IMPROVEMENTS. IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING SHAWLS AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street, in
the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS.
IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING SHAWLS AND OTHER FABRICS."-A communica-
tion from abroad by Ignace Michel Firnstahl, of Vienna.
Sealed the 15th March 1861, and dated the 20th September 1860
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald Brooman.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th September 1860.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING SHAWLS AND OTHER FABRICS," (com-
municated to me from abroad by Ignace Michel Firnstahl, of Vienna) to be
as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to print shawls and other fabrics in two or
more colors by vertical pressure.
The machine is composed of a trestle or skeleton frame, a printing table,
color. table, printing apparatus, the machinery for turning and regulating the
position of the table, and a regulator for the printing apparatus.
The machine designed for printing long fabrics in two colors is composed
of a trestle or skeleton frame, a printing table, color table, and printing
apparatus.

page_text: The printing apparatus for four or more colors is composed of a jointed
chain pinion for strap or chain double rails, between which the chain is led,
and cams or other appliances for regulating the motion. On the top of the
frame rails are fixed, on which a carriage having flanged wheels runs; this
carriage supports two sets of levers, from which the engraved or printing
blocks are suspended, vertical pressure being imparted to them by a hand
lever or levers. By depressing the hand lever from, say, the left side, the
printing blocks to the right of the printing apparatus receive the same motion,
and while one part of the apparatus prints, the other part as it ascends moves
on one side in such manner that color is taken from the color troughs and
printing effected from two blocks working side by side.
The printing table is held in position by studs entering holes formed in its
under part; the studs are raised when required by a side lever worked by an
attendant.
The registering apparatus consists of a bracket depending from the sides of
the travelling carriage, having a hole into which a bolt or catch takes; the
bolt or catch is connected to a weighted lever, which causes the bolt to act
automatically.
In the color taking apparatus the color roller has two toothed wheels, and
the rollers rolling upon wheels spread the color uniformly and are easy to
work. The frames employed are similar to those in hand printing, except that
they are flat and filled with liquid; above another frame is placed, fitted with
oiled cloth or impermeable cloth, and over this another frame carrying tammy;
in the angles of this latter are small cams to facilitate the rising of the rubbing
roller, which rolls in the frame covered with the tammy, and returns on the
rails placed at the same level as the frame.
The machine acts in the following manner:-A frame stretched with cloth
is placed on the printing table, as before stated, the square of the impression
is verefied, and the original is left in the left-hand angle of the table; the
printing apparatus is passed over this table, and the division from the left of
the apparatus is screwed on to the original impression, the print blocks receive
color, and being carried forward print and return to the color table for a
fresh supply of color. The table is then turned carrying the original impres-
sion into the right-hand angle of the printing table; the block is taken into
the right division and the color is printed on to the original impression, thus
continuing to take color and print until the four corners are printed in two
colors. If the two colors are well placed.the printing can be continued without
any interruption.
For printing long fabrics the machinery employed is with some modifica-

page_text: tions similar to that just described. A jointed chain is led through divisions
in the printing and color table at top and bottom between two rails, and is
driven by a strap or chain passing round two octagonal or other shaped rollers.
The ordinary printing frame is replaced by a frame carrying points at a short
5 distance from one another by means of which the cloth and fabric are stretched.
The chain being led in a groove on the rails receives the same amount of
tension as the pressure frames. The chain may be used in combination with
rollers, in which case one roller causes the fabric to approach the chain while
other rollers raise the material to be printed above the chain. The motion
of the chain is regulated in its register by two regulators, one of which is
placed at the extremity of the table and the other on a disc. The printing
blocks are received at their lower part in a frame of the printing apparatus
for long fabrics by means of plate screws; these printing blocks are furnished
with a projection by which they are inserted into the interior of the frame.
When it is desired to print in two colors a straight line is drawn through the
middle of the printing table, the printing block is placed on the right hand
side of this line and fixed by means of screws passing from the top to the
right-hand side of the printing apparatus, the printing block then passes on to
the color table, receives color, and passes on to the printing table. The
machine is then brought forward until the openings coincide with the cylin-
ders, the color is then adjusted according to the original impression, the block
is taken into the left division of the printing apparatus, the two colors are
taken, and the first color is printed at the side of the original impression. So
soon as the register is correct the chain moves on to the next, the two colors
are taken and printed, as before, continuing the operation until the chain is
exhausted, and until the first part of the impression has arrived at its original
position on the printing table. The blocks are then removed, the tammies are
changed on the frames, refilled with color, and adjusted according to the ori-
ginal impression. When the process is carried on with four colors the original
impression is passed into the right division; this original impression is made
four times, one on the side of the other; but after each impression it advances
a short distance until the original impression is printed four times; the other
three colors are arranged one after the other, placing green, for example, at
the second register, red at the third, and blue at the fourth; then at the
second advance of the chain there will be the original impression with the
green; at the third, the original, the green and the red; and at the fourth, the
original, the green, the red, and the blue, and so on reproducing the different
colors until the completion of the work.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th March 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING SHAWLS AND OTHER
FABRICS," (a communication from abroad by Ignace Michel Firnstahl, of
Vienna,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richand
Archibald Brooman, mý executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
The object of this Invention is to print shawls of any size by means of
vertical pressure, in manner hereafter explained. The machine may be
made of wood and iron, or iron only, or of any other suitable material. Its
construction and method of action will be understood by reference to the
accompanying Drawings.
The machine for printing shawls is composed of a frame A, a printing
table I, color table II, printing apparatus shewn in side view at B, Figure 1,

page_text: and in plan at C, Figure 2, apparatus for turning and regulating the top of the
table D, and of a regulator for the printing apparatus E.
The machine for printing long fabrics is composed of a frame Fadapted for
two colors, a printing table III., color table VI. Printing apparatus G,
which is shewn in side view and plan at Figures 3 and 4 of a printing appa-
ratus I adapted for four colors, shown in top and side views at Figures 5
and 6 of a jointed chain L of a pinion for strap or chain O, of double rails P
between which the chain L is led, and of the regulators S, R, and 18, motion
is derived from the levers N and lever roller M. The lever b of the roller M
is jointed to the lever c by the connection a, and the lever c is joined to the
lever e by means of an iron connection d; the lever fof the lever roller gis fixed
to the frames by the connection h. From this arrangement the following
action takes place :-On depressing the right-hand side of the lever N the
roller M. ascends with the left-hand lever b, the connection a draws upwards
the lever c, and the connection d draws the levers e, this makes the lever
roller g descend with the lever f, and the connection h drive the frame k from
the left division of the printing apparatus. With the printing block introduced
into the block carrier on to the material stretched on the printing table T,
on depressing the lever N from the left side, the right division of the printing.
apparatus receives the same motion, and while one part of the apparatus thus.
prints, the other part moves on one side as it ascends in such manner that two.
blocks may be colored and printed from working by the side of one another.
The block carriers can be opened in order to facilitate the cleaning of the
blocks. The top of the table T is placed a short distance, about one-third of
an inch, above the frame A, on a support u, a part v of which is raised, below
which there is another piece w, so that by turning the bottom of the table T' the
latter piece w is led under the top of the table T; under the table T and
support u machinery D is placed for regulating the table while turning; for
this purpose four tubes (1 to 4) pass through the support u and fit into the
under side of the table T on the four sides (5 to 8). By raising the lever 9
with, say, the left hand, the levers 10 are drawn upwards, while the roller
lever 11 and the lever 12 descend, drawing with them the tubes 1 to 4, with
the openings at the top of the table T; the top of the table T can then be
turned with the right hand, but during this motion the left hand releases the
lever q, when the openings 5 to 8 at the top of the table coincide with the
tubes 1 to 4, which enter them spontaneously by the aid of a weight 40
attached to the lever 9, thereby holding the top of the table T. The tubes
are made of an equal size, and their periphery must be equally divided.
Each printing table carries four plugs i, in which are inserted one in front

page_text: and the other at back bolts m, one of which is shown detached at Figure 7.
These bolts are circular, and are placed under the printing apparatus B. When
the introduction takes place a printing apparatus has been pushed on the
table, two cylinders u passing by the frame A fall at the same time unto
the openings of the registers n, at the same time the registers n push one of
the cylinders u at or near its lower part, and during the motion of the registers
(the weight r being attached to the roller s) the cylinders u become inserted in
the openings of the registers n, a motion which guarantees the continual
locking as well as the firm position of the printing apparatus. To remove the
printing apparatus from the pressure table, the cylinders u must be disengaged
from the metal connections n by the regulator E; for this purpose the lever p
is depressed by the left hand, and the right hand pushes the printing apparatus
on to the color table. In the color-taking apparatus the color roller has two
toothed wheels, and the rollers running on wheels spread the color uniformly.
The frames employed are similar to those in hand-printing, except that they
are flat, and filled with liquid. There is another frame placed above fitted
with oiled cloth or impermeable cloth, and over this there is still another frame
carrying tammy. In the angles of this latter are small cams, to facilitate the
rising of the rubbing roller, which rolls in the frame on the tammy, and
returns on the rails placed at the same level as the frame. Two of these
frames are represented at 50 and 51, Figure 4. There are four cylinders on
the top of the table on which the impression frames are adjusted, the openings
in which are fitted with metal plates. After having marked a spot on the
frame, it is adjusted on the cylinders by placing it on the top of the table T,
which is also marked, and the two marks are made to coincide. By adopting
this method on several machines, printing takes place in unison, and the work
of several machines is thus combined in one. Each division of the printing
apparatus comprises two or four motions, half of which are regulated in the
interior of the block carrier 15, the other half in the frame 16, by means of a
plate screw 42, motion will be thus regulated, and the divisions adjusted in
relation to their forward and backward motion. The screw 42, with the
parts 15 and 16, is represented separately on the Drawing at Figure 8.
The machine can be made for two colors with a single impression and
a color table, or for four colors, with a single impression and two color
tables. The printing mechanism may be employed for printing vertically or
at the side.
The machine just described is made of three different sizes, and acts in
the following manner :-A frame stretched with cloth is placed on the printing
table T, as before stated. The square of the impression is verified by means

page_text: of the first or original impression. The original is left in the left-hand angle
of the table; the printing apparatus is passed over this table, then the division
from the left of the apparatus is screwed on to the original impression by
means of screws 42 into the block carrier l. The block receives color, passes
on to receive an impression, and returns to the color table. The lever 9 is
then raised with the left hand, and the top of the table is turned with the
right hand, carrying the original impression into the right-hand angle of the
printing table which is situated opposite; at this point the following color is
adjusted on the original impression. The block is taken into the right
division; the color is taken, and printed on to the original impression, thus
continuing to take color and print until the four corners are printed in two
colors. If the two colors are well placed, the printing can be continued
without any interruption. When the color arrives at the spot where the
original impression is, and that is printed on the color, the original becomes
adjusted as well as the other color.
Any desired number of shawls can be printed first in two colors, and
afterwards in other colors, or a shawl which is printed in two colors; so soon
as it is a little dry, is passed on to the second machine, its impression being
prepared in the manner before described.
The preparation necessary for printing long fabrics according to this
Invention very nearly resembles that adopted for shawls, the only difference
is that the lever roller M is not provided with transposed levers, but they are
placed in the middle, one alongside the other, as shewn at Figure 5, which
represents the lever roller M, the two levers b, right and left, placed one on
the side of the other, and where the print carriers of the two divisions move
in a right line.
In printing long fabrics, such as shawls, the double lever N and the lever
roller M are the principal sources from which the motion is derived, but the
effect produced is the same. By depressing the lever N from the right-hand
side, the lever roller M ascends with the left-hand lever b; the connection a
draws the lever c, and the connection d draws upwards the lever e. This
motion makes the lever roller g descend with the lever f, and the hinges h
push the frame k, with the block carrier and the blocks 43, on to the fabric,
which is placed on the printing table III. When the double lever N is
depressed on the left-hand side, the same effect is produced as by the
depression of the lever N on the right-hand side, and it will be seen that,
by means of the double lever N, two colors are alternately taken and printed,
first to the right, and then to the left, and that while one of the divisions is
employed for printing or taking color, the division moves on one side, and

page_text: ascends in such manner as to print and take the color with two blocks moving
at the side of one another.
A jointed chain is led through the divisions III. and VI. in the printing
and color table at top and bottom, and is led between two rails P, driven by
two octagonal rollers Z, and by a strap or chain O. The ordinary printing
frame is replaced by a frame L, carrying points at a short distance from one
another, by means of which the cloth and fabric are stretched. The chain L,
being led from top to bottom in a groove on the rails P, receives the same
amount of tension as the pressure frames. The chain L can be employed in
combination with roller mechanism; one roller causes the fabric to approach
the chain L, while other rollers raise the material to be printed above
the chain L. The application of this system of jointed chain L, in the
manner before described, is quite novel. Figure 9 to a top view, representing
the separate parts of the jointed chain L; Figure 10 is a view of the under
side of the same chain, with a rail P, on which the chain L is led from bottom
to top.
The motion of the chain is regulated by two regulators, one of which is
placed at the extremity R of the table III., and the other 18 on a disc w of
the roller Z; their respective positions are indicated by the openings 33 on
the chain L. In some cases the length of the chain L must correspond with
the diameter of the disc w, in order that when the chain L advances and its
openings coincide with the cylinder at the end of the printing table, the same
may take place between the cylinder and the disc w. R 18 is a regulator
represented in top view at Figure 11; by depressing the lever 27, the other
lever 28, to which it is attached moves with it; then the lever roller 29
moving in grooves, one at each end, descends with the levers 30, by which
motion the cylinders 31, on the levers 30, are withdrawn from the chain and
disc w, and allow the lever 27 to escape and move on to the chain; the
balance 32 drives the cylinders 31 into the openings in the chain L and the
disc w, and thus a certain register is produced.
The machine multiplied for printing in four colors is shewn at Figures 5
and 6; in a similar manner a machine can be constructed for printing in 6 or 8
colors with a single printing table and a color table, or a double printing table
and a color table on each side for 2, 4, 6, or 8 colors.
The block carriers are received at their lower part in a frame k of the
printing apparatus for long fabrics, by means of plate screws; these block
carriers are made with a flange or projection 20, by which they are inserted
into the interior of the frame k, as shown at Figure 14; the blocks are
held in the frame k by means of the screws 21; the lower part of

page_text: the screw 24 comes against the block carrier l, its upper part 23 on the
frame; the plate screw 21 enters from the top downwards in the bolt
hole 24, fixed on the block carrier ; a spindle extends through the upper part
of the plate screw 21, and it is on this spindle that the thread of the screw 21
moves in such manner that by loosening or screwing up this screw the block
carrier is loosened or tightened, and is drawn down or entirely removed
from the frame k, when the blocks are required to be cleaned, or for other
purposes.
Each printing division is provided with four uniform trains between them
adjusted externally on the frame G 46 of the printing apparatus with the
assistance of a screw plate 42, as before stated.
When it is desired to print in two colors a straight line is drawn through
the middle of the printing table; the block carrier is placed on the right-hand
side of this line, by means of screws passing from the top to the right-hand
side of the printing apparatus; it then passes on to the color table, receiveş
color, passes on to the printing table, and leaves the block covered with color;
this done, the lever 27 is depressed as well as the lever 47 to effect the
disengagement; at the same time the crank of the wheel w is turned to bring
forward the machine until the openings coincide with the cylinders (during the
forward motion of the chain the levers 47 and 27 are released, and the
cylinders are pushed into the openings by means of a weight attached to the
lever roller); the color is then adjusted according to the original impression ;
the block is taken into the left division of the printing apparatus; the two
colors are taken, and the first color is printed at the side of the original
impression. The register being correct it moves on to the next, the two
colors are taken and printed as before, continuing the operation until the
chain is exhausted, and until the first part of the impression has arrived at its
original position on the printing table. The blocks are then detached, the
tammies are changed on the frames, refilled with color, adjusted according to
the original impression, and so on.
When the operation takes place with four colors the original impression
is passed into the right division; this original impression is made four times,
one on the side of the other, but after each impression it advances a short
distance, until the original impression is printed four times; the other three
colors are arranged one after the other, putting, for example, to the second
register the green, to the third the red, and to the fourth the blue. There will
be then at each advance to the second stage the original impression with the
green, at the third the original, the green and the red; and at the fourth the
original, the green, the red, and the blue; these relations will be reproduced

page_text: according as the divisions are composed of a simple or double block for six or
eight colors.
To make the impression with several colors it is well that the blocks be
arranged in such manner that each color be placed one after the other.
The machine can be made for printing in two to four colors, which can
either be done on one machine or by combining the work of several; thus an
indefinite number of colors, whether they are printed on long or short fabrics,
in wool, silk, cotton, paper, waxed cloth, or cotton, can be produced.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not limit myself to
the precise arrangements of the parts herein-before described, for the same
may be varied without departing from the Invention; but what I claim is, the
improvements in machinery for printing shawls and other fabrics by vertical
pressure, substantially in manner herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of March, One thou-
sand eight hundred and sixty-one.