THE APPLICATION OF A PASTE OF WHATEVER WOOD TO ANY KIND OF ORNAMENTAL AND OTHER MOULDINGS, WITHOUT THE LEAST ADMIXTURE OF ANY OTHER MATERIALS, OR USE OF ANY CHEMICAL AGENT
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Clark, of No. 2S, Harleyford Place, Ken-
nington, in the Parish of Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, for the
Invention of "THE APPLICATION OF A PASTE OF WHATEVER WOOD TO ANY
KIND OF ORNAMENTAL AND OTHER MOULDINGS, WITHOUT THE LEAST ADMIXTURE
OF ANY OTHER MATERIALS, OR USE OF ANY CHEMICAL AGENT."-A com-
munication from abroad by Monsieur Aloise Eydt. Miller, of Neumühle,
Luxembourg, Kingdom of Holland.
Sealed the 21st June 1861, and dated the 28th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th January 1861.
I, JAMES CLARK, of No. 28, Harleyford Place, Kennington, in the Parish
of Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "THE APPLICATION OF A PASTE OF WHATEVER WOOD TO ANY
KIND OF ORNAMENTAL AND OTHER MOULDINGS. WITHOUT THE LEAST ADMIXTURE OF
ANY OTHER MATERIALS. OR USE OF ANY CHEMICAL AGENT," to be as follows,
namely -
A process whereby any and all kinds of wood are reduced into such a state
of softness, that they become as it were a paste; this state of softness is
obtained by the friction of cold water against the wood upon stones similar to
those in use by millers for grinding of corn; when thus softened the wood can
Di 1

page_text: be kneaded or molded into any and all desired forms or shapes, and can be
applied to any & all objects requiring ornamental and other mouldings. The
operation of the reduction of the wood into a paste is performed without the
use or aid of steam or heat, excepting the probable employ of steam or heat
{
move
turn
in order to
material, nor is any chemical ageut made use of. The paste when dry
becomes as hard as was the wood in its original state. The operation being
in itself so simple, it is confidently expected that as it can (the prste) be
manufactured at a low price, that when once known (the paste) & appreciated
it will be extensively employed by decorators, looking-glass gilders, & others
requiring such ornamental and other mouldings of wood.
"}) the stones; neither is the paste composed of any other
The above process is a communication made to me from abroad, by
Monsieur Aloise Eydt. Miller, of Neumühle, Luxembourg, Kingdom of
Holland.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
CLARK, of No. 28, Harleyford Place, Kennington Park, in the Parish of
Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, send-greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James (lark, Her special licence that I, the said James Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Clark, or 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 THE APPLICATION OF A PASTE OF
WHATEVER WOOD TO ANY KIND OF ORNAMENTAL AND OTHER MOULDINGS, WITHOUT THE
LEAST ADMIXTURE OF ANY OTHER MATERIALS, OR USE OF ANY CHEMICAL AGENT," a
him
communication: made to {m} from abroad by Monst. Aloise Eydt. Miller,
me

page_text: Neumühle, Luxembourg, Holland, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said James Clark, or my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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:-
I claim to use for moulding all sorts of objects by the paste or pulp which
is obtained by grinding any kind of wood on vertical or horizontal grindstones,
or by any other mechanical means (proceeding) under a constant admission
of a small quantity of water. I give the preference to the vertical grindstone
as it is employed for the wood pulp or paste used in paper mills. This paste
has till now only been employed for the making of paper; now my Invention
consists in the quite new application of the said paste.
My Invention is destined principally to the fabrication of all kinds of
wooden ornaments, carved or ordinary work, inasmuch as the wood paste or
pulp exactly fills and reproduces all the minutest details of the most delicate
moulds, and becomes as hard as wood after its desication. Thus it finds
application in the fabrication of all kinds of wooden ornaments for decoration
of saloons, sculpture, for decoration of articles of furniture, picture frames,
looking-glass & other frames, the dried matter being as hard as wood, &
susceptible of being gilded or bronzed, & generally worked as wood; it may
be used to make inlaid flooring and tessellated pavement; it is also applied to
the production of bas-reliefs, statues, vases, & all other similar objects of art
or vertu; it may be shaped into drawing boards or panels for painting, for
there are no joints in the pannels, & the grain of the dry paste is fine & soft.
For all these various applications this paste possesses the great advantage of
having a natural color varying with the nature of the wood employed; more-
over it may be colored by the admixture of colouring matter without
diminishing the cohesive force of the paste.
I expressly declare that I claim all the applications above specified & all
similar ones.
My process differs from others previously known, and its novelty consists
in my using this wood paste without admixture of any other substance, &
without use of chemical agent. Now the processes hitherto known &

page_text: employed consist of sawdust mixed with paper waste, beetroot pulp,
worsted, or cotton, or linen factory sweepings, clay, minium, &c., cemented
by means of linseed oil, glass, silicate of potash, tar, wax, gutta percha,
&c., &c., all of which compositions are made under the influence of heat, &
in most cases of a strong pressure.
The advantages of my process consist, therefore, in its great simplicity,
inasmuch as all the operations can be performed without the use of heat
or complicated machinery, and in the cheapness of the material (wood)
-employed. After the wood is ground the paste is placed into a coarse linen
or a fine wire cloth, so that the surplus water may run off, & then into a
press to undergo a slight pressure to give it some consistency. On leaving the
press the paste is put under a vertical crushing stone, to be ground (as is
done in oil mills for the seeds), and afterwards triturated and kneaded in a
manner corresponding to that used by potters on the clay used for moulding.
By thus preparing the paste one avoids as much as possible the difficulties of
warping & splitting (winding) which all pastes do while drying. Any objects
which from any singularity in their form do novertheless warp, &c., may be
made to take their proper form if the convex side is exposed upon a warın
metal plate. The paste being ready, is introduced into the mould under the
simple pressure of the hand, or of a stamper; if necessary, mechanical pressure
may be used. The drying of the moulded objects takes place best at the
common temperature, and under cover; if artificial heat be necessary, let it
be moderate, and the drying must proceed but slowly. Rapid drying produces
splitting, warping, tearing, &c., &c. The moulds or stamps to be used are of
plaster or any other substance of a calcareous or argillous nature, generally of
any substance or of such a metal as possesses the property of absorbing the
humidity of the paste during the moulding. The porosity of the mould is
advantageous, because without this quality it is difficult to separate the
moulded object from the mould. The moulds need no particular preparation,
neither painting with oil nor varnishing, as is the case with other similar
processes. Nevertheless is the employ (use) of non-porous moulds possible
when before each impression of an object in the mould, when this last is
washed with oil or terebenthine (the inside), or with matters having a similar
effect, facilitating the detaching of the moulded object. The simplicity of my
process requires, nevertheless, the use of moulds in plaster or other mineral
substances as aforesaid.
In order to economise the production & the preparation of this paste of
wood, a mixture of plaster, of china clay, or of other substances of a similar
nature, may be employed. I reserve to myself the application of these

page_text: facultatif mixtures; nevertheless, the products of the paste pure have more
merit & more value. One will please to observe that the process of fabrication,
as also its manipulation, presents nothing new; therefore I do not patent any
particular or peculiar process (1 do not intend to ask Letters Patent for), exposed
as it is always to insignificant variations; but I claim the privilege of the new
applicationofthesaid pasteproduced by the way (&c.) means of humidity (moyen
liquide (humide) in the manner indicated at the beginning of this description.
This paste, in such a state of fineness and such tenacity, has never been
employed for the fabrication of ornaments, or of divers other objects, but has
only found an exclusive employ (use) in the making of paper. It is this paste
alone which has a binding a cohesion proper when dried. Wood being dry &
cut with a knife or saw, file, &c (divided sawn), does not give such a paste
with a binding & a hardness characteristic to the first-named paste, & if such
a binding be required, it must be produced by the use of a cement foreign to
itself, such as glue or any substance or matter of a similar viscous nature.
In witness whereof, I, James Clark, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred & sixty-one.
JAMES (L.B.) CLARK.