Process of Forming Ornamental Coverings for Walls, Ceilings, and other Surfaces.
Year: 1887

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Process of Forming Ornamental Coverings for Walls, Ceilings, and
other Surfaces.
We, HENRY MCDONNELL, JOHN JOSEPH MALLON, and GEORGE WASHINGTON CLARK.
all residing at Jacksonville, in the County of Morgan, and State of Illinois, one of
the United States of America gentlemen, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to a process of forming ornamental coverings for walls,
ceilings and other surfaces, and consists of the several steps which will be more fully
hereinafter described and pointed out in the claim.
The object of our invention is to provide an unbroken ornamental covering for walls
and ceilings by the use of paper or other suitable material, by a simple and inex-
pensive process easily and readily understood, and cheaply carried out as it does not
require tools or molds of any kind (although hand tools may be profitably used at
times) but is, or may be performed entirely with the hands of the operator.
We are aware that various processes and ways have been adopted and used for
making ornamental coverings for walls, but so far as we know, such processes have
consisted in preparing the covering whether of paper or other suitable material, in
sheets or strips, worked or shaped into configurations as desired with molds and other
devices and then attaching such sheets or strips to the walls by some adhesive
mixture applied to the reverse side thereof; thus forming joints and breaks in the
covering.
By our process the covering whether of large or small surfaces is so prepared and
applied as to be without joint or break and may be ornamented and beautified as an
entirety without danger of its cracking or separating into blocks or strips.
accomplish this result we proceed as follows:
Το
We first take the paper or other material and separate it into pieces of convenient
length and breadth for handling and then immerse said pieces in water or other liquid,
and there retain them until the material becomes thoroughly soaked and of a pulpy
consistency.
The material is then taken from the liquid and pressed and wrung in the hands unti!
the greater portion of the liquid is removed. It is then spread out in some suitable
place and impregnated or coated with some adhesive mixture after which it is placed
upon the wall or other surface to be covered, and while yet soft worked into different.
configurations by the use of the hands direct or by a suitable blunt instrument held in
the hands by placing the saine against the outer surface of the pieces and in pushing

page_text: or otherwise compressing or working the pieces into various fantastic shapes, and thus
giving the paper thus applied a regular or irregular corrugated appearance of high or
low relief as may be desired.
By this operation the eilges of the different pieces as they are applied are so
commingled with each other and forced into different forms that the covering presents
one continuous mass being unbroken at any point. By this way the pieces are
joined and worked into each other throughout the entire surface to be covered, thus
presenting a homogeneous covering without breaks or seams or lines of jointure, and
when said joining has been accomplished the paper as applied is allowed to become dry
and hard.
After the covering has become hardened by drying it is painted, bronzed or otherwise
decorated so as to present an attractive and artistic appearance. The decoration of
the surface of the covering may be accomplished by any well known means and by the
use of such materials as are applicable to the purpose other than those heretofore
mentioned. In accomplishing the softening of the pieces we have found that by
adding certain ingredients such as alum and a small amount of the oil of cedar, to the
liquid used, that the material used will be rendered practically fire proof.
This step of our process is not essential to the desired ultimate result and may or
may not be incorporated as may be desired.
We have further found that by soaking the paper after it has been separated into
pieces in a mucilaginous or pasty mixture the same result may be accomplished as in
the first instance, without the preliminary step of soaking the pieces in water or other
liquids, and then applying a coating of paste or adhesive substance the only effect
of this step being to expedite the process.
By using the different grades and thicknesses of paper we are enabled to secure
large and small configurations or corrugations as by the use of hard heavy material
such as express paper, a coarse rugged surface is produced.
Phus according to the thickness of the paper used any desired surface of high or low
relief is obtained.
By the result of our process a covering is formed, by the overlapping and com-
mingling of the pieces, which overcomes the defect displayed in wall papers and like
coverings now in general use in that it prevents the display of cracks or other defects
in the wall or ceiling produced by the shrinking or settling of a building,
It is obvious that various changes in the manner and mode of procedure in our
process may be made without in the least departing from the nature and spirit of our
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is:
The process of forming and applying an unbroken covering to walls or ceilings or
other surfaces which consists in separating the paper into pieces of convenient size for
handling, reducing said pieces of paper to a pulpy condition by soaking in liquid,
impregnating or coating the pulpy substance with an adhesive mixture and while it is
soft and pliable spreading it on the walls or ceiling and working it into configurations
as desired by the hands or tools, so as to form a continuous and unbroken slicet, and
then coloring and beautifying the same, substantially as described.