IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND TAPERS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Griffith Brewer, of 33, Chancery Lane, in the
"
County of Middlesex, for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED
WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND TAPERS." A communication
from abroad by Firmin Marius Joly, of Paris, France.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Griffith Brewer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th January 1881.
EDWARD GRIFFITH BREWER, of 33, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex.
IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND
TAPERS." A communication from abroad by Firmin Marius Joly, of Paris,
France.
j
In the manufacture of candles it is important that all the useful parts of the
combustible material should be burnt, so as to produce the greatest lighting power
possible; one is the result of the other. If all the useful materials are burned, the
lighting power will be much increased; if on the contrary a part of the combustible
materials is not burned, these portions represented by the smoke, the cutting, the
intermittences of the flame, will constitute besides these inconveniences a loss.
Many systems have been proposed to remedy these imperfections, and generally
they have failed either in the composition of the articles themselves, or in additions
of accessories thereto more or less complicated or expensive. To the inventor's
knowledge no one has ever attempted to improve the article itself, that is to say,
to leave the candle in its simplicity of construction while burning in a uniform
manner all the available material.
The improvement may be thus summarized.
To compose as before the candle of two parts, one unctuous, fusible, viz., tallow,
stearine, paraffin, wax, the other the wick; it is on this last to which the
inventor's attention has been drawn, for he considers it the most important
auxiliary in this manufacture, and the Invention relates especially to the con-
struction of wicks for candles. Hitherto these latter have been composed of
different materials woven, plaited, or a single wick effects the fusion of the material,
and the combustion is thus made more or less perfect. In the common dip candle
it operates very badly, rendering it necessary to snuff the wick to see well and
avoid smoke during a short space of time it is true, but snuffing entails generally
guttering.

page_text: This Invention then essentially refers to the manufacture of the wick. The
candle is provided with a wick, but the latter is composed of several separate
parts, viz., the wick properly so called, which may be woven or plaited by any
suitable means, then of some independent core pieces which may be of any number;
these the inventor calls supply guides placed with or without twisting, and
traversing the wick from end to end. Each of these parts before arriving at the
burning has a special function to perform, in fact the wick weaving or plaiting
admits of slight capillarity, but in return, at the moment of combustion, it assumes
the necessary curvature to come outside the flame, and to eliminate itself at the
same time as the cores come in contact with the air. By this means snuffing is
avoided, the flame is not obscured by the wick; it results that the latter is always
equal, regular, without oscillations, without smoke, and gives a lighting power
relatively very great, all the combustible parts being utilized.
The cores are composed of any convenient number of threads, and by reason of
their structure possess a considerable degree of capillarity; they receive through
the wick the liquid material in proportion as it is produced, and conducts it while
distributing it uniformly throughout all the parts of the wick up to the flame. It
also acts the part of a regulator by distancing the flame from the material, and if
the latter approaches occasionally a cup form, it only puts in fusion the quantity of
material which is necessary for its supply, and this being done the flame is seen to
distance itself to a point which could be normal at certain moments, a distance of
about 3/8 of an inch; consequently the cup being always dry guttering cannot occur,
and for this reason all the materials that are combustible being usefully employed,
it may be said that the candle has produced the greatest lighting power that it can
give without any loss.
To obtain the results above described, the inventor has found that two core
supply guides answer the purpose, two are better than one, three are better than
two, and four better than three; it is experience alone that can fix the number.
In operating on what are known as dip candles, it is proposed to coat them by
dipping them into a bath of hardened tallow.
In some cases the wick may be enclosed in a fabric or hollow wick or envelope
of one or of several strands twisted or not, and rolled spirally around the same
wick.
The wicks may be lighted at either end.
The candles made according to this Invention may be wrapped with or enveloped
by white tallow gilded. The candles may be coated with a material harder than
tallow.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edward Griffith Brewer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th July 1881.
EDWARD GRIFFITH BREWER, of 33, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND
TAPERS." (A communication from abroad by Firmin Marius Joly, of Paris,
France.)
In the manufacture of candles it is important that all the useful parts of the
combustible material should be burnt so as to produce the greatest lighting power
possible; one is the result of the other. If all the useful materials are burned the
lighting power will be much increased; if, on the contrary, a part of the com-
bustible material is not burned, these portions represented by the smoke, the
cutting, the intermittences of the flame, will constitute besides these inconveniences
a loss.
Many systems have been proposed to remedy these imperfections, and generally
they have failed either in the composition of the articles themselves or in additions
or accessories thereto more or less complicated or expensive.
To the inventor's knowledge no one has ever attempted to improve the article
itself, that is to say, to leave the candle in its simplicity of construction while
burning in a uniform manner all the available material.
The improvement may be thus summarized.
To compose as before the candle of two parts, one unctuous and fusible, viz.,
tallow, stearine, paraffin, wax; the other the wick. It is on this last to which the
inventor's attention has been drawn, for he considers it the most important
auxiliary in this manufacture, and the Invention relates especially to the construction
of wicks for candles. Hitherto these latter have been composed of different
materials woven, plaited, or a single wick effects the fusion of the material, and the
combustion is thus made more or less perfect. In the common dip candle it
operates very badly, rendering it necessary to snuff the wick to see well and avoid
smoke during a short space of time it is true, but snuffing entails generally
guttering.
This Invention then essentially refers to the manufacture of the wick, and
illustrations are given in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings to an enlarged scale
to illustrate how the Invention is carried into effect.
Figure 1 is a vertical section through line A, B, of Figure 2, which is a plan
section with wick according to one arrangement. Figure 3 is a vertical section
thro' line C, D, Figure 4, which is a plan section of another arrangement. Figure
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show other arrangements. Figure 11 shows a wick surrounded
by another spirally. Figure 12 shows a wick enclosed in a tube.
a shows a portion of a candle which has a wick b, but the latter is composed of
several separate parts, viz., the wick 6 properly so called, which may be woven or
plaited by any suitable means, then of some independent core pieces b¹, which may
be of any number; these the inventor calls supply guides placed with or without
twisting, and traversing the wick from end to end. Each of these parts before
arriving at the burning has a special function to perform. In fact the wick weaving
or plaiting, indicated by the letter b, admits of slight capillarity, but in return, at the
moment of combustion, it assumes the necessary curvature to come outside the flame
and to eliminate itself at the same time as the cores come in contact with the air.
By this means snuffing is avoided, the flame is not obscured by the wick; it results
that the latter is always equal, regular, without flickering, without smoke, and
gives a lighting power relatively very great, all the combustible parts being
utilized.

page_text: The cores, indicated by the letter 61, are composed of any convenient number of
threads, and by reason of their structure possess a considerable degree of
capillarity; they may be received through the wick b, the liquid material in pro-
portion as it is produced, and conducts it while distributing it uniformly throughout
all the parts of the wick up to the flame. It also acts the part of a regulator by
distancing the flame from the material, and if the latter approaches occasionally a
cup form it only puts in fusion the quantity of material which is necessary for its
supply, and this being done the flame is sure to distance itself to a point which
could be normal at certain moments, a distance of about a centimeter, consequently
the cup being always dry guttering cannot occur, and for this reason all the
materials there are combustible being usefully employed, it may be said that the
candle has produced the greatest lighting power that it can give without any
loss.
To obtain the results above described the inventor has found that two core
supply guides answer the purpose, two are better than one, three are better than
two, and four better than three; it is experience alone that can fix the number.
In operating on what are known as dip candles it is proposed to coat them by
dipping them into a bath of hardened tallow.
In some cases the wick may be enclosed in a fabric or hollow wick or envelope
of one or several strands, twisted or not, and rolled spirally around the said
wick.
The wicks may be lighted at either end.
The candles made according to this Invention may be wrapped with or enveloped
by white tallow gilded.
The candles may be coated with a material harder than tallow.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First. The employment of twisted, plaited, woven, or flat wicks made in such.
manner as to produce at the moment of combustion the necessary curvature for the
supply of the wick in contact with the air, composed of any desired number of equal
or unequal wicks, and provided with cores or supply wicks of the same or of
different thicknesses, substantially as set forth.
.
Second. The employment of plaited wicks having 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 pieces and
not provided with core pieces, being if desired enclosed in a fabric or hollow wick or
surrounded with one or several twisted pieces or not, and rolled round the said
wick spirally, substantially as described and illustrated with reference to the
accompanying Drawings.
Third. The enveloping of candles made according to this Invention with whitened
and hardened tallow.
Fourth. A material that is harder than the tallow or other material of which the
candle is made, substantially as set forth.
my
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Griffith Brewer, have hereunto set
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
E. G. BREWER.
(L.S.)