AN IMPROVED IMPERMEABLE VARNISH FOR LEATHER
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Stevens, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
IMPERMEABLE VARNISH FOR LEATHER." - A communication from abroad
by Joseph Chapa and Ernest Lacaze, of 42, Rue Laffitte, Paris, in the
Empire of France.
Sealed the 3rd December 1861, and dated the 11th June 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Stevens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
June 1861.
I, CHARLES STEVENS, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED IMPERMEABLE VARNISH FOR LEATHER," & that it has been communi-
cated to me from abroad by Joseph Chapa & Ernest Lacaze, of 42, Rue
Laffitte, Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
The varnish consists of two separate coatings, the first is composed of india-
rubber desolved in a closed vessel by sulphuret of carbon, the latter sufficient
in quantity to produce a thin solution, the second of gutter percha, likewise
dissolved in a closed vessel by sulphuret of carbon. A coating of the first
described composition is then spread on the leather in thickness according
to the wear to which the leather is to be subjected; when this first coating
is dry, a coating of the second above described composition is spread on the
leather, which is then again left to dry. The leather thus prepared is

page_text: perfectly impervious, and is not acted on by acids. The above coatings can
be used together or separately. The effect of the gutta percha coating is to
prevent the india-rubber coating from melting or becoming sticky from solar
or other heat.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said Charles Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th
December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
STEVENS, of 31, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Stevens, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Stevens, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Stevens, 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 "AN IMPROVED IMPERMEABLE
VARNISH FOR LEATHER," a communication to me from abroad Joseph Chapa
& Ernest Lacaze, of 42, Rue Laffitte, Paris, in the Empire of France, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Stevens, 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 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 Charles Stevens, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to a varnish to be used for coating leather
and other articles and substances which it is desirable to protect from
dampness or acids. This varnish which I call antisulphuric, from its power

page_text: of preserving the bellows used in throwing sulphur on the vines attacked by
odüim, or the vine disease, may be mixed with paint and so used, or the two
separate compositions which constitute the varnish may be used separately or
together according to the use to which the article intended to be coated is to
be put. The varnish when spread over calico or other similar tissue renders
it perfectly waterproof, it serves also as preservative for stone used in buildings
much exposed to humidity.
The first coat, which may also be used separately, consists of a 100 parts
of india-rubber and 400 parts of sulphuret of carbon. The mixing of these two
ingredients, and consequent dissolving of the india-rubber, must take place in
a closed vessel, the sulphuret of carbon evaporating very quickly. The second
coat consists of 100 parts of gutta percha dissolved in 400 parts of sulphuret
of carbon. This solution must also be made in a closed vessel for the reason
above assigned.
The mode of spreading the above coatings on leather, calico, or other
similar tissue is extremely simple. The leather or fabric is stretched out, and
the 1st coat is spread on with a brush. When this is dry the 2nd coat is
spread on in a similar manner. A mixture of the two liquids can be made
and so used together, or one may be used alone, but this must be according to
the purpose for which the article is to be used. The coating of india-rubber
is more pliable, but when the article coated is likely to be subjected to the
rays of the sun or heat of any kind it is advisable to give it a coating of the
second liquid, the gutta percha of which the latter is composed covering the
coating of india-rubber prevents it sticking.
Having thus described my Invention what I claim and desire to secure by
Letters Patent is the varnish or varnishes as above described, to be used either
together or separately or mixed with paint or other varnishes, and to be
employed for coating any fabric, article, or substance which it may be desirable
to protect from acids, dampness, or render waterproof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Stevens have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
CHARLES STEVENS. (L.S.)