IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MOULDINGS SUITABLE FOR CORNICES, PICTURE FRAMES,
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Sterry, of Worcester, in the County of
Worcester, Carver and Gilder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF MOULDINGS SUITABLE FOR CORNICES, PICTURE FRAMES,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Sterry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
March 1854.
I, GEORGE STERRY, of Worcester, in the County of Worcester, Carver and
Gilder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MOULDINGS SUITABLE FOR CORNICES, PICTURE FRAMES,
ARCHITECTURAL DECORATIONS, AND OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
"
The basis of my mouldings is rope, twine, or the like. I employ it in
lengths and unite the pieces by glue, and I mould this rope and glue into a
rough or blunt shape or outline of the pattern required. I bring it to a sharp!
finished shape by the addition of a composition of whiting, size, red lead, and:
turpentine. The mouldings thus prepared are fit for receiving coats of paint,
or for being gilt, and are not liable to crack or open. I do not find it necessary
to employ moulds or dies as the moulding may be efficiently performed.by
hand with the aid of simple tools.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Sterry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th September 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
STERRY, of Worcester, in the County of Worcester, Carver and Gilder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Sterry, Her special licence that I, the said George Sterry, my
executors, administrators, and assigns; or such-others as I, the said George
Sterry, 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF MOULDINGS SUITABLE FOR CORNICES, PICTURE FRAMES,
ARCHITECTURAL DECORATIONS, AND OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Sterry, 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 calen-
dar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Sterry, 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
thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in the employment of rope, cord, twine, or the like,
as the basis for mouldings for decorative and architectural purposes. I employ
the rope, cord, twine, and the like, in lengths, and I unite the pieces by glue,
and I mould the rope and glue into a rough or blunt shape or outline of the
pattern required. I bring it to a sharp finished state by the addition of a com-
position of whiting, size, and turpentine. he mouldings thus prepared are fit
for receiving coats of paint, or for being gilt, and are not liable to crack or
open. I do not find it necessary to employ moulds or dies, as the moulding
may be efficiently performed by hand with the aid of simple tools.
The manner in which my Invention is performed is as follows:-I take a

page_text: number of pieces of rope, cord, twine, or the like, of different sizes, and having
marked out on a board or other flat surface the form of frame or other article
which I desire to produce, I proceed to glue the pieces of rope, cord, twine,
&c., together in layers, until a rough outline of the frame or other article is
produced. I place the larger sizes of the rope, &c., at the back, and glue on
the smaller sizes of cord or twine where the sharp edges of the moulding are
to be formed. When the moulding has been brought by these means as near
as possible to its intended form, I coat it with a mixture of boiling hot whiting,
size, and turpentine, of about the consistence of cream, and allow it to dry.
When dry it is again coated with a composition of red lead, white lead, oil,
and turpentine well mixed together, and it is then allowed to stand for a few
days until quite dry. It is then again coated with the boiling hot mixture of
whiting, size, and turpentine used thin as milk; I then bring the blunt mould-
ing to a perfect shape in the following manner :-I take a piece of thin sheet
brass, say, about th inch thick, and having marked on it the section of the
moulding to be finished, I cut or file away the brass to that form; I then
take some strong whiting and size mixture of about the consistence of treacle,
and lay it warm over the rough moulding, and while still soft I draw the cut
brass templane carefully over the moulding, and I continue to do so until the
edges of the moulding are formed sharp and perfect; I then allow the moulding
to dry, and when dry give it a final coating of red lead and oil, which makes
it ready for the painter or gilder. By this process mouldings of almost any
sectional form may be produced, possessing great strength and durability, and
not liable to crack or open.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my
Invention is, the employment of rope, cord, twine, and the like, as the basis
or foundation for mouldings suitable for cornices, picture frames, architectural
decorations, and other like purposes, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Sterry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four.
GEORGE STERRY. (L.S.)