AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING IMPRESSIONS (IN COLORED ĠELATINE OR OTHER SOLUBLE MATERIAL) OBTAINED FROM METALLIC OR OTHER PLATES PRODUCED BY THE AID OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Bentley Woodbury, of Worcester Park, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman, and George Davies, of No. 1, Serle
Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
FINISHING IMPRESSIONS (IN COLORED ĠELATINE OR OTHER SOLUBLE MATERIAL)
OBTAINED FROM METALLIC OR OTHER PLATES PRODUCED BY THE AID OF
PHOTOGRAPHY."
Sealed the 9th July 1866, and dated the 12th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Bentley Woodbury
and George Davies at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 12th January 1866.
We, WALTER BENTLEY WOODBURY, of Worcester Park, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, and GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS
POR FINISHING IMPRESSIONS (IN COLORED GELATINE OR OTHER SOLUBLE MATERIAL)
OBTAINED FROM METALLIC OR OTHER PLATES PRODUCED BY THE AID OF PHOTOGRAPHY,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention is designed for the purpose of producing a clear white
margin with a sharply defined edge of any desired form upon impressions

page_text: (in gelatine or other soluble semi-transparent ink or composition) obtained
from metallic plates produced by the aid of photography, either according to
an Invention for which the said Walter Bentley Woodbury obtained Letters
Patent, dated 23rd September 1864, No. 2338, or in any other analogous
manner, the principal object of producing such white margin being for the
purpose of dispensing with the necessity for cutting out and mounting such
impressions upon a separate sheet of paper.
The Invention consists, firstly, in cutting or scraping off the superfluous
composition (gelatine and color) round the edges of the impressiou by means
of four cutters or scrapers arranged in a rectangular form in such a manner
that the area thereby enclosed can be diminished or increased at pleasure.
These cutters or scrapers are mounted in a frame and connected together by
levers and cranks (or their equivalent) in such a manner that one motion of
a handle or lever throws all the cutters or scrapers outwards simultaneously.
The apparatus (after being adjusted to the size and form required) is laid
upon the fresh impression whilst the gelatine is moist, and one motion of the
lever or handle causes the cutters or scrapers to lift up and remove the
superfluous composition round the edges of the impression, and thus produce
a clear white margin.
The Invention consists, secondly, in protecting that part of the impression
which is to form the picture, and then washing off the composition from the
edges or margin with warm water. The protecting of the picture whilst
the margin is washed off may be effected in a variety of ways; for instance,
the impression being laid on a slab with an india-rubber or other elastic
surface, a frame or plate of the size and form of the desired picture may be
laid over the impression and held firmly thereon by means of a spring, weight,
or other pressure whilst the margin is washed off with warm water by means
of a soft brush or sponge; or if an open frame with an aperture of the size and
form of the desired picture be laid over the impression and secured as above
named, a solution of alum or any other well-known chemical agent which
has the property of rendering gelatine insoluble may be poured therein, and
after having been allowed to remain a sufficient time to produce that effect
the solution is to be poured off, the frame removed, and the impression dried ;
the marginal portion which has not been acted upon by the chemical agent
may then be washed off with warm water; or an open frame or "mat"
being placed over the impression the central portion may be brushed over or
otherwise coated with a solution of india-rubber in benzole, or with some other
quickly drying varnish or solution which will render the gelatine impervious
to warni water.

page_text: Another way of producing pictures with clear margins is to take the
original impression upon glass prepared with a surface of wax or some other
material from which it can be easily removed when dry, and after scraping off
or otherwise removing the margin press a sheet of paper previously coated
with adhesive cement on to the impression, which will adhere to the paper and
may then be removed from the glass.
Our Invention consists, thirdly, in the construction and use of a press
whereby the impression may be taken on paper direct with a clear margin.
To the interior of the lid of the press is binged a "frisket" carrying an open
shallow dished frame of the exact form and size of the picture required, and
the mould is to be trimmed at the edges to the same form, but rather smaller
in size. When the lid of the frame is opened the sheet of paper is laid thereon
and the "frisket" closed, so that the edge of the shallow dished frame shall
press closely on the paper; the lid is then closed and the impression taken,
when it will be found that as the superfluous gelatine is squeezed out at the
edges instead of spreading over the margin of the paper it will be arrested by
the edge of the dished frame and pass down between it and the edge of the
metal or other mould.
It will be obvious that by either of these methods several subjects (or
repetitions of the same subject) may be printed at one time on the same
sheet of paper, which may thus contain several designs on one sheet, or it may
be cut into several smaller sheets each having one impression with a clear
margin all round.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Walter Bentley Woodbury and George Davies in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 12th July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WALTER
BENTLEY WOODBURY, of Worcester Park, in the County of Surrey, Gentle-
man, and GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Walter Bentley Woodbury and George Davies, Iler special
licence that we, the said Walter Bentley Woodbury and George Davies, our

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Walter
Bentley Woodbury and George Davies, our 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 "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING
IMPRESSIONS (IN COLORED GELATINE OR OTHER SOLUBLE MATERIAL) OBTAINED
FROM METALLIC OR OTHER PLATES PRODUCED BY THE AID OF PHOTOGRAPHY,"
upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Walter Bentley
Woodbury and George Davies, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
inent in writing under our, or one of our, 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
causo 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 we, the said Walter Bentley Woodbury and George
Davies, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement in writing and on reference to the
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, that is to say:-
This Invention is designed for the purpose of producing a clear white margin
with a sharply defined edge of any desired form upon impressions (in gelatine
or other soluble semi-transparent ink or composition) obtained from metallic
plates produced by the aid of photography, either according to an Invention
for which the said Walter Bentley Woodbury obtained Letters Patent, dated
Twenty-third September One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, No. 2338,
or in any other analogous manner, the principal object of producing such
white margin being for the purpose of dispensing with the necessity for
cutting out and mounting such impressions upon a separate sheet of paper.
The Invention consists, firstly, in cutting or scraping off the superfluous
composition (gelatine and color) round the edges of the impression by means
of four cutters or scrapers arranged in a rectangular form in such a manner
that the area thereby enclosed can be diminished or increased at pleasure.
These cutters or scrapers are mounted in a frame and connected together
by levers and cranks (or their equivalent) in such a manner that one motion
of a handle or lever throws all the cutters or scrapers outwards simultaneously.
The apparatus (after being adjusted to the size and form required) is laid

page_text: upon the fresh impression whilst the gelatine is moist, and one motion of the
lever or handle causes the cutters or scrapers to lift up and remove the
superfluous composition round the edges of the impression, and thus produce
a clear white margin.
The Invention consists, secondly, in protecting that part of the impression
which is to form the picture, and then washing off the composition from the
edges or margin with warm water. The protecting of the picture whilst the
margin is being washed off may be effected in a variety of ways; for instance,
the impression being laid on a slab with an indian-rubber or other elastic
surface, a frame or plate of metal or glass the size and form of the desired
picture may be laid over the impression and held firmly thereon by means
of a spring, weight, or other pressure whilst the margin is washed off with
warm water by means of a soft brush or sponge; or if an open frame with
an aperture of the size and form of the desired picture be laid over the
impression and secured as above named, a solution of alum (or any other
well-known chemical agent which has the property of rendering gelatine
insoluble) may be poured therein, and after having been allowed to remain a
sufficient time to produce that effect, the solution is to be poured off, the
frame removed, and the impression dried; the marginal portion which has
not been acted upon the chemical agent may then be washed off with
warm water; or an open frame or "mat" being placed over the impression,
the central portion may be brushed over or otherwise coated with a solution
of india-rubber in benzole, or with some other quickly drying varnish or
solution which will render the gelatine impervious to warm water.
Another way of producing pictures with clear margins is to take the original
impression upon glass prepared with a surface of wax or some other material
from which it can be easily removed when dry, and after scraping off or
otherwise removing the margin press a sheet of paper previously coated with
adhesive cement on to the impression, which will adhere to the paper and
may then be removed from the glass.
Our Invention consists, thirdly, in the construction and use of a press,
whereby the impression may be taken on paper direct with a clear margin,
so as to dispense with the necessity for scraping or washing off the margin.
To the interior of the lid of the press is hinged a "frisket" carrying an open
shallow dished frame of the exact form and size of the picture required, and
the mould is to be trimmed at the edges to the same form, but rather smaller
in size. When the lid of the frame is opened the sheet of paper is laid
thereon and the "frisket" closed, so that the edge of the shallow dished
frame shall press closely on the paper; the lid of the press is then closed

page_text: and the impression taken, when it will be found that as the superfluous
gelatine is squeezed out at the edges instead of spreading over the margin of
the paper it will be arrested by the edge of the dished frame and will pass
down between it and the edge of the metal or other mould.
It will be obvious that by either of these methods several subjects (or
repetitions of the same subject) may be printed at one time on the same
sheet of paper, which may thus contain several designs on one sheet, or it
may be cut into several smaller sheets each having one impression with a
clear margin all round.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for "An Improved
Method of and Apparatus for Finishing Impressions (in Colored Gelatine or
other Soluble Material) obtained from Metallic or other Plates produced by the
aid of Photography," we will now proceed to describe more in detail the
manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, and in order that the same may be distinctly understood we
have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with
those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 is a diagrani showing the rectangular
arrangement of the cutters or scrapers according to the first part of our
Invention. It will be seen on referring to this Figure that the cutters or
scrapers a, a, are arranged in such a manner that the area thereby enclosed
may be diminished or increased at pleasure. These cutters or scrapers (as
before described) are to be mounted in a frame and connected together by a
lever and cranks (or otherwise) in such a manner that by one movement of a
lever the cutters or scrapers a, a, will be simultaneously moved outwards into
the position shown in dotted lines, at the same time that they are slightly
raised from the paper, and thus cut, lift up, and remove the superfluous com-
position round the edges of the impression so as to leave a clear white margin.
The second part of our Invention, or that which relates to the protection
of that part of the impression which is to form the picture and the washing
off of the composition from the margin or unprotected part, is fully described
above, and is so simple as to require no further illustration.
The third part of our Invention is illustrated at Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
in the Drawing; Figure 2 shows an end view of the press closed as when
taking the impression; Figure 3 is a side view of the same partly opened;
Figure 4 is a plan view of the press opened with the paper in its.position
between the "frisket " and the lid, and all ready to take an impression; Figure 5
is a section of the press in the act of being closed, and Figure 6 is a similar

page_text: view of the same with the lid only opened and the impression ready to be
removed from the press.
a, a, is the lid of the press; b, b, the "frisket ;" and c, c, the body of the
press. The interior of the lid is fitted with a fixed piece of plate glass d, d,
and the body of the press is fitted with a plate glass bed e, e.
Metal may of
course be used instead of plate glass, but we prefer the latter. The plate or
mould ff, from which the impression is to be taken is supported on a block
9, 9, placed in the centre of the bed, a piece (or pieces) of india-rubber h, h,
being placed between the block 9, 9, and the back of the plate or mould.
The bed e, e, is adjustable by means of the four screws i, i, so as to set the
surface of the plate or mould f, f, exactly true with the surface of the plate
glass d, d, in the lid; pieces of india-rubber k, k, being placed between the
ends of the screws and the bed.
The "frisket "b, b, is provided with a moveable frame
carrying the
dished plate or frame m, m, of thin metal. This frame is constantly pressed
upwards towards the inside of the lid by springs n, n, (see Figure 6), but
may be pressed downwards (for a purpose hereafter described) by means of
two projections o, o, passing out through the sides.
.
This press is used as follows:-The lid a, a, is first oponed as shown at
Figure 6, and the piece of paper to be printed on (shown in red) is laid on
the plate glass d, d; the "frisket" b, b, is then brought over into the position
seen in Figure 4 and fixed to the lid by the two small hooks p, p, the pressure
of the springs n, n, keeping the edge of the dished plate m, m, firmly pressed
against the surface of the paper. The plate or mould f,f, having been
previously accurately adjusted, a portion of gelatine and color (kept liquid by
warmth) is now poured on the centre of the plate, as shown by the brown
color and the lid is then closed, as shown at Figure 5, and fixed by closing the
hook q, q, on to the knob r (see Figure 1); the under side of the hook q, q, is
formed so as to have a slight drawing effect on the lid, and thus the requisito
pressure is given. As the superfluous gelatine flows over the edges of the mould
ff, instead of spreading over the margin of the paper, it is arrested by the edge
of the dished plate m, m, and passes down between it and the edges of the
mould f, f, as shown at Figure 6, leaving the margin of the paper quite clean.
The dished frame is then pressed down by means of the projections o, o, into
the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 6 (which will have the effect of
separating the superfluous gelatine from that forming the picture), and fixed
in that position by the hooks s, s, (see Figure 3). The lid of the press is now
opened as in Figure 6, and the impression (shown by the red line) may be

page_text: raised from the mould by taking hold of one corner of the margin. The
operation is then repeated as before.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention for "An
Improved Method of and Apparatus for Finishing Impressions (in Colored
Gelatine or other, Soluble Material) obtained from Metallic or other Plates
produced by the aid of Photography," together with the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; we would
remark in conclusion that we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly, the employment of cutters or scrapers arranged and operating
substantially as described with reference to Figure 1.
Secondly, we claim the various methods herein described of washing the
superfluous gelatine off the margin without injuring the picture:
Thirdly, we claim the printing of impressions direct with clear margins by.
means of a dished plate or frame, the edge of which arrests the flow of gelatine
and color, substantially as above described.
And, fourthly, we claim the general construction and arrangement of press
for this purpose as shown in the Drawings and above described, or any mere
modification or imitation thereof constructed and operating in substantially
the same or a similar manner.
In witness whereof; I, the said George Davies (on behalf of the said
Walter Bentley Woodbury and on my own behalf), have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)