AN IMPROVEMENT IN MOULDING OR PRESSING GLASS."
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Thomas Haden Richardson, of Tutbury, in the
County of Stafford, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MOULDING
OR PRESSING GLASS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thomas Haden
Richardson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd August 1866.
I, JOHN THOMAS HADEN RICHARDSON, of Tutbury, in the County of Stafford,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
MOULDING OR PRESSING GLASS," to be as follows:-
This improvement in moulding or pressing glass relates to the moulding or
pressing of ale or dram glasses for publicans' use, such other glass vessels as
are required for measuring purposes.
Hitherto such glasses have been moulded or pressed in moulds of suitable
form with the foot downwards, and the inside of the glass was moulded or
pressed by forcing down a plunger inside the mould, the rim of the glass being
subsequently cut off by scissors, and great difficulty has been experienced in
making such glasses all of exactly the same size or capacity owing to the fact

page_text: that the accurate cutting off of the rim to the right measure depended entirely
upon the skill and judgment of the workman.
According to my Invention I propose to mould or press such glasses in an
inverted position, or with the rim downwards. From the bottom of the
mould rises a projection of such a form and size as will mould the interior of
the glass to contain the exact measure required. The stem or leg of the
glass is made shorter and thicker than it is to be when finished, and the foot
is made cup-shaped, the requisite pressure being given by forcing a conical
plunger into the centre of the foot, so that it assumes a hollow cup-like form.
When the glass is withdrawn from the mould the foot is to be opened out
flat and the stem or leg drawn out to the required length. Glasses thus
formed will be found invariably to contain the exact measure required owing
to the fact that the body and rim of the glass are formed and finished by the
mould, and the workman has only to finish the leg and foot, a slight inaccuracy
in which is of very little consequence.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Thomas Haden Richardson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st February 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
THOMAS HADEN RICHARDSON, of Tutbury, in the County of Stafford, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Thomas Haden Richardson, Her special licence that I,
the said John Thomas Haden Richardson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Thomas Haden Richardson,
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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MOULDING
OR PRESSING GLASS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Thomas Haden Richardson, my executors or administrators, by an

page_text: 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 John Thomas Haden Richardson,
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 in writing, and on reference to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, that is to say:-
This improvement in moulding or pressing glass relates to the moulding or
pressing of ale glasses, dram glasses, and goblets on foot, for publicans' and
others use, also for table glass, such as wine glasses, claret glasses, champagne
glasses, liqueur glasses, and other glass where uniform capacity is required.
Hitherto such glasses have been made by hand, or imperfectly pressed in
moulds of suitable form with the foot downwards, and the inside of the glass
was moulded or pressed by forcing down a plunger inside the mould, and very
great difficulty has been experienced in making such glasses all of exactly the
same size or capacity, owing to the fact that the accurate cutting off of the
exact quantity of molten metal required depended entirely upon the skill. and
judgment of the workman.
According to my Invention I propose to mould or press such glasses in an
inverted position; or with the rim downwards. From the bottom of the
mould rises a projection of such a form and size as will mould the interior of
the glass to contain the exact measure required. The stem or leg of the glass
can be pressed shorter and thicker than it is to be when finished, and the foot
is made cup-shaped, the requisite pressure being given by forcing a plunger
into the centre of the foot, so that it assumes a hollow cup-like form. When
the glass is withdrawn from the mould the foot is to be opened out flat, and
the stem or leg drawn out to the required length. Glasses thus forined will
be found invariably to contain the exact measure required, owing to the fact
that the bowl or body of the glass is of exact size internally when leaving the
mould, and the workman has only to finish the leg and foot, a slight inaccuracy
in which is of very little consequence.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "An Improve-
ment in Moulding and Pressing Glass," I will now proceed to describe more
in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or
carried into practical effect;. and in order that it may be distinctly understood.

page_text: I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with
those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing, Figure 1 illustrates the ordinary method of
pressing ale or dram glasses, goblets on foot, &c., as before mentioned.
a, a, represents the mould, made in two or more pieces for convenience of
withdrawal, and b, b, is the plunger.
The operation is as follows:-The workman drops into the mould a, a, as
near the quantity of metal as he can guess, which is cut off by scissors, or
shears, and immediately brings down the plunger b, b, by means of a lever or
otherwise. Figure 1* is a view of the ordinary plunger detached. Although
by constant practice and long experience workmen become so skilful as
generally to cut off about the sufficient quantity to fill the mould, yet perfect
accuracy is impossible, and whenever the amount cut off is too small the
plunger descends too low, and the glass consequently will hold more than the
proper quantity, and on the other hand should the quantity of glass be too
large the plunger cannot descend to its proper depth, and the interior of the
glass is too small.
Figure 2 illustrates my improved method of moulding or pressing glass.
The mould a, a, is also made in two or more pieces for the above-mentioned
reason, but is inverted, and to the base part is fixed a projection or core b, b,
which moulds the interior of the glass, and necessarily forms it always of the
same size and capacity. The stem or leg c, c, of the glass is made shorter
and thicker in the mould than it is to be when finished, and the foot instead
of being flat is formed in a cup-shape, so that the proper pressure is given to
mould the glass by forcing the plunger d, d, into the centre part of the foot.
It will be evident that should a slightly larger or smaller quantity of moulten
metal than requisite be poured into the mould, and consequently the plunger
descend less or more than usual, it will not in any way affect the capacity of
the glass, which will always remain the same. As previously described the
leg and foot are drawn out, opened, and finished by hand, and the bowl
fire-polished after the glass is withdrawn from the mould. It will be seen
that the plunger d, d, is made with a shoulder at e, e, and it will be evident
that by using a plunger of this kind for the interior with a shoulder, as
shown at e, e, in Figure 3, glass may be pressed in the ordinary position of
the moulds (that is, not inverted) in such a manner that their interior capacity
shall always be the same. In cases where it is desirable to employ moulds of
the old form, as shown in Figure 1, by using my improved plunger e*,

page_text: Figure 4, and boring out the top piece of the mould to the diameter of the
thickest part f,f, of the plunger, glasses may be moulded so as all to be of the
same capacity, the only difference caused by a variation of the quantity of
glass being that the glasses will be rather taller or shorter, and rather thicker
or thinner at the bottom of the cup or bowl. By this modification of my
Invention the expense of new moulds is avoided, as well as the subsequent
hand labour of forming and finishing the leg and foot.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for "An
Improvement in Moulding or Pressing Glass," together with the manner in
which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect,
I would remark in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention, "moulding or
pressing glass always of the exact same capacity whether inverted or upright,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thomas Haden Richardson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
JOHN THOMAS HADEN RICHARDSON. (L.S.)