IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND OBTAINING PRINTING SURFACES WITH DESIGNS SUNK, AS ALSO IN RELIEF
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Beslay, of Rue St. Sebastian, Paris, in the
Empire of France, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PREPARING AND OBTAINING PRINTING SURFACES WITH DESIGNS SUNK, AS ALSO
IN RELIEF."
Sealed the 9th March 1860, and dated the 14th September 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Beslay at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
September 1859.
I, CHARLES BESLAY, of Rue St. Sebastian, Paris, in the Empire of France,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PREPARING & OBTAINING PRINTING SURFACES WITH DESIGNS SUNK, AS
ALSO IN RELIEF," to be as follows:-
I take a sheet of plate glass or other level and smooth surface which is a
non-conductor of electricity, but by preference glass. On this I apply a coating
of varnish or suitable matter; when dry I design and draw on this coated
sheet of glass the subject desired to be obtained on the printing surface, simply
by removing the varnish from the glass, so as to produce the design or drawing
required. If the varnish be opaque the design may be viewed by looking
through the glass, and if the varnish be transparent the subject may be traced
on from a copy underneath. Having so prepared the design or subject, I
further apply increased thickness of the varnish in parts where required, as,

page_text: for instance, at places where large blanks or whites are to appear in the print.
Having so prepared the glass plate, which may be readily done by an artist or
draughtsman, according to the subject to be represented, I now imerse it in the
bath of a galvanic battery, and deposit upon it by electrical deposit a coating
of copper or other suitable metal; when this metal coating is of sufficient
thickness, I remove it from the bath & glass plate, & I have a surface
represented in relief, the design represented on the varnished glass, which may
be printed from. I first back it with lead or other metal & wood, and make up
the strength and thickness required, as well understood in printing from
galvano-plastic casts.
To obtain the surface with the design sunk instead of being in relief, it is
simply necessary to draw the design in varnish or suitable matter, to form a
raised surface on the glass, which drawing will be sunk in the metal deposited
on it, while the smooth surface of the glass will recieve the face of the plate of
metal deposited.
I sometimes grind or roughen the surface of the glass to make the varnish
adhere, which has also an effect in producing tints.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Beslay in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th March 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
BESLAY, of Rue St. Sebastian, Paris, in the Empire of France, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Beslay, Her special licence that I, the. said Charles Beslay,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Charles Beslay, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PREPARING AND OBTAINING PRINTING SURFACES WITH DESIGNS SUNK, AS ALSO IN
RELIEF," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Beslay,

page_text: my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 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 Charles Beslay, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement (that is to say):-
I take a sheet of plate glass or other level and smooth surface which is a
non-conductor of electricity, but by preference glass. On this I apply a coating
of varnish or suitable matter; when dry I design and draw on this coated
sheet of glass the subject desired to be obtained as the printing surface, simply
by removing the varnish from the glass, so as to produce the design or drawing
required. If the varnish be opaque the design may be viewed by looking
through the glass; if the varnish is transparent the subject may be traced
through the glass by placing the design underneath. Having so prepared the
design or subject, I further apply increased thicknesses of the varnish in
parts where required, as, for instance, at places where large blanks or whites
are to appear in the print. Having so prepared the glass plate, which may be
readily done by an artist or draughtsman, according to the subject to be
represented, I now immerse it in a bath of a galvanic battery, & deposit
upon it by electrical deposit a coating of copper or other suitable metal; when
this metal coating is of sufficient thickness, I remove it from the bath &
glass plate; and I have a surface representing in relief the design produced
on the varnished glass, which may be printed from. I first back it with lead
or other metal and wood, to make up the strength and thickness required, as
well understood in printing from galvano-plastic casts.
To obtain the surface with the design sunk instead of being in relief it is
simply necessary to draw the design in varnish, or suitable matter to form a
raised surface on the glass, which drawing will be sunk in the metal deposited
on it, which the smooth surface of the glass will also receive, and thereby
form the face of the plate of metal deposited.
I sometimes grind or roughen the surface of the glass to cause the varnish
to adhere, which also has the effect of producing tints.
My Invention relates to the manufacture of blocks, plates, cylinders,
matrices, stamps, seals, and other similar objects, either hollow or in relief,
obtained in a direct manner without the aid of an engraver from drawings or

page_text: DETAIL DESCRIPTION.
To obtain a plate in relief for typographic printing, I take a sheet of per-
fectly smooth glass. The quality of the glass should be such that there is no
danger of partial solubility in water or acids, which should also be the case
with all bodies substituted for glass, as porcelain, for example. Glass, from
its hardness, allows of the production of a drawing directly on a prepared
plate by making use of a pantograph. I grind this sheet of glass on one side,
and I avail myself of this operation, which I effect more or less, coarsely, for
obtaining various shades for the printing. The glass or other body being
ground, I coat that side with a varnish of any suitable kind, either transparent
or opaque, in which state the plate is ready for the draughtsman.
The drawing may be effected by making use of the transparency of the
glass and varnish, by placing the copy underneath the plate on the opposite
side to the varnish, by which means all the details of the drawing may be
produced, as in using aquafortis, that is to say, by making use of blunt
pointers cutting on the edges, the varnish may be removed wherever required.
If, on the contrary; the draughtsman composes his drawing, an opaque
varnish should be employed, on which the design is to be lightly traced;
when finished a pointer is employed, each stroke of which cuts through the
varnish and admits light, when the glass is held up, which is an indispensable
condition for obtaining marks of the same height of relief, and for obtaining
a perfectly clear drawing like the block of a negative photograph proof. In
order to ascertain whether the design produces 'the. desired effect for
printing from, a sheet of sensitive photographic paper is placed on the design,
the plate is then reversed, exposed to the light, & a positive proof thus
obtained, which will allow one to judge whether it be necessary to correct the
design wholly or in part, which may be effected by applying varnish with a
brush or otherwise to the parts to be corrected or done again. When the
drawing is terminated, I superpose a second layer of varnish of a different
nature and composition on the first layer, and I coat this with a conducting
body, taking care to preserve the design. Glass being a bad conductor of
electricity, I avail myself of it to obtain by the aid of galvanoplasty designs
in relief, so much the more perfect as care is taken.to prevent all obstructions
or alteration in them by friction, or by the adhesion of any metallic dust

page_text: thereto. I submit the plate thus prepared to the influence of a galvanic
current in a bath of sulphate of copper, or other bath of metallic acid, and
when the copper or other metal has deposited to a sufficient thickness, the
plate is withdrawn, washed, and dried, and I then proceed to detach the
galvanic plate without injuring the design on the glass. For this purpose I
expose the plate to a slight heat of such a temperature that the coating which
covers the varnish on which is the design shall be softened without altering
the condition of the varnish. The first layer of varnish should be capable of
resisting a temperature of from 90° to 100°, for example, and the second
layer soften at a temperature of about 70° to 80°.
This system of employing two coatings of varnishes of different degrees of
fusibility has not hitherto been applied, but in consequence of the perfect
adhesion of the first coat of glass to the varnish to the glass, and the much
slighter adhesion of the second layer of varnish to the first layer, I am enabled
easily to detach the galvanic plate from the surface of the glass without
injury to the design, which allows of the drawing being again corrected, and of
obtaining two or more galvanic proofs, or to employ it for the production of
plates suitable for chromo-typographic printing, which must be obtained from
the original design. The detachment of the galvano-plastic plate is rendered
still easier from the care taken to make the varnish which covers the plate of
glass a non-conductor of electricity; also, that the plate is perfectly insoluble,
and the varnish perfectly adhering thereto by reason of the grinding operation
effected before applying the varnish; and further, this varnish should be per-
fectly homogeneous, and be entirely free from any inert or conducting matters,
and especially but slightly fusible, while the second layer of varnish, applied
after the execution of the design, should be much more fusible than the first
layer, and may contain inert or conducting matters: Further, the detachment
of the galvanic plate is rendered easy from the nature of the glass (a but
slightly.conducting body), but care should be taken in preserving the nicety of
the marks hollowed out by the artist in the first layer of varnish, until the
glass is laid completely bare. There will be no adherence between the
galvanic plate and the glass, as too often occurs between two metallic bodies
deposited one on the other, and this because of the little conductability of the
glass, which will contribute much towards the perfection of the relief.
Instead of immediately separating the metal plate from the glass, as I have
déscribed, a second __no less important operation may be proceeded with as
regards the preservation of the plate, and the necessary manipulations termed
in sterotypy "mounting the plates," and which consists in filling in the back
of the plate with a fusible metal for strengthening it and rendering it of

page_text: sufficient thickness to sustain all kinds of printing pressure. It is usual,
according to the general practice in mounting galvano-plastic plates to coat
the reverse side with tin in a state of fusion which is a tedious operation, and
takes at least double the quantity of tin employed according to my arrangement,
to the detriment of the plate, which oxydizes when submitted to repeated
friction. Further, if the tin is not perfectly adherent, it prevents the plate
from being completely soldered to the mass of metal poured on it..
I will now describe an operation which I would sugjest in preference to
the one described in ordinary use:-The galvano-plastic plate when still
adhering to the glass after having been washed in water is plunged into a bath
of chloride of tin or other salt of the same metal, and placed near a sheet of
tin, and a communication being established with a pile, the tin deposits
throughout the surface a reverse of the galvano-plastic plate. A deposit of
gold, silver, or zinc may be substituted for the tin, which being effected, the
galvano-plastic plate is detached, after which the plate should be filled up
according to the ordinary method of stereotypers by pouring into it either type
metal or zinc, which is harder and of half the cost, or bronze, according as it
is wished to give more or less solidity to the plate and also to the degree of
pressure it has to bear. The facility of soldering to the galvano-plastic copper
a metal or alloy harder than itself is based on a recognised principle in physics,
and which I have here put in practice, that an alloy in general is harder and
more fusible than either of the metals taken separately which constitute that
alloy.
My Invention is thus distinguished from other processes having the same
object, viz. 1st, by the choice & preparation of glass or other translucid or
diaphanous bodies possessing great durity; 2ndly, by the use of varnishes of
the qualities herein-before enumerated; 3rdly, by superposing layers of these
varnishes when it is desired to preserve the design; 4thly, by the transparency
which is an indispensable condition for the glass, and often for the varnish;
5thly, the use of photography as an assistance to the draughtsman through the
transparency of the glass or other analogous matter; 6thly, the necessary non-
conductability obtained by the use of glass or other bodies made use of instead
of it; 7thly, by the non-conductability of the first layer of varnish applied on
the glass or other body; 8thly, the capability of using the same drawing
several times, which is traced on the glass for the production of several similar
plates by galvanic means; 9thly, the facility afforded by thus preserving the
design of correcting or entirely changing it, so as to make it serve for taking
colored impressions by the chromo-typographic process; 10thly, the method of
gilding, silvering, tinning, or zincing the backs of plates by means of a pile for

page_text: the purpose of soldering the metals together of a proportionate strength
according to the amount of pressure to be sustained by the plates; 11thly, the
facility afforded by the soldering or making use of the same plate, either for
'gilding, for dry impressions with a lever press, or for ink and color printing.;
12thly & lastly, by the perfection and fidelity of the plates reproduced hollow or
in: relief without the aid of an engraver, from the original design by the means
herein-before described.
The mechanical means I employ for engraving in relief which have only
hitherto been used for tool engraving, also much reduces the cost of the
design.
Having thus enumerated the different advantages of my Invention, the
following details will show the various methods of executing the art according
to the kind of impressions required.
Printing in various ways.-When it is desired to reproduce a photo-
graphic plate, the draughtsman takes a photograph and fixes it on the
glass, he then coats the reverse of the sheet of glass with a transparent
homogeneous varnish, and is thereby enabled to copy the photographic
proof through the transparency of the glass. This method may be varied
by covering the photographic proof on the glass with a transparent varnish.
The varnish may further be first prepared, and then covered with a layer of
sensitive varnish, and so obtain a proof on the glass thus prepared.
Execution of designs for sunk engraved plates.-The design may be obtained
by the aid of photography by making use of a proof fixed on the glass as above.
It may further be obtained by means of a design made on the varnish or glass
from a proof printed on paper, or simply by copying a design placed under the
glass next the polished side. For hollow engraved plates, the artist should
use a brush and a quicker drying varnish than in the former case. This
varnish is applied in successive layers on the glass in such manner that the
dark parts be marked by thick layers of varnish, the half-tints with a less body
of varnish, and the blanks be entirely free from varnish. It will be evident
that the thicker the varnish, the less the light will penetrate it, the trans-
parency of the glass and varnish is therefore absolutely essential for the good
execution of the design. When finished the design is entirely covered with
another kind of varnish very sensitive, collodion for example; a galvanic deposit
may then be obtained on the whole, but as the design is in relief on the glass,
it results that it is reproduced sunk on the galvano-plastic plate, which then
undergoes the same operation of tinning or zincing by means of a pile as above
described before proceeding to take impressions.
Lastly, in addition to all that concerns plates sunk or in relief, my improved

page_text: process is applicable to designs on glass or other fancy articles, either by
varying the color of the varnish, or in other ways.
I also obtain imitations of enamelling and metallic painting in a variety of
ways too numerous to mention, and depending chiefly upon the fancy of the
artist.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Beslay, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
CH. BESLAY. (L.S.)