CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE PROVISIONAL SP CATION
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Richardson Fanshawe and John Americus
Fanshawe, of North Woolwich, in the County of Essex, Manufacturing
Agents, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
PROVISIONAL SP
CATION left by the said Henry Richardson Fan-
shawe and John Americus Fanshawe at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 3rd April 1855.
We, HENRY RICHARDSON FANSHAWE and JOHN AMERICUS FANSHAWE, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF FABRICS OF THE VULCANISED, SULPHURISED, OR
CURED CLASS," to be as follows:-
We take a piece of woollen, hair, or silk fabric, or a piece of a fabric com-
posed of wool, hair, or silk, in combination with other material, and coat one side
with the ordinary waterproofing solution, or with flexible and insoluble cement.
We then take a piece of linen, cotton, or other fabric not comprised within
the terms first mentioned, and we render the same waterproof on one side
thereof by means of caoutchouc or other flexible and insoluble gums afterwards

page_text: vulcanised, sulphurised, or cured, and on the other side we apply a similar
coating to that given to the piece of wool, &c. above mentioned, and we
cement the piece of wool, &c. to the piece of linen, &c., placing the non-
vulcanised, non-sulphurised, or non-cured surfaces face to face, and pressing
the same together in the mode pursued by manufacturers for double-texture
waterproof fabrics, whereby we produce a reversible fabric for garments and
other uses, which retain all the properties of the vulcanised, sulphurised, or
cured material under variations of climate, &c.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Richardson Fanshawe and John Americus Fanshawe
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
RICHARDSON FANSHAWE and JOHN AMERICUS FANSHAWE, of North Woolwich,
in the County of Essex, Manufacturing Agents, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said Henry
Richardson Fanshawe and John Americus Fanshawe, Her special licence that
we, the said Henry Richardson Fanshawe and John Americus Fanshawe, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Henry
Richardson Fanshawe and John Americus Fanshawe, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF
FABRICS OF THE VULCANISED, SULPHURISED, OR CURED CLASS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Henry Richardson Fanshawe and John
Americus Fanshawe, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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

page_text: Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Richardson Fanshawe and John
Americus Fanshawe, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The nature of the said Invention, which has already been intimated generally
by the Provisional Specification filed on application for the said Letters Patent,
is in compliance with the aforesaid condition in the said Letters Patent con-
tained particularly described as follows:-
(I.) Our improvements in the manufacture of waterproof fabrics of the vul-
canised, sulphurised, or cured class, consist in combining vulcanised, sulphurised,
or cured fabrics of linen, of cotton, of hemp, or of any of the intermixtures
thereof, by means of india-rubber solution or flexible and insoluble cement,
with textures of wool, of hair, of silk, or of any of their intermixtures; also in
combining the said fabrics of linen, of cotton, of hemp, or of any of the inter-
mixtures thereof, with mixed textures of wool, of hair, of silk, or of any of
the intermixtures thereof, made up with linen, cotton, hemp, or any of the
intermixtures thereof; the said first-mentioned fabric of linen, of cotton, of
hemp, or any of their intermixtures, being in all cases that which is submitted
to the vulcanising, sulphurising, or curing processes, the other fabric being
afterwards combined therewith or cemented thereto, so as to endue the
whole combined fabric with the advantages of those processes. And, further,
such combined fabric may consist of a combination of more than two fabrics,
provided that only one fabric, and that one formed of linen, cotton, hemp,
or any of the intermixtures thereof, be vulcanised, sulphurised, or cured.
The same improvements in manufacturing waterproof fabrics of the sul-
phurised, vulcanised, or cured class might even be adopted for combining two
fabrics, both of which are of linen, of cotton, of hemp, or any of the inter-
mixtures thereof, as hereafter explained.
(II.) Having thus particularly described the nature of our said Invention,
we now proceed in further compliance with the aforesaid condition in the said
Letters Patent contained to particularly describe and ascertain in what manner
the same is to be performed or carried out in practice.
We take a piece of cotton, linen, or hemp cloth, and coat it on one side in
the usual spreading machine or guage, with a solution of india-rubber or india-
rubber compounds containing sulphurising, curing, or vulcanising ingredients,
and when this coating has become dry, we roll up the said cotton, woollen, or

page_text: hemp cloth on to a wood or other suitable roller, and pass such cloth, with
such coated side upwards, through a pair of callender rollers made sufficiently
warm (as practised in the trade), for the purpose of laying thereon the coat-
ing of india-rubber or india-rubber compounds in the paste or plastic form,
containing, however, a certain quantity of sulphurising, curing, or vulcanising
ingredients. And we cause a layer of the same to remain upon the "primed "
or so coated surface, to the extent of from eight ounces to one pound to the
yard superficial, according to the description of the fabric so operated upon,
and even in some cases to the extent of twenty ounces, where heavy and very
durable goods are required. We then proceed to apply to this coated surface,
finely divided pounded chalk or whiting, fine starch, French chalk, or any
such matter as will prevent adhesiveness, and when the so coated surface is
dry, we submit the piece to the action of 280° to 300° Faht's. thermometer;
and this we accomplish by rolling the said piece upon an iron cylinder, or we
place it in even folds in an iron vessel capable of sustaining a pressure of 40 or
45 lbs. to the inch of steam, that is, sufficient to give the amount of heat before
stated; and this we continue from 2 to 3 hours. The fabric is now removed
and placed in the spreading machine or guage, as at first, except that the
uncoated side is upwards, on to which we apply a coat of solution of india-
rubber or flexible and insoluble cement (not for sulphurising, vulcanising, or
curing), to the extent of from 2 to 4 ounces to the yard superficial; and when
such coat is dry and firm, we re-roll it and lay it aside until the next piece is
prepared, which is intended to form the upper or superior surface of the same
(when the complete article is made). For this purpose we now take a woollen,
silk, mohair, or other similar fabric in the piece, and roll it on to a-roller (with
the side intended to be cemented to the other picce) uppermost, placing it on
the roller in the before-mentioned spreading machine or guage. We apply to
such surface a coating of the ordinary solution of india-rubber or india-rubber
compounds, to the extent of 2 to 3 ounces to the yard superficial; and while
the piece so coated is extended and still tackey or adhesive, we place the
first-mentioned piece of cotton or linen upon the same machine in such
a manner that the priming coat of it may face the still tackey or adhesive
coating of the piece so extended, and by winding the two together on to one
roller, in the way that double-textured waterproof fabrics are produced, the
two are caused to adhere together and form one, which after being hung up
in a stove room slightly warned, say, to 80° Faht., are after 4 to 6 hours
passed through a pair of callender rollers in the manner well understood in
the trade.

page_text: where very light fabrics are intended to be produced according to our
improved method, we submit the cotton, linen, or hemp to a coating of the
solution of india-rubber or india-rubber compounds (containing the sulphur-
ising, curing, or vulcanising ingredients), and continue such coatings until
sufficient is laid on to render it impervious, which upon a finely-textured tissue
will not amount to more than from 12 to 14 ounces to the yard superficial,
then proceeding as before described with regard to the paste composition
for producing the change (by heat from steam under pressure), known as
sulphurising, curing, or vulcanising, and applying a coating of the ordinary
solution of india-rubber or insoluble and flexible cement, proceeding with the
woollen, silk, mohair, or other fabric or fabrics as in the first case, (viz.), apply-
ing a coat or coats of the ordinary solution of india-rubber or insoluble and
flexible cement, sufficient merely for adhesion. As to silks and other fabrics,
the texture of which is acted upon by the sulphurous or other vapours given
out in the process of sulphurising, they may be treated successfully according
to this method, preserving at the same time delicate tints and hues, which
would otherwise be affected by the bleaching properties of the said vapours.
In manufacturing woollens for military and naval services, emigrants, and
such like uses, we find it most convenient to provide a woollen fabric so woven
as to give an even back (free from loose fibres, pile, &c.), upon which we apply
in the usual manner a coat of ordinary solution of indin-rubber, or other adlie-
sive and flexible compounds not soluble in water, sufficient only for adhesion, and
this we unite, in the manner before described, to a piece of stout cotton or linen
previously sulphurised and coated, also for adhesion only.
In the manufacture of the before-mentioned fabrics, which we describe as
being composed of woollen, hair, or silk, cemented to cotton, linen, or hemp,
by which union very considerable strength is imparted to the united fabrics,
we do not restrict ourselves to two textures, for the employment of a third
may give yet greater strength, when it may be considered desirable; and this
we effect by taking a texture such as "fired grey domestic," (free from fibres,)
and coating the same on both sides in the spreading machine, to the extent of
from 4 to 6 ounces to the yard superficial, with a solution of india-rubber or
flexible and insoluble cement not vulcanised, sulphurised, or cured. To the
one side of this piece we cement a piece of finc-textured cotton or linen pre-
viously rendered waterproof and sulphurised, on to the other side of which
sufficient india-rubber has been applied to render it adhesive, when it may be
made to unite, as before described, and the woollen, hair, or silk fabric can
then be united in its turn to the other coated side of the said piece of "
grey

page_text: fired domestic" before mentioned. When the before-mentioned woollen, hair,
or silk fabrics are cemented and callendered, so that the union between them
is complete, we place the combined piece so formed upon a roller, with the
proofed side upwards, and affix the protruding end to a second roller, the two
rollers being about 30 to 36 inches apart, and the fabric being strained to an
extent just sufficient to keep it from "wrinkling" or "bagging," when we apply
with a fine sponge warm water, for the purpose of removing any foreign matter,
drying with a fine cotton or other cloth as we proceed; then by means of a
second sponge we apply the black polish usually employed by manufacturers,
as the solution of lac in ammonia combined with fine black, as usually prac-
tised in the trade; in the case of drabs and light colors, leaving out the
black.
(III.) Our Invention being of the nature and character set forth in the
outset (I.) of this Specification, that is, not consisting in any peculiar processes
of waterproofing, vulcanising, or cementing fabrics together, the foregoing
statement of the processes we prefer to adopt is to be taken not as setting
forth anything we claim, but merely as illustrative of the manner in which
our Invention is carried out in practice. And, further, it must be under-
stood that where we mention linen, cotton, and hemp, the intermixtures
thereof are to be considered also referred to. And, likewise, that under
these terms we include all vegetable textures which can be advantageously
And where we mention
sulphurised and united with non-vegetable textures.
wool, hair or mohair, and silk, the intermixtures thereof, and also the mixed
fabrics composed of the same, made up with linen, cotton, hemp, or their
And where we
intermixtures, are to be considered referred to likewise.
use the word "insoluble," we mean insoluble in water.. And we would
likewise remark, that this Invention might, as before inentioned, be adopted
with advantage for combining or cementing together two pieces of linen, of
cotton, of hemp, or their intermixtures, that is, wherever the delicacy and
fineness of the colors of one of the pieces renders it desirable not to submit
that piece to the ordinary vulcanising process as we vulcanise, sulphurise, or
cure the other piece, and cement it to the piece not vulcanised, &c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we hereby declare
that we claim, the improvements in the manufacture of waterproof fabrics of the
vulcanised, sulphurised, or cured class, consisting in combining such fabrics
with fabrics not vulcanised, sulphurised, or cured, thus affording the advantages
of those processes to certain fabrics herein-before mentioned, without sub-

page_text: mitting the same to such processes, and whereby we produce one compound
fabric endued with the properties of the vulcanised, sulphurised, or cured
article, as we have herein-before set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Richardson Fanshawe, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Third day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
H. R. FANSHAWE. (L.S.)