IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO COVERING FLOORS, WALLS, AND OTHER SURFACES FOR DECORATIVE AND USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Paice Chiles, Floor Cloth Manufacturer, of Camden
Town, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OR APPLICABLE TO COVERING FLOORS, WALLS, AND OTHER SURFACES FOR
DECORATIVE AND USEFUL PURPOSES."
Sealed the 19th December 1879, and dated the 21st June 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Paice Chiles at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st June 1879.
GEORGE PAICE CHILES, Floor Cloth Manufacturer, of Camden Town, in the
County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO COVERING FLOORS,
WALLS, AND OTHER SURFACES FOR DECORATIVE AND USEFUL PURPOSES."
This Invention relates to covering floors, walls, or other surfaces with floor cloth,
linoleum, and other like substances, the object being to provide a more lasting
covering and to prevent or avoid the "blistering," unevenness, and consequent
warping and rapid wearing out of such covering materials when laid in the usual
way in large sheets upon a floor surface.
In carrying out this Invention, floor cloth, preferably of the linoleum class, and
of an uniform, speckled, or marbled color throughout the body thereof is cut into
square or other geometrical or required forms, so as when placed together they may
be arranged in patterns of tesselated, parquetry, pannelled, or other ornamental
character, according to whether a floor or wall be the surface under treatment. The
pieces or " tiles so arranged are then securely comented down by cement, glue,
shellac solution, or other adhesive substance, that is, are veneered to the floor, wall,
or other surface to be covered, whether such surface be of wood, stone, concrete,
asphalte, or other material.
"
In this way tesselated floors can be produced from plain, unprinted, speckled, or
marbled floor cloth of any kind, or of a uniform body color, but those floor cloths of
the linoleum character are the best for the purpose, and will be cut out into the
required patterns by hand dies, stamping, or other cutting machinery, worked by
manual, steam, or other power adapted for the purpose. This tesselated floor
covering or cloth can also be made in breadths by being arranged upon and cemented
to a foundation or backing of linen, calico, sheeting, canvas, or other suitable

page_text: material of any required widths or dimensions, in which case it may be sold by the
yard, as is ordinary floor cloth.
By this system that looseness and blistering so much complained of in linoleum
and other floor cloth when laid down in the usual way is completely prevented,
while the enduring property of the linoleum or other substance employed is
enormously increased, as is the case with wall paper and furniture veneer under a
similar system of consolidation; and further, the patterns and colors of these surface
coverings being integral and not superficial, as is the case with printed floor cloths
of oil cloth, linoleum, and the like, the pattern consequently cannot wear off; and if
any section of the covering becomes worn out that part can be re-introduced or
relaid without the whole surface being renewed.
The further advantages of these floor cloth tiles over tiles of ceramic materials
are that they are warm and soft, noiseless and unslippery, and can be supplied at
from or about one third the cost of encaustic tiles..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Georgo Paice Chiles in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
December 1879.
GEORGE PAICE CHILDS, Floor Cloth Manufacturer, of Camden Town, in the
County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO COVERING FLOORS,
WALLS, AND OTHER SURFACES FOR DECORATIVE AND USEFUL PURPOSES."
My Invention relates to coverings used for floors, walls, or other surfaces, of
floorcloth, linoleoum, or other like substances of the different kinds wellknown and
used, and it has for its object improvements in the method of so preparing and
covering such surfaces with substances of the said kind so that the coverings are
more durable, whilst the blistering, unevenness, and consequent warping and rapid
wear of such substances when laid in the usual way in large sheets upon floors or
other flat surfaces are avoided.
- In carrying out my Invention I take sheets of flat pieces of floor cloth, linoleum,
or other like substances well known and used for the purpose of covering floors, each
such sheet being of one uniform colour upon its surface and throughout its body, but
the several sheets being of different colours, and I cut these sheets into hexagonal or
other suitable geometrical figures of the desired pattern, so that when the several
pieces are properly placed together they form a pattern of various colours which
will completely cover the floor or other surface to which it is to be applied. The
several pieces thus prepared are then securely attached to the floor or other surface
by means of cement, gluc, shellac solution, or other adhesive material, or they may
be fixed by nails or brads, or partly by cement and partly by nails or brads,
according to the nature of the floor or other surface to which they are to be fixed,
such as wood, stone, concrete, asphalte, or other material.
I sometimes cut pieces of the same or any other desired pattern, which need not
be of geometrical design, out of some or all of the pieces first described, and I fill
up the holes or openings so made in the latter with the pieces which have been cut
out of similar pieces of material but of a different colour. Out of the pieces which
are to be inserted I sometimes cut smaller holes or openings which are themselves
filled up with the pieces cut out of others of a different colour, and so on as far as
may be desired.
In this way tesselated or other ornamental designs of endless variety and beauty
can be produced, with little trouble or expense, upon floors or other surfaces by
means of sheets of floorcloth, linoleum, or other suitable substance having no design,
printed or otherwise, formed upon their surface, but each sheet plain, speckled, or
marbled only, or of a uniform colour through its substance, the colour only of the
several sheets being different.
The separate pieces as described may be cut from the sheets with knives by hand, or
by cutting dies or other suitable cutting machinery worked by hand, steam, or other
convenient power, and I prefer to use cutting dies made to the proper shape and capable
of cutting through several thicknesses of the material at once, and where the different
parts of the pattern vary in shape it is necessary that the corresponding dies should
be carefully made to fit each other, so that when the pieces cut are arranged together
upon the floor or other snrface to be covered they may fit accurately without leaving
any spaces between them.
Instead of being prepared and fixed upon the floor or other surface in the manner
above described I sometimes arrange and cement the separate pieces which form the
tesselated or other pattern upon a foundation or backing of linen, calico, canvas, or
other suitable flexible material, which may be of any desired dimensions. In such
cases the finished material, having the pattern upon its upper surface produced in
the way described, may be rolled up, stored, or cut off in lengths for sale in the
same way as any ordinary floorcloth.

page_text: By my Invention as hereinbefore described the blistering and looseness which is
found to take place in ordinary floorcloths laid down in the usual way are avoided,
whilst the durability of the covering is greatly increased.
The patterns and colours not being superficial only, but forming an integral part
of the coverings for floors or other surfaces prepared as described, cannot wear off, as
is the case where they are only formed upon the surface of the material, and if any
part of the covering becomes worn out that particular part can be removed and
fresh pieces inserted in the pattern without any necessity for the renewal of the
whole surface. Coverings for floors or other surfaces prepared according to my
Invention are warm, soft, noiseless, and not slippery, and are economical in manu-
facture and in use.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which it is to be per-
formed, I claim the method of covering floors or other surfaces by means of pieces
of geometrical pattern cut from sheets of suitable material of homogeneous substance,
but of different colours, and fixed to the floor or other surface by cement or nails,
substantially as herein described.
Also, the method of cutting holes or openings through pieces so prepared, and of
filling such holes or openings with corresponding pieces of different colours, sub-
stantially as herein described.
Also, the method of cementing coverings for floors or other substances prepared as
above described, upon the surface of flexible fabrics, substantially as and for the
purpose herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Paice Chiles, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 19th day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
AY