IMPROVE- MENTS IN PRODUCING PLAIN AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES AND SURFACES FROM CEMENTS OR EARTHS SEPARATELY OR COMBINED WITH OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
CHRISTOPHER NICKELS, of Guildford Street, Lambeth, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, and JOHN DANFORTH GREENWOOD, of the Belvidere Road,
Lambeth, aforesaid, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of June, in the second year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Christopher Nickels and John Danforth Greenwood, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Christopher Nickels
and John Danforth Greenwood, our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Christopher Nickels and John Danforth Greenwood, our
exors, admors, and 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, our Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PRODUCING PLAIN AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES AND SURFACES FROM
CEMENTS OR EARTHS SEPARATELY OR COMBINED WITH OTHER MATERIALS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said Christopher Nickels
and John Danforth Greenwood, or one of us, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of our said Invention and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed to be inrolled in Her said 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Christopher Nickels and John Danforth Greenwood, do hereby declare
that the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same
is to be performed, are particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:
Our Invention relates first, to a mode of obtaining consolidated blocks of
artificial marbles by means of continued or soaking pressure, thereby obtaining
the same of a closer and harder texture, and of any degree of shade or color
in blocks or shapes which may afterwards be sculptured, cut, or worked up
into articles, slabs, or forms, according to the purposes desired, and in like
manner to the like treatment of natural marbles.
Secondly, our Invention relates to a mode of mixing emery grit or powder
with a certain cement, which, when consolidated, may be called an artifical
stone suitable for grinding.
Thirdly, our Invention relates to a mode of producing ornamental articles
and surfaces from cements and earths alone, or combined with other materials
according to the Berlin or Vienna patterns and designs.
Fourthly, our Invention relates to a mode of producing ornamental articles
and designs from cements alone, or combined with other materials similar to
arabesque designs.
And, fifthly, our Invention relates to a method of producing ornamental forms
and designs in terra cotta, baked clay, or any of the mixtures usually employed
in the manufacture of pottery either alone for architectural purposes or com-
bined with cementitious substances for inlaid pavements, slabs, &c. This
method consists in the employment of metallic moulds or forms of the required
pattern, which by means of a press to which they are affixed are suddenly
forced down upon the surface of the clay to be stamped, and are as quickly
withdrawn, by which means the clay is powerfully compressed into the
required form, the moisture it contains is more equally diffused, and it is
capable of being used in a much drier state than usual, so that the contraction
which such clay undergoes in drying is much lessened, its substance is made
more uniform, and it becomes less liable to warp and crack either in drying or
burning.
1

page_text: Having thus gradually pointed out the nature of our Invention, we will
proceed to explain the process we pursue for carrying the same into effect.
The kind of cement we prefer to use according to the first part of our
Invention, is a cement known by the name of Greenwood and Keene's Patent
Cement, which will alone make an artificial white marble; and when colored
marbles are desired to be produced, we take such cement in powder and
irrigate it with an aqueous solution or extract, either hot or cold, of any of the
dyewoods, or drugs, or coloring materials well known in the art of dyeing,
according to the color desired; or for some colors we mix with the cements
at the same time or before the irrigation, brown umber, red or yellow ochre,
or any of the pigments suitable for the purpose, and to mix these properly
into one uniform substance before it is compressed, and the means of pressing
we have found the best we will now describe, which will be easily understood..
by reference to the Drawing, No. 1, and the letters marked thereon.
A is a barrel with a shaft having arms working through the centre similar
to a pug mill, the arms and shaft receiving motion by the strap and
pulley B, which may be contrived by the band shifting off and on to
reverse riggers and shafts C, C, which are the driving shafts, that it shall take
any number of revolutions backwards or forwards according to the will of the
workman; the cements, or earths, or coloring matters, when pigments are used,
are to be put in the barrel and irrigated by turning a cock, which will let in the
liquor from any barrel it may be attached to, as at E. We prefer to have six
barrels, each barrel holding a primitive liquid, color, or dye, and a larger one
holding pure water (for the purpose of regulating the admixtures and washing
the mill and the rollers after they have been used) with a pipe and a cock from
each one, in order that we may mix any color, or by mixing any two or more
together we can make the mass of any degree of shade or color we please.
When sufficiently mixed, and of the substance of dough, the door at F is opened,
and thus letting the contents fall by degrees on the slope guide to the top,
and between a pair of rollers, as at G. The surface of these rollers may be
made by pinions or otherwise to revolve, so that one travels a little faster than
the other, which will give a grinding as well as a crushing motion. There is a
groove in each end of the rollers which receives a guard for preventing the
cement from spreading over the ends; the rollers in their revolution may carry
a portion of the cement round and round equal to the thickness they are set
apart (which should be about one-sixteenth of an inch more or less, until
sufficiently ground; the operative will then apply a straight-edge scraper to the
under side of the rollers, which will scrape off the cement as it is ground,
letting it fall into the box or mould H, and when filled, the mould H is to be

page_text: removed to an hydraulic press I, (other powerful presses may do, but we prefer
the hydraulic press) having a ram attached to its head exactly fitting inside.
The box or mould H being set on the bed of the press exactly under the ram,
the press is then worked by pumps in the usual way, lifting the mould full
of cement up to the ram; this mould and the bottom of the ram should be
perforated full of small holes, or be lined inside with a perforated plate of zinc,
or other suitable metal about a quarter of an inch thick, chased at the back in
order to let out the superabundant waters which it gives out on receiving pres-
sure. There is a false or loose bottom to the mould laying on a lip or rim inside
the bottom edge thereof; before filling the mould the perforated plates are put
in round the sides, and on the bottom and over them a lining of calico or canvas
to keep the cement from entering the perforations of the plates, and the
plates from adhering thereto. We let the contents of the mould remain under
pressure about one hour; it is then firmly set, and may be removed or forced
out of the mould, and is then in a condition to be used and cut up into slabs or
worked into articles for various useful purposes. We would remark that we are
aware that various articles of different cements have been moulded by pressure,
we do not, therefore, claint the employment of pressure for moulding articles
of cement, our Invention relating to the retaining the cement block or
articles under a continued pressure for a considerable space of time in place of
delivering the block or article produced immediately on the shape being
obtained as has been the case when moulding by pressure, the result of such
process, when according to our Invention, being a new character of manu-
facture from such cements to what would be produced by the simple act of
moulding by a like degree of pressure, if delivered immediately from the
mould in place of allowing the moulded article to remain in the press subject
to the soaking or continued degrees of pressure during a length of time, when
by the result it would appear a different effect of the particles of matter takes
place by affinities than if released as soon as moulded, the blocks being formed
or cut, or sculptured; we then lay them in water or in a damp place for a few
hours, which very much improves their surface. The making different grained,
veined, or spotted fabrics in imitation of marble, siania scagliola, &c., will depend
on the taste, skill, and judgment of the workman, for they may easily be made
by filling the mould with lumps and slices of different colors. The grinding and
crushing rollers above described may be made of hard wood, stone, or metal,
and we prefer them to a pair of mill or levigating stones.
We would here remark, that we sometimes fill the mould with the cement
before it has been irrigated. The mould being perforated or porous, and set
in an outer case when pressed, we fill the case with an aluminous liquid, or

page_text: with the liquid from any barrel in the color room, letting it remain under
pressure until well saturated, which it will do by absorption, or it may be
forced in by force pumps, which are well understood. And we would further.
remark, that we do not confine ourselves to any particular form of mould H;
but for purposes where the blocks or articles are to be afterwards cut or
shaped, we prefer the square shape as above explained.
In carrying out the second part of our Invention, we take the before-men-
tioned Greenwood and Keene's cement, and mix with it a portion of emery grit,
or powder, or cutting sand, equal to one-third or more, and then consolidate it
by pressure, in suitable moulds, or by letting it lay in the mould long enough to
consolidate itself in shapes like unto stones, rubstones, or round, as grinding or
millstones.
In carrying out the third part of our Invention, we would remark, that we do
not confine ourselves to Greenwood and Keene's cement, but that we take that
or any other cement or substance suitable for our purpose in a solid form, or
that may be consolidated and coloured, or stained of various colours, and cut or
form it into plates or veneers; we then subdivide it again into long strips, so
that the square of each strip shall correspond with the square of the other. We
can press or roll some of the compositions into plates or veneers, but prefer
pressing it into a solid body, and afterwards cutting it down into slabs and
strips, by any of the known means of cutting marble, wood, &c., which needs no
description as it is very essential in the beauty of the design, that every strip shall
be of an equal and exact size and square, so that when four or more are put
together they shall form a square or body of smaller squares laying in parallel
lines with each other, we pass each strip through a machine with a circular
cutter, which planes every one to the exact size, which may be easily under-
stood by reference to the Drawing Number 2; we then, take a pattern com-
posed of squares, like unto or the same as the Berlin or Vienna patterns for
embroidery, as example, Figure 2, and read off the first line; we then on a plane
surface or table, with two straight edges, standing up from the surface (a
brass surface, but any other surface. that the cement will not adhere to will do),
at parallel lines with each other, fixed at a distance to hold from a dozen to
thirty strips or more, compose the whole or a part of this line by cementing
with glue, or any suitable adhesive cement), two whites together, and then
adding two reds, then one white, then two black, then two white, then six
black, and so on, until the line is complete and according to the pattern
desired; and we then compose the second line in a similar manner, and so on,
line after line, until every line is finished. Having cemented the parts to each
other of the parts composing a line together, each line will be a plate or veneer,

page_text: and may then be levelled with a toothing plane, or any other levelling process.
The whole of the plates thus composed are then to be cemented and packed
one upon the other as the pattern will direct, and compressed in one solid
body. In a day or two the ends of the blocks may be levelled and a slice cut
off, and so on until the whole is cut up into slabs or veneers; afterwards each
slab or veneer may be added together and cemented on to a substratum, side by
side, forming a multiplied pattern of the same device, which may then be polished
or finished off, according to the means now used for finishing marble, scagliola,
and other articles according to their composition; for it must be understood,
that we sometimes use some of the plain or colored squares in marble, cement,
or other compositions, separately or combined together, as for instance, the
ground work may be in wood, and the design in stone or composition, and vice
versa; when the device is made with papier maché, paste or leather, it is
better then to cement a number of sheets together, each lamina of the color
desired, as in the first line of the example, Figure 2. We then make another
block for the second line, and so on for every different line. We then plane
or saw off a portion of the thickness required from each block, cementing them
together in one body, according to the design.
In carrying out the fourth part of our Invention, we take a series of per-
forated plates, each fitting in another, see Figure 3; and in order to describe
it in the most simple form from which a workman or artist may see that he
can produce any patterns with the same means, by cutting the plate in various
devices, we take a number of metal flat rings or circles, each fitting in another,
as Figure 3; the middle we leave open, say one inch diameter, the rings or
circles being all one in the other; we fill up the middle with cement or com-
position of any colour in a plastic form, and when it is set, we take out the first
ring and fill up the space with another coloured cement or composition. When
that is set, we take out the next ring and fill up the space in like manner, ring
after ring, filled up with any colour we please; these plates or rings should be
bevelled on their edges, fitting close on the top side that they may easily relieve
from each other. When the whole is filled up and properly set, it may be
levelled and faced in the usual way of polishing marble, scagliola, &c. And
we would remark, that we have above given the pattern compound mould as
consisting of circles in order to simplify the description; but it will be evident
that in like manner compound moulds for producing surfaces may be made
and capable of having separate parts removed to be filled up with cement,
leaving the other parts of the moulds to prevent the surfaces or parts where
they are placed being used or filled up with cement, till the required time.
We will now describe the fifth part of our Invention. In working accord-

page_text: ing to the fifth part of our Invention, the moulds for large work, such as
perforated balustrading, pannelling, &c., may be cast from patterns by the
usual methods, and the more fusible metals are sufficiently hard for the
purpose where the raised pattern is intended to be flat on its surface, and the
depressed parts filled up to the same level with cementitious substances. For
inlaid pavements, &c., a flat plate of metal, such as lead or zinc, may be taken
of the required depth of the depressed parts of the pattern which is to be
traced upon it and cut out as is practised in buhl cutting. The plate thus
prepared, is to be firmly fixed to a block of wood, which is then attached
to the under side of the upper plate of a press; and for this, fly presses worked
by balls are preferable. In order to succeed in thus stamping the clay, some
precautions are necessary. The clay should be previously prepared, either by
passing it under a roller, or in smaller works by hand labour, so as to produce
a tolerable even surface, which is to be lightly brushed over with some essen-
tial oil, such as turpentine, immediately before submitting it to the action of
the moulds in the press. In this manner the clay is prevented from adhering
to the moulds, and the most intricate patterns, and any required depth of relief
may be thus obtained.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, we would remark that
we do not claim any of the cements or matters herein spoken of, nor do
we claim any of the apparatus employed in any part of our Invention, but
what we claim is, first, the mode of obtaining blocks or articles of artificial
marble, by a continued or soaking pressure, as herein described.
Secondly, we claim the mode of making grinding surfaces, as above
described.
Thirdly, we claim the mode of producing ornamental surfaces, by combining
a series of cements or other materials in colours in patterns, in the manner of
Berlin or Vienna designs, and cutting blocks so produced into thin sheets or
slabs for surfaces, as above described.
Fourthly, we claim the mode of producing ornamental articles and designs
from cement alone, or combined with other materials, similar to arabesque
designs, as above described.
And, fifthly, we claim the mode of obtaining ornamental surfaces by means
of moulds and pressure, as above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Christopher Nickels and John Danforth
Greenwood, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Fourth day of
December, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
CHRISTOPHER
(L.S.) NICKELS.
JOHN DANFORTH (L.S.) GREENWOOD.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourth day of December, in the
year of our Lord 1889, the aforesaid Christopher Nickels and John Danforth
Greenwood, came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Inrolled the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.