IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF MASAIC WORK FROM WOOD
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OTTO
C. VON ALMONDE, of No. 23, Threadneedle Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twelfth day of November, in the fourth year of Her reign, did,"
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Otto C. Von Almonde, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Otto C.. Von Almonde, my exors, admors, and'
assigns, or such others as I, the said Otto C. Von Almonde, my exors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time-
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PRODUCTION OF MASAIC WORK FROM WOOD," communicated to me by a certaino
Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a³
proviso that I, the said Otto C. Von Almonde, shall cause a particular:
description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery'.
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
Otto C. Von Almonde, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
The first thing requisite is, that the wood be perfectly dry. Wood colored
by art may be used as well as any natural wood. The squares can be made
of any dimension or size, as orders may desire; the degrees are then accordingly
arranged on the machine. By the present method the squares can be made
smaller than the head of a pin, and gradually larger also to the size of two
inches or more, so as to, agree with the greatest exactness to the measure and
dimension of the object desired to be obtained, and the directions given; for
instance, large squares are not suitable for furniture and drawings, but are
suitable to foot floors, and even in the latter case their size ought to be duly
proportionable to the dimension, breadth, and length of the room or hall, and
also suitable to the model and figure desired. The size of the squares con-
sequently depends on the object which is to be wrought with wood mosaic
work, and must be chosen and fixed in due proportion and suitableness with
the said object, and with the figures to be wrought on the same...
12
In order to explain as briefly as possible the present description of the said
new-invented 'method, I will describe the requisite models in their natural
size of squares of smaller and of middling dimensions. I begin with the.
description of the very first preparatory work of my mosaic, and proceed
gradually to the end thereof; and after I have fully described the complete work,
I shall then explain the advantages resulting from my method, so that every
technical person, by following my description, will be able to work, to make,
and produce this wood masaic. The drawings of the model or pattern 1 must
be a little broader than the machine in which the small pieces of wood are
inlaid when they are joined together to form logs or blocks, for the breadth
of the small plank 1 succeeds and turns out to be the length of the little bars
or logs, out of which the masaic plates or thin shelves are sawed. In order
to make smaller squares out of such small planks, I unite with glue a great
number of those planks so as to form an entire block or log of the height of a
foot or more. The instruments required are the common screwing apparatus,
which is well known. When the block is thus formed, I cut it through across
from top to bottom into plates or shelves, and thus I get the Figure 2, of which
a great number, united with glue, are planed and reduced to the proper thick-
ness or measure. When the top and bottom ends of these small planks have

page_text: thus acquired the requisite, measure, I lay them in water, which looses the
glue, and returns all separate the little bars or logs, such as are wanted and
fit for the masaic work. Whenever the work is to be made of larger or full
large, the above operation is superfluous; for in that case the log of wood is to
be cut and sawed into pieces of the requisite thickness, which are then laid
into the form A, and planed to the exact measure, whereas the flank sides of
those cut pieces, on becoming dryer, are subject to bend or to shrink. I causé
their said flank sides to be less planed off and less reduced than their top.and
.bottom ends, and for that purpose there are in the machinery block A two
forms; the one intended for the flank sides is deeper than the other destined
for the top and bottom ends. The piece of wood marked 8 in the Drawing,
which has been already planed as above. mentioned, to the end of obtaining an
entire full proof that the pieces of wood are neither too thick nor too thin, I
make a trial with a certain number of the same together in the form B: I
have shewn several pieces of wood, all marked 4, which are also already made
fit to be laid in.. The weakest of these pieces of wood are the shortest, and the
strongest of them are the longest. Every technical person fully conceives the
necessity of that relative proportion, and that the weakest pieces, if they had
the length of Figure 3, would be 'unfit for working, since they would break off
too often. When they are two inches thick, they may be two feet long.
When a sufficient number of the wanted pieces of wood for the intended
mosaic work is made, I lay before me a pattern quite similar to a pattern of
embroidery, for instance Figure C. I then count and number the squares
thereof, and I lay in and regulate and number the pieces of wood, according
to the said pattern Figure C, and I proceed working in that manner exactly
as an embroiderer does after her pattern. When the pattern presents obliquè
lines to imitate, I am careful not to form unequal and jutting angles, as often
happens with embroiderers. I therefore cause the one-half of the piece of wood
to be planed off (larger pieces are cut through with a saw), and by this means
I get the pieces in the shape marked 5. These triangular pieces are united
with glue, and produce the Figure marked 6. When such lines occur, aš
in the Figure marked 7, so that a square must be laid in and formed with
four equal parts; I glue the pieces of wood together, as shown by the Figure 8;
and I then proceed to work on as the figure of my pattern dictates. Every
technical person, by contemplating and considering duly my figures, discovers
and comprehends very easily how to proceed; it is therefore superfluous to
describe this part more at length. Lines of the form of a circle can be also
worked, as the Figure 7 teaches. I then count and number the pieces of
wood of that figure in that circle (see the Figure 7); I then glue together

page_text: that number of pieces of wood on two small planks of the same breadth as all
those pieces together, in order that the latter may thereby acquire firmness
and solidity. I then with the two different sorts of requisite planes plane the
one set of the said piece of wood hollow round, and the other set projecting
round, imitating precisely the bending lines and figures of my pattern, and
after that operation both the sets are joined together. It is understood that
these nicely-joined pieces of wood of both sets, which then form one entire
body, ought necessarily to be of the precise height or thickness as any and
every other piece of wood laid in and employed in the same mosaic work.
When the before-described preparatory work is done, I lay before me on a
plank the prepared pieces of wood, precisely imitating the figures of my
pattern, such as or similar to the aforesaid pattern C, and from that plank
they are removed and laid in the machine E, in the following order and
succession, videlicit; I begin to lay them in one by one, first at the board a of
the machine E, and I proceed according to the numbers given on the pattern
sheet C. It is understood that every piece that is laid in must have the same
height or thickness so as to fill the machine precisely, else its top cover would
be pressing the boards instead of pressing the inlaid pieces of wood. When the
prepared pieces of wood (I am still referring to the Figure C) are laid in
three abreast, four tiers of them duly done over with glue, then the large
wedge b, which is lying in the machine already, is screwed on by means of the
main screw c; but before this main screw c be completely screwed fast to the
utmost, the upper screws d, which are connected with the four brims or
boards e, and which altogether can be moved backwards and forwards, must
be first screwed on tight. The top cover f must of course press immediately
on the inlaid pieces of wood. The spindles h are at top resting on the cross
boards g, and are pressing down the inlaid pieces of wood; the glue, which
by this pressure springs up, would stick to the top cover f. In order to
prevent this I have adapted to the front side of the said top cover fa small
roller marked i, from which a sheet of paper unfolds itself, according to the
progress of the screws, the one end of the paper being fastened between the
board a and the inlaid piece of wood 4. I have found this preventative answer
its purpose perfectly. On the roller i rests a spring of thin metal, which
prevents the untimely regress of the unrolling paper. When the row of
screws d are tight, then the main screw c is also turned tighter, so that the
cross brim or board k, which is annexed to the front of the wedge b, attain
the fourth degree. When that board k has attained that degree, then the
screws d are turned tighter, and thereafter the main screw c is loosened and
drawn back. On the wedge b there is a small plank, half an inch thick, of

page_text: hard wood marked / fastened with wooden screws, and in which is made a hole
of three quarters of an inch diameter, through which the pin m is passed and
fastened to the block 2, and by which pin m the wedge 6 is also drawn back
at the same time, together with the main screw c. Again I operate in the
same manner as when I laid in my first twelve pieces of wood, and I repeat
that operation until the mosaic block or log is entirely formed and joined
together. When the longest wedge is found to be too long, so that the
block n knocks against the heads o of the machine, which occurs when the
main screw e is entirely loosened, then I make use of the shorter wedge, and
thereafter finally of the shortest wedge. When the mosaic block or log thus
formed and joined has got dry in the machine, and is taken out of the same,
I then begin to form another similar block in the machine, and I accomplish
it in the same manner as prescribed; and when this second block is finished
and taken out of the machine, and when I wish to join both the blocks
together, I join them in the press F, the construction of which will be com-
prehended by every technical person at sight of the annexed Drawing. The
two spindles on the side are intended to press the blocks with their narrow
ends against the opposite sideboard, wherewith the greatest exactness is
attained in the joining of the two blocks, as it is absolute necessary that all the
joints between the inlaid pieces should exactly close on each other.
blocks having been so joined, thin plates or shelves are cut out of the same,'
and are employed in the same manner and to all such persons as common
planks or shelves.
The
Now I will explain briefly the advantages which the new-invented method
yields in general with regard to the unexampled quick production of the
mosaic plates or shelves destined for foot floors. For instance, I take a pattern
of squares of two inches, with figures not very difficult, and a quantity of
wood two inches thick, one foot broad, and twelve feet long, and I cut this
wood into seventy-two pieces; each must be one foot long and two inches
square. These seventy-two pieces, entirely of the form of the Figure 3, are cut
with light labor in one day; and in less than half an hour I lay in the machine
the said seventy-two pieces, according to whatever pattern may be desired. The
entire block which I form thereof will be one foot high, one foot broad, and
two feet long; out of it forty plates or shelves are cut, cach one quarter of an
inch thick; these being each two feet square form together eighty feet square
mosaic plates or shelves. In the above given instance the work is meant to
be of squares of two inches; when of smaller squares the work requires more
time, but even then, after the new-invented method, it is accomplished from
ten to twenty times quicker than it will be after the common or usual method.

page_text: . I will now describe the machine E. This instrument, which is a very
important one in the Invention, is a new sort of dividing machine; it is based
on the principle of pressure and repressure. The machine must be constructed
very tight and strong, and covered or doubled with good beech wood, so as to
be fit to bear and withstand.a very.considerable pressure. Both its side.boards
are connected and fastened with the board a and the heads o; the bottom is
connected merely.by screws, in order that it may the easier give admittance for
reparations when required. The back board of the machine is marked p., and
is intended for the row of screws d to move thereon forwards and backwards.
Both its feet q, and also the undermost plank 2, contribute towards the same
object. The block. n, with its peg.s, moves forwards and backwards, in both
the furrows or grooves t, and may be taken out and put in again through the
opening v. At the point of the main screwic, which presses on the blockin;
there is an opening, through which is stuck a prong or fork, which is screwed
fast to the block n, and which therefore pulls back the said block n, together
with the wedger b,, whenever the said main screw c is loosened.. This
mechanism is plain and common, and employed for a number of other tech-
nical objects; it is therefore, not unnecessary to represent it in the Drawing:;
moreover; nothing essential lies in the; machine. Concerning the wedges,
which serve to press the inlaid, pieces of wood, I have but to add that they
must be perfectly squared at both their ends. The Figure w in the Drawing
represents a mere handle wherewith to heave up, take out, and put in again.
the wedges. The machine, which is here represented in the Drawing, is
intended to work with large pieces of wood (it is consequently not fit to work
with smaller pieces). To the latter a smaller machine is required, which is
entirely formed on the same principle, only its height and breadth varies, and
is regulated in proportion with the work to which it intended.. For very small:
pieces of wood the main vice or main screw c ought to be of iron, because the
chaps of a wooden one are too wide for such work. The bars of the degrees.
marked u are fastened by screws, consequently they can be moved and fastened.
at pleasure, so as to form degrees of any size desired; it is to be understood.
that the degrees must be exactly as wide as the pieces of wood are, large.;
Figure A shews the side of a number of iron frames of equal size, fitting.
minutely one upon the other, and being kept in the same position by stud:
pins d, d, which allow the frames to be lifted and lowered, yet prevent their
gliding or moving to either side. These frames contain already the mosaic:
block which now has to receive a pressure from top and bottom, either by.means?
of a pressing machine, vice, or screw, as indicated in Figure B, presenting a.
side view of an iron pressing machine, vice, or screw, containing the empty!

page_text: frames. Figure C shews the construction of the frames. a, a, are screws: of
sufficient strength to press on a cross piece b, that slides in a bevel part c, cc,.c;
and joins the staves that have already received the glue before they are laid in
the frame...Figure D is a top view of the pressing machine, vice; or screw B.
The advantages of this machine are, that' a greater quantity (than in the
machine I) of staves may be glued at once; that the act of gluing each row of
staves may be done in a warmed plate, which has got an evident preference;
and lastly, that staves deviating from half to double. their thickness may be
glued in frames of this construction, as they allow the gluing of two rows of
staves as well as one of superior thickness than that of the frame. The glue
which the cabinet makers generally make use of is not suitable to the joining
of so many small particles, as moisture has too much influence upon it. .I.
have therefore discovered and use another kind of glue. for the purpose, and
which I make as follows:-I take parchment chips, boiled in river water
several hours, until the chips become an entire liquid, so that no pieces
are found in it; I then strain it off through a piece of linen, and I throw
away the subsiding grounds; I add to that liquid parchment glue an equal
weight, or equally as much of good cabinet maker's glue, and 'I boil them
thoroughly together with the two hereafter-named ingredients: These two
ingredients are, white sugar candy and gum tragacanth, an equal quantity of
both; I take of each one thirty-second part of a pound to every pound of
glue; before mixing and boiling them with the glue they must be laid in
water twenty-four hours for the purpose of soaking them; when all of the
above are mixed, I take and. add to every pound of the mixture one thirty-
second part of a pound of isinglass, which I, however, first boil by itself in
water, and then pour it in the aforesaid mixed glue. This mixture makes a very
good glue; I still improve it by again boiling it; and I then take and add to
every pound of glue half a pint of copal dissolved in spirit of wine. I first
boil this copal, and while in a boiling state pour it into the boiling glue, and
while thus pouring the copal great care must be taken that the copal does not
catch fire, as it is very liable to do so at the time of mixing. It is necessary
to make the copal itself in a boiling state, otherwise it will not mix perfectly
with the glue, and after the glue has become cool it is thoroughly pounded and
destined to the intended use and purpose. This glue is costly, but it is match-
less, and moisture has scarcely any influence on it. In order to ensure
durability to my works of this nature, I employ none but thrice-glued panes or
pannels to foot floors, as the Figure 8 exhibits. Every technical person will
discern at once the excellence of this mode of working; and every one must be
astonished that the panes or pannels of foot floors in the palaces have not been

page_text: wrought after that principle, since experience had long ago proved that the
common pannels do not answer. I cannot call this quite a new Invention,
since pannels for tables are often wrought on this principle; but I am the
first who has adapted and applied. this principle and method on foot floors, and
who has carried this manufacture to the described perfection.
In witness whereof, I, the said Otto C. Von Almonde, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one..