IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- PACTURE OF ARTIPICIAL LEATHER, AND IN COLORING, DYEING, OR FINISHING THE SAME, WHICH LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE COLORING OR DYEING OF THE ORDINARY LEATHER CLOTH
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Beard, junior, of the Panonia Works,
Clapham, and Walter Downing, of Lachmere, Battersea, both in the
County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
PACTURE OF ARTIPICIAL LEATHER, AND IN COLORING, DYEING, OR FINISHING
THE SAME, WHICH LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE
COLORING OR DYEING OF THE ORDINARY LEATHER CLOTH."
Sealed the 21st February 1865, and dated the 24th August 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Beard and
Walter Downing at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 24th August 1864.
We, RICHARD BEARD, junior, of the Panonia Works, Clapham, and WALTER
DOWNING, of Lachmere, Battersea, both in the County of Surrey, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ARTIFICIAL LEATHER, AND IN COLORING, DYEING, OR FINISHING THE SAME, WHICH
LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE COLORING OR DYEING. OF THE
ORDINARY LEATHER CLOTH," to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of artificial leather one or both surfaces of a fabric is
first coated with a thin bat or fleece of cotton or other fibre, which is caused

page_text: to adhere to the fabric by a composition that will not be acted on by oil.
This composition is by preference composed of oxidized or boiled oil, and
for this purpose it is preferred to take oil boiled to as strong a consistency as
possible, dried scrapings of dried or oxidized oil having also been boiled down
with it, and to this is added about or of its weight of resinous matter,
the amount of resinous matter added being sufficient to cause the compound
to be sufficiently adhesive and hard when dry without rendering it brittle;
pigments may also be ground up with the compound to give it body and
color.
The composition so prepared may be spread on to the surface or surfaces
of the fabric, and the bat or bats of fibre then applied thereto, and the whole
pressed together by rollers heated to a sufficient degree to retain the compo-
sition in a sufficiently fluid state without causing it to penetrate too far into
the fibre; over the surface or surfaces of the fabric so coated with fibre finely
ground leather or flock or other powder may be dusted, and the fabric- again
passed through rollers to cause the leather, flock, or powder to adhere.
Fabric coated with fibre, or with fibre and also with ground leather, flock, or
powder as above described, may be coated or dressed with the oil compositions
used in the manufacture of leather cloth, and may also be subsequently
varnished, japanned, or enamelled in the ordinary manner, and by reason of
the fabric having been first coated as above described, the surface of the
leather cloth will not be marked by the threads of which the fabric is com-
posed, as it now is when leather cloth is manufactured in the ordinary manner.
When a leather cloth with a dull surface is to be produced, the leather cloth
so produced may be dressed with oils used in dressing or currying leather;
when an enamelled leather is to be produced, the fabric coated with fibre or
with fibre and flock or powder may be so dressed, after having had the oil
compositions applied to it and before applying to it the varnish, japan, or
enamel.
: In some cases, in place of applying the oil compositions used in the manu-
facture of leather cloth to the fabric coated with fibre, as above described, we
in some cases dye the surface.coating of the fibre that has been applied to the
fabric, and .for this purpose we by preference, employ the aniline dyes. The
surface of the material may then be varnished with a suitable varnish.
In order to color leather cloth manufactured as herein described, or leather
cloth otherwise manufactured, we employ the dyes obtained from aniline and
its homologues; this we by preference do by dissolving the crystals of the
aniline dyes in fusil oil that has been rendered anhydrous; to render fusil oil
anhydrous, we by. préference mix with it gum. arabic, by. which the water will

page_text: be absorbed. The gum arabic will settle to the bottom of the vessel containing
the oil, and the oil may then be drawn off; other means may, however, be
employed for rendering the oil anbydrous. We prefer to dissolve in a gallon
of the oil an ounce of roseine or other crystals; but this will vary according
to the shade of color desired. When the color has been dissolved in the oil,
we add to it by preference 2 fluid ounces of bisulphuret of carbon and 1 oz. of
ether. In order to color leather cloth with this mixture the surface of the
leather cloth is painted over with it, and we prefer that the oily compositions
of which the surface of the leather cloth is composed should have pigments
mixed with them of somewhat the same color as the color with which it is to
be subsequently coated. In order to produce a bronzed effect on the surface
of leather cloth by the use of aniline dyes, we employ the aniline dyes dissolved
in spirit, and cover the surface of the leather cloth therewith. For this
purpose we prefer to dissolve 4 ounces of roseine or other crystals in one gallon
of pyroxilic spirit, and add thereto 4 ounces of acetic or sulphuric ether.
After coating the surface of the leather cloth with this solution it is
subsequently coated with any suitable varnish.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Beard and Walter Downing- in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 24th February 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
BEARD, junior, of the Panonia Works, Clapham, and WALTER DOWNING, of
Lachmere, Battersea, both in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Richard Beard and Walter Downing, Her special licence that we, the
said Richard Beard and Walter Downing, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we; the said Richard Beard and Walter Downing,
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE. OF
ARTIFICIAL LEATHER, AND IN COLORING, DYEING, OR FINISHING THE SAME, WHICH

page_text: LATTER IMPROVEMENS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE COLORING OR DYEING.OF. THE
ORDINARY LEATHER CLOTH," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Richard Beard and Walter Downing, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us or them, should particularly 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 Richard Beard, on behalf of myself
and the said Walter Downing, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say:-.
In the manufacture of artificial leather one or both surfaces of a fabric is
first coated with a thin bat or fleece of cotton or other fibre, which is caused
to adhere to the fabric by a composition that will not be acted on by oil..
This composition is by preference composed of oxidized or boiled. oil, and for
this purpose it.is preferred to take oil boiled to as strong a consistency as
possible, dried scrapings of dried or oxidized oil having also been boiled down
with it, and to this is added about or of its weight of resinous matter, the
amount of resinous matter added being sufficient to cause the compound to be
sufficiently adhesive and hard when dry without rendering it brittle; pigments
may also be ground up with the compound to give it body and colour.
The composition so prepared may be spread on to the surface or surfaces of
the fabric, and the bat or bats of fibre then applied thereto, and the whole
pressed together by rollers heated to a sufficient degree to retain the compo-
sition in a sufficiently fluid state without causing it to penetrate too far into
the fibre; over the surface or surfaces of the fabric so coated with fibre fiuely
ground leather or flock or other powder may be dusted, and the fabric again
passed through rollers to cause the leather, flock, or powder to adhere. Fabric
coated with fibre, or with fibre and also with ground leather, flock, or powder
as above described, may be coated or dressed with the oil compositions used in
the manufacture of leather cloth and may also be subsequently varnished;
japanned, or enamelled in the ordinary manner, and by reason of the fabric
having been first coated as above described, the surface of the leather cloth
will not be marked by the threads of which the fabric is composed, as it now
is when leather cloth is manufactured in the ordinary manner. When a leather
cloth with a dull surface is to be produced, the leather cloth so produced may

page_text: be dressed with oils used in dressing or currying leather; when an enamelled
leather is to be produced, the fabric coated with fibre or with fibre and flock
or powder should be so dressed after having had the oil compositions applied
to it and before applying to it the varnish, japan, or enamel.
We will now proceed to describe more fully the manner in which we prefer
to carry out the process of manufacturing artificial leather above described.
One or both sides of a fabric, by preference an open linen cloth, are first coated
with a composition of oils and resins or gums as hereafter described, and a
fleece or fleeces of cotton or other fibre are made to adhere thereto by means
of pressing rollers. The most ready method is to spread by the ordinary steam
heated spreading machines the composition on one or both sides of the fabric
and pass the same through steam heated rolls, also passing through the rolls
the fleece or fleeces of fibre on one or both of its sides. When it is desired
that the surface of the fleece when on the fabric should be left clean and not
be penetrated too much by the composition, the rollers must only be slightly
warm and not much pressure applied by them to combine the material; when this
is not of consequence a more complete union and a better result will of course
be obtained by pressing firmly and allowing the composition to penetrate.
In
this case it may be necessary to keep the rollers lubricated with ground tale
(french chalk), or other convenient substance which will prevent the materials
from adhering to them, and also the folds from sticking together as they are
wound off, or from the pressing rollers. The fabric and fibre thus combined
should then be hung in a warm temperature that it may completely dry, thereby
the oil composition becomes perfectly oxidized. It will then be insoluble
by the oil compositions usually employed in the manufacture of leather cloth,
which can then be spread over the surface in successive coats, as is usual in the
manufacture of leather cloth, whereby the side so dressed may be made to
assume the appearance of dull or japanned leather, as may be desired. In
some cases, in order to obtain increased thickness of fibre, we spread the surface
again with the same adhesive composition as at first adopted, and proceed as
before to attach another fleece. We also sometimes apply ground leather or other
similar dust on one side of the fabric, either with or without the fibre, so as to
give the appearance of leather on the back side of the manufactured material.
This may be done by throwing in the ground leather or other dust, either in
addition to the fibre or in place thereof, as the fabric is passing into the rolls;
so that the whole may be well pressed together; or the leather or other dust may
be applied separately, as directed for additional thickness of fleece. As little
composition should be used in uniting the fabric and fibre as will firmly-bind
all together, so that the manufactured material may remain as soft as possible:

page_text: but when desirable the combined material may at any stage of the dressing or
coating with the ordinary compositions used in making leather cloth be dressed
with the oils or grease employed in currying leather, which will, as with leather,
give softness and flexibility; a small quantity will of course suffice. When the
artificial leather is to be japanned, then this application of non-drying oil or
grease must precede the japanning. The composition for uniting the fabric
and fleece is by preference made by a mixture of boiled oil or boiled oil and oil
scrapings and resins or gums so prepared that when dried or solidified by ab-
sorption of oxygen the combined fabric and fibre and composition shall not
become hard or brittle, but whilst the adhesiveness and cohesiveness requisite
are obtained, the flexibility of dried oil is maintained. The proportions of oil
and resinous matter may vary according to purposes and quality of material
required to be made therewith, and the kinds of oil and of resinous matter
may vary in themselves and in proportion one to the other, according as their
relative qualities and characteristic natures or properties vary, that is to say,
that if very hard resins are used, then a greater proportion of non-drying oil
may be desirable, also if a larger proportion of dried oil scrapings is boiled
with the oil, then less resinous matter may suffice; the following has, however,
been found a good combination,-
56 lbs. linseed oil.
56 lbs. dried scraping of do.
7 lbs. common rosin.
21 lbs. burgundy pitch.
boiled to as thick a consistency
as possible.
7 lbs. commonest india-rubber (if in a resinous state from
decomposition it will still avail).
The whole having been melted together, add about 5 lbs. cod oil or other
non-drying oil, grind the whole in convenient-steam heated mixing rolls, with
from 30 to 35 lbs. white lead (dry) or burnt umber or other driers. This
must be spread warm, and if of too thick a consistency may be thinned with
some volatile spirit, such as mineral naptha.
In some cases in place of applying the oil compositions used in the manu-
facture of leather cloth to the fabric coated with fibre as above described; we
in some cases dye the surface coating of the fibre that has been applied to the
fabric, and for this purpose we by preference employ the aniline dyes. The
surface of the material may then be varnished with a suitable varnish. In
such cases the surface of fibre must be kept clean as before described, at the
same time it must be pressed as flat as possible, we then either coat this sur-
face with a small quantity of size or albumen, and dye the same by floating
over it the desired dye, repeating the process as may be requisite to get a good

page_text: surface color, and pressing between rollers between each coat. The surface
inay then be varnished, with any suitable elastic varnish.
.
In order to color leather cloth manufactured as herein-before described, or
leather cloth otherwise manufactured, we employ the dyes obtained from
aniline and its homologues, this we by preference do by dissolving the crystals
of the aniline dyes in fusil. oil that has been rendered anhydrous; to render
fusil oil anhydrous we by preference mix with it gum arabic, by which the
water will be absorbed, the gum arabic will settle to the bottom of the vessel
containing the oil, and the oil may then be drawn off; other means may, how
ever, be employed for rendering the oil anhydrous. We prefer to dissolve in a
gallon of the oil an ounce of roseine or other crystals, but this will vary
according to the shade of color desired. When the color has been dissolved
in the oil, we add to it by preference two fluid ounces of sulphuret of carbon
and one ounce of ether. In order to color leather cloth with this mixture,
the surface of the leather cloth is floated or painted over with it, and we prefer
that the oily compositions of which the surface of the leather cloth is composed
should have pigments mixed with them of somewhat the same color as tho
color with which it is to be subsequently coated. This process may be repeated
to get deeper and richer effects of color, and spirit varnish may or may not be
mixed in small proportions therewith for all or only the last coat of dye. Tho
coatings of dye dry at ordinary temperatures. In order to produce a bronzed
effect on the surface of leather cloth by the use of aniline dyes, we employ
the aniline dyes dissolved in spirit and cover the surface of the leather cloth
therewith. For this purpose we prefer to dissolve four ounces of roseine or
other crystals in one gallon of pyroxilic spirit and add thereto 4 ounces of
acetic or sulphuric ether. After coating the surface of the leather cloth with
this solution it is subsequently coated with any suitable varnish.
The advantages gained by the improvements above described are,-
Firstly, an artificial leather is obtained more closely resembling leather by
reason of not showing the threads of the fabric on which it is made as is the
case with ordinary leather cloth.
Secondly, that from the fabric and fibre being united with a composition, the
artificial leather can be cut with a raw edge without tendency to ravel out as
in an ordinary woven fabric.
Thirdly, that a much less expensive fabric can be employed than in ordi-
nary leather cloth, at the same time that the artificial leather or leather cloth
possesses increased strength.
Fourthly, that by the dyeing process increased richness of color is attained
at a less expense than heretofore, and that a nearer approach to the appearance

page_text: of leather is gained, together with greater durability than is obtained by the
painted and varnished surface of ordinary leather cloth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Beard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
RICH. BEARD, JR. (L.S.)