A NEW AND IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF WOVEN SILK FABRICS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Holt, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Silk Manufacturer, for the Invention of "A NEW
AND IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF WOVEN SILK FABRICS."
Sealed the 12th July 1859, and dated the 14th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Holt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th January 1859.
I, SAMUEL HOLT, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Silk Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
NEW AND IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF WOVEN SILK FABRICS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is, the production of woven silk fabrics wholly.
or partly from spun silk threads having peculiarities resembling those silk-
fabrics made wholly of thrown silk threads; meaning by thrown silk threads
those which are formed by the combination of several natural continuous
cocoon filaments, and by spun silk threads such as are made of short lengths'
of silk cocoon filaments, manufactured by a similar process to that used for
spinning cotton fibre into into threads.
My Invention consists in treating spun silk thread (dyed or undyed, as
required) by saturating it in a solution of gum and water, or a solution having
equivalent chemical properties, and then in drying the thread so treated and
weaving it into the fabric required, and afterwards in subjecting the fabric

page_text: thus prepared to heat and pressure combined to produce the requisite
appearance" and "feel."
Or, I take spun silk thread, and after treating it with the gum solution,
subject it to a polishing process by heat and friction; the threads so prepared
being subsequently woven into the fabric required, and may be then subjected
to combined pressure and heat.
Or, otherwise, I weave the fabric first, and then pass it through a solution
similar to that herein-before mentioned as used for treating spun silk thread,
and then subject it to heat and pressure to bring out the requisite finish.
By either of these processes of manufacture fabrics are produced possessing
peculiarities resembling such silk fabrics as are made wholly of thrown silk,
but at much less cost.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Holt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
HOLT, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Silk Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Samuel Holt, Her special licence that I, the said
Samuel Holt, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Samuel Holt, 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
"A NEW AND IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF WOVEN SILK FABRICS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, 'the said Samuel Holt, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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.

page_text: "
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Holt, do hereby declare the
nature of the 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 (that is to say):-
The object of my Invention is, the production of woven silk fabrics wholly
or partly from spun silk threads having peculiarities resembling those silk
fabrics made wholly of thrown silk threads; meaning by thrown silk threads
those which are formed by the combination of several natural continuous
cocoon filaments, and by spun silk threads such as are made of short lengths
of silk cocoon filaments manufactured by a similar process to that used for
spinning cotton fibre into threads.
My Invention consists in treating spun silk thread (dyed or undyed, as
required) by saturating it in a solution of gum and water or a solution having
equivalent chemical properties, and then in drying the thread so treated and
weaving it into the fabric required, and afterwards in subjecting the fabric
thus prepared to beat and pressure combined to produce the requisite
appearance" and "feel."
Or, I take the spun silk thread, and after treating it with the gum solution
subject it to a polishing process by heat and friction; the thread so prepared
being subsequently woven into the fabric required, and may be then subjected
to combined pressure and heat.
Or, otherwise, I weave the fabric first and then pass it through a solution
similar to that herein-before mentioned used for treating spun silk thread, and
then subject it to heat and pressure to bring out the requisite finish.
By either of these processes of manufacture, fabrics are produced possessing.
peculiarities resembling such silk fabrics as are made wholly of thrown silk;
but at much less cost.
. Having described the nature of my Invention I will now enter into the
particulars of the process of manufacture. The so-called spun silk fabrics.
hitherto known, and those manufactured according to my Invention are
generally formed by thrown silk threads for the warp, the spun silk being used,
only for the weft; and such fabrics as have been hitherto produced have had.
a soft woolly appearance and "feel," and are but of limited demand, being
wholly unsuitable for ladies' dresses, shawls, mantles, and other articles. Now,
it is the object of my Invention to render spun silk. fabrics suitable and.
applicable to uses for which they have been hitherto rejected.
Silk in the preparation for its manufacture into a spun silk thread. has a
large portion of its natural gum abstracted, and. the rationale of my improved
manufacture is to restore in part a substitute for the gum abstracted, thus

page_text: .
restoring or increasing its lustre, at the same time diminishing the woolly
appearance of the thread.
After numerous experiments I have found the best method of manufacture
and materials for the purpose to secure the object of my Invention to be as
follows I prepare a solution of gum and water, and that gum which I
have discovered to be particularly fitted for the purpose is, the "gum traga-
canth," or commonly known as "gum dragon;" this gum swells completely in
cold water and will remain in suspension or in combination with the water
without forming sediment or having any tendency to cake. I select the clear
or white gum tragacanth of commerce, so as not to injure the lustre of the
silk or the brilliancy of its color, and dissolve two ounces of the said in
gum
one gallon of cold water, allowing three or four days time for the gum to
dissolve; this strength of gum water I have generally found sufficient. It is
used cold as the colors have a tendency to run or "bleed " if the dyed hanks
are immersed in a hot solution, and this is another advantage of gum tragacanth,
the solution being quite effective when cold. I take the spun silk in the
hank, as it comes from the spinner, and of the quality and fineness necessary
for the fabric required, and subject it to the well known "gassing" process
to remove the loose fibres, and when dyed by the ordinary methods (if it
should require to be dyed) I immerse or saturate it in the solution of gum
water before mentioned, operating upon each colour separately, and then take
out the hanks and wring or press out the superfluous gum water; the hanks
are then dryed in a heated room or in the open air, and are then ready for
the weaver. When the spun silk prepared as described has been woven into
cloth, it is subjected to a finishing process designed to bring out the effects of
the gum preparation, namely, the finishing process well known as "hot-
pressing," in which the fabric is carefully folded_in laps, with pieces of smooth
paper or pasteboard inserted between, and then subjected to pressure between
hot plates in a suitable press.
When this finishing process is completed, a
fabric will be found having a brilliant lustre and smoothness, and of a fine,
close, and firm texture like a satin, wholly different to the soft, woolly, and
unsubstantial "feel" of ordinary spun silk fabrics.
I have described that process of manufacture and the materials which I
prefer to employ and which I have found best to secure the desired result,
but other processes and materials may be employed which I shall now proceed
to describe, but which, though producing good effect and an important
improvement upon the ordinary spun silk fabric will not prove so effective as
the method and materials.herein-before described; for instance, the process of
gassing may be. dispensed with except in fabrics formed with heavy silk warps,

page_text: and the best gum arabic of commerce may be used in place of gum tragacanth
or in combination with it, also dextrine, or other artificially prepared gums, as
well as gelatine, isinglass, fish glue, albumen, caseine or gluten dissolved in
acetic acid or ammonia.
Another process of manufacture is to saturate the spun silk in a solution of
gum tragacanth and water or other solution as herein-before described, and
polish the hanks by friction while slightly damp, which may be accomplished
by the well-known process used for polishing cotton - sewing. thread, so as to
lay the loose fibres and give lustre to the thread. This method of preparing
the materials for the weaver wholly or partly dispensing with the. hot press
finishing of the woven fabric.
Another mode of manufacture is to take cloth formed wholly or partly of
spun silk in the ordinary mode of manufacture, and then pass it through or
immerse it in a solution of gum water or its equivalent as herein-before
described, and when dry to subject it to the hot-press finishing process herein-
before mentioned. This mode of manufacture is more particularly applicable
when the fabric is a "self color," or one to be printed upon, the hot-press
finishing process being subsequent to the printing process. But for fabrics
woven in mixed colours, great care is required to prevent the dark colours
from running into the light ones while the cloth is passing through the
solution, and for this reason I prefer treating the spun silk material in the
hank before it is woven, as herein-before described; and besides this, the
material becomes more completely saturated in the hank than when treated
in the piece.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention and the
modes of carrying it into effect, and wish it to be understood that I claim as
my Invention:-
Firstly, the new process of manufacturing fabrics formed wholly or partly
of spun silk threads, having peculiarities resembling silk fabrics formed wholly
of thrown silk threads, by gassing the spun silk thread intended for such
fabrics, then treating it with a solution of gum tragacanth and water, or
other solution having similar chemical properties, and finishing the woven
fabric by heat and pressure, substantially as herein-before described.
Secondly, the process of manufacturing fabrics wholly or partly of spun silk
threads by treating the spun silk threads intended for such fabrics with a
solution of gum tragacanth and water, or other solution having similar
chemical properties, and finishing the woven fabric by heat and pressure,
substantially as herein-before described.
Thirdly, the
process of manufacturing fabrics; wholly or partly of spun-silk

page_text: threads, which are first treated with a solution of gum or other solution having
similar chemical properties, and afterwards subjected to a polishing process,
substantially as herein-before described.
Fourthly, the process of manufacturing fabrics wholly or partly of spun silk
threads, which after being woven are treated with a solution of gum water, or
other solution having similar chemical properties, and afterwards subjected to
heat and pressure, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Holt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
SAMUEL HOLT. (L.S.)