AN IMPROVED MANU- PRO
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mecha-
nical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MANU-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 12th September 1853.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF PRINTING BLOCKS AND
CYLINDERS" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates chiefly to the forming of moulds for casting
printing blocks or surfaces of rectangular or other shaped prisms of a
suitable size and of two different lengths. These types or prisms are
set up to form the moulds in such a manner that the short ones will
form the sunken part of the mould, and the long ones the raised por-
tion, so that when the material of which the block is to be formed is
cast into the mould the elevated portion of the mould will form the

page_text: depressed portion of the block, and the depressed part in the mould
will form the raised or figured portion of the block.
The pattern having been prepared in the usual way, separate moulds
are set up for each color in the following manner:-Those portions
corresponding to a given color to be printed by one block are set
up with the short types, and all the rest of the mould is set up with
the long types, and the whole are then held securely in place by
clamps and screws. The block is then cast into the mould, and when
withdrawn will furnish an exact counterpart of it. .
The types or prisms may be of "type metal," iron, copper, or of any
other suitable material; and the printing blocks may be made of any
material that by fusion or by mixture with water or oil may be rendered
sufficiently liquid or plastic to be poured or forced into the moulds, such
as type metal, plaster of Paris, and clay, a mixture of shellac and fine
sand, papier mâché, highly vulcanized india-rubber, or gutta-percha,
the latter being preferred from its impervious and elastic qualities.
In like manner cylindrical or segmental printing surfaces may be
formed, the types being suitably shaped for such purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th March 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
license that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time

page_text: 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
"AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF PRINTING BLOCKS AND CYLINDERS," being
a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):
This Invention consists in forming the moulds into which printing
blocks are to be cast of rectangular or other shaped prisms of a suit-
able size and of two different lengths. These types or prisms are set
up to form the moulds in such a manner that the short ones shall form
the sunken part of the mould, and the long ones the raised portion, so
that when the material of which the block is to be formed is cast into
the mould, the elevated portion of the mould shall form the depressed
portion of the block, and the depressed portion of the mould shall form
the raised or figured portion of the block.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use this Invention
I will proceed to describe the method in which it may be carried out,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1, is
an isometric view of the mould; Fig. 2, is the printing block as it
appears when removed from the mould; Fig. 3, is a view of the two
sizes of types of which the mould is composed; Fig. 4, is a diagram
shewing the manner in which the Figure is marked off preparatory to
being set up in the mould. A, is the box in which the mould is set

page_text: the mould with the short types a, and the raised portion of the mould
which corresponds with the depressed portion of the block with the
large types b; the size of the prisms or wires used may be varied to
suit the degree of fineness required for the pattern.
OPERATION.
The figure to be produced is first marked off into squares of the
same size as the prisms; each color is then read off, and a separate
mould is set up for it in the following manner:-Those portions corre-
sponding to the color to be printed by the particular block are set up
with the short types a, and all the rest of the mould is set up with the
long types ; the followers are then brought to bear upon the types,
and the whole is held securely in place. The block is then cast into
the mould, and when withdrawn will furnish an exact counterpart
thereof.
The types or prisms may be of "type metal," iron, copper, or of any
other suitable material, and the printing blocks may be made of any
material that by fusion or by mixture with water or oil may be ren-
dered sufficiently liquid or plastic to be poured or forced into the
moulds, such as "type metal," plaster of Paris, and clay, a mixture of
shellac and fine sand, papier mâché, highly vulcanized india-rubber, or
gutta-percha. The latter is the substance preferred by the Inventor,
as it transfers to the goods the whole of the color which it has received,
while it also possesses elasticity sufficient to permit of its readily leaving
the moulds, and is so tough that its face may be easily dressed and
kept in order.
It is evident that the moulds when no longer required may be taken
to pieces, and again set up with other patterns, so that to the great
economy of time which results from the use of this Invention may be
added an equal economy of material, a small stock only of the boxes or
clamps A, and of the prisms serving for the preparation of a great
number of blocks.

page_text: Furthermore, it is proposed to extend this Invention to the produc-
tion of cylinders as well as blocks. In this case the mould is to be
prepared in the manner before described, and the gutta-percha being
obtained in the form of a flat sheet, it may be readily adapted to a
cylindrical surface, and secured thereto by nails or by some adhesive
composition. It is also proposed to set the types for moulds by machi-
nery, from which a great saving of labor will result, but this forms no
part of the present Invention.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved
Manufacture of Printing Blocks and Cylinders," and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the manufac-
turing of printing blocks and cylinders by the use of moulds formed in
the manner above described, whereby I am enabled to produce a great
variety of patterns at a very small cost of material and labor.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
four
0
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)