IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING THE MATERIALS OF AND
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Sanders
Bale and Daniel Lucas at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 1st November 1853.
We, THOMAS SANDERS BALE, of Cauldon Place, in the County of
Stafford, China Manufacturer, and DANIEL LUCAS, of Stoke-upon-Trent,
in the same County, Artist, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING THE MATERIALS OF AND

page_text: ARTICLES MANUFACTURED IN POTTERY, AS. BRICK, TILES, SLABS, &C., AND
ALSO IN GLASS, SLATE, STONE, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
First, the production of various ornamental effects and patterns upon
the surface of materials and articles made of pottery, glass, slate, &c., and
having reference especially to bricks, tiles, slabs, &c., of pottery, glass,
enameled and glazed iron, &c., and also to other architectural fittings
and adjuncts, by means of improvements in that part of the pottery
manufacture known as "ground laying." The ordinary mode now in
use is to form an outline of the pattern by pencilling or stencilling in
water colour by hand, and after the ground color is dusted on, the
stencil part is carefully washed out and the article fired.. One part of
the improvement here consists in making a different composition from
the ordinary stencil color for the purpose of printing. The pattern
being engraved of the part intended for that purpose by means of any
suitable press, an impression is taken and transferred to the surface of
the article over which the color, as blue, green, &c., is laid, without
injury to the other part. The stencil color, in place of being washed
off, is left to be fired with the color, and on coming out of the kiln
this part, or what is left, is cleared off, leaving the pattern quite clear
and sharp. Another mode of producing the same result, by a means
quite the reverse of the above modes, is to oil the article with a
medium which will not readily set with the color, then to dust
the color all over it, and upon this is transferred a
print of the
required pattern whilst the color is wet. The paper is then peeled
off, leaving the pattern clear. It is then fired in the ordinary way.
By these improvements much cost is saved in making the pattern,
the trouble and nicety of washing off is avoided, the work is made far
more sharp and accurate, very fine work hitherto unattainable can be
executed, and much greater scope afforded for ornamental patterns by
being able to lay on more colors.
.
Secondly, the imitating of marbled and party colored work after the
manner of "book marbling." This is done by what may be termed
floating." A suitable oil or size is first laid on water, upon which
the colors are dropped; on being agitated by a comb, divers shades

page_text: are produced; and upon the article being dipped in, a portion is trans-
ferred to its surface, representing marble, &c.
Thirdly, to print stone, slate, marble, &c., which having been
suitably dressed or painted is then varnished to keep the surface
clean, or fired when the nature of the materials will allow.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
and of the said Order, filed by the said Thomas Sanders Bale and
Daniel Lucas in the Great, Seal Patent Office on the 31st May.
1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, We,
THOMAS SANDERS BALE, of Cauldon Place, in the County of Stafford,
China Manufacturer, and DANIEL LUCAS, of Stoke-upon-Trent, in .the
same County, Artist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors;
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Sanders Bale and Daniel
Lucas, Her special license that we, the said Thomas Sanders Bale
and Daniel Lucas, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Thomas Sanders Bale and Daniel Lucas, our
executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ORNAMENTING THE MATERIALS OF, AND ARTICLES MANUFACTURED
IN POTTERY, AS BRICKS, TILES, SLABS, &C., AND ALSO IN GLASS, SLATE,
STONE, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Thomas Sanders Bale and Daniel Lucas, by
an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was

page_text: to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office on or before the Thirty-first day of May 1854 next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Thomas Sanders Bale and
Daniel Lucas, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, that
is to say -
Our said Invention relates to the production of various ornamental
effects and patterns upon the surfaces of materials and articles made of
pottery, glass, slate, &c., and having reference especially to bricks, tiles,
slabs, &c. of pottery, glass, enamelled and glazed iron, &c., and also to
other architectural fittings and adjuncts by means of improvements in
that part of the pottery manufacture known as "ground laying;" and to
the imitating of marbled and partly colored work upon the materials
above named; and also to printing ornamental patterns upon stone,
slate, marble, &c. The new processes, so far as relate to the ground
laying will be better understood by a short description of the modes
at present generally employed in the manufacture, which are as
follows:-
The outline of the intended pattern is first drawn on and pricked
through fine tissue paper, through which fiue charcoal is rubbed or
pounced upon the ware, leaving thereon a black outline. The parts
intended to be white or different from the ground are then pencilled in
with a composition or "water stencil" made of rose pink, sugar, and
water. After this the piece is oiled and bossed with a dabber to lay
the oil on evenly, and upon this the required color, as blue, green, &c.,
ground very fine, is dusted; after being dried the piece is well washed in
clear water. The stencil being soluble comes off, and the color is left
on forming the pattern; it is then cleaned, dried, and fired in the kiln.
A variation in forming the outline is often used by printing it, instead
of tracing or pouncing in, and transferring such printed outline to the
surface of the article in the usual way of pottery transferring; in such
case the outline is fired, after which the stencilling, oiling, grounding,
&c., is repeated as before. In all cases, however, the outline only of

page_text: the pattern is made merely to guide the stencilling, and in these pro-
cesses every fresh coat of color requires a re-stencilling and repetition
of the process.
Our improved modes of ground laying, or what may by way of distinc-
tion be termed "printed stencil ground laying," are as follows:-By
these improvements, in place of engraving the outline only of the
pattern on the copper, the entire pattern intended is first fully engraved,
and the brick, tile, slab, or other article to be ornamented, is sized with
a mixture of Canada balsam and turpentine. An impression from the
engraved plate is then taken in the usual way upon tissue paper, the
composition or stencil used being particularly adapted for printing
purposes, and consisting of about three parts of rose pink, two parts of
whiting, two parts of fine ground flint, one part of lamp black, one half
part of sugar of lead, and two parts of resin well mixed with printers
oil. The impression is then transferred to the sized surface in the
ordinary way of potters transferring; after remaining a short time it is
washed with soft soap and potash to bring away the superfluous paper
and size in order to receive the ground. It is then oiled with Canada
balsam and linseed oil, but without the usual bossing, after which the
ground color is brushed, dusted, or laid on in any convenient manner.
It is now ready to be fired with the "stencil on," which is loosened by
the heat, and on coming out of the kiln the stencil is readily rubbed off
with fine sand and water, leaving the color and pattern on the article
beautifully sharp and defined, and clean at the edges.
Another part of our Invention, the reverse of the above, and specially
adapted for fine delicate work, is as follows:-The entire pattern is
engraved as before, and the brick, tile, slab, or other article to be
ornamented is then oiled over with Canada balsam and linseed oil, and
is dusted over with the color which is intended as the ground. An im-
pression in stencil is then taken on tissue paper from the engraved plate,
and is transferred to the moist surface of the article prepared as above.
The printed stencil is then carefully peeled off, and brings away with it
the color from all the parts of the article which the printed stencil has
come in contact with, the other portions not touched by the print
forming the pattern.

page_text: When gilding is required, ground gold is dusted on, instead of the
ordinary color. The pattern is then printed as before in stencil and
transferred to the surface of the article upon the gold, after which the
article is washed with soft soap and potash in order to bring away the
superfluous gold (which is collected again), and the oil from those parts
not desired to be gilt. The article is then fired with the stencil on,
which on coming out of the kiln is rubbed off, and leaves the gilt
pattern under it firmly adhering to the ware.
:
.
The great feature of difference between the old and new modes is,
that instead of having to outline and to pencil, and stencil in by hand,
the pattern is printed".complete in stencil. The advantages gained
are not only the obtainment of more beautiful, accurate, and sharp work
of any breadth or fineness, which is done at a cheaper rate than the
modes at present in use, but delicate elaborate patterns at present
entirely unable to be attained are easy and economical of execution.
In addition there are many other advantages, such as the saving the
cost and firing of the outline, doing away with its ragged edges, the
trouble of bossing after oiling, the cost of cleaning and picking out the
pattern after washing off, being able to lay on as much color at one
coat as requires two and three applications in the old modes, and
restencilling, and, lastly, in being able to gild at the same time at a
reduced cost.
In carrying out the Invention upon articles where heat is not
required, and upon other substances as stone, slate, wood, &c. which
will only bear a slight temperature, some deviations will be necessary
from the processes above described; and in ornamenting glass or
other transparent substance the process we find most expedient is
as follows-The pattern is engraved as before, and an impression
is printed in black or any other opaque color and transferred generally
to the back of the piece. The paper is then washed off, after
which it is oiled to receive the ground color which is brushed or
dusted through perforated paper or oiled silk, or. any other suitable
medium. The piece is then sized with a solution of isinglass and water,
and whilst wet, gold-leaf is applied and is seen through on the front
side where there is no color; it is then finished by painting it' over

page_text: with any desired color. When applied to walls, floors, or any where
which is likely to be damp, a. coating of gutta-percha or other water-
proof substance is applied to protect it. By this means most beautiful
effects can be produced for walls and floors, especially as landscapes,
fruit, figures, and gilding can be represented and saved from injury and
wear by being done at the back.
In ornamenting opaque bodies not necessary to be fired this last
process is slightly varied. The piece is first sized with isinglass and
water and the gold applied as before; it is then dried a little and
varnished, and afterwards hardened to set the varnish; the print is.
then transferred to it and the paper washed off, after which it is oiled
and the color applied as before, and the whole is afterwards varnished.
Another simple mode of ornamenting adapted for chimney pieces,
pillars, &c. of stone, slate, wood, &c. is as follows. The article having
been first cleaned and dressed is painted over with the desired color; an
impression is then taken from an engraved plate of the pattern desired
in any ordinary way of printing, and transferred to the surface of the
article to be ornamented; the paper is afterwards washed off, leaving
the pattern, as marble, &c. behind, which may afterwards be varnished
so as to keep it clean.
It will be evident that the several modes described are admirably
adapted, not only for general architectural purposes, as bricks, tiles,
slabs, baths, chimney picces, doors, furniture, &c., but are capable of
being applied to a variety of useful fittings, as tables, panels, pillasters,
mouldings, ceilings, &c., either made of the materials themselves or
forming a species of inlaying and veneering. Bricks, blocks, pillars,
and similar articles, too heavy and costly to be made entirely of glass,
may be beautifully decorated by ornamenting the glass in manner
described and then using it as a veneer.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, we would observe, in conclusion, that we do not confine
or restrict ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we have
had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made
therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features of our

page_text: said Invention; but what we consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,
First, the modes of producing ornamental effects upon the surfaces
of materials such as pottery, glass, slate, and glazed and enamelled
iron, in which the entire pattern to be produced is printed in stencil
and transferred to the article to be ornamented.
Second, the decorating bricks, tiles, slabs, and other architectural
adjuncts and fittings, iron, slate, stone, wood, and also glass and other
diaphanous substances, in the manner herein-before described.
Third, the decorating articles in ceramic, vitreous, and plastic
manufactures, for floors and similar purposes, by the representation
thereon of landscapes, flowers, fruit, and other pictorial subjects, in the
manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Sanders Bale and
Daniel Lucas, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the
Twenty-ninth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
THOS S. BALE.
(L.S.)
DANIEL LUCAS. (L.S.)
THOS S. BALE.
(L.S.)
DANIEL LUCAS. (L.S.)