IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF EMBOSSED FLOCK PAPER HANGINGS FOR WALL AND CEILING DECORATION
Year: 1877

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Aumonier, of Beaumont Street, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH THE
MANUFACTURE OF EMBOSSED FLOCK PAPER HANGINGS FOR WALL AND CEILING
DECORATION."
Sealed the 20th October 1877, and dated the 25th April 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Aumonier at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th April 1877.
FREDERIC AUMONIER, of Beaumont Street, in the County of Middlesex.
PROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF EMBOSSED FLOCK
PAPER HANGINGS FOR WALL AND CEILING DECORATION."
"IM-
In the preparation of flock papers used as paper hangings and made by the usual
process the flock is caused to adhere in a very thin layer upon the surface of the
paper, the design or pattern in flock being but little raised above the general level
of the paper or ground upon which it is printed. The general form and configuration
of a design being thus produced in flock, the slightly-raised pattern or design of the
flocked part is then stamped or impressed by means of rollers, or by blocks or
plates, to give a device or enrichment upon the flocked portions themselves, and the
process of squeezing or pressing the said slightly raised surface of flock with the
roller, plate, or block used to emboss the device upon it so materially depresses the
said slightly raised flock surface as to nearly reduce it to the level of the surrounding
parts, producing a faint and unsatisfactory appearance when the paper is pasted on
the wall. Now by my Invention I build up or increase the thickness of the flock
until the whole of the design stands out in high relief upon the surface of the paper,
and I then stamp, emboss, or impress with suitable devices or enrichments the
flocked or raised portions of the design, to the full extent of the depth or thickness
of the said raised flock surface, in such a way as to give great prominence and
importance to the design when pasted on the wall, and I ornament the said raised
flock portions with lines, devices, designs, or enrichments of various kinds, so that
the whole of it still remains in relief above the level of the ground on which it is
printed, and I thereby produce a beautifully modelled surface permanently raised
[Price 4dl

page_text: above the surrounding parts, with a rich and brilliant effect of light and shade, such
as has never hitherto been seen.
This Invention is applicable to raised flock papers of every kind and depth of
colour, and such papers may now be produced with an elaborately ornamented and
finely modelled surface, finished in the piece or roll to any required tone or variety
of tint, with or without gold, ready for hanging, thus obviating the necessity for
painting and gilding by hand after the papers are pasted on the wall, a costly and
difficult process essential to the employment of many high class flock papers as at
present manufactured.
The machinery appliances and materials hitherto used in the manufacture of flock
papers by the old process can be, with some modifications, still retained without
injurious effects for my Invention, so far as the production of the raised pattern of
flock is concerned, but the said raised pattern or surface of flock will require to be
treated with properly prepared dies to produce the richly modelled surface I obtain
by my Invention, and will no longer be left of one uniform and monotonous plane,
as heretofore.
The "modifications" of machinery, appliances, and materials used for this In-
vention are as follows:-
First. With regard to the engraved wooden blocks used to produce the first
impression, giving the form of the required design. These blocks by which the
mordant or flocking size used to fix the flock upon the paper is printed upon the
same will require to be made somewhat different in size to those usually employed
for the ordinary flock papers, and the thickness of the lines and the general form
and shape of the pattern or design will have to be made of properly proportioned
substance, to allow for the spreading out or distension of the design during the
process of the first printing and the subsequent process of embossing.
Secondly. With regard to the mordant or flocking size used to fix the first layer
of flock upon the paper and the subsequent layers of flock one upon the other.
The proportions of the different ingredients, such as linseed oil, both raw and
boiled, white lead, and the like, in this preparation will require to be varied with
great nicety and discrimination, in order to make that used for the first printing
sufficiently tenacious to bear the subsequent printings and flockings without
loosening its hold upon the paper, and to make the subsequent printings hold to
the first and to one another, and to give to the whole muss sufficient strength,
coherence, and elasticity to enable it to bear the final process of embossing without
becoming disintegrated or destroyed.
Thirdly. With regard to the embossing process in embossed flock papers made by
the old process. The flock was pressed or embossed by means of a cold block, while
the mordant remained moist, and there was always great danger of blurring or
smearing the design. By my process I emboss the flock after the mordant is quite
dry and hard, so that all risk of damage by rough handling is avoided, by means of
metal dies heated by an arrangement of gas jets, and I apply the pressure gradually,
and vary the duration and force of the same according to the nature of the pattern
or design, in such a way as to produce the required effect of modelling upon the
surface and within the substance of the flock without destroying the same, or
causing it to become loose from the paper, and to ensure the perfect equality and
success of this operation a pressure gauge or register will require to be attached to
the embossing press.
The designs or devices produced in relief upon the paper by my Invention, as
above described, are of a permanent character, and cannot be obliterated, injured,
or destroyed by careless rubbing or pressure, nor can their good effect be nullified or
deteriorated by injudicious or successive soaking with paste or water during the
process of hanging, as they are raised above the level of the paper in a solid
material, in which respect they offer an immense advantage over all other embossed
papers ever hitherto produced.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederic Aumonier in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd October
1877.
FREDERIC AUMONIER, of Beaumont Street, in the County of Middlesex.
" IM-
PROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF EMBOSSED FLOCK
PAPER HANGINGS FOR WALL AND CEILING DECORATION."
In the preparation of flock papers used as paper hangings and made by the usual
process the flock is caused to adhere in a very thin layer upon the surface of the
paper, the design or pattern in flock being but little raised above the general level
of the paper or ground upon which it is printed. The general form or configuration
of a design being thus produced in flock, the slightly raised pattern or design of the
flocked part is then stamped or impressed by means of rollers, or by blocks or
plates, to give a device or enrichment upon the flocked portions themselves, and the
process of squeezing or pressing the said slightly raised surface of flock with the
roller, plate, or block used to emboss the device upon it so materially depresses the
said slightly raised flock surface as to nearly reduce it to the level of the surrounding
parts, producing a faint and unsatisfactory appearance when the paper is pasted on
the wall. Now by my Invention I build up or increase the thickness of the flock
until the whole of the design stands out in high relief upon the surface of the paper,
and I then stamp, emboss, or impress with suitable devices or enrichments the
flocked or raised portions of the design, to the full extent of the depth or thickness
of the said raised flock surface, in such a way as to give great prominence and
importance to the design when pasted on the wall, and I ornament the said raised
flock portions with lines, devices, designs, or enrichments of various kinds, so that
the whole of it still remains in relief above the level of the ground on which it is
printed, and I thereby produce a beautifully modelled surface permanently raised
above the surrounding parts, with a rich and brilliant effect of light and shade, such
as has never hitherto been seen.
This Invention is applicable to raised flock papers of every kind and depth of
colour, and such papers may now be produced with an elaborately ornamented and
finely modelled surface, finished in the piece or roll to any required tone or variety
of tint, with or without gold, ready for hanging, thus obviating the necessity for
painting and gilding by hand after the papers are pasted on the wall, a costly and
difficult process essential to the employment of many bigh class flock papers as at
present manufactured.
The machinery, appliances, and materials hitherto used in the manufacture of flock
papers by the old process can be, with some modifications, still retained without
injurious effects for my Invention, so far as the production of the raised pattern of
flock is concerned, but the said raised pattern or surface of flock will require to be
treated with properly prepared dies to produce the richly modelled surface I obtain
by my Invention, and will no longer be left of one uniform and monotonous plane,
as heretofore.
The "modifications" of machinery, appliances, and materials used for this Invention
are as follows:-
First. With regard to the engraved wooden blocks used to produce the first
impression, giving the form of the required design. These blocks by which the
mordant or flocking size used to fix the flock upon the paper is printed upon the
same will require to be made somewhat different in size to those usually employed
for the ordinary flock papers, and the thickness of the lines and the general form
and shape of the pattern or design will have to be made of properly proportioned
substance, to allow for the spreading out or distension of the design during the
process of the first printing and the subsequent process of embossing.
Second. With regard to the mordant or flocking size used to fix the first layer of
flock upon the paper and the subsequent layers of flock one upon the other. The
proportions of the different ingredients, such as linseed oil, both raw and boiled,

page_text: white lead, and the like in this preparation will require to be varied with great
nicety and discrimination, in order to make that used for the first printing sufficiently
tenacious to bear the subsequent printings and flockings without loosening its hold
upon the paper, and to make the subsequent printings hold to the first and to one
another, and to give to the whole mass sufficient strength, coherence, and elasticity
to enable it to bear the final process of embossing without becoming disintegrated
or destroyed.
Third. With regard to the embossing process. In embossed flock papers made by
the old process the flock was pressed or embossed by means of a cold block, while
the mordant remained moist, and there was always great danger of blurring or
smearing the design. By my process I emboss the flock after the mordant is quite
dry and hard, so that all risk of damage by rough handling is avoided, by means of
metal dies heated by an arrangement of gas jets or other means, and I apply the
pressure gradually, and vary the duration and force of the same according to the
nature of the pattern or design, in such a way as to produce the required effect of
modelling upon the surface and within the substance of the flock without destroying
the same, or causing it to become loose from the paper, and to ensure the perfect
equality and success of this operation a pressure gauge or register will require to be
attached to the embossing press.
The designs or devices produced in relief upon the paper for walls, ceilings, and
general surface decorations by my Invention, as above described, are of a permanent
character, and cannot be obliterated, injured, or destroyed by careless rubbing or
pressure, nor can their good effect be nullified or deteriorated by injudicious or
excessive soaking with paste or water during the process of hanging, as they are
raised above the level of the paper in a solid material, in which respect they offer
an immense advantage over all other embossed papers ever hitherto produced.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim, the improvements in and con-
nected with the manufacture of embossed flock paper hangings for walls, ceiling, and
for general surface decorations, as herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederic Aumonier, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-seven.
FREDERIC AUMONIER. (LS.)