IMPROVE- MINUT MODE OF PACKING BOTTLES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edgar Breffit, of 61, King William Street, in the
City of London, Glass Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MINUT MODE OF PACKING BOTTLES "
Sealed the 31st January 1861, and dated the 25th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edgar Breffit at the
;Office of the Commissioners of Patents,' with his Petition, on the 25th
October, 1860.
I, EDGAR BREFFIT, of 61, King William Street, in the City of London,
Glass Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
.IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF PACKING BOTTLES," to be as follows:-
I take cork in sheets, strips, or discs, the back of which I make adhesive,
, and by means of warmth or moisture I attach the same to the exterior of
bottles. I also attach the sheets, strips, and discs of cork to paper, linen, or
calico, the back of which I also make adhesive, and this I also attach together
on the bottles in the same manner, in such positions that in packing the same
the cork so placed forms a fender wherever the bottles so placed or packed
come in contact with each other. I also arrange the bottles in packages in
such a manner that in the event of any single bottle bursting, the others
remain in their original position in the package.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Edgar Breffit in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDGAR
BREFFIT, of 61, King William Street, in the City of London, Glass Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edgar Breffit, Her special licence that I, the said Edgar Breffit, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, tho said Edgar
Breffit, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MODE OF PACKING BOTTLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Edgar Breffit, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly 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 Edgar Breffit, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say :-
I take cork in sheets, strips, or discs, and coat the back with gum or
gummy composition, which by means of warmth or moisture will become
adhesive, and I cause the same to adhere to the exterior of bottles. In some
cases I attach the sheets, strips, and discs of cork to paper, linen, or calico,
and prepare the back of the fabric with gum or other composition, which will
become adhesive by heat or moisture; I attach the fabric in the same manne
on the bottles in such positions that in-packing the bottles the cork so placed
forms a fender wherever the bottles would otherwise come in contact with
each other. I also arrange the bottles or packages in such manner that in the

page_text: event of any single bottle breaking, the others remain fixed in their original
position in the package.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a view of a strip of cork for
packing bottles made adhesive on one face as before described; Figure 2 is a
view of a series or double series of discs of cork stuck on a sheet or strip of
paper, calico, or other suitable material made adhesive on the back; Figure 3
is a plan, and Figure 4 a section of a box packed with square or pickle bottles,
in which I make use of discs of cork made adhesive at back.
a,a, are the discs four (for example) of which are placed and stuck on each
side of the bottle as shown, so that when the bottles are laid in a box or case,
the discs act as fenders, prevent the bottles themselves coming in contact, and
thus the liability to break from such cause; b, b, are wedge-shaped strips of
cork placed lengthwise between the bottles for steadying them in the case, in
such manner that if one bottle breaks the others remain fixed in their original
position; a detached view of one of these wedges is shown in plan and end
view respectively at Figures 7 and 8; these wedges are the waste cork
resulting from the cutting of hollow corks for bottles; theconcave surfacesc,d
are formed by dividing the waste cork before mentioned. For packing I stick
the flat surface e to the box or case, and lay the bottles in the concave sur-
faces c and, as shown by the dotted lines in the several Figures; by this
means each piece of cork acts as a wedge to the bottles, and firmly secures
them in the box or case; these wedges are used alone for packing bottles, or
they may be employed in combination with the strips, wedges,and discs before
described.
Figure 5 is a plan of a box packed with wine bottles, in which double
series of discs of cork are used. Each bottle is surrounded near its upper
and lower part with a strip of material carrying the discs as shown; wedges b,b,
are used in this as in the previous case. The bottles are represented with
short necks, but bottles with long necks can of course be packed in a similar
manner, but I prefer the former, owing to the greater facility with which they
arestowed, and the small space they comparatively occupy. Figure 6isa view of
a box packed with ale or beer bottles, in which the fenders are formed of strips
of cork; b, b, are wedges as before. Although I have shown the discs applied
for packing pickle and other square bottles, the series of discs for wine, and
the strips of cork for beer and ale bottles, I do not limit myself to this arrange-
ment, as any shaped bottle can be packed with cork fenders made as before
described. For further security I sometimes place blocks or wedges of cork
at top and bottom of the bottles. The cork I prefer employing is waste from
cork cutting, now usually thrown away. Instead of the back of the fenders being

page_text: coated with the gum or gummy composition, and requiring warmth ormois-
ture to be applied to cause them to adhere, the adhesive material may be
applied at the time of using the fenders.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be employed, 1 declare that I do not limit myself to
the shape or form of the discs, ci of the strips of cork; but what I claim as
my improvements in the mode of packing bottles is, the employment of fenders
composed of cork in sheets, discs, or strips, substantially in manner and
for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof,I,the said Edgar Breffit, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirteenth day of April,One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-one.
EDGAR BREFFITT. (L.S.)