IMPROVEMENTS IN BINDING AND COVERING BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, PORTFOLIOS, WRITING CASES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
NICKELS, of York Road, Lambeth; in the County of. Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twentieth day of May, in the eighth year of Her reign.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Christopher Nickels, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Christopher Nickels, mý
exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Christopher Nickels,
my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others;
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BINDING AND COVERING BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, PORTFOLIOS,
WRITING CASES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES;" in which said Letters Patent
there is contained a proviso, that I, the said Christopher Nickels, shall cause
a. particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, under my hand and seal, to be enrolled
in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, s
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large annear.
:

page_text: .
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Christopher Nickels, hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, are particularly described in the
present Specification thereof, that is to say:-
The nature of my Invention consists in employing in binding and covering
books, pamphlets, portfolios, writing cases, and other similar articles the
substance recently imported from the East Indies called gutta percha, and
sometimes gutta tuban in various states thereof, in lieu of the matters and
things hitherto employed for such purposes, and thereby greatly improving
the quality of the said binding and covering.
And, first, I use the said gutta percha, in a state of solution, to connect
or cement together at the back the sheets of books and pamphlets previous
to their being boarded or covered, instead of sewing and glueing, or stitching
the same in the usual way. The process which I follow is similar to
that adopted in what is known by the name of caoutchouc bookbinding,
that is to say, the sheets are first cut into single detached leaves by running
à ploughing knife along the back folds, or made. up into double leaves
with a single back fold; the volume of leaves is then roughed at the back
by rasping or grating, and the cementing is effected by doing the back
over with one coating, or two or more coatings of the gutta percha
solution. For the sake of greater strength I occasionally superimpose over
the coating or coatings of gutta percha a strip of cotton, linen, or other
cloth, a little wider than the back of the volume of leaves, cementing it thereto
by a thin solution of gutta percha; or I insert in transverse grooves made at
equal distances in the back of the mass of leaves by a fine saw, or otherwise,
and before applying the coating or coatings of gutta percha, pieces of cord
about twice as long as the back is broad. In the former case the overlapping
parts of the strip of cloth, and in the latter the projecting parts. of the cord
serve to connect the back to the boards, after the ordinary manner of book-
binding.
The solution of gutta percha which I employ is that obtained from the
native substance after it has been cleansed and dissolved by the process, for
which Letters Patent for England have been granted to Richard. Archibald
Brooman, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-five. When two coatings of the solution are employed, the
second should be thicker than the first (that is, contain more of the gutta
percha), in the proportions of four to two. The solution should in most
instances be applied warm, and one coating allowed to dry before another is
added, or before any cloth or other material is superimposed upon
it.

page_text: Secondly, I use a solution of gutta percha, of the same description as aforesaid,
as a substitute for paste, size, gum, or glaize, wherever the same are ordinarily
employed in any of the processes of binding and covering other than that
before described; as for example, in pasting in or down, as it is technically
termed, the end papers and joints in attaching leather or vellum to the boards
and backs, or in sizing for marbling and gilding.
Thirdly, I use a solution of gutta percha of the same description as afore
said, as a vehicle for colours in colouring and marbling the edges and covers
of books, pamphlets, portfolios, writing cases, and other similar articles.
Fourthly, I employ gutta percha in the sheet state as a substitute for
vellum, leather, paper, and cloth in binding and covering the articles aforesaid.
I either use the gutta percha in the plain sheet state, in which it is
manufactured and sold ready for use under the before-mentioned Patent
of Richard Archibald Brooman, varying the thickness according to the quality
of binding or covering required, and then, if required, line, fillet, emboss,
or otherwise ornament, according to the modes in common use among
bookbinders; or I make use of sheets that have been previously prepared
and figured for the express. purpose, by pouring a solution of gutta percha
over an engraved surface to a sufficient depth, allowing it to dry and then
stripping it off; or I make use of sheets that have been previously pre-
pared and figured by the granular process described in the Specification of
the Patent of the said Richard Archibald Brooman; or Iemploy com
pound sheets of cloth and gutta percha, prepared by covering the cloth
with a layer of the gutta percha in the plastic state, or by giving the cloth
one, two, or more coatings of the gutta percha in a state of solution.
And, fifthly, I employ, as a substitute for pasteboard in the binding and
covering of the articles aforesaid, a composite material, consisting of gutta percha
blended with paper pulp or leather dust, or of bats or fleeces of wool, cotton, or
other fibrous material, cemented together by gutta percha according to the
modes pointed out in the Specification of the before-mentioned Patent of Richard
Archibald Brooman. The advantages attending the use of gutta percha in the
different states and forms before specified for binding and covering are, first,
a saving in most cases of time and expence, as where it supersedes the necessity
for sewing or stitching, or of embossing or figuring each article separately;
and, second, a great increase of durability, the gutta percha being in all its
states affected neither by cold water, nor by damp, nor by any of the ordinary
variations of atmospheric temperature, nor by oil or grease, and resisting also
the ravages of insects. When a degree of flexibility more than is natural to
gutta percha itself is required, I mix with the gutta percha a small portion of