IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MATS, MATTING, AND BRUSHES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Hurn and Daniel Hurn, of Norwich, in the
County of Norfolk, Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MATS, MATTING, AND BRUSHES."
Sealed the 28th December 1865, and dated the 3rd July 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hurn and Daniel
Hurn at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 3rd July 1865.
We, GEORGE HURN and DANIEL HURN, of Norwich, in the County of
Norfolk, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MATS, MATTING, AND BRUSHES," to
be as follows (that is to say):
Our Invention has reference to improved rubbers and coverings for halls,
floors of dwelling-houses, offices, public buildings, railway carriages, or other
similar uses, whereby a more compact and durable system of producing the
same is obtained than at present, and consists in the body of the said mats,
matting, and brushes being formed of copper, brass, steel, or iron wire, coir,
yarn, flax, hemp, aloe fibre, manilla, cotton, silk, hair, or other animal and
vegetable fibres of the various descriptions, and interlaced with shreds or
strips of leather or hide inserted vertically or otherwise therein, and secured in
the form of loops in such manner that the tops or upper portions thereof
when clipped or trimmed may constitute the detergent bed or surface for
walking upon or rubbing the feet, or employed for scrubbing and general pur-

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Hurn and Daniel Hurn in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd January 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
HURN and DANIEL HURN, of Norwich, in the County of Norfolk, Manufacturers,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give, and grant unto.us, the said
George Hurn and Daniel Hurn, Her special licence that we, the said George
Hurn and Daniel Hurn, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said George Hurn, and Daniel Hurn, our, 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 IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MATS, MATTING, AND
BRUSHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said George Hurn
and Daniel Hurn, our executors or administrators, by an instrument. in
writing under our, 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 we, the said George, Hurn and Daniel: Hurn,"
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, and the Drawings therein referred to, (that is.
to say):-
Our Invention has reference to improved rubbers and coverings for halls,
floors of dwelling-houses, offices,, public buildings, railway carriages, or other
uses, termed by us the detergent leather mats, matting, and brushes, whereby.
a more compact and durable system of producing the same is obtained than

page_text: at present; and consists in the body of the said mats, matting, and brushes,
being formed of copper, brass, steel, or iron wire, coir yarn, flax, hemp, aloe
'fibré, manilla, cotton, silk, hair, or other animal and vegetable fibres of the
various descriptions, and interlaced with shreds or strips of leather or hide
inserted vertically or otherwise therein, and secured in the form of loops or
bands in such manner that the tops or upper portions thereof when clipped
or trimmed may constitute the detergent bed for walking upon, or rubbing
the feet, or employed for scrubbing and other general purposes, the said
combinations admitting of any pattern, texture, or dimensions being employed
as may be found necessary.
And in order that our said Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect, we now proceed to describe it by the aid of the
accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the letters and figures thereon
marked (that is to say):
Fig. 1 represents a front or upper surface view of a detergent leather mat
in accordance with our said improvements; Fig. 2, a back or underneath view
thereof; Fig. 3, à side or edge view of the same; Fig. 4, à longitudinal section
taken through the dotted line in Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a transverse vertical section
through the dotted line in Fig. 2, shewing the arrangement and mode of inter-
lacing the strands of leather, hide, or otherwise composing the body and deter-
gent surface of the mat. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 corresponding views shewing
à modification of our detergent leather mat, obtained by the combination of
leather and cóir yarn, intermixed in the form of looped bands of leather in
the place of strips or shreds as above described, the said loops, combination of
leather, and coir yarn forming in like manner the upper or detergent surface,
bed, or thrum of the mat first mentioned; Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 similar
views of a woven leather mat, in which the warp of leather is secured through
the medium of a weft or cord of hemp, provided with a braided or twisted
edging of leather in contrary distinction to the border of coir yarn or other
vegetable or animal fibre previously referred to; Figs. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20
similar corresponding views, representing a plaited leather open mat, edged
or fringed with coir yarn. In either case upon the above principle our
improved mats may be composed of any of the other herein-before mentioned
materials by the change or substitution of one vegetable or animal fibre for
another in varying back or border as above referred to.
We next proceed to describe in detail the mode of performing the second
head of this our said Invention (that is to say), Fig. 21 represents a front or
upper surface view of our détergent leather matting, which we composed wholly
of a warp or shute and weft of leather, hide, or like materials woven or inter-

page_text: laced so as to form the body and detergent surface of the said matting, whereby
a close and durable fabric is obtained, applicable to the various purposes for
which matting is usually employed; Fig. 22, a back or reverse surface view
of the same; Fig. 23, transverse section thereof; Fig. 24, longitudinal section
of same; Figs. 25, 26, 27, and 28 corresponding views shewing the applica-
tion of a vegetable weft, such as manilla, coir yarn, or otherwise, in place of
leather as before described. Figs. 29, 30, 31, and 32, similar views of a
plaited leather matting, formed of narrow bands of leather, hide, or otherwise
as above, ranging from the thirty-second part of an inch in width and upwards;
Figs. 33, 34, and 35, similar corresponding views of matting formed of leather
web of any required texture; Figs. 36, 37, and 38, corresponding views,
shewing in like manner the employment of a manilla weft or shute in place of
a leather weft, for forming the mesh or web as referred to in the last-mentioned
Figures.
In addition to the above it is obvious that various other forms of matting
on our improved principle may also be made, by a varied combination and
employment of any of the other, materials of the several descriptions in con-
nection with leather as herein-before described, as also by the introduction of
whalebone into the texture and body of the said matting in any required form,
pattern, or device, either woven, twisted, or worked into the body or back of
the same.
In describing the last bead of our said Invention, Fig. 39 represents a per-
spective view of an improved brush, in which leather hide or otherwise is
employed in place of hair or bristles as at present; Fig. 40 underneath view,
shewing the detergent body of the brush; Fig. 41 a longitudinal. section
taken through the dotted line in Fig. 40. In each Figure the same letters of
reference denote similar corresponding parts. A, A, strips of leather, forming
the detergent surface or thrum of the mat; B, B, back, or warp of mat con-
stituting the groundwork of same for the reception of the detergent leather bed
or face of mat; c, c, strips of leather looped through the back or warp of
the said mat so as to form upon the detergent surface thereof the cut pile or
thrum aforesaid; D, D, border composed of twisted or plaited leather, coir
yarn, or similar vegetable or animal fibre; E, E, plaited leather open surface,
forming the detergent bed in lieu of the pile or thrum before-mentioned ;.
F, F, warp of leather matting; G, G, weft of same; H, H, upper and lower
surface making up the required width or pattern so as to admit of the surfaces
on either side being formed alike; I, I, selvage; J, J, weft or shute of
manilla or other vegetable or animal fibre, .constituting together with the
leather, hide, or otherwise a composite leather matting; K, K, web of leather,

page_text: forming the body of the mat as shewn; L, L, similar description of matting
in which the web is formed of leather with manilla weft or shute interlaced.
Under the third and last head of our Iuvention M, M, are strips of leather
or otherwise. representing the detergent surface of a brush of our improved
construction; N, N, the back or handle of wood or otherwise in which the
said leather is secured through the medium of pitch 0, 0, or other bituminous
adherent substances, nails, wire, or other similar means.
In conclusion to the foregoing description it will be here necessary to note
that mats of any description or texture, design, or otherwise, may be manu-
factured and produced upon our improved principle, by submitting other materials
in lieu of those already mentioned (that is to say) for the said portions thereof
in which coir yarn, manilla, or other vegetable fibre is mentioned, we employ
in like manner and for similar purposes aloe fibre, hemp, flax, cotton, hair,
jute, wire, whalebone, as also all other vegetable and animal fibre, either in a
woven, twisted, plaited, or braided state together with strips or threads of
leather or hide, twisted strands, or cord, line, or rope of leather or hide in long
or short lengths or widths, as required for making into mats and matting, as
also plaited or braided leather either round or flat (without being woven) in
combination with plain or twisted strips of leather or hide interlaced or blended
with any, or either, or all of the several substances and materials aforesaid,
for forming therewith the back warp and detergent surfaces of mats, matting,
and brushes, for walking upon or for rubbing the feet. And we would here
further note that steel, iron, or copper wire, or whalebone may be employed
and mixed or united as required with leather in composing the detergent
surfaces. aforesaid, for making up the back or body of the same, or otherwise
blended or intermixed in the matting and brushes.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed and carried into
effect, we would have it clearly understood that we do not confine ourselves to
the precise details herein-before set forth and described, as the same may be
otherwise varied without departing from the general principle of these our
said improvements, nor do we claim as of our said Invention the exclusive use
of the several substances, combinations, and processes herein-before mentioned
and described, except when the same are employed in and for the purposes of
our said Invention, which we hereby declare to consist,―
Firstly, in the exclusive right of forming mats with a detergent surface or
thrum of leather, hide, or otherwise interlaced with the body in the form of
shreds or bands in combination with an edging or border of animal or vegetable
fibre as above referred to.

page_text: Secondly, in the employment of leather, hide, or otherwise as above in
forming the body and detergent surfaces of matting wholly of leather, either
in strips or threads, or in a plaited, twisted, or braided state, or in the form
of web in combination with any or all of the above-named fibres, as set forth
and described under the second head of our Invention.
Thirdly and lastly, in the employment of leather strips secured to a wooden
back in any form of brush, in which the said leather shall constitute the
detergent surface thereof for scrubbing, cleansing, or otherwise, when fastened
or secured, in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set forth and
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Hurn and Daniel Hurn, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-ninth day of December.
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
.
R. H. P. Cooke,
GEORGE BURN. L.S.)
DANIEL HURN. (L.S.)
Clerk to Messrs. Weatherdon & Co.,
77, Chancery Lane.