AN IMPROVED METHOD OF USING OR APPLYING A CERTAIN COLORING MATTER, EITHER SINGLY OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER COLORING MATTERS, TO WOVEN OR FELTED FABRICS, YARN, OR THREADS, EITHER IN THE WHITE OR DYED STATE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Dugdale Kay, of Accrington, in, the County
of Lancaster, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD
OF USING OR APPLYING A CERTAIN COLORING MATTER, EITHER SINGLY OR IN
COMBINATION WITH OTHER COLORING MATTERS, TO WOVEN OR FELTED FABRICS,
YARN, OR THREADS, EITHER IN THE WHITE OR DYED STATE."-A com
munication.
Sealed the 7th August 1857, and dated the 11th February 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Dugdale Kay
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition; on
the 11th February 1857.
I, RICHARD DUGDALE KAY, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for ."AN
IMPROVED METHOD OF USING OR APPLYING A CERTAIN COLORING MATTER, EITHER
SINGLY OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER COLORING MATTERS, TO WOVEN OR FELTED
FABRICS, YARNS, OR THREADS EITHER IN THE WHITE OR DYED STATE," as com-
municated to me from a foreigner residing abroad, to be as follows:-
The coloring matter is formed by murexide, and the process of obtaining or
applying it has hitherto consisted of the following operations:-1st, the appli
cation of one or more metallic salts'; '2nd, the transformation of the state or
condition of the said 'salts after their application; and 3rd, the dyeing of the

page_text: material which has passed through the two preceding operations in a bath of
murexide. The disadvantages of which processes are injuring the white, making
it impracticable to apply other colors in juxtaposition at the same time or at
different times to the same material, the impossibility of printing other coloring
matters mixed with the murexide, with considerable expense and uncertainty
in the result.
The improved method or process is for the application of the murexide, and
consists, firstly, in the mode or method of mixing the coloring matter to be applied
to the material; and, secondly, in the method of fixing or developing the color
after its application, and of making..a mixture of the murexide with one or
more metallic salts, whose bases are capable of combining with it; and the said
inixture being applied to the material, it is submitted to the action of ammonia
or other alkali, as hereafter described.
The modus operandi for one shade is as follows:-I mix 600 to 1000 dwts.
of nitrate of lead and 60 to 100 dwts. of murexide with 1 to 2 pints of
water. If this mixture is to be applied by block or cylinder it must be
thickened with starch, gum, or any other substitute in ordinary use. The
material having been printed with the coloring matter is allowed to hang a
short time, or may be put through the fixing operation immediately. The
operation of fixing or developing the color may be performed either by the
moist or dry way.
For the dry way the material is put on frames furnished with hooks, as
in the operation of indigo dyeing, the said frames being placed in a suitable
vessel supplied with ammoniacal gas; or instead of the said frames, rollers
may be used, over which the material traverses through the ammoniacal gas;
or in lieu of ammoniacal gas, the material may be submitted to the dust of
alkalies, carths, or alkaline salts, as soda, lime, &c.
For the moist way, the material is passed through a solution of alkali
earth or alkaline salt by means of either the frames or rollers already
described, or any suitable apparatus, or the alkaline solutions may be applied
by the padding machine or an engraved roller.
By any of these fixing operations, moist or dry, the result is the same,
that is to say, the alkali deposits the base of the salt mixed with the
murexide upon the material, and simultaneously with this action the desired
color is developed and fixed. After the operation of fixing, it may some-
times be an improvement to pass the printed material through a dilute acid,
or a weak solution of acid salt, and in the latter case the shade of the
color may be varied in this operation according to the base of the salt
employed. The shade of the color may also be altered by the metallic

page_text: salt mixed with the murexide, and again varied by using two or more of
such salts, lead or mercury producing the brightest colors, and zinc,'
chrome, barytes, and other metallic oxides, alone or mixed, giving all the
varieties of color from yellow to purple; and further mixing one or more of
the said salts with other distinct coloring matters gives to this process an
almost unlimited variety of shades and applications. Uniform shades
Uniform shades may also
be produced in the same manner, except that the printing of the color is'
replaced by an immersion, or by an operation which diffuses the coloring matters
in a uniform manner over the whole surface of the material.
I also reserve to myself the right to apply in the manner already described
other analogous substances which are obtained in the treatment of uric acid
for the formation of murexide, and which are known to possess similar coloring
or colorable properties.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Dugdale Kay in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th August 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD,
DUGDALE KAY, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the.
said Richard Dugdale Kay, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Dugdale Kay, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Richard Dugdale Kay, my executors, administrators, 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 Invention for
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF USING OR APPLYING A CERTAIN COLORING MATTER,
EITHER SINGLY OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER COLORING MATTERS, TO WOVEN OR
FELTED FABRICS, YARNS, OR THREADS, EITHER IN THE WHITE OR DYED STATE,
being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Richard Dugdale Kay, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly 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 Dugdale Kay, 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 (that is to say):-
The coloring matter is formed by murexide, and the process of obtain-
ing or applying it has hitherto consisted of the following operations :—
First, the application of one or more metallic salts; second, the trans-
formation of the state or condition of the said salts after their application;
and, third, the dyeing of the material which has passed through the two
preceding operations in a bath of murexide. Also the printing of the murexide
alone or combined with metallic salts, and fixing it by the salts of mercury
without any intermediate process. The disadvantages of which processes are,
injuring the white, making it difficult to apply other colors in juxtaposition at
the same time or at different times to the same material, the difficulty of
printing other coloring matters mixed with the murexide, and also the con-
siderable expense and uncertainty in the result.
The improved method or process is for the application of the murexide,
and consists, first, in the mode or method of mixing the coloring matter to:
be applied to the material; and, secondly, 'in 'the 'method of fixing or de-
veloping the color after its application, and of making a mixture of the
murexide with one or more metallic salts whose bases are capable of com-
bining with it, and the said mixture being applied to the material, .it .is
submitted to the action of ammonia or other alkali, as hereafter described.
The modus operandi for one shade is as follows:-I mix four pounds
of nitrate of lead, one pound of murexide with one gallon of water; if
this mixture is to be applied by block or machinery it must be thickened
with starch, gum, or other substitute in ordinary use. The material having
been printed with the coloring matter, is allowed to hang a short time, or
may be put through the fixing operation immediately. The operation. of
fixing or developing the colors may be performed thus:-The material is put on
frames furnished with hooks, as in the operation of indigo, dyeing, the said
frames being placed in a suitable vessel. supplied with ammoniacal gas;.or
instead of the said frames rollers may be used, over which the material traverses
through the ammoniacal gas..." This operation completed, I immerse the pieces

page_text: in water; they may then be dried and kept in this state.. But to have a faster.
and more brilliant.shade, it is preferable to change the metallic basis and
replace the lead by the mercury; to do which I put the pieces for about
twenty minutes in a bath composed of a solution of bichloride of mercury and
3. water, and then into a second bath containing an acetate acid of mercury,.or.
a mixture of bichloride of mercury, acetate of soda, and acetic acid. As soon
as the substitution of the mercury for the lead is completed in these,baths, and
that the desired shade is obtained, I. wash well. in water and finish as usual.
It is perfectly understood that although I here describe but one process it is
capable of numerous modifications; as for instance, the proportions of nitrate
of lead and murexide may be varied as circumstances and shades may require;
or the nitrate of lead may be replaced by any other metallic-salt in which
murexide is soluble, and whose basis can form with it (after fixing) a com-
bination insoluble, or nearly so, such as salt, of zinc, bismuth, &c.; or in lieu of
ammoniacal gas any other means may be employed. for fixing the colour, as for
instance, the dust of alkalies, earths, or alkaline salts, as soda, lime, &c. or a
solution of ammonia in alcohol, turpentine, or other equivalent solvent, or even.
a strong solution in water of salts whose acid-forms with the printed basis an
insoluble combination, as in the case of nitrate of lead, chlorides, sulphates,
silicates, &c; in short, all agents that can fix the murexide united with the
metallic basis without weakening the shade, as do alkalies dissolved in water; or
other salts of mercury than those above mentioned, may be used; other shades
may also be obtained by using other metallic salts, such as salts of zinc, 'bis-
muth, &c., or weak acids. The shade of the color may also be altered by the
metallic salt mixed with the murexide, and again varied by using two or more
of such salts, lead or mercury producing the brightest colors, and zinc, chrome,
barytes, and other metallic oxides, alone or mixed, giving all the varieties of
color from yellow to purple; and further mixing one or more of the said
salts with other distinct coloring matters gives to this process :an--almost
unlimited variety of shades and applications. Uniform shades may also be
produced in the same manner, except that the printing of the color is replaced
by an immersion, or by an operation which diffuses the coloring matters in a
uniform manner over the whole surface of the material. I also fix the
murexide alone or in combination with a metallic basis by steam in the usual
manner for fixing steam colors, but to effect this I employ a murexide free of
all acid or other substance having the effect of an acid, but in preference ise
the purpurates of alkaline metals, such as the purpurates of soda, potash,
barytes, &c., or metallic purpurates dissolved in a metallic salt. This is an
important process, as it admits of printing the murexide simultaneously with

page_text: the colors, which are generally fixed by steam on woollen, silk, cotton, linen,
pure or mixed, and other fabrics. I reserve to myself the right of applying:
by. the methods already described other analagous substances which are
obtained in the treatment of uric acid for the formation of murexide, and which
are known to possess similar colouring or colourable properties.
Having thus fully described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, as communicated to me from a foreigner
residing abroad, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details or proportions of the materials or substances
herein set forth, as such may be varied or modified without departing from the
principle of the said Invention; but I claim,
Firstly, the methods of fixing on woven or felted fabrics, yarns, or threads
the murexide combined with a metallic basis, by means of an alkali or salts of
alkaline-metals without deteriorating the color.
And, secondly, fixing murexide or other purpurates by steam, and by the-
said means its application to printing with other steam colors, as lierein
described.
In witness whereof; I, the said Richard Dugdale Kay, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named Richard Dugdale Kay, in the
presence of
JOHN BLOODWORTH,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
R. D. KAY. (L.S.).