AN IMPROVEMENT IN INLAYING AND ORNAMENTING PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION SURFACES OF WOOD USED FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Thornton, of 48, Crowndale Road,
Camden Town, and James Thallon, of 24, Longford Street,
Regent's Park, both in the County of Middlesex, Cabinet Makers,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN INLAYING AND ORNAMENTING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Thornton and
James Thallon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 20th October 1875.
WC, JAMES THORNTON, of 48, Crowndale Road, Camden Town, and
JAMES THALLON, of 24, Longford Street, Regent's Park, both in the
County of Middlesex, Cabinet Makers, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN INLAYING AND ORNAMENTING
SURFACES OF WOOD USED FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to provide cheap inlaid ornamental
designs in wood.

page_text: In carrying out our Invention, we lay one or more pieces of different
coloured wood on the surface of another, using glue or other adhesive
substance for fixing them together, or we may paint or stain the surface
of the wood any colour. We then cause the wood so prepared to pass
under a roller or other press which has a design or pattern raised on its
surface; the result of which is the coloured woods are pressed down to
their respective depths, the original surface is then planed off and an
inlaid design is produced; or we may pass plain wood under the roller
or press as before described, then we may fill in the impressed design
with coloured composition, or we may leave the impression as an
ornamental design.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Thornton and James Thallon in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 20th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
THORNTON, of Crowndale Road, Camden Town, and JAMES THALLON,
of Longford Street, Regent's Park, both in the County of Middlesex,
Cabinet Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of October, in the
in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said James Thornton and James
Thallon Her special licence that we, the said James Thornton and
James Thallon our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said James Thornton and James Thallon, our
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 "AN IMPROVE-
MENT IN INLAYING AND ORNAMENTING SURFACES OF WOOD USED FOR DECORATIVE
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said James
Thornton and James Thallon, our executors or administrators, by an

page_text: and the inlaid pattern will then be exposed to view, the bed or backing
forming the ground of the design.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shows a simple parquetry
pattern suitable for floors and walls; and Fig. 2 is a section of the same.
This pattern may be formed by the aid either of a flat die or plate, or
of an engraved roller, as thought most desirable.
The wood backing, whether consisting of oak or other ordinary wood,
is overlaid by a veneer as shown in the section Fig. 3, the color of the
vencer being determined by the taste of the designer, a good contrast
to the backing wood being most suitable.
The veneer is by preference to be attached to the backing by means
of glue or other suitable adhesive material, preference being given to
that cement which will not soften by the application of moisture, and
the thickness of the veneer will be determined by the use to which the
inlaid wood is to be applied. For flooring purposes a veneer of about
one-eighth of an inch in thickness may be advantageously used, but for
furniture or wall decorations a vencer of about one-thirtieth of an inch
in thickness will in general suffice. The height of the raised pattern
surfaces of the die or the engraved roller used must correspond with the
thickness of the veneer employed, and the pressure used should be such
as to ensure these raised surfaces entering to their full depth into the
veneered wood. Thus supposing a piece of veneered wood, such as that
shown at Fig. 3, to be submitted to the pressure of a flat die or of a
roller, furnished with the pattern shown at Fig. 1, portions of the
overlying veneer corresponding to the pattern of the die or roller will
be forced to their full depth into the backing wood, as shown at Fig. 4.
It only now remains to remove the superfluous veneer by planing or
otherwise, and the inlaid backing will then present a smooth even
surface. When it is desired to obtain an intricate inlaid pattern in two
or three colors, the backing which will in general form the ground color
is to be overlaid by a corresponding number of veneers of different
colors.
Fig. 5 shows a pattern worked out in three colors; and Fig. 6 a
section of a piece of backing wood covered with three layers of vencers
of colors corresponding with the pattern desired to be reproduced. In a
this case, the die or roller used for effecting the inlaying will have the
several portions composing the pattern which it carries arranged at

page_text: various heights, corresponding to the various positions of the differently
colored veneers relatively to the backing. By the acting surface of the
die being thus stepped, some parts of the inlaying will be produced by
forcing down portions of the veneers to a depth that will bring the
uppermost veneer to a level with the mean surface of the backing.
Again other portions of the veneer will be forced down to bring the
second vencer on a level with the backing and other portions of the
inlaying will be formed by the depression of that veneer which lies next
to the backing to the surface level of the backing. This is clearly
illustrated in the sectional view, Fig. 7.
By submitting a slab of backing thus inlaid to the action of a planing
machine the superfluous veneer may be readily removed, and a smooth
even surface will result from this operation, and the pattern will appear
as indicated at Fig. 5.
Fig. 8 shows an interlaced design produced in four colors and suitable
as a central design for marquetry work, the raised surfaces of the
pattern die will, as before explained, correspond in height with the
thickness of the veneers employed, their arrangement being such as to
ensure the reproduction of the various parts of the pattern in the
correspondingly colored veneers.
Fig. 9 shows in section the die used for reproducing the pattern.
Fig. 10 shows in section the veneered wood intended to be impressed;
and Fig. 11 shows the same after it has been impressed.
It should be remarked that instead of employing dies, as above
described, it may be convenient where simple detached patterns are
required to employ a kind of stencil plate of corresponding thickness to
that of the vencer intended to be inlayed, and to place the same in
position over the veneer preparatory to submitting it to the action of
the press. The stencil plate will then serve to impress the wood in the
same manner as an engraved die; or instead of the plates being used
loose they may be attached to the follower of the press or to the face
of the pressing roller, and they will thus form cheap and efficient dies.
As a modification of the mode of applying the veneers when two,
three, or more colors are required to be inlayed to produce a simple
detached pattern, we sometimes arrange pieces of differently colored
veneers side by side on the backing at one and the same level. When

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the vencers are thus arranged a stepped" die will not be required to
produce the inlaying in different colored woods.
Fig. 12 shows a conventional floral device produced after the manner
just described, the flower A being formed from a piece of veneer
indicated by the dotted lines that circumscribe it and the stem B, B',
and leaves C and D, being severally produced from vencers indicated
by the dotted lines which circumscribe them.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "An Improve-
ment in Inlaying and Ornamenting Surfaces of Wood," and explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent, we claim the
process above described of producing parquetry and marquetry work
from vencers by the aid of compressing dies or rollers.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Thornton and James
Thallon, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Twentieth :
day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six.