IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Ransome, of No. 2, Queens' Street Place,
Cannon Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE."-Partly a communi-
cation from abroad by Ernest Leslie Ransome, of San Francisco,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Ransome at.
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd March 1872.
I, FREDERICK RANSOME, of No. 2. Queens' Street Place, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE," to
be as follows :-
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me, No. 1233, in the year
1870, was described a process for making artificial stone which will
harden without the subsequent application of a soluble salt of an

page_text: alkaline earth, and for this purpose finely divided silica in a soluble
state obtained either artificially or naturally, as, for example, the earth
found in the neighborhood of Farnham, was combined with a solution
of silicate of soda or potash, and with lime, clay, chalk, and sand, or
other material; the object of putting the finely divided silica in a
soluble state into the compound being that it might combine with the
caustic soda or potash set free by the action of the lime on the silica
in solution.
The object of the present Invention is to obviate the necessity of
employing a solution of silicate of soda or potash previously prepared.
This is effected by using instead thereof soda or potash or solution of soda.
or potash, or both together, with finely divided silica in a soluble state
obtained either artificially or naturally, and with lime, clay, chalk, sand,
or other materials.
We mix finely divided silica, or it might be a silicate that is soluble,
with a solution of soda or potash, or both together with lime, clay, chalk,
sand, or other materials.
The lime employed may be in a state of quicklime, or it may be
hydrated or partially hydrated, or substances containing lime, such as
Portland cement or other hydraulic limes, or other substances capable of
acting in like manner to lime upon the soluble silica or silicate may be
employed in place of or in addition to lime, such as alumina or magnesia.

page_text: give and grant unto the said Frederick Ransome, Her special license
that I, the said Frederick Ransome, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick Ransome, 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 MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE," the result partly of a communi-
cation from abroad made to me by Ernest Leslie Ransome, of San
Francisco, California, in the United States of America, and partly of
Invention and discovery made by myself, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Frederick Ransome, 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 Frederick Ransome, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me, Frederick Ransome,
No. 1233, in the year 1870, is described a process for making artificial
stone which will harden without the subsequent application of a soluble
salt of an alkaline earth, and for this purpose finely divided silica in a
soluble state obtained either artificially or naturally, as, for example, the
earth found in the neighborhood of Farnham, was combined with a
solution of silicate of soda and with lime, and also with clay, chalk, and
sand, or other material; the object of putting the finely divided silica
in a soluble state into the compound being that it might combine with
the caustic soda set free by the action of the lime on the silica in
solution. Now there is some inconvenience in working with com-
positions prepared in this manner as they quickly set, in consequence of
the rapid action of the solution of silicate of soda upon the lime and
other ingredients, and to control this rapid setting in some degree it is

page_text: time for the blocks to partially harden, generally about twelve hours;
and the blocks having been removed from the moulds are then placed
in a close air-tight chamber, and exposed to a heat of 212° Fahrenheit.
The blocks are then hard and ready for use, or if it be important to
avoid all risk of salts afterwards appearing on the surface of the stone
the blocks may be boiled in or otherwise treated with water. The natural
soluble silica which I employ contains from 60 to 70 per cent. of
available silica; if a different quality be used a corresponding alteration
may be made in the quantity employed. Variations in the nature of the
stone may be made, as is well understood, by altering the proportions of
the materials employed, and by adding or substituting other materials.
What I claim is, the use in the manufacture of artificial stone of
L
11. in the mannan
FRED. RANSOME. (L.S.).