CERTAIN, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF PRINTING CALICOES, MUSLINS, AND OTHER WOVEN FABRICS; ANDI IN CERTAIN PROCESSES CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
LEESE, Junior, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Calico Printer,
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 Twenty-sixth day of March, in the second year of Her
reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Leese, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege, and
authority, that I, the said Joseph Leese, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Joseph Leese, my executors, adminis-
.trators, and assigns, should agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years: therein expressed, should, and law
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within, England and Wales and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of" CERTAIN, IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE ART OF PRINTING CALICOES, MUSLINS, AND OTHER WOVEN FABRICS; ANDI IN
CERTAIN PROCESSES CONNECTED THEREWITH;" in which Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso that I; the said: Joseph Leese, shall cause a particular
"description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to; be. enrolled in. Her said Majesty's High Court
of Chancery. within six calendar months' next and. immediately after the date

page_text: of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Leese, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following Drawings hereunto annexed, and the
following explanation thereof, that is to say:-
My Improvements in the Art of Printing Calico, Muslins, and other Woven
Fabrics, and in certain Processes connected therewith, consist,-
Firstly, in the application of a simple apparatus or moveable framework,
upon, over, or around which the pieces of calicoes or other fabrics are to be
wound or distended for the purpose of being washed white, immersed and
working in a cistern or tank of water. This framework, with the piece dis-
tended upon it, is so constructed and arranged that the piece is pressed against
the body of water, forming a resistance sufficient to wash or cleanse the piece
in the most effectual manner.
And, secondly, my improvements consist in a peculiar arrangement of frame-
work and rollers, both in and outside of the dye vats, in that particular process
of the art in which the pieces are to be dyed of a dark blue colour with
indigo, called "navy blues," and in those cases also where a white, yellow, or
other colour, having been previously printed upon them, have to be preserved,
that is, the printed surface of the cloth protected from all contact and friction
during the blue dipping or dyeing process. This improvement in the above
named department of the art of calico printing is to be performed by a simple
and peculiar arrangement of apparatus, in order to pass the pieces through the
blue or indigo vats, and which is to be driven or impelled by machinery, the
pieces always preserving a continuous progressive motion, instead of hooking
them upon a frame, and dipping them by hand in certain portions at a time,
as is the present system of ordinary blue dyers. By the peculiar arrangement
of the apparatus which constitues this part of my Invention the printed pieces
are always made to pass through this blue dyeing process with the back side,
or unprinted surface, towards the leading or conducting rollers, so that any
dragging or smearing of the printed colour, or "resist," as it is termed, which
must otherwise happen if such colour, being wet, rubs against a roller, is
entirely prevented.
And, thirdly, my improvements consist in a peculiar method of discharging
dark or "navy blues."
But in order that these improvements may be more readily understood, I
have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings representing the

page_text: apparatus for performing the same, and marked the same with figures and
letters of reference corresponding with the following description thereof :-
Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a water cistern and framework
for performing the first part of my improvements, namely, washing the pieces.;
. and Figure 2 represents a slight modification of the apparatus for effecting the
same purpose. Figure 3 represents the peculiar arrangement of pieces, vats,
frames, and rollers, for performing the second feature of my improvements,
namely, indigo blue dyeing or dipping. The washing apparatus, as shewn in
Figure 1, consists of a cistern a, into which the frame b, b, is suspended
by a pivot c, fixed in a strong rail or bar fastened to the sides of the frame,
and resting on either side of the cistern; on this pivot the frame is made to
vibrate. There are also attached to the frame a series of rollers d, d, over
which the pieces to be washed are distended; at one end of the frame is fixed
a pair of drawing rollers e, e, to draw the piece through the cistern; these move
with the frame, so that where the vibratory or pendulous motion is given to it
any sudden jerk or irregularity in the moving of the piece through the cistern
is prevented. When pieces are to be washed (water being admitted into the
cistern thro' the tap f) they are threaded over the rollers of the frame, and
drawn thro' the cistern by the drawing rollers at the same time the vibratory
motion is given to the frame, and the piece, as it moves forward, is pressed
against the water; the amount of this pressure, and the flow of the water
against the piece, being regulated as may be required by the speed at which
the frame is made to move, should it be found in any case that, owing to the
resistance of the water, the pull upon the piece, in being drawn through the
cistern, is too great, the drawing rollers must work only at intervals, that is to
say, the piece must first be wound on the frame, which, when filled, must be
put in motion till the piece shall be sufficiently washed, then again be drawn
thro' the drawing rollers, and thus the frame, being refilled with fresh cloth,
is again to be set in motion.
Figure 2 is a modification of the machine for washing cloth, and is similar to
Figure 1 in its principle, as far as relates to the pressure of the piece wound on a
frame against the water in the cistern; but the mode of its operation is different,
and as follows:-a is the water cistern; b is a frame, which rests in the cistern
on four wheels d, having flanches to them; at the bottom of the cistern are short
iron bars or rails c, on which the wheels run, so that the frame may be moved
backwards and forwards in the cistern. When pieces are to be washed they are
drawn through the rollers of the frame by the drawing rollers; and the frame is
moved horizontally backwards and forwards, running upon the rails at the bottom
of the cistern; the drawing rollers may with this machine, as with Figure 1, work

page_text: continuously or-at-intervals, as may be required. As it will be evident that the
above-described apparatus may be driven by any. suitable gearing at the
-pleasure of the operator, I have not shown any as attached in the Drawing,
as it will always depent upon circumstances,.and also upon the situation of the
sapparatus.
two
In Figure 3, a, b, are two vats, into which indigo is put, together
with such other ingredients as are commonly used by printers and dyers' to
prepare it for the. purposes of dyeing. Where a dark shade of blue is
required these vats must be longer and a little deeper than those commonly in
suse, the size being entirely regulated by the shade of colour. c, d, are
'frames, which are to work in the vats, having on them a series of rollers e, e, e, e,
arranged in a transverse or slanting direction; as in the Figure. At a con-
siderable height above the vats, and directly over them, in a fixed frame, aré
placed another series of rollers f,f,f, f, also placed in a slanting direction,
but slanted exactly the reverse way of those in the vats. The height of these
rollers must be so arranged with the speed at which the piece is to move
through the vat as that there shall be sufficient time for the piece after it has
passed through the vat to fix the indigo which it receives from it fast upon
the cloth by exposure to the air, that it may be oxydised, or, to use the expres
sion-common amongst dyers; sufficiently aired before it again enters the vat to
receive a fresh coating of indigo. On the ends of one line of these top
collars f, f, are fixed small pulleys 9; a universal band his wound round each,
and all these pulleys connecting them together, so that when the first end
pulley is put into motion all the rest are moved by it, and at one uniform
speed, or if it is preferred small bevil-wheels may be substituted for the pulleys.
A single vat may-by this arrangement be either used by itself, or two vats
may be worked together, the necessity of using two vats being regulated by
the depth of the shade of blue required by the size of the vats, or by the
nature of the colours which are printed upon the pieces to be dyed; for instance;
where these colours require to be passed through lime water before they are
entered into the blue vat, or where the first vat into which the piece is entered
requires a-greater-proportion of lime than the second, then in both these cases
two vats must necessarily be used together; or, in case the piece is required to
remain only a short time in the lime mixture previous to its entry into the
indigo vat, then a small cistern-l, l, must be fixed over the vat, as in Figure 3,
for this purpose, and the piece having passed once or twice through it over the
first or second pair of rollers, continue its progress onwards into the indigo vat.
There is also another advantage in working two-vats together where a quantity
of cloth has been dyed, and the amount of indigo in them consequently

page_text: reduced; one of these vats may be reset, and have fresh indigo put into it
whilst the other is weak, and thus a greater uniformity be obtained both in the
shade of blue and the speed at which the piece passes through the vats.
When pieces previously printed are to be dipped, they are either wound on a
roll or plaited down, and laid on a board placed over the middle of the vat in
which they
y are to be dyed; immediately over them is a wooden shed or cover k, k,
to keep them dry and protect them from the droppings of the wet pieces as
they pass over the rollers above. The piece is entered into the vat with the
back side or unprinted surface to the rollers, and, passing under the two first
rollers, receives a coating of indigo; it is then drawn out of the vat in the
direction of the arrows to be exposed to the air by the two rollers in the
frame above corresponding to those in the vat. It then re-enters the vat' by
the second or next pair of rollers, is again exposed to the air, and so continues
to move forward till all the rollers have been passed over in the manner as is
shewn by the blue line representing the piece in Figure 3. In working two
vats together the piece, when it has run through all the rollers, will be found
to have passed from the middle of the first to the middle of the second vat,
where it is drawn through a pair of drawing rollers 1, l; and either wound on a
roll m, or plaited down, as is preferred; the piece is then taken to be scoured
and washed, &c., and to be prepared for the market.
:
My improvement in the method of discharging dark or navy blues is as
follows:-There is a process known amongst printers and dyers by which
pieces that have been dyed with indigo can have a white discharged upon
them; the plan and materials employed for this purpose being the following:
When a pièce has been dyed blue, and it is wished to produce a white object
upon it, the pattern is printed either by a block or a printing machine, with à
colour made from bichromate of potash dissolved in water, and thickened, as
may be required, with flour, gum, or other thickening, the strength of this
solution being regulated by the depth of shade of blue to be discharged. After
the piece has been printed with the above colour it is passed through a cistern,
into which has been put a solution of oxalic acid in water, the strength or
quantity of the acid per gallon of water depending upon the depth of the shade
of blue to be discharged; it is, however, found that when a tolerable-strong
solution is used (stronger than is actually necessary to produce a white) a
much more perfect white is produced, and that the lines or pins, or the edges
of the solids that form the pattern, do not flat or bleed, or lose their smart-
ness and clearness, as much as they would if a.weaker solution were used in
this process. However, though the solution of acid be strong the work in many

page_text: patters is not so sufficiently clear as to be considered perfect. After the piece
has passed through this acid it is entered into lime water or a weak solution
of potash or soda to clear the whites, and it is then washed up and finished, &c.
Now the objections to this mode of procuring a white upon a dark blue ground,
and the reasons perhaps why it is not more generally adopted, are, first, that
the expense of the oxalic acid required is so great, that the same effect may
be more cheaply produced by using a resist, this resist being printed upon the
cloth previous to its being dyed in the blue vat; and again the difficulty that
there exists, as I have before stated, of procuring a smart and correct impres-
sion of the pattern owing to the flushing and swelling of the discharge. Now,
I have found that both these objections are obviated by subjecting the piece to a
very intense heat suddenly and immediately after it has passed through the
oxalic acid solution; for this purpose a stove strongly heated by fire answers
the best.
I have used steam heat by passing the pieces over a row of steam
chests, and also by causing several jets of steam from pipes bored with small
holes to blow upon it; both these plans succeeded, but not so effectually as the
stove heat. By this plan a very clear and excellent discharge is produced, and
with a so much smaller quantity of oxalic acid than would be otherwise neces-
sary as to remove entirely the objection; indeed a good white is thus produced,
which, without the use of heat, would be merely an uneven light blue stain.
All the tendencies of the pattern to flush and to lose its smartness of edge are
also removed, partly because the chromic acid of the bichromate of potash is
disengaged so much more rapidly, and therefore is so much more energetic
and quick in its action, and partly because the piece is in some measure dried
by the heat to which it is subjected, thus rendering any remaining portion of
chromic acid unable to act for want of sufficient moisture in the cloth.
Having now particularly described my improvements, and the manner in
which the same are to be performed, I desire it to be distinctly understood that
I claim as my Invention, and which is secured to me by the above recited
Letters Patent,―
Firstly, the peculiar application and arrangement of the apparatus described
and shewn in the accompanying Drawings for washing the pieces, goods, or
fabrics.
.
:.
Secondly, the novel arrangement and construction of the apparatus shewn
also in the. Drawings, and herein particularly set forth, for the purpose of
dyeing plain or printed pieces, goods, or fabrics, with indigo, without in any
way being confined to their precise respective dimensions, or to any of the
materials to be employed in their construction.

page_text: And lastly, the method of discharging blue color from calicoes or cloths by
he application of heat as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Leese, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
JOSEPH
(L.S.) LEESE, Jun'.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of September,
in the third year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
Joseph Leese came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth
year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-fourth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and