IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING GLASS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ELIZA
TONGE, of Boston, in the County of Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Third day of
July, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto-
me, the said Eliza Tonge, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Eliza Tonge, my exors,
admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Eliza Tonge, my exors,
admors, 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
ORNAMENTING GLASS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Eliza Tonge, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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, I, the said
Eliza Tonge, 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 description thereof, that is to say :-
In carrying into effect my Improvements in Ornamenting Glass, I proceed
as follows: I first trace the design of the said ornament (which I will
suppose to be the representation of a group of flowers) on the back of the
sheet or piece of glass to be ornamented. And I here remark, that the whole
of the processes herein-after described are performed on the back of the sheet
or piece of glass to be ornamented, and that the ornament produced is viewed
from the front of the glass, that is to say, the said ornament is seen through
the glass. The tracing of the outline of the group of flowers may be executed
in black varnish, or any other dark-colored varnish or paint. I next proceed
by the use of some transparent neutral color to complete the drawing of the
group of flowers, that is to say, to produce the representation of a group of
flowers, the drawing and shading of which is complete, but which possesses no
positive or local color. When the neutral color is sufficiently dry and hard, I
proceed to apply positive or local colors to the several parts of the design, in
the manner following:-The colors which I prefer are either transparent or
semi-transparent, and I mix each of the said colors with Canada balsam, or
copal or mastic varnish, or other suitable transparent vehicle; but I prefer
Canada balsam. In using the said colors I prefer applying the same color
(green, for example,) to all the parts of the design where it is intended to
apply that color, and allowing that color to harden before applying another
color, rather than use different colors at the same time, as there is danger of
the colors running into one another when several are used at the same time.
Hence, I apply at the same time green to all those parts of the design where
it is required, and, when that is dry and hard, I apply another color, blue, for
example, to those parts of the design where it is required, and so on with other
colors.
My method of applying the colors is as follows:-I take up a portion
of the colored balsam or varnish with a brush, or pointed stick or style, and,
holding the said brush or stick vertically, allow the said colored balsam or
varnish to form a drop on the end thereof, and then bring the drop of balsam
or varnish down until it touches the glass. On withdrawing the brush the
color forms an almost hemispherical drop on the glass. In this way I proceed
applying the colored balsam or varnish, drop by drop, until all those portions
of the design to be tinted of the particular color which is being used have
been covered. I then invert the glass; that is to say, I place it in a hori

page_text: zontal position, with that side to which the color has been applied downwards.
By placing it in this position, the colored balsam or varnish is prevented from
spreading, and the convexity of the surface of the colored balsam or varnish
is preserved. When the colored balsam or varnish first applied has hardened,
I proceed in the same way to apply other portions, allowing each to harden
before the application of the next; and in this way I proceed, until in some
places where I wish to produce considerable depth of color, the said colored
balsam or varnish has attained a thickness of a quarter of an inch or more.
This thickness, however, only give to those portions constituting the middle
portions of the design. After the colored balsam or varnish thus applied has
hardened, I apply foil to the back of the said design, and paint those portions
of the glass unoccupied by the said design with black or coloured paint, the.
paint used for this purpose being opaque. I prefer destroying the uniformity
of surface of the foil before applying it to the back of the design. This may
be effected by crumpling the said foil in the hand, or by impressing its surface
by dies or otherwise. The attaching of the foil to the colored balsam or:
varnish, and the securing of the whole from injury by a covering of some pro-
tecting material, may be effected in a variety of ways; but as methods of
effecting these objects are well known and commonly practised, and constitute
no part of my Invention, I do not deem it necessary to give a particular
description thereof. Neither do I consider it necessary to describe the method
of preparing the colors I employ, and mixing the same with Canada balsam or
varnish, as the means whereby the same may be effected are also well known
and commonly practised, and constitute no part of my Invention. The plates
of glass, ornamented in the manner herein-before described, may be used as
panels for insertion in walls or articles of furniture, or for articles of jewelry,
and as ornaments generally. Although I have described my Invention with
reference to the production of the representation of a group of flowers, yet my
said Invention is equally applicable to the production of representations of
other objects. Although I have described the method by which I prefer
carrying my Invention into effect, yet the same may be varied without
departing from the nature of my said Invention. For example, although I
prefer painting the design in neutral color alone, leaving the positive or local
color of the several parts of the said design to be produced by the colored
Canada balsam or varnish, yet the whole or part of the color may be intro-
duced by painting on the glass with transparent color, and loading the same
with colorless or colored Canada balsam or varnish; but I prefer the method
herein-before first described. Instead of putting foil at the back of the design,
in the manner herein-before described, any reflecting material may be sub-

page_text: stituted for the said foil on the back of the Canada balsam or varnish; or the
back of the Canada balsam or varnish may be painted with opaque white or
colored paint; but I prefer the use of foil, as herein-before first described.
Instead of Canada balsam, or copal or mastic varnish, various other trans-
parent or semitransparent vehicles may be used; but I prefer Canada balsam.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as
my Invention the method of ornamenting glass by the processes herein-
before described, that is to say, by tracing and drawing the said design with a
neutral transparent color, and producing the positive or local color of the
several parts of the said design by applying thereto a colored transparent
vehicle, the said colored transparent vehicle being applied in sufficient thick-
ness to give the required depth and intensity of color, and the said design
completed by the application of foil to the back thereof, whether the production
of the said design be effected by the methods herein-before described or by
any modification of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Eliza Tonge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our
T
cond eight hundred and forty-seven.