IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTTONS, AND IN JAPANNERS' WARE, AND ARTICLES IN SUBSTITUTION OF PAPIER MACHIE
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SHELDON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Japan Painter, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Tweny-first day of February, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Sheldon, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Sheldon, my executors, adñiors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Sheldon, my exors, adfiiors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTTONS, AND
IN JAPANNERS' WARE, AND ARTICLES IN SUBSTITUTION OF PAPIER MACHIE;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said William
Sheldon, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
William Sheldon, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention relates, first, to a mode of manufacturing die and pressure
made buttons, by applying a composition of fibrous and other materials
combined with flue or gelatine.
Secondly, my Invention relates to modes of making trays and other japan-
ners' ware in substitution of papier machie.
And in order that the Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to explain the means pursued by me.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, I take by preference the
following materials:-eight pounds of glue dissolved in water, six ounces of
common cotton or flock, six ounces of linseed oil, three ounces of venus
turpentine, and I mix them together till the whole are intimately blended; I
then take 40 lbs. of whiting or blue black, or a mixture of those matters, five
pounds of lamp black and five pounds of fine flour emery, and when these are
well mixed together in a fine powder I combine them with the other mixture.
I would state that I have found it convenient first to mix the whiting and
lamp black together, and make the same into a paste with water, and in this
condition to pass them through between two pressing rollers, so as to render
the same free from any lumps; I then dry this mixture of lamp black and
whiting and reduce it to powder and mix it with the emery, and this combined
powder I mix with the preparation of glue and other materials first mentioned,
and having mixed the same I take any quantity of the mixture which is in the
character and substance of stiff dough and I roll the same into a sheet of a
quarter of an inch to half an inch thick, according to the size button intended
to be made therefrom, and the sheets of composition thus made I allow to
remain for a day, in a room, when it will be fit for cutting into circular discs, "
each disc suitable for making a button, and the tools I use for this purpose
are similar to those employed in making horn buttons, which are well under-
stood. The discs of the composition being thus cut are to have wire or other
shanks applied, and the shanks I prefer are thus formed, which shanks
being pressed by the aid of pliars into the composition are turned partly round,
so that the projections of the shanks may be well imbedded in the back of the
discs of composition, and the circular dises of composition thus having shanks
applied are next to be submitted to pressure between plates with hollow dies
sunk or formed therein, in order to bring the discs into the form of the intended
button, in like manner to that sometimes practised when making what are

page_text: called horn buttons, by which means the shapes of buttons will be obtained
each having a shank at the back, the excess of the material projecting at the
edges, which excess or projecting edges are to be cut off, as when making horn
buttons, but in pressing I apply no artificial heat.
I would, however, remark that I do not confine myself to the use of such
description of shanks, as other shanks may be applied in making composition
buttons. The buttons thus far formed are then coated with a composition of
white of egg mixed with Prussian or Italian blue (to color it), these being well
ground together and I apply such coating with a brush all over the partly
manufactured button; when this coating is dry I apply a coating of varnish
composed of naptha polish, with a small quantity of Prussian or Italian blue
ground with it to color the same, and if too stiff I dilute it with spirits of
naptha, and with this varnish I coat the buttons two, three, or more times,
according as a higher polish is desired, letting each coating dry before another
is applied. The buttons thus far made are now to be introduced into dies, such
as are used when making horn buttons, such dies being engraved with any
desired device or pattern for the front of the button, or left plain, as is well
understood, and in this state the buttons are pressed in cold dies; and after
taking the buttons from the dies the rough edges are to be removed and
finished, in the same manner as when making horn buttons, and I apply a
coating of naptha varnish to the edges so cut and finished, and also to the back
of the button. The above directions are proper when making black buttons,
and the buttons thus made will greatly resemble what are called horn buttons;
but if it be desired to make colored buttons according to this part of the
Invention, then dark colors, such as browns, &c., may be mixed with the coating
of egg and also the coatings of naptha varnish, together with or instead of the
Prussian or Italian blue, and I have used umber, Italian yellow, chrome yellow,
lake, vermillion, flake white, white lead, orange red, &c.; and in case it be
desired to make buttons of a light drab or other light color, the color should be
obtained in the composition as nearly as possible by omitting the lamp black,
using coloring materials and more whiting or white lead; the varnishes or
coatings of white of egg and naptha polish being suitably colored for the color
of buttons desired to be produced.
I would remark, in respect to this part of my Invention, that although I
have been thus particular in giving the quantities and exact materials used in
making. composition buttons I do not confine myself thereto, as other fibrous
materials and other adhesive gelantine than glue might be employed, and some
of the ingredients might be dispensed might, but I believe the directions above
given to be the best; and in place of the whiting, other earthy powder or white

page_text: lead may be used, and in addition to the composition, paper or other fabric
may be applied to one or both surfaces, as hereafter explained, for japanners'
ware.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention, which
relates to modes of manufacturing of japanned wares and articles in substitu-
tion of papier maché; and for this purpose I take six pounds of glue dissolved
in about seven gallons of water, to which I add twelve pounds of flour, six
pounds of sharps, nine pounds of spent hops (after they have been used by
the brewer), four pounds of whiting, and two of hair (finely cut human hair is
preferred); these ingredients I boil together (well mixing them) till the com-
position becomes a thick paste, which I allow to cool; I then roll the same
into sheets of the sizes and thicknesses desired for trays or other articles;
and in order to make the same into a tray or other article, I place two thin
sheets of paper (such as is used in making tea and other trays when the same
are composed of many layers of paper pasted together) and place one on the
upper and the other on the under surface of the sheet of composition, which
is to be of a thickness depending on the article to be made, and according to
the judgment of the workman, and in this state I place the composition and
paper between suitable moulds or dies, according to the shape of the articles
to be produced, and I allow the same to remain an hour or more under
pressure to cause the composition and paper to take the desired shape. I then
damp two thick sheets of paper, such as will allow of dressing in the ordinary
manner, which I immerse in water, or otherwise damp them, and one sheet I
apply to and cause it to take the shape of the hollow die or mould, and the
other sheet I apply to and cause it to take the shape of the convex mould or
die, and I apply paste (which I prefer to be composed of equal parts by weight
of flour and glue) to the surface of each sheet of paper, and to the sheets of
paper on the composition, and then press the whole together between the same
dies or moulds, and subject the same to great pressure for an hour or more.
The tray or other article thus far made is then to be placed between two iron
trays of the same shape, and in this condition cramped or held and dried in a
stove, and when dried the tray or other article is to be removed from the iron
trays and dressed, then dipped in oil, and finished, in the usual manner of
treating paper trays and other articles of japanners' ware, as is well understood.
I would remark in respect to this mode of making japanners' ware and articles
in substitution of papier maché, that the great object is to make a cheap com-
position of fibrous materials with glue or other adhesive matter, which, being
placed between two or more sheets of paper, and subjected to pressure, and
afterwards treated with oil, will make very excellent yet cheap trays and other

page_text: articles of japanners' ware, and articles in substitution of papier maché; at the
same time I do not confine myself to the fibrous materials used, and if desired
other materials may be added, so long as the composition produced is placed
between sheets of paper subjected to pressure and treated with oil, so as to
produce the object of the Invention, as herein described.
I will now describe another mode of making trays and other articles of
japanners' ware, or in substitution of papier maché. I take pulp made in the
ordinary manner in a stiff state, at the rate of six pounds, to which I add one
pound of sharps (separated from flour), one pound of spent hops, one pound
of fullers' earth, one pound of flour, with or without glue, and blend or mix
them well together with water, so as to produce a thick yet fluid composition,
which I run on to a sieve such as is used by hand paper makers, and produce
a suitable thickness for a tray or other article, and having allowed the same to
stand for a short time (a few minutes) I place it between two felts or flannels
and submit it to a press (in which state when dry it will be found useful in
place of the ordinary button board now used in making buttons); after which
I take the thick sheet of the composition from between the felts or flannels
and place it between two moulds or dies suitable for making a tray or other
article, and submit the composition to pressure, by which it is caused to assume
the desired shape; after which I clamp or otherwise secure it between two
sheet-iron shapes or moulds and dry it in a japanners' oven, after which the
tray is dressed, and treated with oil, and finished in the ordinary manner, all
which is well understood.
I would remark, in respect to this part of my Invention, that I am aware
that various attempts have been made to make trays and other articles of
japanners' ware or papier maché direct from pulp, but I believe without success,
and I mention this circumstance in order to state that I do not claim the use
of pulp for such purposes when separately employed, but only when employed
with fibrous materials and other matters, as herein described; at the same time
I do not confine myself to the use of the precise quantities of the matters
above given, and other fibres and earthy matters may be used either in place
of those given or in conjunction with them, care being observed that in using
other earthy matters they should be smooth, and as free as may be from grit.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would wish it to be
understood that what I claim is,-
First, the mode herein described of making die and pressure made buttons,
by applying a composition of fibrous materials with adhesive matter with other
materials.
Secondly, I claim the mode of making japanners' ware and articles in sub-

page_text: stitution of papier maché, by applying a composition of fibrous materials with
adhesive matter between surfaces of paper, as herein described.
And I also claim the mode of making japanners' ware and articles in sub-
stitution of papier machè, and button board for making buttons, by combining
fibrous materials with adhesive matter and pulp, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Shelton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
WILLIAM (L.S.) SHELDON.