IMPROVEMENTS IN MANU- FACTURING CERTAIN KINDS OF EMBROIDERED LACE
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILLIAM NUNN, of the Parish of Whippingham, Isle of Wight, Bobbin Net
Lace Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the fourth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry William Nunn, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Henry William Nunn, my exors, adiiors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry William Nunn, my exors, adñiors,.
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 MANU-
FACTURING CERTAIN KINDS OF EMBROIDERED LACE;" in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso, that I, the said Henry William Nunn, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry William Nunn, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention.

page_text: and the mamme which the same is to be performed, are runy described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists,-
First, in producing breadths of lace net in bobbin net machinery, with
narrow breadths (bearing a resemblance to purls) connected therewith by
lacing threads or threads interlaid by the machine, or by both, and further
embroidered, if desired (and after being bleached and dressed, if made of
unbleached cotton), are to have such lacing threads (if used) withdrawn, and
thus leave the narrow breadths unconnected, except by the interlaid or
embroidery threads, and thereby produce breadths of embroidered laco (re-
sembling in appearance blond and thread lace produced on the pillow),
having an open head to the lace, and purled within such openings, if
required.
Secondly, in working in purls in bobbin net machinery, for obtaining lace
with open, vandyked, or projecting heads or edges, as hereafter described.
Having thus generally stated the objects of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe the manner of performing the same. In order to carry into effect the
first part of my Invention, I produce, by means of a bobbin net machine capable
of making breadths, ordinary breadths, according to the width I require for the
groundwork of the lace (which groundwork may even be as narrow as the
narrow breadths hereafter described), and which breadths I make at such a
distance apart as shall allow room for one or any greater number of breadths
of two to five threads wide, as shewn in Figure 1, where there are two breadths
of bobbin net a, a, of fourteen threads wide, having between them two narrow
breadths b, b, of three threads wide, the four breadths being laced together by the
pink lacing threads, or between every second breadth, as shown in Figure 2, such
narrow breadths b, b, being shewn purled and taped by the ordinary means, and
the edges of the breadths a, a, which are connected with the breadths b, b, may
be purled, as shown in the Drawings, if it is intended that the openings to bo
hereafter produced by withdrawing the lacing threads should be purled. As
these narrow brendths b, b, have some resemblance to purls, which they are
intended to imitate, I shall henceforth for distinction call them by that name.
And I would remark that although I have stated this manner of producing what
I have proposed to call purls, having found it to answer, and it being generally
applicable to breadth machines, I do not confine myself thereto, as other
means may be resorted to, my Invention not relating to the manner of
producing the purls or description of the same, neither do I confine myself to

page_text: purls that have looped or purled edges, such loops not being absolutely
necessary, except the open head of the lace is to be purled within the openings.
During the progress of making such breadths a, a, and b, b, where the
machine will admit of it, as the traverse warp in particular, and others that
dispense with every alternate carriage, as hereafter recommended, I interlay
threads rarely exceeding in size No. 30 gimp, at such distances, in such forms
as the green lines in Figure 3, or in similar forms to those laid in by the warp
machine in tattings, which I effect by the ordinary means of guides fixed in
one or more bars, and actuated by shog wheels, and which interlaid threads
are for the purpose of further connecting the purls b, b, Figure 3, with the
breadth or groundwork a, and so to form or assist the formation of the pattern.
When I desire to have a greater diversity of pattern than can be produced by
such interlaid threads, I employ the needle for that purpose, and also to form
the edges into scollops if I desire it, which scollops may be formed by the same
means as is pursued to produce scollops in fast purled bobbin laces, and the
groundwork of the lace may be further embroidered by the needle in the ordinary
mode. The lace thus produced (when unbleached cotton is used is to be bleached
and dressed in the usual way), the lacing threads which join the purls and the
breadth or groundwork that are to form one lace are to be removed, and
the lace put on a dressing frame and carefully stretched in order to detach
the purls from each other (when two or more purls are used) and the ground-
work with which they are connected by the. interlaid threads, and also to
increase the scollops in depth. The piece is then taken off the frame, and tho
remainder of the lacing threads withdrawn. I would now remark, that 'it
is most desirable the blond lace should be produced from the machine in as
finished a state as not to have to undergo any process of cleansing or dressing,
to effect which the machine must be thoroughly cleaned, particularly those
parts that pass or touch the threads or lace, and the silk used in the same
state and of the same kinds as is used on the pillow for producing blond lace
(and unless the lace is wanted finer in quality than real blond lace usually is).
I would recommend dispensing with one moiety of the carriages (that is to
say, every alternate carriage), but in such case the shogs of the bars must be
altered to suit the guage of a machine of half the number of points to the
inch. would further remark, that as some of the breadth machines are
capable of making other kinds of net than bobbin net; it will be evident that
breadths of net may be produced thereby having purls connected in like
manner to that already described, but in such cases the parts will be made
in the style of what are termed Grecian, Lyons, and other twist nets, as arc
well understood; my Invention, as above stated with reference to the purls,

page_text: not consisting of the particular description of twist given to the lace or
formation of the meshes.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention for working in purls
in bobbin net machines for producing lace resembling lace made on the pillow,
termed open edge blonds and thread lace, that is, having an open, vandyked,
or projecting edge or head; it being desirable such lace, especially the blond,
should not undergo any process of bleaching or dressing, I use the silk or
cotton of the same kind and in the same state it is used on the pillow. I
tako a bobbin net machine, I will suppose it to be a traverse warp, and put
the same on with breadths in the usual way, except that there shall be a
space equal to two points between each breadth, and the breadths are not
laced together, but very tight selvage threads are used to keep them extended.
I remove the four carriages between each breadth, which in consequence of the
space between such breadths are useless, and also the points between each breadth
out of each point bar, except the point in the back point bar which is next to
the edge that is to have a purl worked into it. I then place in the machine a
bar similar to the front satin bar J, Fig. 3, shown in the Specification of my
former Patent, dated the Twenty-seventh day of February, One thousand
eight hundred and thirty-three, taken out in conjunction with George Mowbray
and Richard Alabone, and which bar J has like guides to those referred to by
jj, except that the eyes in such guides are sufficiently large to admit a purl
to pass freely through each eye, and the eyes of such guides are set to stand
edgewise to the workman, in order that the purl may also stand edgewise to
him, and which bar, like J, is placed in like arms to those indicated by B, B,
in such Specification, and actuated by a shog wheel as 109, and ratchet wheel
as 100 (as is well understood), which ratchet wheel I will suppose has sixteen
teeth, and is driven one tooth every time one of the point bars quit the lace.
I then for each breadth intended to have a purl worked into it take a purl
in a clean state, and made of the same material as the breadth, and warp the
same on a bobbin, taking care the purls are not twisted, which bobbin 1 place
in any convenient part about the machine, so that the purls may be led direct
into the eyes of the guides, such bobbins being weighted to give the required
tension to the purls. The machine being actuated, and the carriages and fork
bars performed their portion of one course, and the back points having to
take down the purl (which should stand opposite the vacant place), is shogged
in three threads of the breadth, and taken down by the back points. Two
more courses are worked, except the points of the second course, and the
purl is shogged back again so as to be left in the vacant space between the
breadths, and then taken down by the back points. An additional point bar

page_text: is placed in front of the centre bar, having one point for each purl, which is
to be worked into the edge of the breadth, and which points are fixed in such
point bar so as for each of such points to stand opposite each of the points
in the back point bar that were not to be removed though in the vacant spaces,
and which additional point bar is similar to that referred to by R, and has like
parts to those referred to by the letters Q, T, all of which are described in my
former said Specification, and are actuated by a wheel as U, except that U
must have only eight teeth and one stud, and one incline (as I am describing
a case in which the purl is only to be worked into the breadth once in every
sixteen courses), and which wheel U is actuated in like manner, as described
in the said Specification. Another course is now to be worked, and when
the front points go up, the one stud in U causes the points of R to pass on
to the back point that retains the purl, and in the next course when the back
points go up the incline on U, is to shog R, and carry the purl (away from
the edge it is worked into) into the space which was occupied by the point
removed out of the back point bar, and there retain it until the stud in U
causes the points in R to quit the purls. Eleven more courses are to be worked,
which will carry the shog wheel that actuates the bar J round to where it
started, and as such shog wheel is to have no indentation or rise on the part
where the guide bar bears against it during these eleven courses, no movement
of the purls will have taken place, but they will have remained in the vacant
spaces between the breadths of lace. The same operations are repeated
throughout the piece. The use of the spaces between the breadths is that
the points and carriages may be removed, and thus allow the purl to be
projected or carried out by the additional points, and also that during the time
the purl is not being worked into the lace, the carriages and points may not
touch it, and by their friction dirt or fray the purl, which would be liable to
be the case if they were not removed. It is not essential that the purl so to
be worked in lace should be the purl herein-before described, that is, the
produce of a bobbin net machine, as any kind of purl will do which will bear the
tension, but I prefer it purled on both sides, as b, b, Fig. 1, as the open edge
will be then purled within the openings, and in case the purl should become
twisted, it will still present a purled edge to the projecting or vandyked edge,
and of course it should be of the same material as the breadth which it is
to be worked into.
I would remark, that in order to this part of my Invention being clearly
understood, I have stated a definite number of teeth to the shog wheel,
and also as to the points and carriages to be removed, and also the purls are
to be worked in three threads, and once in sixteen courses, but a greater

page_text: number of carriages and points may be removed, depending on the distance
the purl is to be projected, and also a greater or less number of teeth,
and a greater number of shogs may be formed in the ratchet and shog wheels
(but the number of teeth must be even, and the ratchet wheel that actuates
the additional point bar must always have just half the number of teeth of
that of the ratchet that actuates the bar that carries the purls), and the purls
may be worked in more than three threads, such variations depending on the
pattern to be produced, that is, whether the purl is to be worked into the
edge further or more or less often than that above described. The lace being
thus produced, it is desirable, after it is taken off the work roller, to flatten
the same by an iron.
I would remark; that although I have only explained that part of my
Invention for working in purls in plain breadths, as effected by a traverse
warp machine, yet do not confine myself to plain breadths, or the use
of that machine only, as it will be evident that as like spaces may be left
between the breadths in other bobbin net machines capable of making breadths
or blond lace, as specified in my former Patent already referred to, and also
that as the bar used for lacing the breadths will be rendered unnecessary
by the breadths not being laced, that such bar, or a similar bar to J, may be
easily applied in the manner I have described to work purls into the edges
of the net or lace, and that the additional point bar, with the parts connected
therewith, and fully shown in my former Specification, may be readily attached
to such machines, but I should not recommend it being attempted to work
in purls in such machines as hug the twist, as being liable to produce defects,
unless such hugging of the twist was dispensed with. And further, I should
recommend that as the purl to be worked in will always be a delicate fabric,
the speed of the machine should be very considerably moderated.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be carried into effect, I would have it understood that
I lay no claim to any of the machinery herein mentioned or described for
effecting the same; but I do claim,―
First, the producing by bobbin net machinery one or more purls combined
by lacing or interlaid threads with each breadth of bobbin or other net
(either of silk or cotton) in the process of manufacturing embroidered laco
resembling blond and thread lace produced on the pillow, having an open head
by the purl or purls, standing wholly or at intervals from the groundwork
of the lace, and from each other when two or more purls are used, and
producing at pleasure the open head of such lace purled within the openings,
as above described. And,

page_text: Secondly, I claim the working. in purls in bobbin net machines for
producing lace with open, vandyked, or projecting heads or edges, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry William Nunn, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of September, in the fifth
year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord William the Fourth, and in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.