IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL COLORS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROCKE, of Princes End, in the County of Stafford, Mechanic and Engineer,
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 Third day of September, in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Rocke, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said William Rocke, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Rocke, my exors, admors, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL COLORS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said William
Rocke, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Rocke, do hereby declare that the nature of my 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, that is to say:-
The mode of treating these
as follows:-To make a good
new mine ironstone, the poor
My Invention relates to the manufacture of mineral colors from certain
minerals not hitherto employed in the manufacture of mineral colors. The
minerals which I employ are known by the name of the new mine ironstone,
the poor robin, the rock mine, the bindes. These minerals may be readily
obtained from different parts of England.
minerals in order to render them fit for use is
stone color, I take a quantity of either of the
robin, the rock mines, the bindes, and pound and grind it well up by any
of the ordinary well-known means of grinding minerals, so as to reduce it
to a fine powder, it is then to be passed through sieves, and the finer parts of
it will then be in a fit state to be mixed with oils, according to the ordinary
mode of mixing colors.
Another mode of preparing the minerals is, after they are ground to put
them into water for a short time, and afterwards to draw off the water into
another vessel and allow it to settle, when the minerals will be deposited
at the bottom of the vessel, & when dried will be fit for use, as before
described. To obtain the darker colors, such as black, brown, humber, and
reds, I take a quantity of any one of the above-named minerals and place it
in an oven or furnace or any convenient place, and apply a slow regular heat,
and calcine it until it assumes the color required. The colors will be given
according to the intensity of heat applied. Thus, a slight heat will give it
a blackish color, a greater heat will give a brown, and when the greatest heat
is applied the color will be humber, ocre, and red. It is to be taken out of
the furnace and reduced to a powder; as before described. A workman by
a little practice will readily be enabled to ascertain the quantity of heat
required to produce the desired color. I would observe that the greater the
depth from whence the mineral is taken out of the mine so will be the greater
heat required. The minerals which I use to obtain a good black color are
those which are known by the name of the black clunch, the black sliper, and
the black cannock. These minerals are commonly called "bat." I take any
one of these minerals and reduce it to a powder, in the manner before described,
when explaining the mode of making a stone color.
Another part of the Invention is a mode of preparing a white color, which
may be advantageously used as a body for other colors, such as yellows,
greens, and blues, and many others, and it is done in the following manner :-

page_text: I take a quantity of either the cannock, clunch, black sliper, or coal, and
calcin it to a white ash; when cold it should be well sifted through suitable
sieves, when it will be fit for use.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the mode herein described of preparing the minerals for the manufacture
of colors, so long as all or any of these minerals be used; but what I claim is,
manufacturing mineral colors from the minerals known by the name of the
new iron stone, poor robin, rock mine, and bindes, and also from the
minerals called the black clunch, black sliper, and black cannock, as above.
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Rocke, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our
WILLIAM (L.S.) ROCKE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid William Rocke came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three.