IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COMBINATION OF MATERIALS FOR WATERPROOFING, AND SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COMBINATION OF MATERIALS
FOR WATERPROOFING, AND SIMILAR PURPOSES."-A communication from
Jonathan T. Trotter, of the City of New York, in the United States of
America.
Sealed the 3rd April 1855, and dated the 6th February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th February 1855.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COMBINATION OF
MATERIALS FOR WATERPROOFING, AND SIMILAR PURPOSES," a communication from
Jonathan T. Trotter, of the City of New York, in the United States of
America, to be as follows:-
In the processes of carrying out this Invention, six parts by measure of
lamp black, three parts of shellac, and four parts of gum elastic (cut up in
very fine pieces), of the cheaper kinds, such as comes from the East Indies,
are put into a suitable vessel and are thoroughly stirred together, and are then

page_text: transferred to a grinding mill, the rollers of which are heated; coal tar is
then added, either in its raw state, or free from the water, ammoniacal salt, and
other non-drying substances which it usually contains (but still containing all
its peculiar oils and acids), and to which litharge, and either the salts or oxides
of lead and zinc in combination with sulphurous and hyposulphurous acids,
have been added, adding as much of the tar as is found necessary to make
the whole compound readily worked. "One or more coats of this composition
are then spread on the surfaces of canvass, or other cloths or materials to be
treated, after which the goods are hung up in a stove room to dry, the article
wider than a single breadth of cloth, or of round or irregular forms, being
sewed or otherwise put together before stoveing, and at the end of 18 or 20
hours, or longer, the shellac and other resinous substances will be found to
have fused and combined together with the dryers, and the goods will have a
perfectly smooth and lustry surface, and will be soft and pliable, and free from
the offensive smell of the tar, it being neutralized by the driers and by the
aromatic odour of the fused shellac. If a very high gloss surface is required,
the goods before stoveing may be brushed over with a varnish made of boiling
linseed oil and spirits of turpentine, but without the addition of resin, gum
copal, or other similar substances, and if greater cheapness is required, chalk
or whiting may be partially substituted for the lamp black. The goods so
made are applicable to a variety of purposes, such as the manufacture of
tent floor cloths, tarpaulins for luggage vans, and coverings for military and
camp stores, &c.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Offico on
the 6th August 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry. Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others

page_text: as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE COMBINATION OF MATERIALS FOR WATERPROOFING, AND SIMILAR PURPOSES,"
a communication from Jonathan T. Trotter, of the City of New York, in the
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause 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 I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
The said Invention relates to certain improved combinations of materials
for waterproofing fabrics and other articles. In carrying out this Invention,
I put into a pot or other suitable vessel or receptacle six parts by measure of
lamp black, three parts of shellac, and four parts of india-rubber or gum
elastic, previously cut up into small pieces and freed from its dirt, sap, and other
impurities by the action of water, caustics, or other suitable means. The
cheaper kind of india-rubber, such as is imported from the East Indies, will
be found serviceable for this purpose. These several ingredients are then well
mixed together, after, which they are transferred to a grinding mill, somewhat
similar to an ordinary seed-crushing mill, the rollers of this mill being beated
by steam or otherwise. I then add coal tar, either in its raw state or freed
from its water, ammoniacal salts, and-other non-drying substances, but still
containing all its peculiar oils and acids, to which tar I have added litharge,
and the salts formed by the combination of lead or zinc with sulphurous or
hyposulphurous acid, in the proportion of about one measure of litharge
and one-measure of the said salt of lead or zinc to six or eight of the tar..
Instead of the salts of lead or zinc, any other chemical substance having
similar properties may be employed. This combination of- tar, shellac, india-
rubber, litharge, and preparations of zinc, lead, or other chemical substance
having similar properties, having been thoroughly well mixed and worked
together, is exposed for several days to a heat of about 130° Fahrenheit, being

page_text: frequently agitated or stirred during that time, adding as much of the tar
preparation as is found necessary to make the whole readily worked. Tho
following is my method of using this composition for waterproofing purposes:-
One or more coats of the composition are spread on the canvass, cloth, or
materials intended to be treated, after which the goods are hung up in a stove
room to dry for about eighteen or twenty hours, by which time the shellac and
other resinous substances will be found to have fused and combined with the
dryers, and the goods will have a perfectly dry, smooth, and lustrous surface,
and will be soft and pliable, and free from the disagreeable odour of tar, that
odour being neutraled by the dryers and by the aromatic odour of the fused
shellac. Such articles as are wider than a single breadth of cloth, and those
which are of a round or irregular form, may be sewed or otherwise attached
together previous to stoving. If a very high glossy surface be required, the
goods before stoving may be brushed over or coated with a varnish composed
of boiling linseed oil and spirits of turpentine, but without the addition of resin,
gum copal, or other similar substances, and if greater cheapness is required,
chalk or whiting may be partially substituted for the lamp black. If dark
brown or chocolate shades are required, a common spirit varnish may be used,
and the lamp black may be partially replaced by Spanish brown, or other
similarly colored pigment. This composition may be applied either with the
block or otherwise, as found most convenient. The goods so treated are
applicable to a variety of purposes, such as the manufacture of tent cloth, floor
cloths, tarpaulings, coverings for baggage waggons, luggago vans, military of
camp stores, and articles to be applied to similar purposes, such goods being
much more durable and pliable, and less liable to crack or flake off, than goods
treated with compositions of lamp black, ochre, litbarge, resin, and oils mado
drying by the addition of sulphate of zinc or lead, laid on with a brush and
dried at the ordinary temperature of the air.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which tho same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observo, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself.
to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from
the principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider to
bo novel and original; and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the application and use of gum shellac, gum elastic, or india-rubber
.and coal tar (prepared as herein-before described), combined and mixed together

page_text: in the manner herein-before described, for the production of a new and useful
waterproofing composition.
Second, the system or mode of applying the herein-before described water-
proofing composition to textile or other fabrics or materials, and the mode of
treating such fabrics or materials when so coated, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixth day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)