IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Frederick Lackersteen, of 117, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 29th January 1869, and dated the 31st July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Frederick
Lackersteen at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 31st July 1868.
I, JAMES FREDERICK LACKERSTEEN, of 117, Cannon Street, in the City
of London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE PRESERVATION
OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its abigat imnravamento in means or annaratua

page_text: safe or receptacle, in which I place the substances required to be pre-
served through an opening provided with a suitable door or cover, which
when closed forms a tight joint, and thereby in a manner hermetically
seals the safe or receptacle, to which are applied suitable safety and
pressure gauges.
In connection with such safe or receptacle, which is
constructed of any suitable material and strength to resist the internal
pressure to which it will be subjected, I employ apparatus for generating
carbonic acid gas, such apparatus being constructed and operating in the
following manner:-I employ two strong vessels provided with suitable
covers and made of any suitable material and strength, and I connect
these vessels together at their lower parts by a pipe or tube and at their
upper parts by another pipe or tube to which a stop-cock is applied in
order to cut off the communication between the upper parts of such
vessels when required. In one of these vessels I place any suitable
carbonate and in the other any suitable acid (sulphuric acid by pre-
ference), the level of the acid when not acting on the carbonate being
maintained at a point slightly below the bottom of the carbonate.
Another pipe passing from the upper part of the vessel in which the
carbonate is placed dips into a vessel containing water, the upper part of
such vessel above the water level being connected to the safe by a pipe or
way having a suitable stop-cock applied thereto.
To set the apparatus in action the door or cover of the safe or receptacle
is securely closed, the passages are all opened, and the acid is caused to
rise into the vessel containing the carbonate until the carbonate is
immersed therein, thereby generating carbonic acid gas, which after
passing through the water passes away to the safe or receptacle, such
safe or receptacle being provided with a suitable outlet for the escape of
the air therefrom as carbonic acid gas is supplied thereto. When a
suitable pressure has been obtained the acid is caused to leave the
carbonate and thereby stop the supply of carbonic acid gas. When it is
desired to remove any article from the safe or receptacle the passage
communicating between such safe or receptacle and the gas generating
apparatus is closed and the door of the safe is then opened. When the
door or cover is again closed the last-mentioned passage is opened and
the passage connecting the upper parts of the vessels containing the
carbonate and the acid is closed... The gas in the vessels containing the
water and the carbonate then passes into the safe or receptacle, whereby

page_text: a superior pressure is created in the vessel containing the acid, which is
thereby forced to rise into the vessel containng the carbonate, and
saturate such carbonate, whereby carbonic acid gas is generated until the
desired pressure is obtained in the various vessels, when the acid will
return to its former level and cease to act on the carbonate. I provide a
suitable float valve in the chamber containing the acid so as to prevent
the acid falling below a certain level, and I connect the stop-cock com-
municating between the safe or receptacle and the gas generating
apparatus to the door or cover or parts operated thereby so as to render
the opening and closing of such stop-cock self-acting.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Frederick Lackersteen in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 30th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FREDERICK LACKERSTEEN, of 117, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Frederick Lackersteen, Iler special
licence that I, the said James Frederick Lackersteen, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Frederick
Lackersteen, 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 MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THB
PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES," upon the condition
the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Frederick Lackersteen, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to

page_text: 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 James Frederick Lackersteen, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:
The Invention has for its object improvements in means or apparatus
for the preservation of organic substances. For this purpose I employ a
safe or receptacle, in which I place the substances required to be pre-
served through an opening provided with a suitable door or cover, which
when closed forms a tight joint, and thereby in a manner hermetically
seals the safe or receptacle, to which are applied suitable safety and
pressure gauges.
In connection with such safe or receptacle, which is
constructed of any suitable material and strength to resist the internal
pressure to which it will be subjected, I employ apparatus for generating
carbonic acid gas, such apparatus being constructed and operating in the
following manner-I employ two strong vessels provided with suitable
covers and made of any desired material and strength, and I connect these
vessels together at their lower parts by a pipe or tube and at their upper
parts by another pipe or tube to which a stop-cock is applied in order to
cut off the communication between the upper parts of such vessels when
required. In one of these vessels I place any suitable carbonate and in
the other any suitable acid (sulphuric acid by preference), the level of the
acid when not acting on the carbonate being maintained at a point
slightly below the bottom of the carbonate. Another pipe passing from
the upper part of the vessel in which the carbonate is placed dips into a
vessel containing water, the upper part of such vessel above the water
level being connected to the safe by a pipe or way having a suitable stop-
cock applied thereto.
And in order that my Invention may be more clearly understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying
Drawing, more fully to describe the same.

page_text: a, a, is a safe, which I prefer to construct of iron in order to enable it
to resist the internal pressure to which it will be subjected when in use;
6 is a lid or cover, which is formed with angle iron 6' round its edges to
strengthen it and to facilitate the rendering of the safe air-tight by the
edge of the angle iron b' resting on strips of india-rubber c, as shown,
the cover or lid b being forced up to its seat by turn buttons d, as shown,
or by other suitable means. In connection with the safe or receptacle a
I employ apparatus for generating carbonic acid gas, such apparatus
being constructed and operating in the following manner :-e, f, are two
strong vessels which I by preference make of glass in order that the
contents thereof may be readily examined, but which may be made of
any material capable of resisting the action of the acid used. These
vessels are connected together at their lower ends by the pipe or tube g
and at their upper parts by another pipe or tube h, to which a stop-cock h¹
is applied. The pipes or tubes g and h and the parts connected therewith
are by preference constructed of lead, but any other material capable of
resisting the attacks of the acid may be employed, and such pipes or
tubes are connected to the vessels e and f in the manner shown or in any
other convenient way so as to obtain an air-tight joint. The pipe or
tube is not connected to the vessels e and f directly, but is connected to
covers e', f', as shown, by union joints ea and fª, vulcanized india-rubber
or other suitable packing being employed between the parts of the unions
and the flanges of the vessels. In the vessel e I place a quantity of
common sulphuric acid (by preference) up to the level shown in the
Drawing, i.e., just below the bottom of the carbonate in the vessel f.
but other suitable acid may be employed, and in the vessel f supported
in a grid f I place a quantity of any suitable carbonate (ordinary marble
by preference.) i is a vessel connected with the cover f¹ means of the
and india-rubber tube i*. In this vessel I place a quantity of
water in order that the gas given off from the generating apparatus may
be passed therethrough and purified before passing away from such
vessel i through the pipe or tube j to the safe or receptacle for the
matters to be preserved. A pressure gauge is applied to the cover e¹ or
to any other suitable part of the apparatus, and a valve or syphon tube is
attached to the safe in order that as gas is supplied thereto the atmo-
spheric air may be allowed to escape therefrom at a given pressure. A
cock or valve g' is applied at the lower end of the pipe or tube g so as to
enable the acid to be run off from the apparatus when required, and a
tube

page_text: float valve m is employed in the chamber e to prevent the acid therein
falling below a certain level.
To set the apparatus in action the lid, cover, or door b of the safe or
receptacle is securely closed so as to hermetically seal it. The cocks g¹,
, and are then opened in order to make a free passage between the
various parts of the gas generating apparatus and the safe. The table k
is then tilted or inclined so as to cause the acid in the vessel e to pass
into the vessel f, and by saturating the carbonate to give off carbonic
acid gas, such gas passing through the water in the vessel i to the safe
or receptacle a until the air has been expelled therefrom and a sufficient
pressure is obtained. The gas generating apparatus is then readjusted
to the position shown in the Drawing, and the tap or cock h¹ is closed in
order to shut off the communication between the upper parts of the
vessels e and f. Whenever the door or lid of the safe a is opened the tap
or cock j is closed so as to shut off all communication between the safe
and the gas generating apparatus until the door or lid is again closed,
when the tap or cock j¹ is again opened and the superior pressure of the
gas in the upper part of the vessel e forces the acid into the vessel f so as
to saturate the carbonate and give off gas until the air which may have
entered the safe is expelled and a common pressure obtained in the safe
and in the various parts of the gas generating apparatus, when the acid
will again return to its level and leave the carbonate. Whenever it is
required to recharge the apparatus with carbonate and acid the caps
or covers e, f, are removed from the vessels e and f by unscrewing the
unions ea, f. The cock or tap j' may be operated by hand or it may
be
operated by the lid or door of the safe, suitable connections being
employed for the purpose, as will be readily understood.
I have not thought it necessary in the Drawing to show the pressure
gauges or the safety or escape valves applied to the safe and apparatus,
as such will be readily understood and applied by a competent mechanic,
and I would here remark that the pressure I prefer to maintain in the
safe or receptacle a is about five to ten pounds on the square inch.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the best
means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, I would have
it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein
shown and described, nor do I claim the various parts of the apparatus
separately considered; but what I do claim is, the novel combination

page_text: and arrangement of means or apparatus for the preservation of organic
substances, substantially as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Frederick Lackersteen, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
Witness,
B. J. B. MILLS,
Patent Agent,
JAMES F. LACKERSTEEN. (L.S.)
35, Southampton Buildings,
London.