IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMPRESSIONS UPON TIN AND TERNE PLATES AND SHEETS OF METAL, AND IN FURNACES OR OVENS FOR HEATING AND DRYING PLATES OR SHEETS WHICH HAVE RECEIVED THE REQUIRED IMPRESSIONS."
Year: 1869

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Philip William Flower, of Briton Forry, Neath,
in the County of Glamorgan, Gentleman, and Wickham Flower,
of 1 and 2, Great Winchester Street Buildings, in the City of
London, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
METHOD AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMPRESSIONS UPON TIN AND TERNE
PLATES AND SHEETS OF METAL, AND IN FURNACES OR OVENS FOR HEATING
AND DRYING PLATES OR SHEETS WHICH HAVE RECEIVED THE REQUIRED
IMPRESSIONS." A communication from abroad by Emile René
Peltier, Albert Adolphe Paillard, and Laurent Delangre, of Billain-
court near Paris France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Philip William
Flower and Wickham Flower at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 12th May 1869.
We, PHILIP WILLIAM FLOWER, of Briton Ferry, Neath, in the
County of Glamorgan, Gentleman, and WICKHAM FLOWER, of 1 and 2,
Great Winchester Street Buildings, in the City of London, Gentleman,

page_text: "
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE METHOD AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMPRESSIONS UPON TIN AND TERNE
PLATES AND SHEETS OF METAL, AND IN FURNACES OR OVENS FOR HEATING AND
DRYING PLATES OR SHEETS WHICH HAVE RECEIVED THE REQUIRED IMPRESSIONS,"
a communication to us from abroad by Emile René Peltier, Albert
Adolphe Paillard, and Laurent Delangre, of Billaincourt, near Paris,
France, to be as follows:-
The improvements are in part based upon those described in the
Specification of prior Letters Patent granted to William Edward Gedge,
and dated March 8th, 1864, numbered 571, which Letters Patent have
been assigned to and are now vested in us the said Philip William
Flower and Wickham Flower.
In the Specification above referred to, a description is given of a new
and useful method of printing or making impressions upon tin plates or
sheets of tinned iron, and our Invention as communicated to us from
abroad relates to the printing or producing impressions upon terne plates
or sheets of iron or other metal covered with a coating of paint or
varnish, or other coating material that will resist heat, or without such
coating, and also to the use of a stove or drying oven of a new construction
specially adapted, as herein-after described, for practically carrying out the
method above referred to.
In order that the nature of our Invention may be more fully understood
we will describe, first, what is the method of printing or producing
impressions as employed by us, without intending to include in our
Invention the details of the method, which were described, as above
mentioned, in the Specification of the said Patent of March 8th, 1864.
We first prepare a design or inscription in the ordinary manner on a
lithographic stone, which is then placed in a press, and proofs are
taken off on transfer paper. The proof impression is then transferred
to the surface of the stone, and is placed in relief in the usual
manner by acting with acid upon the parts of the stone that are not
protected by the resisting material applied to its surface. The design or
inscription which is so produced in relief on the stone is then covered with
printing composition or ink which is composed of materials that will resist
the action of heat, and the design or inscription is then impressed and
printed upon the metal plate or sheet, which may be coated with alloy or
paint or uncoated. The compositions or inks may be made of various

page_text: materials. We will mention some of them, placing them in the order
which we prefer to use them, and it should be observed that while printing
on the plate, and while applying the inks for this kind of impressions, the
stone must not be touched with water or the compositions or inks used
would be liable to be decomposed or otherwise injured. A good com-
position is made by combining a varnish composed of linseed oil with
hard copal gum; the gum should be well melted in linseed oil and then
be subjected to heat. The varnish so made is afterwards mixed by
grinding in the ordinary way with any of the mineral colours that are
ordinarily used, especially those having a lead for a base, but the other
minéral colours may be used and also the vegetable colours, but it should
be noted that mineral colours are preferablo to vegetable colours for
compositions intended to be applied to plates which are required to
withstand the action of boiling heat. Compositions or inks of another
class are made by grinding the various metallic oxides with varnish
made from copal gum melted in linseed oil. A third class of composition
or ink may be made by using the fluxes and vitrifiable materials employed
for enameling porcelain and glass. The colours so produced are ground
with linseed oil to the consistency of varnish. When the composition
or ink has been printed or impressed upon the metallic sheets, which
may be done by means of any suitable press, such as is used in lithographic
printing, the sheets are taken from the press and placed one by one in a
suitable rack or basket in which the sheets are so placed that they cannot
touch one another. The basket or rack with the printed sheets is then
placed in a stove or oven in which is a revolving frame having arms or
supports, to each of which we attach one or more racks filled with printed
sheets. The frame is turned on a horizontal axis so that a continuous
motion is given to the plates in the oven, which subjects them to the
requisite degree of heat. The baskets have circular handles, and being
suspended on round rods or tubes of iron the plates when revolving in
the oven are always held suspended in a perpendicular position. The
time during which the plates are allowed to remain in the oven, and the
degree of heat to which they should be exposed, will readily be ascertained
by persons acquainted with the character of the materials employed, and
the result will be found to be that a solid and durable and indelible printed
design or inscription will be impressed upon the metal sheets. The
composition above firstly mentioned is preferred as being more quickly
acted upon in the oven or stove and also less expensive, but the second
and third give also good results. Each printed sheet after being taken

page_text: out of the furnace is varnished all over by hand with a brush and then
replaced in the oven to dry, after which the process is finished, and the
sheet is ready to be sent out or to be made up into canisters or boxes as
may be required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Philip William Flower and Wickham Flower
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, PHILIP
WILLIAM FLOWER, of Briton Ferry, Neath, in the County of Glamorgan,
Gentleman, and WICKHAM FLOWER, of 1. and 2, Great Winchester
Street Buildings, in the City of London, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Philip William Flower and Wickham Flower,
Her special licence, that we, the said Philip William Flower and
Wickham Flower, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Philip William Flower and Wickham Flower,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agrec
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
usc, 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 METHOD AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMPRESSIONS UPON
TIN AND TERNE PLATES AND SHEETS OF METAL, AND IN FURNACES OR OVENS
FOR HEATING AND DRYING PLATES OR SHEETS WHICH HAVE RECEIVED THE REQUIRED
IMPRESSIONS," a communication to us from abroad by Emile René Peltier,
Albert Adolphe Paillard, and Laurent Delangre, of Billaincourt, near
Paris, France, upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Philip William Flower and Wickham Flower, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or one of
our, their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: 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 Wickham Flower, for myself
and on behalf of my Co-patentee, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The improvements aro in part based upon those described in the
Specification of prior Letters Patent granted to William Edward Gedge,
and dated March 8th, 1864, numbered 571, which Letters Patent
have been assigned to and are now vested in us the said Philip
William Flower and Wickham Flower.
In the Specification above referred to a description is given of a.
new and useful method of printing or making impressions upon tin
plates or sheets of tinned iron, and our Invention as communicated to
us from abroad relates to the printing or producing impressions upon.
tin and terne plates and shcets of iron or other metal covered with a
coating of paint or varnish, or other coating material that will resist
heat, or without such coating, and also to the use of a stove or drying,
oven of a new construction specially adapted, as herein-after described,
for practically carrying out the method above referred to.
In order that the nature of our Invention may be more fully under-
stood, we will describe, first, what is the method of printing or producing
impressions as employed by us without including or intending to
include in this our Invention the details of the method, which were
described, as above mentioned, in the Specification of the Patent of
March 8th, 1864.
We first prepare a design or inscription in the ordinary manner
on a lithographic stone, which is then placed in a press, and proofs
are taken off on transfer paper. The proof impression is then
transferred to the surface of the stone intended to be used for
printing the design, and is placed in relief in the usual manner by
acting with acid upon the parts of the stone that are not protected
by the resisting material applied to its surface. The design or in-
scription which is so produced in relief on the stone is then covered
with printing composition or ink which is composed of materials
that will resist the action of heat, and the design or inscription is

page_text: then impressed and printed upon the metal plate or sheet, which may
be coated with alloy or paint, or uncoated. The compositions or inks
may be made of various materials. We will mention some of them,
placing them in the order in which we prefer to use them, and it should
be observed that while printing on the plate and while applying the
inks for this kind of impressions the stone is not touched with water.
A good composition is made by combining varnish such as is used
in making the printing compositions used by lithographic printers
with mineral colors, in some cases resin may be mixed therewith; or
a varnish composed of linseed oil with hard copal gum may be em-
ployed. The gum should be well melted in linseed oil and then be
subjected to heat. The varnish so made is mixed by grinding in the
ordinary way with any of the mineral colors that are ordinarily
used, especially those having a lead for a base, but the other mineral
colors may be used and also the vegetable colors, but it should be
noted that mineral colors are preferable to vegetable colors for
compositions intended to be applied to plates which are required
to withstand the action of boiling heat. Compositions or inks of
another class are made by grinding the various metallic oxides with
varnish made from copal gum melted in linseed oil. A third class
of composition or ink may be made by using the fluxes and vitrifiable
materials employed for enameling porcelain and glass. The colors
so produced are ground with linseed oil to the consistency of varnish.
When the composition or ink has been printed or impressed upon
the metallic sheets, which may be done by means of any suitable press
or machine, such as is used in lithographic printing, the sheets are taken
from the press and placed one by one in a suitable rack or basket
in which the sheets are so placed that they cannot touch one another.
The basket or rack with the printed sheets is then placed in a stove
or oven in which is a revolving frame having arms or supports, to
each of which we attach one or more racks filled with printed sheets.
The frame is turned on a horizontal axis, so that a continuous motion
is given the plates in the oven, which subjects them to the requisite
degree of heat. The baskets have circular handles, and being suspended
on round rods or tubes of iron, the plates revolving in the oven
are always held suspended in a perpendicular position. The time
during which the plates are allowed to remain in the oven and the
degree of heat to which they should be exposed will readily be ascer-
tained by persons acquainted with the character of the materials

page_text: employed, and the result will be found to be that a solid and durable
and indelible printed design or inscription will be impressed upon
the metal sheets. In some cases designs may be produced in several
colors by applying the various colors or shades by means of different
stones suitably prepared, the application being made in a manner
similar to that employed in printing by the lithographic process in various
colors. The compositions above firstly mentioned are preferred, as
being more quickly acted upon in the oven or stove and also less
expensive, but the second and third give also good results. Each
printed sheet after being taken out of the furnace is varnished all
over by hand with a brush and then replaced in the oven to dry, after
which the process is finished and the sheet is ready to be sent out
or to be made up into canisters or boxes as may be required. When
a ground of a gold color or other color is required to be given to the
printed plates a gold or colored varnish may be used for varnish-
ing over the plates, or in some cases a ground of gold or colored
varnish may be applied to the plates before the impression or design
is applied to them. The processes above described are applicable for
terne plates as well as for tin plates.
And in order that our mode of carrying our Invention into practical
effect may be more fully understood we have hereunto annexed
Drawings of some of the apparatus we employ in working our Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 1) represents a front elevation of the above-mentioned
stove or oven, the opposite front of which is precisely similar; Fig. 2
(Sheet 1), top plan view of same; Fig. 3 (Sheet 2), a vertical section
at A, B, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 (Sheet 2), a vertical section at C, D, Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 (Sheet 3), vertical section of fire-place and hot-air chamber
at C, D, Fig. 2; Fig. 6 (Sheet 4), vertical section of fire-place and hot-
air chamber at A, B, Fig. 2; Fig. 7 (Sheet 4), sectional plan of samo
at E, F, Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 (Sheet 4), front elevation of fire-place.
Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive are drawn to a scale of of an inch to the foot,
and Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive to an enlarged scale of one inch to the foot.
Fig. 9 (Sheet 2) shows in side and end elevation and top plan view one
of the baskets or racks in which the plates are introduced into the oven
or stove. Similar parts are indicated by similar letters in each of the
Figures respectively.

page_text: A indicates the iron framing of the stove; B, brickwork filling in said
framing; C, door of oven or stove; D, horizontal shaft passing through
the oven from side to side; a, bearings of said shaft; E (see Figs. 3
and 4), nave keyed on horizontal shaft D and carrying arms F; b, holes
at end of arms F; c, metal bars or tubes passed through holes b. These
bars carry the baskets or racks containing the plates in the manner
shown, Fig. 5 (Sheet 3). G, space in which the baskets revolve;
d, toothed gearing for driving horizontal shaft D by endless chain or
band from shafting driven by any available motive power; H (Figs. 5, 6,
and 7, Sheets 3 and 4), globular shaped fire-place; e (Fig. 5), air holes
for entrance of cold air, which passing by the conduits e round the
casing of the fire-place (see Figs. 6 and 7, Sheet 4) enters in a heated
state the hot-air chamber I, from whence this heated air is supplied to
the interior G of the oven as occasion may require by means of a series
of dampers (see Figs. 5 and 3, Sheets 2 and 3), connected by the
rods g, and opening and closing from the outside of the oven by the
handles ; J, conduits leading the fumes from the oven into the hori-
zontal box K (see Fig. 3, Sheet 2), from whence they pass off by the
chimney L; i, slide valve connected by rod k, and opened or closed
by the handle as may be required for the passage of the fumes;
m (Fig. Sheet 1), double angle iron, and ǹ, double T iron for securing
brick lining o and black plates p (sec section, Fig. 6, Sheet 4), between
which is left the space q for passage of hot air to keep the black plates
from being cooled by the brickwork and affecting the heat in space G.
The black plates are further secured at the corners by the angle irons r.
The double angle irons m also serve to support the door of the oven. 8
(Fig. 7, Sheet 4), foundation plates for supporting and staying iron frame-
work of oven; M (Figs. 5 and 6, Sheets 3 and 4), pipes from fire-place
H, heating air in hot-air chamber I and leading to the fluest by which
the smoke from fire-place passes to the chimney; N (Figs. 5 and 9,
Sheets 3 and 2), basket or rack in which the plates are suspended on the
bars c within the oven, as shown Fig. 5, the bars carrying such number
of baskets as the dimensions of these latter and the size of the oven will
permit. The baskets vary in size to suit different dimensions of plates,
and the handles u (Fig. 9) may be lengthened to drop the basket lower
and keep the top of the large plates from touching the bars c; v, wire
supports slightly out of the perpendicular in order that the back of the
plates may always rest against them; O (Fig. 1, Sheet 1), glass through
which a thermometer may be inspected in order that the heat within the

page_text: oven may be regulated exactly according to requirement; P (Fig. 2),
steps leading to fire-place in basement; Q, passage round fire-place and
oven; R, shoot for coals. The exterior of conduits J may be coated
with felt or other heat-retaining material (see w, Fig. 2).
Having now described our Invention, and the manner in which it is
performed, we claim as our Invention, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed,―
1. The use of the improved method of printing and drying and
finishing printed tin plates, as herein described.
2. The manufacture of printed terne plates in the manner herein
described.
3. The construction and application of drying ovens or furnaces,
constructed and applied as and for the purposes herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Wickham Flower, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine."
Witness,
W. E. GEDGE,
11, Wellington St.,
W.C..
W. FLOWER. (L.S.).