CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BRUSHES
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
PHILLIPS BAYLY, of No. 146, Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, Brush
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Phillips Bayly, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said George Phillips Bayly, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said George Phillips Bayly,
my executors, administrators, 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
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BRUSHES;" in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso, obliging me, the said George Phillips Bayly, 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 Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Phillips Bayly, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention relates to certain improved methods of fastening or securing
the hairs or bristles of brushes, whereby they will not be so liable to come out
as is the case in ordinary brushes of. nearly all. descriptions. The Invention
applies more particularly to tooth, nail, and other brushes which are subject to
immersion in water. And in order that the nature of my Invention may be
more perfectly understood, and the difference between my improvements and
the ordinary method of securing the bristles or hairs be more evident, I will
first briefly describe the means that are generally adopted in the trade to effect
this object. There are three methods of manufacturing tooth and nail brushes
at present commonly used. The first is known by the name of the "brass wire
tooth brush," and is made by first fashioning a piece of bone or ivory to the shape
of the handle or stock of a tooth or nail brush, and then drilling a number of
holes for the bristles at that end of the stock where the brush is intended to be
placed. At the back of these holes a number of grooves are cut by means of
a circular saw, for the purpose of receiving the wire which holds the bristles.
The brass wire is inserted into these long slits or grooves in the back of the
brush, and passed through the circular holes in front, when it receives for each
hole a bunch of bristles prepared of the proper size, which bristles are pulled
into the holes prepared for their reception. It is necessary to observe that the
bunches of bristles are retained in their position merely by the wire, and that
they cannot pass below the bottoms of the holes drilled in the face of the brush.
The second kind of brush is known by the name of the "waxed back," from
the fact of filling the long slits or grooves at the back of the brush (and into
which the wire is inserted) with wax, for the purpose of keeping out the water
which would otherwise injure the wire. This wax is merely an addition to
the ordinary brass wire brush" for the above-mentioned object, and is not
intended to act as any additional security to retain the hairs or bristles in their
proper place. The third description of brush is known by the name of the
"plug" or "trepanned brush," and differs from the other two, inasmuch as the
longitudinal slits or grooves at the back of the brush are dispensed with, and
the wire, thread, or silk which holds the bristles is inserted in holes drilled up
the end of the brush; by this means the brush retains a solid appearance, and
after the bristles are drawn into their recesses, the little holes at the extremity

page_text: of the brush, and into which the wire, thread, or silk has been inserted, are
filled
up with bone or ivory plugs. From the foregoing description, it will be
seen that wire, thread, or silk only has been hitherto used to hold or secure
the bristles of tooth or nail brushes in their place, and although a wax compo-
sition or cement is sometimes employed so fill up the grooves at the back of
the brush to preserve the wire from corrosion, yet no cement has ever to my
knowledge been used for securing or retaining the bristles in their place.
Having thus briefly pointed out the ordinary method of manufacturing tooth
and nail brushes, I will now proceed to describe my improvements, which con-
sist, as before mentioned, in applying a cement to the back of brushes, for the
purposes of securing and retaining the bristles in their proper place. The
manner in which my Invention is carried into effect will be more perfectly
understood by reference to the accompanying Drawing, which represents
various views of brushes constructed on my improved plan.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 a tranverse section, of a
tooth brush upon an enlarged scale. In this case a number of circular holes
are drilled in the face of the piece of bone or ivory, as in the ordinary brush,
but in place of cutting the longitudinal slits or grooves at the back of the
brush, I excavate a cavity at the back, as shewn in the plan and cross sectional
views, Figs. 4, thereby forming a box or hollow back. The knobs or butts of
the bristles are drawn through the holes by means of wires in the ordinary
manner into this box. And it should be observed that immediately that the
knobs or butts of the bristles emerge from the holes into the hollow back, they
expand and form a sort of dovetail, which of itself holds them in; they are,
moreover, retained by the wire that draws them through; and in order to
render each individual hair still more secure, a liquid cement in a boiling
state is poured into the cavity of the hollow back, which, being in a perfectly fluid
state, insinuates itself into the interstices between the hairs or bristles of each
particular bunch, and effectually prevents any single hair from being with-
drawn. All the superfluous cement having been removed, the back of the brush
is covered with a plate A of bone or ivory, which being riveted on gives the
appearance of a solid back brush. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the ivory or bone
part, with the cover of the back removed to shew the holes for the bristles;
and Fig. 3 is a similar view, shewing the bristles in their places before and
after the cement is poured in.
Fig. 5 is a plan view; and Fig. 6 a cross section of a modification of
the above. Instead of cutting or excavating the back of the brush so as to
form a hollow back, as in the former instance, I cut or form wide grooves at
the back of the holes, through which the bristles are drawn, and it will be scen,

page_text: on inspecting the Drawing, that the grooves are of such a width as to admit of
the knobs or butts of the bristles expanding when they are drawn through the
holes, and these grooves being afterwards filled with cement, the bristles are
effectually secured. If required, after the superfluous cement has been removed,
an ivory or bone back A may be riveted on, as seen in Figs. 7, thereby giving
the brush the appearance of a solid back, or it may be left without one, as seen
in Figs. 5 and 6, when the brush will resemble the ordinary "waxed back."
In manufacturing nail brushes according to my improved plan, I sometimes
The metal I
employ metal stocks or handles, instead of bone or ivory ones.
prefer for this purpose is an alloy known by the name of German silver or
"albata." The stock or handle is made in the shape of a shallow box, and the
holes through which the bristles are to be drawn having been produced in any
convenient manner, the brush is completed according to the method described
in reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The cement I employ for securing the
bristles is composed of shell lac and rosin, the proportions are not essential;
and I do not intend to confine myself to the use of any particular cement, nor
do I claim as part of my Invention the manufacture of the cement in the
manner above mentioned.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that although I have shewn and
described my improvements as applied to tooth and nail brushes only, yet it
will be evident to any person conversant with the trade that the Invention may
also be applied to any other kinds of brushes that are subject to immersion in
water.
And I may also here observe, that I am aware that cement has been used
alone to retain the hairs or bristles of some description of brushes (such as
shaving brushes) in their places; I do not, therefore, intend to claim the exclu-
sive use of cement in whatever way it may be employed; but I claim as the
Invention secured to me under the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,
manufacturing tooth, nail, and other brushes in the manner and upon the
principle herein-before set forth and described, (that is to say,) in addition to
the ordinary mode of retaining the bunches of bristles by means of wire, thread,
or silk, I further secure every individual hair or bristle by means of a liquid
cement.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Phillips Bayly, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
(L.S.) GEORGE PHILLIPS BAYLY.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-fifth day of July,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid George Phillips Bayly came
before our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.