IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENRY BADDELEY, of Shelton, in the County of Stafford, Engineer and
Designer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventeenth day of October, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Henry Baddeley, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said James Henry Baddeley, my exors, adiñors,
and assigns, and such others as I, tlie said James Henry Baddeley, my exors,
admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE;" in which said
Letters Patent is' contained a proviso obliging me, the said James Henry
Baddeley, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled 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, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Henry Baddeley, 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 description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thercon (that is to say):-
The principal object of my Invention is to mauufacture from plastic
materials cornices, ornamental bricks, and other like architectural decora-
tions, so as to obtain in an economic manner sharp and clear impressions
of the designs required to be reproduced.
In carrying out my Invention I first prepare a plastic material in the
following way; viz, I take clay or cream marl which will assume a white
or cream color when burnt, and soak it in water in a cistern for twelve or
fourteen hours, during which time I occasionally agitate it so as to separate
the clay, until it becomes reduced to a sort of pulp. When the clay is in
this state I add thereto certain matters hereafter mentioned, which will give
a vitreous character to the clay when burned, and yet allow of the. firing being
expeditiously effected. I then run it from this cistern, and pass it through a
fine sieve, to clear the clay of dregs or extraneous matter. This clearing
operation ensures a good white colour, and prevents the appearance of spots in
the articles when burnt. I next run the washed marl or pulp into an evapo-
rating tank formed of brickwork, and heated by a flue passing underneath it.
While under the action of the heat the pulp is occasionally stirred, to prevent
the clay from burning at the bottom. I continue the evaporation until the
clay becomes stiff enough to undergo the operation of beating or kneading.
This beating or kneading process is for the purpose of rendering all parts of
the clay equally plastic, or bringing it to a right temper for moulding. In
order to give a vitreous character to the moulded articles, and produce a
surface that will be impervious to or but slightly absorbent of the color used
for embellishing them, I add to the clay when in a state of pulp some
vitrifiable substance, such as felspar or Lynn sand, in the proportions of a
a hundredweight of Lynn sand or a hundredweight of felspar to a ton of
clay. These materials, previously to being mixed with the clay, are ground to
powder. And to this mixture I add about twenty pounds more or less-of
common salt or soda, which will assist in fusing the vitreous substance, and
thereby effect a great economy in the firing operation. The bat of clay or
plastic material, after undergoing the kneading process, and being then of the
consistency of stiff dough, is brought to the preparation press shewn at
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawing, forming part of this my

page_text: Specification, and submitted to great pressure, in order to drive out the air
therefrom, and bring the material to a proper state for being moulded. Fig. 1
is a front elevation of this press, and Fig. 2 is a cross section taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1. It consists of a cylinder a mounted between standards b,
which are bolted to a bed plate c, and carry at their upper part a cross piece d.
Mounted in this cross piece is a hollow shaft e, which has a female screw
formed on its interior to receive a screw f.
Keyed to the upper end of the
shaft e is a bevel wheel g, and into this wheel gears a pinion h, mounted on a
horizontal shaft i, which turns in bearings in a bracket piece k attached to one
of the standards b. The screw f is provided at its lower end with a piston l,
which fits the cylinder a, and is driven down upon the plastic material.
contained'therein, in order to compress it, and force it out at the vent m.
Over the vent is placed a dod or die n, which may be of any required shape
according to the sectional form which it is intended the plastic material shall
assume when out of the press. o is an inclined trough, to receive the exuding
material which proceeds from the press in one continuous sheet, and is then to
be cut into any desired lengths. The rise and fall of the piston it will be
understood is effected by giving rotation to the shaft i, which through the
pinion h will cause the wheel g and its shaft e to revolve, and thereby effect
the rise and fall of the screw which carries the piston. By submitting the
plastic material to the action of this press, I not only effect the consolidation
of the material, but also bring it to the embryo shape of the design which it
is intended to assume, and thus I am enabled to produce good casts or
impressions of designs in high relief by means of mechanical pressure in metal
moulds. For instance, if I wish to make a brick with an ornamental boss in
high relief on the face thereof, instead of using a dod with parallel or straight
edges to bring the plastic material to the required breadth and thickness for
insertion into the ornamiental mould, I so form the upper working edge of the
dod that it will produce a greater sectional thickness in the material issuing
from the press at about the middle of its width, so that when the sheet of
material is cut across into pieces that may be called embryo bricks, each piece
will have a ridge or raised portion on its face the sectional area of which must
be equal or nearly so to the cavity of the sunk parts of the mould. By thus
having an apparent surplusage of plastic material I am enabled to ensure the
proper filling in of the cavities in the pattern mould, and that with the appli-
cation of a comparatively small amount of pressure, the pressure being in great
part applied to the spreading of the ridge or ridges brought in contact with
the mould face, and not to the disturbance of the general.mass.
Another advantage which iny improved construction of 'dod gives is, that,

page_text: being made in two pieces, as shewn at Fig. 1, the sectional thickness of the
.sheet formed by the press may be varied without changing the dod, by
merely shifting the position of one of the pieces of which the dod is composed.
The plastic material when pressed into a sectional shape approaching the
sectional form of the pattern it is designed to receive, and cut up into suitable
lengths, is ready to be submitted to the fly press, shewn in front elevation at
Fig. 3, and in sectional elevation at Fig. 4. This press is in construction very
similar to the ordinary fly press. On the bed a of the press a pair of parallel
rails is fixed, and upon these a plate 6 slides. This plate is provided with four
concentric lugs, as shewn at Fig. 5, which represents the mould affixed to the
plate b, and thrown open ready to receive a bat of clay. c is a table which
carries the mould, and is furnished on its under side with a circular rim or
flange which rests upon the plate b, and is firmly attached thereto by set
screws, which
pass through the lugs of the plate. By this means the position
of the mould which is attached to the table c is capable of a nice adjustment,
so as to bring it directly under the plunger d of the press. e is a stop pin for
determining the distance that the plate b is to be run in, to bring the mould
under the plunger. The pattern which is to be cast from I prefer to make of
brass, as shewn at f (Fig. 4), which represents a pattern for an ornamental
brick. It is fixed to the table c by screws, which enters the back of the
pattern. Upon or around the edge of the pattern a frame g, which forms the
sides of the mould, is placed; and jointed to brackets standing up from the
table c is the top frame h of the mould, which frame is provided with an
opening of the exact dimensions of the face of the plunger d, to allow of the
descent of the plunger on to the plastic material. This frame h, after the
frame g has been set in its place, and the plastic material has been laid on the
pattern, is fastened down by means of a latch with which it is furnished,
taking into a catch on the table c. When the mould is thus made ready for
the descent of the plunger, rotary motion is given by the hand to the fly wheel,
whereby the plunger d is caused to descend and compress the plastic material,
so that it will completely fill the cavities in the pattern f. A reverse motion
is then given to the fly wheel, and the plunger is withdrawn from the mould.
The plate b. (together with the table c and the mould) is now drawn from
under the press, the latch is unfastened, the top frame thrown back, and the
Joose frame g, which brings with it the. embossed brick, is lifted off the
pattern f. The frame g is then turned over, so as to bring the embossed or
ornamented surface of the brick upwards, and it is then discharged, with its
plain side downwards, on to a board or tray. In repeating this operation the.
pattern face is brushed over with "Trotter's oil," to prevent the adhesion of

page_text: the plastic material to the mould. The frame g is next placed over the
pattern. A bat of plastic material, prepared as before, is then laid in the mould.
The frame h is brought down and fastened, and the now charged mould is
pushed forward under the plunger, which is caused to descend as before
mentioned, and complete the formation of another brick. In this instance
the surplus plastic material is allowed to escape between the frames 9 and h;
but to prevent the necessity for clearing the four sides of the mould after the
discharge of each brick or other article formed therein, I have found it
desirable to allow the escape of the surplus plastic material at one side only
of the mould. For this purpose I construct the mould as shewn in plan
view at Fig. 6, and in cross section at Figures 7 and 8, Fig. 7 being a section
in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 a section taken in the line 3, 4, of the
same Figure. The metal pattern f, which in this instance contains four
repeats of the drop of a cornice, is attached temporarily to the table c by pins
projecting from the table, and entering the back of the pattern; and partly
round three sides of the pattern, a V groove is formed, into which a corre-
sponding V projection on the face of the plunger d fits. The bat of plastic
materials having been first brought to the embryo shape of the article required
to be produced, in the manner before explained, is laid on the pattern f (the
irregular or ribbed surface of the bat being in contact with the pattern plate f),
and the plunger is brought down, and made to press upon the bat. Any
surplus clay which the mould may contain will then be forced out at the
front of the mould, as shewn, which is left open for that purpose. On
referring to Fig. 8 it will be seen that V grooves are formed across the pattern
plate between each repeat. This is for the purpose of cutting apart or
separating the repeats from each other. When the pressure of the plunger
is removed, the table carrying the mould is drawn forward, and a plaster of
Paris bat is laid over the plastic material. The mould is then lifted off the table,
and turned over, and the cornice drops and waste pieces will then discharge
themselves from the pattern on to the plaster bat. The moulded drops are then
removed on the bat to the drying house. When dry, the articles manu-
factured according to my Invention may be packed in saggers, and fixed in
the usual way.
It will be obvious from the above description that I am enabled to make
a great variety of articles of decoration in relief. I do not therefore confine
the application of my process to the manufacture of ornamental bricks and
cornices, as above pointed out, but I claim its application and use for the
manufacture of all such articles of earthenware having ornamental designs

page_text: in relief as are capable of being discharged from the pattern plate or mould
in a finished state in the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henry Baddeley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.