IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF TAWING, DRESSING, OR CONVERTING BOTH FOREIGN AND ENGLISH KID, LAMB, GOAT, FAWN, AND SHEEP SKINS, OR OTHER SKINS USUALLY TAWED OR CONVERTED INTO LEATHER FIT AND PROPER TO BE MANUFACTURED INTO GLOVES AND MITTENS OR OTHER ARTICLES, WITHOUT THE MATERIALS OR USE OF LIME, BRAN, OR SALT, AND IN A VERY CON- SIDERABLE SHORTER SPACE OF TIME AND WITH LESS EXPENCE AND LABOUR THAN HATH EVER YET BEFORE BEEN USED IN TAWING OR CONVERTING SKINS INTO LEATHER. AND OF A SUPERIOR QUALITY
Year: 1799

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WATTS, of Yeovil, in the County of Somerset, Tawer and Glove Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Third did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the Fifth
day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and
ninety-nine, and in the thirty-ninth year of His reign, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Watts, His special licence that I, the said Joseph Watts, during
the term of fourteen years therein expressed, should and lawfully might use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF TAWING, DRESSING, OR
CONVERTING BOTH FOREIGN AND ENGLISH KID, LAMB, GOAT, FAWN, AND SHEEP
SKINS, OR OTHER SKINS USUALLY TAWED OR CONVERTED INTO LEATHER FIT AND
PROPER TO BE MANUFACTURED INTO GLOVES AND MITTENS OR OTHER ARTICLES,
WITHOUT THE MATERIALS OR USE OF LIME, BRAN, OR SALT, AND IN A VERY CON-
SIDERABLE SHORTER SPACE OF TIME AND WITH LESS EXPENCE AND LABOUR THAN
HATH EVER YET BEFORE BEEN USED IN TAWING OR CONVERTING SKINS INTO LEATHER.
AND OF A SUPERIOR QUALITY;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Joseph Watts, under my hand and seal, to causo
a particular description of the nature of my said Invention of Improvements in
the Art of Tawing or Converting Skins into Leather, and how the same is to
be performed, to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within

page_text: one month after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same (relation being thereunto had) may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, and in pur-
suance of the Statute in this respect made and provided, I, the said Joseph
Watts, do hereby declare that my said Invention of improvements in the art
of tawing or converting skins into leather, by which much time and labour
will be saved, and the article produced at a much cheaper rate than by any
of the modes now in use, is described, performed, and ascertained in manner
following (that is to say):-
The skins are put into clean water, and soaked therein about twenty-four
hours; then taken out and laid on a beam, commonly used for that purpose,
with the flesh of the skin upwards, which is rubbed over with a knife, com-
monly used for the purpose, to break up the scales of skin and flesh, and to
render them in a degree soft. This done, which is called breaking, they are
again put into water, generally the same they are taken out of, and soaked for
about twelve hours longer; again taken out and broke, as before. Being
thus soaked and broken twice, as is commonly done, they are put into a close
room or stove, commonly used for the purpose, called a tenting stove, on long
poles. In this stove they remain until a slimy substance rises, or is seen on
the flesh of the skin, then taken out, and, with a knife, commonly used for the
purpose, this slime is taken off, which is called sliming. Being slimed, they
are again put into the stoves on poles, as before, to compleat the taking off the
wool or hair. When this comes off easy, which is known by trying the neck
part of the skin, they are taken out and laid on the beam aforesaid, one at a
time, with the wool or hair upwards, which, with a knife commonly used for
the purpose, is taken off as clean as possible; then (instead of the usual
method of being put into lime and water, there to remain from the
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space of
"a fortnight to six weeks, according to the season of the year or nature of
the skins, kids taking double the time of lambs, and every day during that
"time to be taken out, and the limewater beaten up, and frequently fresh
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or two.
lime added, which putting into lime often injures the grain and flesh of the
skin, and sometimes utterly spoils them ") they are put into clean water,
there to soak five or six hours, it not being material in this respect for an hour
The skins being thus soaked, are taken out and put into an osier
basket for three or four hours to drain, then (instead of the common method
" of being taken out of the limewater and fleshed") are put one at a time on
the beam, with the flesh upwards, and with a knife for that purpose, called a
fleshing knife, a great part of the flesh and skinny substance is taken off'; and
at the same time the offal or superfluous parts of the skin, such as the shanks

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and upper part of the neck, are cut off'; then (instead of the common method
"of being taken out of the lime and scudded") they are again put on the
beam one at a time, with the grain upwards, and with the same knife, the
hair that might have been left on the grain, and the scurf and filth thereon,
are taken off. The grain of the skin being thus cleared (instead of the common
method of being put into a certain quantity of bran and water as a ferment,
"which is called by tawers the drench, for the purpose of extracting the lime,
"there to remain from two to eight weeks, according to the heat or coldness
"of the season or nature of the skins, kids lying double the time of lambs;
during this ferment, they are taken out and struck over with a knife for
"the purpose, once on the grain and once on the flesh; in which drench they
are frequently injured both on the flesh and grain, and sometimes utterly
spoiled by the corrosive qualities of the bran and water, thus turned acid by
fermentation,") they are put into clean water, there to remain for about four
or five hours, for the purpose of soaking out the remaining filth that might be
in them. Being thus soaked, they are taken out and put into an osier basket
to drain for about half an hour, then (instead of the common method "of
being taken out of the bran ferment, and struck over on the flesh and grain.
"with a knife, as before, to cleanse them of the bran, then put into a liquor,
consisting of allum and salt dissolved in warm water, about three pounds of
"allum and four pounds of salt for every one hundred and twenty skins of a
middle size, and worked about therein until they have imbibed a sufficient
quantity") the skins are put into a liquor, consisting of allum only, dissolved
in warm water (unless the skins are to be stained, which is to be first done the
desired colour). I put three pounds twelve ounces of the usual allum to a
water-pail full of water for every one hundred and twenty middle-size kid or
lamb skins, and so in proportion for any greater or lesser number, or according
to the size or quality of them. This liquor is to be made quite hot, nearly
boiling, so as to dissolve the allum; then half of this allum liquor to be mixed
with about half its quantity of cold water. In this liquor the skins are to be
worked about with a person's hands for a quarter of an hour; then the other
half of the allum liquor is to be added to the liquor wherein the skins are, and
they are again worked about as before for a quarter of an hour longer; then
(instead of the common method "of being taken out of the allum and salt
liquor, and hung into a room or stove, called a drying stove, on rack hooks
"for the purpose, which stove is commonly heated with coal, at a considerable
expence, where the skins remain nearly forty-eight hours; and in this stove
the skins are frequently scalded or burnt, so as sometimes utterly to spoil
them; and after being here dried, they are taken down and put into clean
"
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water for five or six hours, to soak out and extract the principal part
of the salt; but though this is performed, the pernicious effects of the
remaining salt will ever be found by its preventing the leather taking some
and injuring all colours; and in damp weather it will be ever breaking out,
destroying the colours, spoiling the skins, or spotting the gloves; they are
"then staked and egg'd with the yolks of about forty eggs for one hundred
and twenty middle-sized skins, hung up in a loft to dry, and afterwards
"staked and pared ") they are taken out of this allum liquor, and put into an
osier basket to drain for one hour. While the skins are thus draining, the
yolks of forty ducks' or hens' eggs are to be taken for every one hundred and
twenty of middle-size kid skins, and the yolks of thirty eggs for every one
hundred and twenty middle-size lamb skins, and so more or less yolks,
according to the size or number of skins, and beaten up with about half a pail
of warm water, about blood warm. The skins are then put into this egg
liquor in a tub, where a person with his bare feet gets in, and treads them
about for a quarter of an hour. The skins, having thus imbibed the emollient
qualities of the yolks of eggs, are taken out, and hung up in a drying loft or
elsewhere, on rack hooks, where they are to remain till dry. This being com-
pleated, they are taken down and put into some damp cellar or place, there to
remain for eight or ten hours to cool or prepare them for staking, which is
done by rubbing the flesh part of the skin on a knife or stake for the purpose,
as is commonly done, to open and make them fit for the operation of paring,
which is performed in the common method. The skins being pared, the
leather is fit and proper to be converted into glove and mittens, or other
articles. By this my new Invention of improvements in the art of tawing or
dressing leather the process is accelerated, doing it at least on an average in
one-fifth part of the time hitherto commonly used by tawers or dressers of
leather, and at a much cheaper rate, and with less labour and materials than
by any of the modes hitherto commonly used; and as no lime, bran, or fer-
ment, salt, or fire stove is used by me in my process above specified, the
leather is rendered of a superior quality, being more tough, white, and glossy,
not subject to the casualties of injuring or totally destroying the skins, as in
the method of tawing or dressing which hath hitherto commonly been made
use of, and the leather is capable of receiving and retaining colours in their
natural purity and brightness, the leather not having received or imbibed any of
the pernicious or destroying qualities of the lime or salt. And lastly, no lime
pitts, or lime drench tubs, or bran, salt, drying stove, or coal for heating the
same, is adopted or made use of by me in this my new Invention of improve-
ments in the art of tawing or dressing leather; consequently much advantage,

page_text: profit, room, and expense are thereby gained and saved in building and
making a dressing yard; but the different knives or instruments, beam and
tenting stove, above mentioned, and which I make use of in this my process,
are and may be the same as those commonly used.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Watts, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine.
GEO. WATTS,
Of the same place, Butcher & Grazier.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-sixth day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1799, the aforesaid Joseph Watts came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according
to the tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.