AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN, CARDS FOR CARDING COTTON, WOOL, SILK, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM;
HORSFALL, of Manchester; Card Maker, send greeting...
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing, date' at
Westminster, the First day of October, in the fourth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Horsfall, my exors, admiors, and assigns; Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Horsfall, my
exors, adiiors; and assigns, and such others as I, the said William' Horsfall,
my exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,, and no others,
from time to time and at all times hereafter during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and. vend, within
that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland*
called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN, CARDS FOR CARDING
COTTON, WOOL, SILK, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said.
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Horsfall, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, under my hand and 'seal, to be enrolled.
in Her 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 whereas the backs or foundations of the cards for
carding cotton, wool, silk, flax, and other fibrous substances, have been hereto-,

page_text: fore for the most part made of leather, but are attended with this disadvantage,
that, from want of uniformity in the texture of leather, some cards are not
so flexible as others, and even in the same card great differences are found
to exist in this respect, some parts being stiff and rigid compared with others,
which cards or parts of cards that are of inferior flexibility are also less durable
than the others. And whereas it has been sought to obviate these defects by
substituting backs made of sheet caoutchouc, and of caoutchouc and linen or
cotton cloth cemented together, and of woollen cloth saturated with a solution
of caoutchouc; but such backs also are found objectionable on account of
their liability to be injuriously affected by changes of temperature, and also to
become damaged from drops of oil accidentally falling upon them, by which so
much of the caoutchouc as the oil comes in contact with is dissolved, or nearly
SO. Now I declare that the nature of my said invented improvements consists
in making the backs or foundations of cards for carding cotton, wool, silk, flax,
and other fibrous substances,
Firstly, of thick woven cloth made of fine sheep's wool, shot upon a
warp of flax, hemp, or cotton thread, coated with certain compositions, by
which the flexibility of the cloth is little if at all impaired, while the coating
itself is of a smooth, even, and pliable surface, not liable to crack, or to be
injuriously affected by contact witli oils or changes of temperature; or,
Secondly, of a thick woollen cloth, with a web of thin smooth cotton or
other suitable fabric connected thereto on one or both sides.
And I declare that the manner of performing the said Invention is as follows:-
To make the first of the before-mentioned descriptions of backs or founda-
tions, I procure a thick woven. cloth, made of fine sheep's wool, shot upon a
warp of flax, hemp, or cotton thread, milled and fulled up to the thickness
herein-after mentioned, and well shorn on both sides. For the medium sort
of cotton cards, this cloth should weigh from twenty-six to twenty-eight ounces
per square yard, and for the medium-sort of flax cards it should weigh about
thirty-six ounces per square yard. For the finer sorts-of-each of these
descriptions of cards the cloth should weigh a few ounces less than the quan-
tities just specified, and for the coarser a few ounces more. Various substances
may be made use of and applied in various ways to give this cloth the requisite
coating; but the substances and the method which I prefer are the following:
I first give the cloth a priming, composed of water, good whiting, and well
boiled linseed oil, using as much whiting as the water will hold in solu-
tion, and adding no more oil than is necessary to make the mixture
spread easily without running; or, instead thereof, I use for priming a
composition such as painters call distemper, made of a weak size mixed with

page_text: ochre. When the priming is dry I brush it over with a weak size, in order
to dampen it slightly, and then rub the cloth down with pummice stone, to
remove any roughnesses which may remain on the surface. Should the cloth
appear not to be then sufficiently primed, I give it a second coat of priming,
leaving it to dry, and afterwards rubbing down the cloth with pummice stone as
before. I then give the cloth a coating of linseed oil, boiled to the consistency of
a thick cream, and laid on evenly. The cloth is then set to dry; and if saving of
time is an object, the process of drying may be accelerated by subjecting the
cloth to a temperature of about one hundred and eighty degrees of Fahrenheit.
A good coating, especially for the coarser sorts of cards, may also be com-
pounded of any oil paint mixed with a solution of soap in the proportion of
one pound of soap dissolved in six pints of water to about one hundred weight
of the paint, or of glue and treacle or molasses mixed in the proportion of
about one part gluc to about two parts of treacle, with the addition of a small
portion of boild linseed oil; and in employing either of the two last-mentioned
compositions one coating only for one side will be necessary; but whatever
may be the material or materials employed, this general rule must be observed,
that where oils or substances of an oily nature are used they must either be
mixed up with other substances to prevent their running and penerating into
the cloth, or have a layer or layers of priming interposed between them and
the cloth before their application thereto. I have spoken of the coating as
applied to one side only of the cloth; but it may be applied to one or both
sides, according as the card maker may judge expedient.
And now, to describe the manner of making the second of the before-men-
tioned improved sorts of backs or foundations for cards, I declare that I take
a cloth of weight and thickness similar to that before described, but which
may be made wholly of sheep's wool both in the warp and weft, and cement
thereto, on one or both sides, a web of thin smooth cloth, of cotton or any other
suitable material or mixture of materials, using for the purpose a cement of
glue and treacle, or any other which is of sufficient adhesiveness, and not
injuriously acted upon by oils. In all cases the wires are inserted into and
secured in the backs of foundations by the usual card-making machinery, and
in the usual manner.
And having now fully specified the nature of my said invented improve-
ments, and the manner in which the same are to be performed, I declare, that
though I have herein-before described what I consider to be the best means of
giving a suitable coating to my improved backs or foundations for cards, and
also described certain other means which I do not consider so good, I do not
confine myself to the use of these means or any of them exclusively, but claim

page_text: a right to use of all similar means by which the like useful effects may be
produced, that is to say: by which such cloth backs may have a coating given
them by which the flexibility of the cloth is little if at all impaired, while the
coating itself is of a smooth, even, and pliable surface, and not liable to crack,
or to be injuriously affected by oils or changes of temperature. And I declare
that what I claim generally as my improvements in cards consists in making
the backs or foundations thereof,→
Firstly, of thick woven cloth, made of fine sheep's wool, shot upon, a warp of
flax, hemp, or cotton thread, and coated as herein-before described; or,...
Secondly, of a thick cloth, composed altogether of wool, and covered with a
web of thin smooth cotton, or other suitable fabric, cemented thereto, and
whether such backs or foundations are so coated or covered on one or both
sides thereof.
And such my said Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great. Britain and Ireland called England, Her. Dominion of
Wales, or the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be by
Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification
doth comply fully and in all respects, without reserve or disguise, with the
proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained.
Wherefore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege-to-my.said
Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Horsfall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of April; One thousand eight hundred
Inrolled the First day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-one.