AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF COVERING FOR FLOORS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF
COVERING FOR FLOORS."-A communication from abroad by William
Howell, James C. Fenn, and Charles H. Day, all of Philadelphia,
State of Pennsylvania United States of Amerion.
Sealed the 28th August 1868, and dated the 18th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th March 1868.
I, ALPRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE
OP COVERING FOR FLOORS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of producing coverings for
halls, passages, and apartments in substitution of parquet flooring,

page_text: tesselated pavement, and floorcloths. To this end any cheap woven
fabric is used as a temporary or permanent base, and after being
strained is covered with a layer of paper attached thereto by paste or
other adhesive substance; upon this is cemented a layer of veneer of
common wood the grain running all one way, and when this is dry
a second layer of veneer of an ornamental character is applied to the
first layer. Or there may be a first and second layer of inferior wood,
and then a third layer to form the ornamental surface may be applied.
The face of the fabric will usually be produced in ornamental patterns,
geometrical or otherwise, but in some cases the natural variation of
the grain may suffice to produce the desired effect, the fabric may
be made in pieces of any desired size or cut up into breadths for
transport. In this latter case the edges should be covered with paste
or cement, so that when moistened and brought together they will
form a close butt joint. When floors are required to be covered
permanently according to this Invention the veneers may be applied
thereto without the use of the cloth base.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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,

page_text: exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OF COVERING FOR FLOORS," being a com-
munication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):
:-
This Invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents
relates to a novel mode of producing coverings for the floors of halls,
passages, and apartments in substitution of parquet flooring, tessclated
pavement, and floorcloths.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is an isometrical view of a
piece of the improved covering laid down on a floor; Fig. 2 is an
edge view of a piece of the improved covering made with a cloth
foundation and an intervening layer of paper between the cloth and
the first layer of veneers; Fig. 3 is a similar view of a piece of the
improved covering formed without a cloth foundation.
The mode of manufacturing the covering is as follows:-First sew
together muslin or other cheap fabric to make a piece of any
desirable length and breadth and stretch it on a frame in the usual
manner of stretching cloth adapted for other purposes; then paste
or cement to this foundation paper over the whole surface that is to
be covered with the veneers of wood, and after the cement has become
dry paste or cement upon the paper surface a thin layer of veneers
with the grain of the wood running all one way. When this is dry
unite in the same manner a second layer of veneers of handsomely

page_text: grained wood to the first layer, taking care that the grain of the second
layer crosses the grain of the first layer so as to give strength and
firmness to the covering. The second layer may be put on in straight
pieces or the pieces may be cut to any desirable form and pattern
to give ornamentation to the covering. When the cementing has
become thoroughly dry then finish the face by oiling or varnishing
in the usual manner of varnishing woods. The covering thus produced
may be readily put down in the manner of oilcloths, and it will be
obvious that it is susceptible of great varieties of ornamentation both
as respects color and design, while its durability will far exceed that
of floorcloth. When desired plain woods of different colors may be
cut and arranged for the second layer to represent colored tiles at
considerably less expense of manufacture and fitting. The covering
is prepared for transportation by cutting it up into breadths of about
two feet or other desirable width, and coating the edges with paste
or cement, which when moistened and the breadths are laid edge to
edge on the floor will firmly unite and make close joints. In some
cases the covering is made directly on the floor as represented in
Fig. 1, but for transport it is desirable to make it in the manner
described. It is also better to leave the foundation or cloth on, yet
when cheapness is an object the cloth may be removed to be used over
again. When it is intended to remove the cloth with the view to its
being re-used a thicker paper may be advantageously employed than
when the cloth is to remain on. In Fig. 2 the covering is represented
with the cloth foundation or ground work retained, but in Fig. 3 the
covering is shewn with the cloth removed from the paper layer. In
some cases, where economy is not so much an object, the pattern will
be made with a third layer of wood.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved
Manufacture of Covering for Floors," and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,―
First. A new article of manufacture as covering for floors made by
combining and uniting layers of cloth, paper, and wood, substantially
in the manner herein-before described.
Second. The formation of the covering above described direct on

page_text: the floor without the interposition of the paper and cloth, or either
of them, substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane,
A. V. NEWTON. (L.s.)