IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING DIRECT IMPRESSIONS.OR PRINTING ON TIN OR TINNED SHEET IRON, TO BE APPLIED TO THE LABELING OF THE BOXES OR CASES USED TO PRESERVE PRO- VISIONS, AND TO DECORATE EVERY SORT OF TINWORK
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John Gedge
and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING
DIRECT IMPRESSIONS.OR PRINTING ON TIN OR TINNED SHEET IRON, TO BE
APPLIED TO THE LABELING OF THE BOXES OR CASES USED TO PRESERVE PRO-
VISIONS, AND TO DECORATE EVERY SORT OF TINWORK."-A communication
from abroad by Julien Roussel, Lucien Robin, and Laurent Delaugre,
all of 20 Faubourg Saint Martin. Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th March 1864.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11,
Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF
OBTAINING DIRECT IMPRESSIONS OR PRINTING ON TIN OR TINNED SHEET IRON, TO BE
APPLIED TO THE LABELING OF THE BOXES OR CASES USED TO PRESERVE PROVISIONS,
AND TO DECORATE EVERY SORT OF TINWORK," (a communication to me from
abroad by Julien Roussel, Lucien Robin, and Laurent Delaugre, all of 39,
Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris, France, to be as follows:-
By the processes, the subject of this Invention, direct impressions of labels,
inscriptions, medals, arms, or other designs, are produced on tin, either on

page_text: the band forming the sides of a box of preserved provisions, on its lid, or any
other part thereof, or upon any article made of tin or tinned iron. Impressions
may be obtained on tin by the means daily used in lithography, but the difficul-
ties are almost insurmountable, amongst which the principal are the damping,
the impossibility of depositing sufficient coloring matter, its heavy appearance,
its inequalities, and also the slowness of the operation, therefore the inking or
deposit of coloring matter to be transmitted on the metal must be effected
dry. To arrive at this result, after having made the composition or matrix, it
is multiplied by transfer to a lithographic stone, a zinc plate, or other material
for reproducing stereotype, as often as the sheet of tin will permit. The stone
or other material is then put into relief by any of the known means, and the
relief should be sufficient to permit the inking to be effected without difficulty
and rapidly. The deposit of coloring matter on the stone to be transmitted to
the metal is effected by means of the lithographic roller. The stone being in
the press, the manipulation is the same, tin being substituted for paper. As
the inks and colors used for this work must be submitted to the elevated tem-
perature indispensable in the manufacture of preserved provisions, and also to
the friction by which the boxes are cleaned after the boiling, the colors used for
paper cannot be used even if a strong varnish were applied before or after.
The materials used under this Invention are principally mineral colors, specially
those having lead for base, such as litharge and minium, the oxydes of the
various metals, such as bismuth, and generally all the fluxes, as well as the
vitrifiable materials fit for énameling, and to facilitate their fusion, such as
borax, nitre, and ammonia, and which by their nature are susceptible of
mixing together or facilitating incorporation with tin or tinning brought to a
suitable heat. These materials are ground with lithargerised drying oil and
various varnishes known as English varnish, Japan varnish, and other vår-
nishes are equally suitable for this purpose. The transmission of the coloring
material from the matrix stone on to the tin, or, to use the technical expres-
sion, the impression, may be effected by any of the several known means.
In lieu of the coating of minium sometimes used to prevent the oxydation of
boxes of provisions intended for the navy, it is proposed to apply by impression
flat tints of various colors or chromo by means of several impressions super-
posing the shades, so as to obtain the effect of a painting, or by the arrange-
ment of several colors on the roller to deposit them at one operation. To fix
the colors on the boxes they will be submitted to heat in a muffle furnace in
which, by means of ordinary mechanism, a continuous rotary motion will be
given to them, and the temperature of the muffle will be slightly less than the
degree of heat necessary to the fusion of the tin, yet nevertheless sufficient to

page_text: cause the combination of the tin and the colors, and thus print them indelibly
on the tin. It will be evident that the basis of this Invention is direct im-
pression or printing upon tin by whatever means, and its application to replace
the labels and trademarks on tins of preserved provisions or other tin or
tinned metal articles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day. of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Gedge, 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 "IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING DIRECT IMPRESSIONS OR PRINTING ON TIN
OR TINNED SHEET IRON, TO BE APPLIED TO THE LABELING OF THE BOXES OR CASES
USED TO PRESERVE PROVISIONS, AND TO DECORATE EVERY SORT OF TINWORK,"
a communication to me from abroad by Julien Roussel, Lucien Robin,
and Laurent Delangre, all of 39, Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris, France, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Gedge,
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 William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described an ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
•
The Invention, the subject of this Specification, consists in certain processes
for replacing the copper, brass, or other metal labels used on tins of preserved
provisions and other articles, and which are from that fact alone incontestably
superior to anything hitherto effected. Manufacturers of preserved provisions,
tinmen, retailer or merchant, even ticket stampers themselves, all agree that
nothing can be more defective than the present method, which does not afford
that security for the mark which is so desirable to traders, inasmuch as in
most cases only the two narrow ends of the label can be soldered, and that so
slightly that very slight contact detaches them, to the great annoyance of
buyer and seller, as the separation may arise, not only from the rubbing of
actual wear, but even before the merchandise has reached its destination. It
will be readily understood that the label being detached it is no longer possible
to ascertain the contents of the tins, which, while of similar shape, may contain
different articles. Further, the experience of many years has indisputably
proved that no metal label can be deemed inoxydisable, the operation of
stamping by making holes in the label favors oxydation, the smallest puc-
tures, even those imperceptible to the eye, keep enlarging and getting nearer
and nearer, and the label becomes covered with verdigris, giving to the box
the appearance of containing old articles. It has been vainly tried to replace
the label in actual use, that is to say, the copper or brass label stamped, by a
printed copper or brass label,-by labels of paper varnished, by labels of linen
or other textile fabric,-or to preserve the ticket by means of a sunken or a
raised fillet on the body of the tin case; it has also been proposed to solder
the label in every part, or partially only, by means of a hot iron and chemical
agents that will cause the tin itself to act as solder and fix the label, but none
of these processes have hitherto satisfactorily replaced the actual method, not-
withstanding its inefficiency and the inconveniences it presents. The processes
the subject of this Invention effect a prompt and more economical execution
than any other; the suppression of labeling with the hot iron is of itself a
great economy, as it saves labor, coal, and solder. By the processes the
subject of this Invention direct impressions of labels, inscriptions, medals,
arms, and other designs, are produced on tin, either on the band forming the
sides of a box of preserved provisions, on its lid, or on any other part thereof,
or upon any articles made of tin or tinned iron. Impressions may be obtained
on tin by the means daily used in lithography, but the difficulties are almost
insurmountable, amongst which the principal are the damping, the impossibility
of depositing sufficient coloring matter, its heavy appearance, its inequalities,

page_text: and also the slowness of the operation, therefore the inking or deposit of
coloring matter to be transmitted on to the metal must be effected dry. To
arrive at this result, after having made the composition or matrix, it is multi-
plied by transfer to a lithographic stone, a zinc plate, or other material for
reproducing stereotype, as often as the sheet of tin will permit. The stone or
other material is then put into relief by any of the known means, and the relief
should be sufficient to permit the inking to be effected without difficulty and
rapidly. The deposit of coloring matter on the stone to be transmitted to the
metal is effected by means of the lithographic roller. The stone being in the
press, the manipulation is the same, tin being substituted for paper. As the
inks and colors used for this work must be submitted to the elevated tem-
perature indispensable in the manufacture of preserved provisions, and also to
the friction by which the boxes are cleaned after the boiling, the colors used
for paper cannot be used, even if a strong varnish were applied before or
after. The materials used under this Invention are principally mineral colors,
specially those having lead for base, such as litharge and minium. The
oxydes of the various metals, such as bismuth, and generally all the fluxes, as
well as the vitrifiable materials fit for enameling, and to facilitate their fusion,
such as borax, nitre, and ammonia, and which by their nature are susceptible
of mixing together or facilitating incorporation with tin or tinning brought to
a suitable heat. These materials are ground with lithargised drying oil and
various varnishes known as English varnish; Japan varnish or other varnishes
are equally suitable for this purpose. The transmission of the coloring material
from the matrix stone on to the tin, or (to use the technical expression) the
impression may be effected by any of the several known means of pressure,
amongst others, lithographic rolling presses used for copperplate printing are
equally suitable to obtain the same result.
It might be sought to avoid infringement of this Patent by printing the_tins
when made, and after being submitted to ebullition, with the label or mark
by means of an open-lettered stamper or roller and replacing the body of the
tin box by sheet iron coated with varnish or color. In lieu of the coating of
minium sometimes used to prevent the oxydation of boxes of provisions
intended for the navy, it is proposed to apply by impression flat tints of various
colors, or chromo, by means of several impressions superposing the shades, so
as to obtain the effect of a painting, or by the arrangement of several colors
on the roller to deposit them at one operation. To fix the colors on the boxes
they are submitted to heat in a muffle furnace, in which, by means of ordinary
mechanism, a continuous rotary motion is given to them, the temperature of
the muffle to be slightly less than the degree of heat necessary to the fusion of

page_text: the tin, yet nevertheless sufficient to cause the combination of the tin and the
colors, and thus print them indelibly on the tin. It will be evident that the
basis of this Invention is direct impression or printing upon tin by whatever
means, and its application to replace the labels and trademarks on tins of
preserved provisions or other tin or tinned metal articles, the whole substantially
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of September, in the year. of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.

page_text: In the Matter of Letters Patent granted to WILLIAM EDWARD
GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11,.
Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING
DIRECT IMPRESSIONS OR PRINTING ON TIN OR TINNED SHEET IRON
TO BE APPLIED TO THE LABELING OF THE BOXES OR CASES USED TO
PRESERVE PROVISIONS, AND TO DECORATE EVERY SORT OF TIN WORK,"
a communication from abroad by Julien Roussel, Lucien
Robin, and Laurent Delangre, all of 39, Faubourg Saint
Martin, Paris, France, bearing date at Westminster, the 8th
day of March 1864, No. 571.
LAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION proposed to
be entered by PHILIP WILLIAM FLOWER, of Baglan Lodge, Briton
Ferry, in the County of Glamorgan, Gentleman, and WICKHAM
FLOWER, of 1 and 2, Great Winchester Street Buildings, in the City
of London, Gentleman, as Assignees of the said William Edward
Gedge, of the said Letters Patent, pursuant to the Statutes in that
case made and provided.

page_text: WHEREAS by the above-mentioned Letters Patent under the Great
Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date
at Westminster the 8th day of March 1864, Her Majesty Queen Victoria,
did give and grant unto the said William Edward Gedge, his executors,
administrators, and assigns, the sole privilege of making, using,
exercising, and vending, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, the said Inven-
tion, for the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters
WHEREAS by the above-mentioned Letters Patent under the Great
Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date
at Westminster the 8th day of March 1864, Her Majesty Queen Victoria,
did give and grant unto the said William Edward Gedge, his executors,
administrators, and assigns, the sole privilege of making, using,
exercising, and vending, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, the said Inven-
tion, for the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters
Patent..
And whereas, subsequently to the granting of the said Letters
Patent, and the rights and privileges thereby granted, the same became
by virture of a deed of assignment, dated the 10th day of September
1868, and registered in the Register of Proprietors in the Great Seal
Patent Office, duly vested in the above-mentioned petitioners:
And whereas, since the granting of the said Letters Patent, the said
Philip William Flower and Wickham Flower have discovered that the
said Invention is not ascertained and described with sufficient precision,
and, the description in the said Specification having been translated from
the description originally written in French, some of the terms of art
and science are not specified with sufficient accuracy, and the materials
proposed to be used are in some cases referred to terms that are too wide
and general, and in consequenc thereof they are desirous of disclaiming,
altering, and amending, and do hereby disclaim, alter, and amend the
same in manner following, that is to say:-By substituting in page 4,
line 37, of the Queen's Printers Copy of the said Specification, the words
"have been hitherto" for the word "are," and also by striking out in
page 5 in line 5 the words "as often as the sheet of tin will permit,"
and also by inserting in line 15 of the same page after the word "used"
the words "for printing coloring matters," and also by substituting in
line 17 of the same page for the words "and generally all the fluxes"
the words "may be used," and by substituting in line 19 of the same
page for the words "such as borax, nitre, and ammonia, and" the words
"materials, such as borax may be used," and by substituting in line 20
following for the word "mixing "the words "being mixed," and by
striking out in line 22 of the same page the words "known as English
varnish," and in line 23 following the word "equally," and by striking
out in lines 28 to 31 of the same page the sentence beginning with the

page_text: ;.
and by striking out in line 2 of page 6 the words "it will be evident
that," and in lines 3 and 4 following, the words "by whatever means".
and the said Specification, when altered and disclaimed, reads as
follows:-
"
65
"The Invention the subject of this Specification consists in certain.
processes for replacing the copper, brass, or other metal labels used on
"tins. of preserved provisions and other articles, and which are from.
"that fact incontestably superior to anything hitherto effected. Manu-
"facturers of preserved provisions, tinmen, retailer, or merchant,.cven
"ticket stampers themselves, all agree that nothing can be more
"defective than the present method, which does not afford that security
"for the mark which is so desirable to traders, inasmuch as in most
"cases only the two narrow ends of the label can be soldered, and that
so slightly that very slight contact detaches them. to the great
annoyance of buyer and seller, as the separation may arise not only.
"from the rubbing of actual wear, but even before the merchandise
"has reached its destination: It will be readily understood that the
"label being detached it. is no longer possible to ascertain the contents.
"of the tins, which. while of similar shape may contain different articles.
"Further, the experience of many years has indisputably proved that no
"metal label can be-deemed inoxydisable. The operation of stamping by
"making, holes in the label favors oxydation; the smallest punctures, even.
"those imperceptible to the eye, keep enlarging and getting nearer. and.
"nearer and the label becomes covered with verdigris, giving, to. the box.
"the appearance of containing old articles. It has been.vainly. tried to.
"replace the label in actual use, that is to. say, the copper or brass label..
65. stamped a printed, copper, or brass label,. by. labels of paper.
"varnished, by labels of linen. or other textile fabric, or to preserve the.
"ticket by means of a sunken or a raised fillet on. the body of the tin.
66. case; it has also been proposed to solder the label in every part, or
"partially only, by means of a hot iron and chemical agents that will
"
cause the tin itself to act as solder and fix the label, but none
"of these processes have hitherto satisfactorily replaced the actual-
"method notwithstanding its inefficiency and the inconveniences it.
66. presents. The processes the subject of this Invention effect a prompt
and more economical execution than any other; the suppression of.
"labeling with the hot iron is of itself a great economy, as it saves.

page_text: "
"
"
66
65
66
"
"
labor, coal, and solder. By the processes the subject of this Inven-
"tion direct impressions of labels, inscriptions, medals, arms, and
"other designs are produced on tin, either on the band forming the
"sides of a box of preserved provisions, on its lid, or on any other
part thereof, or upon any articles made of tin or tinned iron. Im-
pressions may be obtained on tin by the means daily used in
lithography, but the difficulties have been hitherto almost insur-
mountable, amongst which the principal are the damping, the
impossibility of depositing sufficient coloring matter, its heavy appear-
ance, its inequalities, and also the slowness of the operation;
"therefore the inking or deposit of coloring matter to be transmitted
on to the metal must be effected dry. To arrive at this result, after
having made the composition or matrix, it is multiplied by transfer to
a lithographic stone, a zinc plate, or other material for reproducing
stereotype. The stone or other material is then put into relief by any
" of the known means, and the relief should be sufficient to permit the
inking to be effected without difficulty and rapidly. The deposit of
coloring matter on the stone to be transmitted to the metal is effected
by means of the lithographic roller. The stone being in the press,
"the manipulation is the same, tin being substituted for paper. As
"the ink and colors used for this work must be submitted to the
"elevated temperature indispensable in the manufacture of preserved
provisions, and also to the friction by which the boxes are cleaned
"after the boiling, the colors used for paper cannot be used even if a
strong varnish were applied before or after. The materials used for
printing coloring matters under this Invention are principally mineral
colours, specially those having lead for base, such as litharge and
"minium. The oxides of the various metals, such as bismuth, may be
"used as well as the vitrifiable materials fit for enameling; and to
"facilitate their fusion materials such as borax may be used which by
"their nature are susceptible of being mixed together, or facilitating
incorporation with tin, or tinning brought to a suitable heat. These
"materials are ground with lithargised drying oil and various varnishes;
Japan varnish or other varnishes are suitable for this purpose. The
"transmission of the coloring material from the matrix stone on to the
tin, or (to use the technical expression) the impression may be effected
by any of the several known means of pressure, amongst others
lithographic rolling presses used for copper-plate printing are equally
"suitable to obtain the same result."
"
65
66
65
"
"

page_text: "In lieu of the coating of minium sometimes used to prevent the
"oxydation of boxes of provisions intended for the navy it is proposed
"to apply, by impression, flat tints of various colours or chromo by
means of several impressions, superposing the shades so as to obtain
"the effect of a painting, or by the arrangement of several colors on the
"roller to deposit them at one operation. To fix the colors on the boxes
they are submitted to heat in a muffle furnace, in which by means of
ordinary mechanism a continuous rotary motion is given to them;
"the temperature of the muffle to be slightly less than the degree of
"heat necessary to the fusion of the tin, yet nevertheless sufficient.to
cause the combination of the tin and the colors, and thus print them
"indelibly on the tin. The basis of this Invention is direct impression
or printing upon tin, and its application to replace the labels and -
"trade marks on tins of preserved provisions, or other tin or tinned
"metal articles, the whole substantially as described."
st
In witness whereof, we, the said Philip William Flower and
Wickham Flower, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-nine.
P. W. FLOWER. (L.S.)
W. FLOWER.
To the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions.
(L.S.)
I hereby grant my fiat giving leave to the above-named Philip
William Flower and Wickham Flower to file in the Great Scal Patent
Office, with the Specification to which the same relates, the above
written Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration.
Temple,
June 17, 1869.
R. P. COLLIER,
Attorney-General.