CERTAIN IMPROVED PROCESSES TO BE USED IN THE PRINTING, DYEING, OR COLOUR- ING OF COTTON, WOOLLEN, SILK, OR OTHER CLOTHS AND YARNS
Year: 1839

page_text: MERCER, PRINCE, AND BLYTHES SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
MERCER, of Oakenshaw, in the County of Lancaster, Calico Printer and
Chemist, JOHN DYNELEY PRINCE the younger, of Manchester, in the said
County, Calico Printer, and WILLIAM BLYTHE, of Church, in the said County,
Manufacturing Chemist, 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 First day of August, in the third year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said John
Mercer, John Dyneley Prince the younger, and William Blythe, Her especial
license, that we, the said John Mercer, John Dyneley Prince the younger,
and William Blythe, our exors, adiiors, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said John Mercer, John Dyneley Prince the younger, and William
Blythe, our exors, adññors, 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, our Invention of
" CERTAIN IMPROVED PROCESSES TO BE USED IN THE PRINTING, DYEING, OR COLOUR-
ING OF COTTON, WOOLLEN, SILK, OR OTHER CLOTHS AND YARNS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging us, or one of us, the said John
Mercer, John Dyneley Prince the younger, and William Blythe, by an instru-
ment in writing under our or one of our hands and seals, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six. calendar months next

page_text: and immediately after the date of the suid 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
John Mercer, John Dyneley Prince the younger, and William Blythe, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention to consist, first, in the use
of arseniates or phosphates, together with glue, size, or jelly; or gelatine from
bones, or linseed meal, as substitutes for cowdung in what is usually called the
dunging process; secondly, the use of baths of arseniates or phosphates dis-
solved in water, to pass certain kinds of printed goods through, instead of the
ordinary baths of chalk or lime, or weak carbonated alkalies; and, thirdly,
the use of arseniates and phosphates, mixed with iron and aluminous mor-
daunts, previous to their being applied to goods. And in further compliance
with the said proviso, we, the said John Mercer, John Dyneley Prince the
younger, and William Blythe, do hereby describe the manner in which our
said Invention is to be performed by the following statement (that is to
say):
First process, applicable to silk or cotton goods, a substitute for what is
commonly called dunging. The picces, after being printed with different
strenghts of what is commonly called iron liquor or pyrolignate of iron, and
different strengths of what is commonly called red liquor, or sulpho-acetate of
alumina, each thickened with flour, starch, or some kind of gum in the usual way,
are aged or exposed to the air; as usual, for a few days, less or more, according
to the kind of mordaunts they are printed with, or the condition or state of the
atmosphere when they have have been properly aged. We put 6 gallons of
phosphate of soda prepared from bones, each imperial gallon weighing 10 lbs.,
into a cistern containing 600 gallons of water, and furnished with a series of
rollers in the usual way, and having the liquor nearly boiling. The pieces are
passed through at such a speed that every part of each piece may be in 30
seconds, and the pieces to go through at the rate of 30 yards in a minute; we
then wash the pieces, and rince them in a separate vessel from 15 to 30 minutes,
charged with 300 gallons water, 1 gallon phosphate of soda, weighing 10
lbs., and 2 quarts of size from bones, weighing 11 lbs. the imperial gallon, and
kept nearly boiling, when the superficial mordaunt and starch, or other
thickening, is removed, the pieces are washed, and are then ready for dyeing";
we renew the first or 600 gallon cistern with one gallon phosphate of soda to
every 50 pieces, and the second or 300 gallon cistern with one quart phosphate
and 1 pint of size for every 50 pieces, and in this way we go on renewing until
we have done from 1,500 to 3,000 pieces light work, and 1,000 pieces heavy
work, before we employ the cisterns and set them afresh.

page_text: Second process, applicable also to silk and cotton goods for steam, chemical,
or topical colours.-We employ a cistern holding two hundred gallons,
to which, when full of water, we add 1 lb. of pyroarseniate of soda; it is heated
nearly boiling hot, and the pieces run through, so that ten yards will be in the:
liquor at once, and the cloth to pass through at the rate of 30 yards per
minute ; we replenish with 8 ounces of pyroarseniate of soda for every 100:
pieces we continue doing so till 500 or 800 pieces are run through, we then:
run off and set afresh.
.
Third process, for wool or wollen dyeing.-We add 2 lbs. of pyroarseniate'
of soda to 200 gallons water, and 8 oz. sulphuric acid, with the logwood or:
other dyeing material, and enter the mordaunted cloth and rince it till the
desired shade is obtained.
Fourth process, applicable to silk and cotton goods, mixing arseniates and
phosphates with iron and aluminous mordaunts, previous to those mordaunts
being applied to the cloth.-To use arseniates and phosphates in this way,
arsenic acid, pyroarsenic acid, or metaarsenic acid, or their salts, also phos--
phoric acid, pyrosphoric acid, or metaphosphoric acid, or any other of their.
salts, are added or mixed with the salt of iron or alumina, and as much of
any of the strong acids, such as sulphuric, muriatic, or nitric acids, as will
be sufficient to render the whole soluble; this mixture, when thickened and.
printed on cotton, linen, or silk, and then cleared off, produces very fine colours
when died on those parts which have received the mixture. To produce a
purple mordaunt, we prefer the following process:-Three ounces of sulphate
of iron are dissolved in one quart of water, and two and a quarter ounces of
bui-arseniate of soda in another quart of water, these two are mixed together,
and one and a half ounce nitric acid, sp. gn. 1-300, this mixture is then added
to two gallons of solution of British gum, of from 5 to 6 pounds to the gallon].
We do not, however, confine ourselves to any particular salt of iron, or to any
particular phosphate or arseniate, or to any particular strength of acid, nor to
the above proportions, other proportions may be used. We claim the mix-
ture of phosphoric or arsenic acids with a salt of iron or alumina before the
application of these salts to cloth. To produce a red mordaunt, we prefer.
the following process:-We take one gallon of nitrate of alumina, sp. gr. 1.150,.
and one gallon of red liquor (sulphoacetate of alumina), sp. gr. 1.100, which
we thicken with 9 lbs. of British gum; we then take two pounds of biu-
arseniate of soda, and dissolve this in two gallons water, and thicken also with
nine pounds of British gum; we then mix both these together, and if the mor-
daunt be.intended.for fine machine patterns, we add a little (say, from five to ten
ounces measure, of nitric acid, sp. gr. 1-300; we do not, however, in this con-

page_text: fine ourselves to any particular salt or solution of alumina, or to any particular
kind of phosphate or arseniate or strong acid, nor to these proportions; but
what we claim the sole use of is the union of phosphoric or arsenic acid in any
state with the salts of alumina or iron.
Now, whereas having discovered, first, that the arseniates or phosphates, glue,
size, or jelly, or gelantine from bones and linseed meal, may be used with great
success as substitutes for cowdung in the arts of calico, linen, or silk printing,
any of these will answer to a considerable extent, and some of them completely,
but they answer best when mixed together. The salts of arsenic or phosphoric
acid act most effectually in taking up the loosened mordaunts, and the glue, size,
or mucilage of linseed meal in giving a suppleness or slipperiness to the water
in the process of dunging, and these two properties, when both acting together,
give the best results.
Secondly, that arsenic acid or phosphoric acid salts dissolved in water act
beautifully to pass cotton, linen, or silk pieces through which have been
printed with what are technically called chemical spirit, steam, wash off, or
proto-substantive colours, that is, where the mordaunt and colouring matter are
mixed together, and applied at once to the cloth, being then passed through a
bath containing a phosphate or arseniate; the colours and whites are much
superior to those produced by any of the old methods of having chalk or lime
or weak carbonated alkalies in the bath. The phosphates or arseniates pre-
vent the mordaunts from leaving the cloth, and the colouring matters also
remain combined with the mordaunt, thereby forming a firmer, and in every
way superior colour, and the whites much more delicately white.
Thirdly, that arsenic acid, or phosphoric acid, arseniates or phosphates,
possess the property of retarding the too eager and rapid fixing or dyeing pro-
perty of some dyeing materials to the mordaunted wool or woollen in woollen
dyeing; when a little of these substances are added to the bath, the shades of
colours are more soft, even, and delicate. We do not confine ourselves,-
First, in the substitutes for cowdung to phosphate of soda, any phosphate will
answer, such as phosphate of potash, phosphate of ammonia, or phosphate of
lithia, and also the phosphates that are barely soluble in water, such as phos-
phate of lime, phosphate of magnesia, phosphate of manganese, phosphate of
zinc, &c. Nor do we,―
Secondly, confine ourselves to any of the arseniates, any of the soluble
arseniates will answer; and also the arseniates are barely soluble, such as
arseniate of lime, arseniate of magnesia, arseniate of manganese, arseniate of
zinc, &c.; but we prefer the arseniate and phosphate of soda. Nor do we,-
Thirdly, confine ourselves to size from bones mixed with phosphate or arseniate

page_text: of soda, for size from any other part of animals will answer, also glue, and the
mucilage of linseed meal; but seeing that we obtain both the size and
phosphate of soda from bones, we prefer these two mixed together, and they
produce the best work. Nor do we,-
Fourthly, confine ourselves to the use of pyroarsenic or pyrophosphate of
soda, for topical steam or chemical colours, all the other arseniates and
phosphates also will answer. But whereas we claim as our Invention,-
First, the sole use of the various acids of arsenic, and all the salts which
these acids form with bases, whether neutral salts, supersalts, or subsalts,
whether soluble in water, or only very little soluble in water, or whether
they are in the state of arseniates, pyroarseniates, or metaarseniates, for the
purposes of the processes herein-before described.
Secondly, we claim the sole use of phosphoric acid and all the phosphates
which form corresponding acids and salts, with arsenic acid, and arseniates,
such as phosphoric acid, pyrophosphoric acid, and metaphosphoric acid, phos-
phates, pyrophosphates, and metaphosphates, whether neutral salts, supersalts,
or subsalts, for the purposes of the processes herein-before described.
Thirdly, we claim the sole use of bones, both the phosphate of lime part, and
the gelatinous part, for the purposes of the processes herein-before described.
Fourthly, we claim also the sole use of glue and the mucilage contained in
linseed or linseed meal, for the purposes of the processes herein-before
described, all which processes, when carried on by means of the substances or
materials respectively applicable to each, as herein-before described, constitute
our certain improved processes as in the title of our said Invention set forth.
And such our Invention being to the best of our knowledge and belief, entirely
new and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her said Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, we do hereby declare this to be
our Specification of the same, and that we do verily believe this our said
Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or disguise
with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
contained, wherefore we hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege
to our said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Blythe, one of the Patentees,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of January,
One thousand eight hundred and forty.
WILLIAM (1.s.) BLYTHE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the, Twenty-fifth day of January, in
the year of Lord 1840, the aforesaid William Blythe 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.
Inrolled the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty.