AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE OP THAT KIND OF CARPETING USUALLY DENOMINATED KIDDERMINSTER CAR- PETING
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUGH
GRAHAM, of Bridport Place, Hoxton New Town, in the County of Middlesex,
Artisan, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Sixth day of May, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the said. Hugh
Graham, Her especial licence that I, the said Hugh Graham, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Hugh Graham, my exors,
adñiors, 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 expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED MANUFACTURE
OP THAT KIND OF CARPETING USUALLY DENOMINATED KIDDERMINSTER CAR-
PETING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me,
the said Hugh Graham, 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 said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar

page_text: months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Hugh Graham, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist
in so manufacturing the kind of carpeting aforesaid as to do away with the
stripy appearance of the pattern in the breadths or piece, being thereby
enabled to produce more than one colour, either on the figure or the ground,
across the entire width of the said carpeting from the same thread of weft, such
same thread of weft being, for the purposes of my said Invention, dyed in the
skein, in lengths of different colours. And in further compliance with the
said proviso, I, the said Hugh Graham, do hereby describe the manner in
which my said Invention is to be performed, by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawing annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon; that is to say :-
I first have the yarn or weft scoured in the usual way, and, after it is dried,
I have it wound on bobbins, and reeled on an ordinary traversing reel (it being
important that each loop of the skein should be as nearly as possible of the
same length). The circumference of this reel should be rather more than
twice the width of the carpet intended to be wove, to allow for the turns. I
then place the skeins of yarn, single or doubled as may be required, upon
small dyeing poles of sufficient length, and tie each skein immediately under
the pole, to prevent its shifting from its position when they are placed upon the
dyeing vessel, the upper edges of which should be made level for the purpose,
and the lower end of the skein then dyed to any gauge or length required.
This being done, I place the skein between two pieces of wood fastened firmly
together with clamps, as shown in the Drawing, Figure 1, and then cut off the
tye bands, and draw out the dye poles, and suspend the other ends of the
skeins of yarn in like manner upon another vessel, to be dyed another colour,
to any gauge or length required, as before, which process may be repeated for
dyeing various colours; and when the same is washed and dried it is ready for
use in the manufacture of the said carpeting. The loom being mounted in the
ordinary way, I then use the aforesaid weft yarn died in different colours,
whereby I am enabled to exhibit a novel and striking improvement. upon the
old Kidderminster carpet, because the same thread of yarn being so dyed of
different colours, permits me to introduce the colours transversely, or, indeed,
at pleasure, and enables me to exhibit on the face of the carpet the figure or
ground colour, changed alternately or at pleasure, across the width of the
carpet, giving the effect of a drop pattern, as is sometinies done in Brussell's

page_text: carpets, and obviating the stripes of colours running across Kidderminster
carpeting when made in the old way, when more than one colour is used in
the ground, and more than one colour is used in the figure, or when more than
two colours are used in the double-coloured ground, and more than two colours
are used in the double-coloured figure. In order the better to explain my
meaning, Figure 2 represents a breadth of weft thread dyed in two lengths of
colour, crimson and buff; and Figure 3 part of a piece of the said improved
carpeting manufactured therewith, having a plain mulberry ground.
And here it may be as well to observe, that in drawing the pattern,
the designer should always so manage his pattern that in weaving it some
minor or unimportant portion of the figure shall rise or appear at that.
part where the colours of the weft thread unite or change, as at A in Figure
3, so as to conceal as much as possible, without injury to the fabric, the junc-
tion of the colours on the right side of the carpet. And it should be noticed,
also, that when the weft thread breaks, the weaver should study to join it in
such manner as to retain the relative lengths of colour; and when the colours
get out of their relative places, which will sometimes occur in this improved
manufacture, it will be necessary for him to adjust them by pulling up a loop,
and cutting off or adding a piece of the colour required, according to circum-
stances, in the ordinary way.
It is only necessary further to add, that this improved manufacture of
Kidderminster carpeting is susceptible of the ordinary variety of changes in
ground and figure within certain limits, dependent upon the variety and lengths
of colouring in the weft, which should of course be dyed to suit the pattern or
design required, and is equally applicable to three-ply as to two-ply Kidder-
minster carpeting.
And whereas I claim as my Invention the Improved Manufacture, herein-
before described, of that Kind of Carpeting usually denominated Kiddder-
minster Carpeting, with weft threads dyed as aforesaid, whereby I am enabled
to prevent the stripy appearance so objectionable in Kidderminster carpets
manufactured the ordinary way, and to produce a much greater variety of
pattern in such carpets, and of much greater beauty and elegance than
heretofore; and such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, new, and never before used in that part of Her said Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, nor Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my
Specification of my said Invention, and that I do verily believe this my Spe-
cification doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise, with
the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained;

page_text: Inrolled the Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.