improvements in Cigarette and Ca
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application. 7th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 21th Aug.. 1895-Accepted. 7th Dec., 1895
improvements in Cigarette and Ca
I, Dr. ALONZO HIRAM SYLVESTER, of Sommer Strasse 2 Berlin, in the Empire
of Germany, Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The paper cigarette wrapper is always found to be not only disagreeable in odour
but unhealthy.
It has been tried to avoid the effect of the bad odour of the paper by manu-
facturing the wrapper from tobacco or rose-leaves. These methods have their
disadvantages. Most of the materials of organic constitution used in place of
paper develop by decomposition disagreeable products. It is therefore desirable to
use inorganic materials for the wrapper, which may be destroyed by the combustion
and can be removed with the ashes, but which do not develop any odour. Such
materials are certain thin metallic films, such as are perfectly innocuous and free
from any poisonous substance, also materials like gypsum, carbonate of lime,
magnesia, cements of different kinds (but not sorel cement, which develops muriatic
acid), silicic acid, alkaline silicates, very thin tubes or films of glass, etc.
When such mineral wrappers are sufficiently cheap, it is advisable to use them in
place of the covering leaf of ordinary cigars. The covering leaf usually employed
adds little or nothing to the enjoyment of the smoker, but it is a very expensive
part of the cigar, because so much attention must be paid to its mechanical and
aesthetical properties.
A cheap and odourless inorganic wrapper instead of the covering tobacco leaf
will lessen the expense of the cigar and, in addition, it offers the advantage of
making the manufacturing by machines possible.
Dated this 7th day of December 1894.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, Dr. ALONZO HIRAM SYLVESTER, of Sommer Strasse 2, Berlin, in the Empire
of Germany, Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It has been found that the greatest drawback to the use of cigarettes is caused
by the disadvantages connected with the employment of paper wrappers.
Various experiments have been made to replace the ordinary cigarette paper by
other suitable organic substances as for instance paper made of disintegrated tobacco
leaves and the like. It has been tried even to wrap cigarettes in dried rose leaves.
However all these wrappers made of organic material generate products of decom-
position which in some way or other make their use disagreeable to the smoker
either in consequence of their smell or because they are unwholesome or from other
reasons.

page_text: The object of my invention is to replace the ordinary paper wrapper in cigarettes
by a wrapper composed merely of inorganic substances of suitable quality. The
substances employed ought when burnt to generate no gaseous products or at least
only such as are quite odourless and chemically indifferent, such as for instance
carbonic acid or the like. Moreover the wrapper ought to be so thin that the solid
products of decomposition generated by burning the cigarette are either carried off
by the slightest draught or else may be easily removed with the ashes.
For this purpose, I
propose preferably to use certain metal films such as tin, care
being taken to avoid the presence of any traces of poisonous metals such as lead.
Tin foil if thin enough is very well adapted to the purpose set forth. It has no
taste whatever and is perfectly barmless.
It has the further advantage that it does not stick to the lips or get soaked like
paper. If however tin foil pure and simple is used for cigarette coverings
experience shows that one very serious drawback makes it almost impossible to
enjoy the advantages above mentioned. This is that the tin easily melts at the
high temperature caused by the burning of the cigarette and that it falls off in
drops, which burn or singe the hands and clothes of the smoker. This is the reason
that former well known attempts to use metal foil failed.
In order to obviate this difficulty when employing tin foil I cover it with some
compound, which, at the burning temperature of the cigarette, either forms some
ash-like combination with the tin or else covers and fills the forming drops with
impurities to such an extent that they are retained by the ashes of the cigarette.
As such a compound I preferably employ a chromate of tin which forms a stannate
of chromium in the heat, chlorate of lime also acts in the desired way. However
I would wish it to be understood that I do not bind myself to these bodies. Any
compound will do which combines or mixes with the tin in such a way as to prevent
it forming drops, heavy enough to fall off, and it is easy for an expert to find other
suitable substances, the only condition being that they shall form no obnoxious
gaseous products of combustion.
The expert will understand what I do, if I formulate the following expression of
the same fact: I do the contrary of what the plumber does in soldering. He
cleans the surface of the molten metal in order to make it moveable like quicksilver
and to make the drops coagulate by capillary action. I intensely contaminate the
surface in order to make the liquid metal sticky and to prevent the action of
capillarity which causes drops to be easily formed.
However various other innocuous inorganic substances are equally well adapted
to be used as covering for cigarettes such as gypsum, carbonate of lime, magnesia-
cements of different kinds (excluding sorel cement, which develops muriatic acid,
when burned up) silicic acid, alkaline silicates very thin tubes or films of glass, &c.
A roll of cut tobacco or a bunch of leaf tobacco is made in the usual manner aud
is dipped into solutions of the respective substances, which, when the roll is taken
out, solidify in the form of a skin over the surface thereof.
I propose to use such mineral wrappers for ordinary cigars as well as for
cigarettes.
It is well known in the art, that the covering leaf of a cigar often contributes
little or nothing to the enjoyment of the smoker and is at the same time a very
expensive part of the cigar, because so much depends upon its mechanical qualities
and appearance.
By employing mineral wrappers instead of the covering tobacco leaf the cigar
can be considerably cheapened without touching its quality and at the same time
the long contested problem of making cigars by machinery would be more easily
solved.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1 A wranner or covering for cigarettes or cigars composed of innocuous and

page_text: odourless mineral substances, such as for example pure tin, gypsum, carbonate of
lime, magnesia-cements, silicic acid, alkaline silicates, glass and the like, substan--
tially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. A cigarette or cigar covering made of tin foil coated with a substance such as.
chromate of tin or chlorate of lime having the property of producing such
contamination of the metallic surface as to prevent the formation of drops when.
burnt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 24th day of August 1895.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for Applicant..