IMPROVEMENTS APPERTAINING TO BOTTLES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Southwood Stocker, of 69, Lamb's
Conduit Street, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS APPERTAINING TO BOTTLES."
Sealed the 15th March 1867, and dated the 18th September 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Southwood
Stocker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th September 1866.
I, ALEXANDER SOUTHWOOD STOCKER, of 69, Lamb's Conduit Street, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS APPERTAINING TO BOTTLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in improvements upon a Patent granted to me on
or about the 28th day of May 1846, for improvements in the manufacture of
bottles and other similar vessels, also in covering the same, and in the manu-
facture and application of the whole or part of the articles to be used, and
are as follows:-I blow that part of the bottle intended to hold the ring or
hoop of cork or other material or materials of its proper form all at one time
with the bottle, dispensing thereby with the after processes which has been
hitherto resorted to for that purpose after the bottle has been blown, con-
sequently avoiding the most tedious, difficult, and expensive parts of its

page_text: manufacture, and I apply and use with such bottles, when so blown, the articles
and elastic materials therein reffered to or otherwise, and of such other con-
figuration as may be found most convenient to produce a compound stopper
or bottle more simple and far more inexpensive in its construction, while it
is more effective and convenient in its use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Southwood Stocker in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
SOUTHWOOD STOCKER, of 69, Lamb's Conduit Street, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Ilerself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alexander Southwood Stocker, Her special licence that I, the said Alexander
Southwood Stocker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Alexander Southwood Stocker, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS APPERTAINING TO BOTTLES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Southwood Stocker, 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 Alexander Southwood Stocker, 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 statement:-
My improvements consists in shaping, by blowing, that part of the bottle
which is intended to hold the ring, hoop, or lining of elastic material or

page_text: materials (as mentioned and referred to in the Specification of a Patent
granted to me May Twenty-eighth, One thousand eight hundred and forty-
six), simultaneously with the bottle, and applying thereto and employing..
therewith such rings and plugs as are therein referred to.
I also produce,
apply to, and employ with such bottles, plugs otherwise modified than those
therein referred to for the purpose of making them in such manner that
when applied to bottles, they shall together formn a more effective and in
some instances a more inexpensive stopper or plug while their construction
is simplified, and they are rendered far more convenient when in use.
And in order that my Invention may be more clearly understood, I will
now proceed to describe the best manner I have hitherto found for carrying it
into effect, which is as follows:-Bottles hitherto made for the purpose of
holding these cork or other rings or linings bave been constructed in a most
expensive manner, viz., by first blowing the bottle, after which it is what is
technically termed in the trade "whetted" or "broken off" at the neck,
after which, and while in its hot state, it is taken up by the work man and
the neck is held to the mouth of the furnace from whence it first came for
the purpose of being reheated, and to have cast or otherwise placed on the
extreme end thereof a ring or collar of glass (also hot), after which it is
again put to the fire hole and reheated for the purpose of causing the parts
to unite well together, as also to render the metal plastic, so that the workmen
shall give it the figure and size of neck required, which he accomplishes by
embracing it by the aid of a pair of tools, technically called in the trade
"pricellas," having a plug thereon so shaped that when it enters the mouth
of the bottle the internal resistance it receives gives that part of the neck
(the mouth) the desired figure for holding the cork or other rings or linings,
while there are two other parts attached to this apparatus which gripes the
outer surface for the purpose of giving external resistance, which parts are
also so shaped that when the bottle receives a sharp rotating motion given
by the workman (who holds the apparatus pressing those parts of the bottle
at the extreme end) imparts to it the desired figure for the purpose of giving
it a ledge therein as a resting place for the cork or other barrel or lining to
shoulder down upon within, as a preventative to its being thrust into the
bottle or below the shoulder when the plug to be used therewith is forced
therein, as well as to give it the configuration without, as may be found
desirable.
Now in order to avoid this elaborate finishing I simply blow the bottle.
which at once and without any after process or processes gives the entire and
more improved figure (unaccomplishable by the hitherto method of working)

page_text: for holding more firmly the cork or other elastic ring or my improved 'elastic
plug or stopper to be placed therein, the inner portion of the neck being
expanded or rather wiler than the lip of the neck, whereby the cork by
expanding and assuming that form will be prevented from becoming acci-
dentally (which often happens according to the old method of working)
withdrawn from the bottle neck and will be held more firmly therein. This
is done by shaping the mould which is to produce it entirely of the configura-
tion of the bottle and neck intended to be made. The manufacture of this
bottle is most easy, the workman has simply, as in the ordinary method of
making bottles, to drop his globe or ball of glass into the mould, and when
blowing through bis tube or pipe will at once produce the bottle, to which I
refer, and which is now complete and ready (without any further or after
process or processes as before described) to receive its cork or other barrel
lining or improved plug or stopper, except that its extreme edge may be simply
rubbed off on a stone or otherwise for the purpose of removing the small
webb or superfluous metal at the top of the bottle, which is readily ac-
complished at an expense of less than one penny per gross. This improved
method of making bottles will be quite understood by workman who are in
the habit of making these species of goods without further detail on my part.
The old bottle is known as and technically called in the trade a made botle,
and that which constitutes my improvement is techuically termed a blow
or burst off, to and with which I apply and employ the cork barrels and
plugs herein referred to, and to which I apply and employ my improvel plugs
which presently will be further mentioned. Blow or burst-off bottles have
been heretofore made, but it has been regardless of the purpose for which my
Invention is intended, viz., the manufacture of blow-off or burst-off bottles,
and the application to them and employment therewith of the cork or other
barrels, or lining and plugs herein referred to.
I will now explain my improved plug and its advantages. I form on the
sbank of a plug a screw or thread, which may be produced thereon by
many methods well known to workmen who are in the habit of pressing
glass stoppers or working on this class of goods. Upon these screwed shanks
or plugs I screw a piece of cork, which has a solid bottom at the extreme
end of the hole therein for the purpose of ren lering it less liable to fracture
and give way. Pieces of cork prepared in this manner will have a tendency
by the action of the screw to find a surface, abutmeat, or resting place at the
extreme end of the screwed shank as well as against the shoulder of the plug,
so that when well arranged as to the desirable diameter of the shank of the
plug and the proper screw or thread to be provided thereon, taking care also

page_text: that the hole in the cork be made of proper size and depth. It will be evident
that almost a full screw or thread will be produced in the piece of cork, and
that all the intended surfaces of both stopper and cork will become so firmly
and permanently imbedded and joined together that a most complete, effective,
and economical plug for stopping the orifice of bottles will have been produced.
These plugs, will be found not only useful for stopping my improved blow or
burst-off and those referred to in my former Patent, but many and various
other kind of bottles, regardless of the size or diameter of their mouths or
orifices.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully and more clearly
understood I shall now proceed to describe and refer to the explanatory
Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a portion of my improved blown
or "burst-off" bottle fitted with a compound stopper constructed according to
my Invention; Figure 2 is an elevation of the stopper detached; and Figure 3
is a sectional elevation of another mode I propose to adopt of cutting or
forming the cork or other elastic suitable material or materials to my
stoppers.
à represents that part of the bottle neck which is intended to hold the ring
or hoop of cork or other elastic material or materials mentioned in my said
former Specification, or to receive my improved compound or modified form
of stopper, such portion of the bottle neck being, according to my present
Invention, blown to its proper form simultaneously with the formation of the
rest of the bottle, in lieu of being produced by extra and tedious processes or
manipulations after the bottle has been blown, as described in my former
Specification herein-before referred to. The inner shoulder b, as well as the
part a, are produced complete in the mould itself, and I prefer that the
interior diameter of the part a be rather greater at the bottom than at
the top or lip, as shown in my Drawing, whereby the ring or hoop of cork or
my improved compound stopper, which I have illustrated, may be more
effectually and securely retained within the bottle neck. In order to
facilitate the introduction of the cork ring or improved stopper I prefer to
expand the lip or upper edge of the part a, so as to cause it to assume a
slightly bell-mouthed form.
My improved compound stopper consists of a central rigid core or
plug c of glass, earthenware, porcelain, delf, or other like and suitable
material, which is to be moulded or otherwise formed with a head d
thereon, the circumference of which may be roughened, milled, or serrated
in order to afford a better hold when using it. The core c has a screw thread

page_text: formed upon it by moulding or otherwise (as shewn in the Drawing, Figure 1),
and is screwed into a cylindrical block of cork, which forms the yielding or
elastic material of the compound stopper. This piece of cork may either be
produced out of one piece by making a hole partly only therethrough for the
reception of the screw C, or may be composed of two or more parts, as
shown in my Drawings, which latter mode of construction I prefer, as it is
both more economical and produces a stronger and more durable stopper. I
cut out the ring or barrel e from the solid, the diameter of the central
opening being rather less than the outer diameter of the screwed core c,
whilst the length of the barrel is equal to that of the said core. To the
bottom of this barrel, ring, or cylinder e, I cement by the aid of glue or
other suitable adhesive material a disc f of suitable thickness and of a uniform
diameter with the barrel e; this disc may be formed of one solid piece, but I
prefer to make it of a number of thin layers or discs cemented together, as
shown in my Drawings, whereby I obtain greater economy of material with
increased strength. The top or upper edge of the barrel e and the bottom
part serve as abutments against which the end of the plug or core c and the
under surface of the head d bear when screwed into the cork, by which means
the rigid and elastic materials composing the compound stopper are held
firmly together. If desired glue or other suitable cement may be employed
for more firmly uniting the elastic and rigid materials of the stopper. In
lieu, however, of cementing a disc on to the bottom of the barrel, I
sometimes make use of that portion of the cork which is removed when
making the central opening for the reception of the plug and core c of rigid
material; this mode of construction is clearly shown in Figure 3, where e
represents the barrel of the elastic part of the stopper, and f is the portion
cut out of the centre thereof, which I depress or push down sufficiently far,
as shown, to form a cavity g for the reception of the screwed plug, core, or
stem c of the rigid portion of the compound stopper, as before described. The
protruding portion h of the cork is cut off flush with the bottom of the barrel
along the dotted line in Figure 3, and the remaining portion f is either
previously or subsequently cemented firmly inside the barrel e. The necks
or orifices of all sauce bottles being small (especially those which are to a
certain extent choked by the presence of the stationary internal ring or barrel
of the cork referred to in my said former Specification) they are most incon-
venient for containing essence of anchovies or other sauces and semi-fluids of
a glutinous character, as the cork ring by taking up room in the neck causes
the egress of the contents to be retarded. By the employment, on the
contrary however, of. my improved compound stopper the neck or orifice of

page_text: the bottle will be left perfectly naked, free, and unobstructed when the said
stopper is withdrawn, whilst the secure manner in which the rigid and elastic
materials are fastened or united together effectually prevents all chance of the
cork or barrel being disengaged from the rigid core and left in the neck of the
bottle.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Southwood Stocker, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
ALEX. S. STOCKER. (L.S.)