereby two valuable and useful skins instead of one; I
therefore claim to have been the Inventor and discoverer of a valuable process,
whereby considerable economy in skins and hides is effected, as the thin film,
which I am enabled by my process to cut off and remove from the skin or
hide without materially deteriorating the latter, may be used for making gloves,
or to produce Morocco leather, while the residue of the skins may be employed
for the same purposes as those for which they are now used, as, for instance,
for the manufacture of leather.
In conclusion, I would observe that what I consider to be new and useful
in my above-described Invention or discovery is,―
First, preparing the skins or hides in a machine in which they are subjected
to a fulling or beating action, whereby they are rendered soft and supple, and
brought to a proper state to be acted on by the second or splitting machine.
Second, I claim, as regards the splitting machine, communicating a very
quick and rapid vibratory motion to the knife in combination with a very slow
rotary motion to the cylinder or roller to which the skin or hide is attached,

page_text: whereby I am enabled to cut off or remove the epidermis of the skin, and use
the same for any purposes where a thin skin of leather is required, leaving the
grain on the other part of the skin, which may be used for the purposes for
which thick leather is usually employed."
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaie Lippmann, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the First day of December, in the year" of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.