CERTAIN: IMPROVED MODES OF APPLYING VITRIFIABLE MATERIALS FOR THE ORNAMEN- TATION OF METAL BUTTONS. CLASPS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF DRESS, AND WHICH SAID IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE ORNAMENTING OF GILT JEWELLERY, BOOK CLASPS AND MOUNTS, ALSO PARTS OF LAMP STANDS, CHANDELIERS, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE ARTICLES MADE IN DIES, OR MOULDED OR FORMED IN ANY OTHER WAY
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Evetts Lee, Die Sinker, Stamper, and Piercer,
of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of " CERTAIN:
IMPROVED MODES OF APPLYING VITRIFIABLE MATERIALS FOR THE ORNAMEN-
TATION OF METAL BUTTONS. CLASPS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF DRESS, AND WHICH
SAID IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE ORNAMENTING OF GILT
JEWELLERY, BOOK CLASPS AND MOUNTS, ALSO PARTS OF LAMP STANDS,
CHANDELIERS, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE ARTICLES MADE IN DIES, OR MOULDED
OR FORMED IN ANY OTHER WAY."
ealed the 26th October 1858, and dated the 26th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Evetts Lee at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
April 1858.
I, EDWIN EVETTS LEE, Die Sinker, Stamper, and Piercer, of Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of my said Inven-
tion for CERTAIN IMPROVED MODES OF APPLYING VITRIFIABLE MATERIALS' FOR THE
ORNAMENTATION OF METAL BUTTONS, CLASPS. AND OTHER ARTICLES OF DRESS: AND WHICH
SAID IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE ORNAMENTING OR GILT JEWELLERY
BOOK CLASPS AND MOUNTS, ALSO PARTS OF LAMP STANDS, CHANDELIERS, AND
OTHER SUCH LIKE ARTICLES MADE! IN DIES, MOULDED OR FORMED IN ANY OTHER
WAY," to be as follows (that is to say) -
.
..My.Inventiont consists in ornamenting the description of articles named in
my title, by piercing them in the desired shape or form-I may desire, the edge-
Pris 8.]

page_text: of such piercing being afterwards slightly enlarged on the face side, and by
laying such article as I may desire to ornament into a die in which it has been
formed, or a mould made for the purpose. I apply crystal or opaque glass in
a hot or semi-fluid state, which, in pressing it from the back, it passes through
the pierce hole or holes in the design, and spreads itself on the other side to
the clear form of the die or mould in which it is laid; thus, for instance, an
ornamental design for a clasp, brooch, an end for window cornices, curtain
bands, or for a variety of other purposes may for illustration be made to repre-
sent a vine branch, with leaves and grapes, the raised or bulky part of the
grapes being pierced out of the metal,and being placed again in the mould, the
hot glass, which may be of the colour of the natural grape, may be now applied
as before described, which would give to the design (when removed from the
mould) the appearance of a cluster or bunch of grapes elaborately formed and
put together, presenting a very rich and novel appearance, produced at a very
trifling cost, and that part of the glass that protrudes or passes through the
pierce holes being spread or enlarged on the surface, it is evident that such
mode of ornament becomes very secure,and cannot be again removed without
pulverizing the glass, or melting or cutting away the metal.
I do not think it necessary to further elaborate or describe the various
colours, character, or description of ornament this mode of amalgamating
vitreous matter with metal is capable, as it is evident they may be greatly
diversified without deviating from the principle herein-before described, not
that. I wish to be confined to the use of glass only, as other vitreous materials
may be used, such as china or earthenware, providing that they are so com-
pounded that they will vitrify at a heat below that, that will melt or destroy
the metal to which such ornaments may have been applied.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edwin Evetts Lee in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
EVETTS LEE, Die Sinker, Stamper, and Piercer, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the

page_text: said Edwin Evetts Lee, Her special license that I, the said Edwin Evetts Lee,
my executors, administrators,and assigns, or such others as I,the said Edwin
Evetts Lee,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 CERTAIN IMPROVED
MODES OF APPLYING VITRIFIABLE MATERIALS FOR THE ORNAMENTATION OF METAL
BUTTONS, CLASPS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF DRESS. AND WHICH SAID IMPROVEMENTS
ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE ORNAMENTING OF GILT JEWELLERY. BOOK CLASPS AND
MOUNTS, ALSO PARTS OF LAMP STANDS, CHANDELIERS, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE
ARTICLES MADE IN DIES, OR MOULDED OR FORMED IN ANY OTHER WAY," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Evetts Lee, 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 caused 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 Edwin Evetts Lee, 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 following statement
(that is to say):-
The nature and object of my Invention relates to a new mode of applying
vitreous material or materials for the general purposes of ornamentation
named in my Provisional Specification, without reference to the purpose,
object, or article to which such mode of ornamenting may be applied,as the
extent of its applicability is almost without limit, whether the same be used
solely for the purposes of ornament or for forming characters on metal,name,
or other plates, whereby I am enabled to obtain all the effect of enuinel work,
without its general opacity, which may be objectionable in many instances
when such articles (as may be ornamented by my process) are placed in such
situations as may intercept the light, such as in the friezes of window cornices
or screens, fronts of fenders and grates, parts of chandeliers or brackets,
(whether for gas or oil) as the transparency obtained by the use of coloured
glass (applied according to my improved mode) will produce a rich and an
agreeable appearance, having almost as brilliant an effect as would be obtained
if gems or precious stones had been set in such articles (intended to be so
ornamented); not that I wish to be compelled to use vitreous materials purely
of a transparent kind,as in many instances the character of the vitreous orna-

page_text: ment would be improved if such vitregus miterials were of an opaque instead
of a transparent nature, and again the process of enamelling is attended with
great expense, and does not admit of relief, as the moment the enamel is
melted or fluxed, it will naturally run off from the raised parts, leaving them
bare or imperfectly coated; but as my Invention will be best understood by
referring to the Drawings hereunto annexed, I will proceed to describe the
same, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon, and
in which I have sought to diversify the application of my Invention, for the
purpose of showing the various modes by which the same may be effected,
according to the thickness of the metal used, or the character or ornament
sought to be produced.
,
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
The centre part or panel of Figure 1 represents a plate, say, of any desired
metal, from which the letters may have been pierced, cut, or filed out, taking
care that the outline of the letter in front is a little larger than on the back
side; and before applying the vitreous material of which the letters are com-
posed, the metal plate may be matted as exhibited by the part surrounding the
letters coloured blue, or, if preferred, the plate may be left plain,
as in the case of the remainder part here shown. A plate with the letters so
cut out, I propose laying down on a plain metallic or other surface faced
downward, when I take, say, glass (of the desired colour, and in a semi-
melted or plastic state), aad press it in the cavity of the letters, either singly
or combinedly, according to the convenience of the press or other appliances
I may
have to thoroughly force in the vitreous material I may be using, so
that the entire capacity of the letter may be well and completely filled, leaving
a good portion of glass to stand above the metal on the back side, which
prevents it coming through from the back, and as the letter is larger on the
front side of the plate than on the back, and it is evident that the letters or
characters cannot be forced in from the front. After this treatment the
surface of the letters may be polished down level with the metal, which also
may be polished at the same time, when the whole of the characters, or name
or inscription will have the appearance of being beautifully enamelled, not-
withstanding it will be necessary and essential in cutting away the metal in
a general way that some mode must be adopted for connecting the metal in
the middle or centre of the letters with the general metal or plate that
surrounds them, and this may be effected by leaving small connections bent
inward when such letters may have been formed from thin sheet metal, or
reduced by filing, when such letters are cut out from metal of the thick

page_text: ness, say, of an eighth of an inch, which mode of treatment I have exhibited
at
Figure 2, and in filling in this letter with glass in a soft state it will
close around the connecting bars and entirely hide them.
When the letters
are finished it is not essential that they should be entirely flat, as by using a
mould or die, the matrix of which is the inverse of the shape of the letter or
character wish to produce, and by laying the metal plate over an hollow
cavity at the bick. I am enabled to pour the molten glass or vitreous material
into the cavity of the letter, and by pressing the die down in its true position
with suitable means, I am enabled to form letters, characters, or ornament
in relief. This torm of letter I have exhibited at ( in Figure 2, simply
showing that the lower half of the letter is formed with glass, and that which
I have exhibited here in relief, I have exhibited flat at L, Figure 3, the lower
part of the letter only being filled with glass; and it will be seen from the
vacant part of it that the letter is larger at the front than at the back, as
before referred to, for preventing the letter being pressed in from the front;
not that I am compelled entirely to adopt this principle, as it may be con-
venient, more especially when the metal is thin, to leave a number of pro.
jections, as exhibited at E in this Figure. Figure 3 a. is a section of
Figure 3, taken through the dotted line a, a, and in this Figure it is seen
that the projections in E, Figure 3, may be bevilled or bent downward,
but in either case they will have the effect of perfectly holding the vitreous
material of which the letter may be composed, while the dotted line b and c
represents the material of the letter, the former letter indicating the front,
and the latter the back side.
Figure 4 represents a part of a cornice stamped or raised in the ordinary
way from sheet metal, the ornamental part being formed from a vine branch
with leaves and grapes. In the composition of the latter I have introduced
glass, which being of the colour of the natural grape will impart to the
finished cornice a richness not hitherto cbtained; and in carrying out my
Invention in this application the grapes are separately or otherwise pierced
out, after which the metal that surrounds the orifices so pierced out must
be enlarged and trimmed around to allow the vitreous material to spread
over, and thereby hold itself in; and the way I purpose carrying this into
effect is as follows:-By again placing the metal shell into a die in which
it was originally struck, or into a die made from the original, comprehend-
ing the portion forming the grapes, and by running or pressing the vitreous
material while it is in a semi-fluid or soft state into the part or parts that

page_text: have been pierced out, and by applying suitable pressure the glass will be
forced through the pierce holes, and fill up the cavity of the die; -so that
when the pressure is removed, and the metal cornice or stamp work lifted
from the die, it will be found that the grapes are regular in their form, and
in the exact amount of relief according to the depth or boldness of the die
in which they have been pressed, and as the glass of which they arc com-
posed spreads over the edges of the metal through which they are forced,
they will be held or securely fastened, having all the appearance from the
front of being separately set in their respective positions.
Figure represents a simple stem or spray, with currant leaves and a
bunch of currants, the currants being applied in glass in the same way
identical as described at Figure 4, using, by preference, glass of the natura
colour of currants, whether black, red, or white, as preferred.
Figure 6 represents the open link of an ornamental chain for gas
pendants, and as such kind of links are bent of brought together from the
middle so as to appear solid and massive, it affords a favorable opportunity
for the application of my Patent, which has effect, in this instance, from
the ivy berries (here shown) being of glass, applied as last described.
Figure 7 represents also the link of a chain beut up into its proper foriu,
the part marked f being of glass, 'as before described. And with a view of
showing the diversity of application, whether for internal decorations or for
personal adornment, I have exhibited a few smaller designs, as the apple-at
Figure 8, the acorn at Figure 9, and the grapes at Figure 10, as well as the
oak spray and acorns placed on a shield at Figure 11, in all of which glass
is applied, as before described at Figure 1, as will be seen at Figure *, as I
have only shown one-half of the apple, for the purpose of exhibiting the
edge of the metal, which edge is covered by the fulness of the glass, as may
be seen in that part representing the apple spreading over it; and Figures 12
and 13 represent the front and transverse section of a button taken through
the dotted line h, h, which exhibits the glass (which is tinted blue), filling up
the cavity of the shell, and protruding through the perforations on the
front, by laying the shell face downward into a proper die for that purpose,
as before described. If the ornament should be of a character that metal may
be required to be exhibited as surrounded with the vitreous material, as in the
case of the letters described and exhibited at Figures 1 and 2, bars must be
left, as there described, to connect the centre metal with the exterior part, or
a centre part may be formed with thin projections, as described at Figure 3,
and laid into the mould before applying or forming the vitreous portions of
the ornament I desire to make.
In conclusion, I may observe that I have described glass as the vitreous

page_text: material used in the various ornaments herein-before described, and I believe
that it will be found in working to be the material best suited for giving
effect to my Invention; nevertheless porcelain or other ceramic materials may
be used, either in a dry or soft state, moulded into the form I may desire, the
same being applied in the manner in which the glass may be applied,as before
described; but in order to vitrify such materials they must be subject to a
heat, taking care that such fluxies be used that shall cause the material to
vitrify at a lower heat that will melt or destroy the metal to which such
ornaments may have been applied. This would do well in ornamenting the
fronts of fenders and grates, or other such like articles, whether cast of iron
or brass, as they both will stand a great heat, and which heat would improve
the nature of the former (with proper treatment), for if allowed to cool after
such treatment the iron would be well annealed, and not so liable to break
as such kinds of articles generally are without such treatment.
Having thus described the nature of my Inver.tion, and the manner in
which the same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood that I do not
claim the application of glass or other vitreous material for ornamenting
articles of metal, as the same bas heretofore been extensively used, nor do I
claim for any shape, character, or proportion of ornament in which my
improvement is capable of application; but what I do claim, and wish to
protect by these my in part recited Letters Patent is, the manner of applying
such vitreous material as herein before described and exhibed, whereby from
its condition of application it is made by suitable dies or plates and pressure
to spread over both front and back, and clip the metal or portions of metal
that wholly or partly surround it.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Evetts Lee, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
0 Witness,
JAMES S. COCKING, Patent Agent,
Birmingham.
EDWIN EVETTS LEE. (L.S.)