Year: 1886

page_text: . I, FREDERICK STACEY SHIRLEY of New Bedford, Bristol County, State of
Massachusetts one of the United States of America 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 :—
My invention and discovery consist, first, in a new mixture for glass, whereby
I produce a new translucent glass, which, when formed into articles, shows entirely
new and beautiful. effects; secondly, in new articles of manufacture from such
glass; thirdly, in applying certain finishes to same, as more fully described
hereinafter.
Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings illustrate the articles.
known as
"
A A show the original yellow or body color; B B B, the developed color;
CCC show the points where the reheating has reproduced the original body-color.
. To carry out my invention I take one of the regular glass mixtures technically
"
lead or "flint" glass consisting, say, of one hundred (100) pounds
avoirdupois white sand, thirty-six (36) pounds refined lead oxide, twenty-five (25)
pounds of pearl ashes, five (5) pounds bicarbonate of soda, seven (7) pounds of
nitre. I make this translucent in any usual way, say, by adding sixteen (16)
pounds of fluor-spar and fifteen (15) pounds of feldspar. This batch produces &
well-known mixture for translucent or opal glass, by increasing quantities of these
spars the glass can be made more or less opaque, and my new mixture consists in
a batch of this sort, to which both gold and uranium, or its described equivalents,
are added, whereby a new glass is produced, as more fully described below. To a
batch such as above described I usually use two pounds avoirdupois of oxide of
uranium, and one and one half pennyweights of prepared gold, the whole to be
thoroughly mixed and melted in the usual manner known to the art. The
proportions above mentioned may be varied, if desired, or equivalents substituted
without departing from the spirit of my invention and discovery, which is the
combination of the oxide of uranium with prepared gold, added to glass mixtures
containing alumina, or its equivalent, when compounded, so as to form a translucent
glass-for example, the fluor-spar and feld-spar (both of which contain alumina)
may be omitted and cryolite and kaolin (which also contain alumina) substituted

page_text: in equivalent proportions, care being taken to prevent the body being made too
dense.
Articles of glassware when made from this melted mixture will have a beautiful
sulphur-yellow color throughout when first formed, but in finishing same in the
usual manner in which such articles are made the metal or material will develop
a delicate pink shade on the portions last finished, this color shading into the
original yellow body-colour. Should it be desired, the workman by reheating the
edges to a melting point, can restore the original yellow color on the part so
reheated, thus producing varied effects of color-shadings not previously obtainable.
My invention is the specific combination of a distinctive coloring agent-such
as oxide of uranium with prepared gold-and adding same to glass mixtures, which
form a translucent glass body and contain alumina, or its equivalents, this last-
named material having a special effect on mixtures containing gold, controlling the
sensitive action of its coloring property in a marked degree. One peculiarity of
my mixture, when melted, is that where the color is once developed on the article
it is not sensitive to change from subsequent reheatings, unless the heat is carried
to such a high degree as to partially melt the glass, and another peculiarity is that
the pink or developed color by such increased heat can be reduced, and the part so
reheated to its original yellow color, the workman taking care to keep the article
in form by using his tools in the usual manner. The tint of yellow may be varied
materially from a very pale primrose, with a slight greenish tint to a deep sulphur
yellow by increasing or diminishing the uranic oxide, and the pink or developed
color may be varied in like manner from a pale salmon color to a deep rose by
adding to or decreasing the proportion of gold; but, if the latter is increased too
much, the shades of color will not be so delicate, and it will prevent the reaction
. of the developed color.to its original body color. Carbonate of copper or oxide of
chrome, combined with litharge, may be used in lieu of the oxide of uranium with
the prepared gold, and the above described translucent glass mixture and beautiful
translucent glassware of other colors shading into each other can be produced, anl
combination of other oxides with 'the' uranium and gold would give still other
varieties of color, the first named carbonate of copper producing ware of delicate
greens to pale blue, (shade of color being dependent on quantity used) bodies
shading purple and rose color, that is developed in the finishing. The chrome oxide
and litharge produce a shade of yellowish green, shading into a maroon or purple.
When the mixture is melted in the pot, the workman will gather sufficient metal on
his blow-iron to form the article desired, and proceeds in identically the same manner
;well known to the art and as if making the same-shaped article from ordinary flint-
.glass, and without any care or effort on his part the shaded effects described will
-be produced, and the article, when finished, will be annealed in the usual manner.
I also produce a new and beautiful effect on this ware by removing the skin or
glazing from the surface of the article, either entirely or in parts only of the same,
by abrading same with a sand-blast or immersing, the articles in a bath suitable
for that purpose.
When desirable to retain the glaze on any portion, such parts
are to be protected by a. suitable cover or shield, or covered with wax or varnish,
and the articles of this glass can be further ornamented by enamel colors, its
resistance to heat without change of color rendering it specially adaptable for
When carbonate
this purpose, as enamel colors require a high heat to flux them.
of copper is used, the best proportion is nine ounces; for chrome and litharge,
two ounces green oxide of chrome and ten pounds of litharge well mixed with
same, and it will also need an increase in amount of gold. The effects can be
varied, as will be understood, by using a mixture of these coloring agents.
I am well aware of the so-called " opalescent mixtures that change in the
working, and which contain bone-ash and also tin, in combination with arsenic
and that the same have been combined with coloring-oxides to produce whites
greens, and blues. Most of these have a flinty appearance with opalescent tints
and when re-heated develop shaded colors from the body-color, to a white, th
developed color being more or less opaque. These all turn in the working. by

page_text: cooling and reheating the article, and are all well-known to the art for many years.
I do not claim these; nor do I include manganese, which is frequently used as a
corrector in all glass mixtures, in the term "distinctive coloring-oxides," for
although, if used in excess, it would give a body-color it would not be suitable
for practical use with gold, and is not the equivalent, practically, of uranium,
copper, or chrome and lead, and would not produce a color in contrast with that
developed from the gold, and is well known for many years to have been used in
combination with gold in coloring glass.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st A mixture for glass in which uranium oxide or its described equivalent
coloring agents and prepared gold are both added to glass batch containing alumina
or its equivalents, for producing a translucent glass, substantially as and for the
purposes hereinbefore described.
2nd A mixture for producing colored translucent glass-ware, in which prepared
gold and two or more distinctive coloring agents are used, in combination with
alumina or its equivalents, substantially as and for the purposes herein before
described.
3rd As a new article of manufacture, an article of glass-ware of a translucent
material having a body-color due to a coloring agent such as is above described,
and a developed color shading into the original body-color, substantially as and for
the purposes hereinbefore described.
4th As an Improved article of manufacture, glass-ware of homogeneous opaque,
inaterial portions of which present different colors or shades of colors blended
together, substantially as and for the purposes herein before described.
5th As a new article of manufacture, an article of glass-ware formed from
translucent material having a body-color due to a coloring agent such as is above
described, and a developed color shading into the original body-color and having
a roughened or lustreless surface, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described.
6th As a new manufacture, an article of glass-ware having one portion of a given
color or tint shading into another color or tint, and having a roughened or lustre-
less surface, similar to a peach skin, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described.