IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING GLASS SURPACES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT François Boex, of Bruxelles, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING GLASS
SURPACES."-Partly a communication from abroad by Pierre Jean de
Rudder and Jean Bonnefoy, both of Bruxelles.
Sealed the 14th December 1860, and dated the 10th July 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Boex at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
July 1860.
I, FRANÇOIS BOBX, of Bruxelles, in the Kingdom of Belgium, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING
GLASS SURFACES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of ornamenting glass, chiefly as
panels for the walls and doors of drawing rooms, and for ornamental furniture.
The Invention admits of various modifications, but the principle consists in
obtaining a design on a reflecting surface of silvered glass. The design to be
produced on a plate of silvered glass is traced in outline on the back or
covered side thereof, and the portions contained within the outlines are
removed by a suitable scraping tool. The back of the glass, or so much of it
as is laid bare, is then to be covered with some metallic leaf, say gold, and the

page_text: shading on the pattern is effected by lines made by an etching point through
the gold leaf after the manner of etching on copper. At the back of the glass
plate thus prepared, a sheet of ruby or other colored glass or tinsel is placed to
add to the lustre of the design. The whole is then to be inserted into the
wall or panel intended to be decorated, in any convenient manner. Instead of
coating the back of the silvered glass plate with the metallic foil, a plate behind
this may be so coated as to form a ground color for the pattern, and the same
may be etched or not with lines.. The pattern will in this case be produced
by tracing it on the back of the silvered plate, as above explained, and
removing the traced out portions by a scraping tool.
This method will suffice for simple patterns, as stars, fleur-de-lis, and such
like designs, which require no shading, but simply a flat tint to give the
desired effect.
Another modification consists in applying the gold or other foil or combi-
nations of these to the face of the silvered plate, or partly on the face and
partly on the back, and operating upon these surfaces when shading is required
with an etching tool. Pigments may also be used with advantage as a
covering in lieu of metal leaf, and for the sake of further variety portions of
the silvered ground may be removed, as above explained, to allow of colored
glass appearing through the ground.
And this effect may be again modified by partially covering the exposed
portions of the back of the silvered glass with foil of platinum or other metals,
so as to produce a mottled effect, the colored glass shewing through breaks
or imperfections in the covering foil.
When panels or slabs are produced with metal or color on the outer face of
the silvered plate, they must be protected by a covering of plain glass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said François Boex in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th January 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS S
BOEX, of Bruxelles, in the Kingdom of Belgium, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
François Boex, Her special license that I, the said François Boex, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said François
Boex, 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
torm 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 ORNAMENTING
GLASS SURFACES," being partly his own Invention and partly a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said François
Boex, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 François Boex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of ornamenting glass, chiefly as
panels for the walls and doors of drawing rooms, and for ornamental furniture.
The Invention admits of various modifications, but the principle consists in
obtaining a design on a reflecting surface of silvered glass. In carrying out
my Invention I trace the design to be produced on a plate of silvered glass in
outline on the back or covered side thereof, and the portions contained within
the outlines I remove by a suitable scraping tool. The back of the glass, or
so much of it as is laid bare, I then cover with some metallic leaf, say gold,
and the shading on the pattern I effect by lines made by an etching point
through the gold leaf, after the manner of etching on copper. At the back of
the glass plate thus prepared, a sheet of ruby or other colored glass or tinsel,
or colored paper, or other fabric, whether plain or containing a design, or a
portion of a design, may be placed to add to the lustre of or to enrich the
design. Previous to applying gold or other metallic leaf, or colored glass,
tinsel, or paper to the back of the silvered glass, the silvered back is to receive
a coating of white of egg, gum, varnish, or other liquid that will secure the
adhesion of the applied substances to the back of the silvered glass, and the
various substances for backing the glass and completing the design are then
to be applied in their proper order, the adhesive solution being used as needed
to fix the several layers of materials employed. The whole is then to be
payed over with a coating of oil paint, whereby the solidity of the parts will
be ensured. The ornamental glass slab thus produced is now ready to be

page_text: inserted into any wall or panel required to be decorated, and may be secured
in position in any convenient manner.
Instead of coating the back of the silvered glass plate with the metallic
foil, a plate behind this may be so coated as to form a ground color for the
pattern, and the same may be etched or not with lines. The pattern will in
this case be produced by tracing it on the back of the silvered plate as above
explained, and removing the traced out portions by a scraping tool. This
method will suffice for simple patterns, as stars, fleur-de-lis, and such like
designs which require no shading, but simply a flat tint to give the desired
effect.
Another modification of the Invention consists in applying the gold or other
foil or combinations of these to the face of the silvered plate, or partly on the
face and partly on the back, and operating upon these surfaces when shading
is required with an etching tool. Pigments may also be used with advantage
as a covering in lieu of metal leaf, and for the sake of further variety portions
of the silvered ground may be removed, as above explained, to allow of colored
glass appearing through the ground.
And this effect may be again modified by partially covering the exposed
portions of the back of the silvered glass with foil or platinum, or other
metals, so as to produce a mottled effect, the colored glass shewing through
breaks or imperfections in the covering foil.
When panels or slabs are produced with metal or color on the outer face of
the silvered plate, they must be protected by a covering of plain glass, or that
covering glass may be used to carry a portion of the design on its inner face.
I would remark that an obvious modification of my Invention for orna-
menting silvered glass surfaces is to apply the gold or other foil or metallic
covering to the glass which is to form the ground for the design before the
silvering operation, and then to silver the glass on the partially-covered side in
the ordinary way.
Instead, also, of removing portions of the silvered surface, as above
explained, I propose to trace out from the tinfoil destined to cover the glass
the design required, and to remove the circumscribed portions. The mercury
is then to be poured on the so prepared tinfoil, and the glass to be silvered is
next to be applied thereto in the ordinary manner of silvering. By this means
the required blanks in the silvering will be readily obtained. Or, before pro-
ceeding to silver the glass, the portions of the surface intended to be reserved for
decoration may be coated with varnish or any suitable fatty body, which
acting as a repellant will prevent the adhesion of the foil to the glass at theso
parts, and thus prevent the necessity for removing the silvering in order to
I

page_text: effect the decoration. I would further remark that my Invention applies not
merely to slabs of glass, but also to concave and convex surfaces.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Ornamenting Glass Surfaces," and explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, I claim the ornamentation of glass reflecting slabs or surfaces in the
manner and for the purpose above set forth, whether such ornamentation be
applied before or after the silvering of the glass is effected.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Boex, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
TRANÇOIS BOEX. (L.S.)