AN IMPROVED DYE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Barry, of Ballyclough, in the County of
Cork, J. P., for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED DYE."
Sealed the 7th August 1866, and dated the 20th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Barry at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th February
1866.
I, JAMES BARRY, of Ballyclough, in the County of Cork, J. P., do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED DYE," to be as
follows (that is to say):-
My Invention has reference to an improved dye prepared from the lichen
grown parasitically upon apple or crab trees, by which a brown of clear color,
and of various shades thereof, is obtained applicable to the dyeing of wool,
silk, or otherwise, and consists in extracting the coloring matter from the
lichen aforesaid by boiling the same within suitable vessels with more or less
water, as may be found desirable for the strength required, the said lichen
being previously washed, cleansed, or macerated by any ordinary method or
apparatus, and subsequently strained from the solution, which is thus rendered
clear and fit for use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Barry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BARRY, of Ballyclough, in the County of Cork, J. P., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Barry, Her special licence that I, the said James Barry,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Barry, 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 IMPROVED DYE,"
upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Barry,
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 James Barry, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
:-
.:
My Invention has reference to an improved dye prepared from the lichen
'grown parasitically upon apple or crab trees, and consists in extracting a
coloring uíatter from the lichen aforesaid by boiling the same within suitable
vessels, with more or less water according to the strength required, whereby a
brown of clear color and of various shades is obtained, applicable to the dyeing
of wool, silk, or otherwise, the said lichen being previously washed, cleansed,
or macerated by any convenient apparatus or ordinary method, and
subsequently strained from the solution, which is then rendered clear and
fit for use.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I now proceed to describe in detail the mode of
performing the same (that is to say):
To extract the coloring matter from the said lichen and employ the same
for the purposes of dyeing or staining wool, silk, hair, or yarn, suitable for
textile or other fabrics, I cause the said lichen in its raw or unprepared state
(procured from the apple or crab trees aforesaid) to be first cleansed or freed
from foreign matters, dried, reduced to powder, and subsequently macerated
as may be found desirable, either by hand, machinery, or otherwise; the said
lichen thus treated is then placed within closed vessels, or similar receptacles
charged with water, more or less (proportionately to the concentration or varied
shades of color required); it is then submitted to the operation of boiling
through the medium of surcharged steam, fire, gas, or otherwise, until the
coloring extract or matter is produced, which when strained, filtered, or
chemically treated, and the whole of the insoluble matters removed, is rendered
clear and fit for use. By this process any or all of the various descriptions of
earths, alkalies, acids, salts, metallic oxides, or other reagents which may be
found necessary for combinining with and improving the body or color of the
dyo may be employed, either separately or in conjunction with suitable
mordants for fixing the said dye and rendering the same permanent. In con-
clusion to the foregoing description, I would here briefly note that the process
of applying or imparting the coloring matter to the various articles to be dyed,
either in union with mordants or otherwise, may be varied as may be found
necessary; thus the simple solution, independently of other chemical matters,
may be applied directly to the cloth by steeping or otherwise saturating the
same through the medium of suitable apparatus or machinery as at present,
admitting at the same time of the surface being dyed, woven, or ornamented
as may be found desirable.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed and carried
into effect, I would have it clearly understood that I do not intend to confine
myself to the precise details herein-before described as the same may be other-
wise varied without departing from the general principle of this my said
Invention, nor do I claim as new and of my said Invention the exclusive use
of the several substances, combinations, and processes, except when the same
are employed in and for the purposes of my said Invention, which I hereby
declare to consist in the preparation and employment of lichen (grown
parasitically upon apple and crab trees,) for obtaining coloring matter therefrom

page_text: applicable to dyeing, in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set
forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Barry, have hereunto set my
.
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JAMES BARRY. (L.s.)