IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UNION BAGS AND SALL CLOTH
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Armitage, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Spinner and Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UNION BAGS AND SALL CLOTH."
Sealed the 30th October 1855, and dated the 12th June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Armitage at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
June 1855.
I, WILLIAM ARMITAGE, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Spinner & Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UNION BAGS, AND SAIL CLOTH "
to be as follows:
In the manufacture of union bags I introduce an admixture of jute and
cotton, and linen and cotton; and in sail cloth I use cotton warps and linen
weft, and linen warps and cotton weft.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Armitage in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th December 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMITAGE, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Spinner and
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Armitage, Her special licence that I, the said William Armitage, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Armitage, 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 & Ireland, the. Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF UNION BAGS AND SAIL CLOTH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Armitage, by an instrument 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 Royal Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Armitage, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to the manufacture of what are generally called union
bags and sail cloth, and material for similar purposes, or, in other words,
making the material thereof of different substances, the admixture of which
either makes a better material, or causes an economisation in the cost of the
manufactured material. For union bags I use a mixture of jute and cotton,
and vary or reverse the warp and weft of the said materials as I may find most
useful. For sail cloth I use a mixture of linen and cotton, and vary the warp
and weft as already described. It is evident that this mixture of jute and
cotton is also applicable to petticoating, canvas for tents, and other similar
purposes. In weaving the said union bags double, that is, making them

page_text: complete in the loom, except sewing or joining the bottom part, I find the two
parts of the bag often become connected by the two warps being joined
together in the weaving; to prevent which, instead of the ordinary temple, I
use a piece of wood, metal, or other suitable material with a flat surface of
about 4 inches broad, the length to correspond with the width of the bag to
be woven, one edge of which if made a little thicker than the other will be
found preferable. This substitute for the temple keeps the two warps perfectly
separate, and thus prevents the two parts or sides of the bag becoming con-
nected in the process of weaving, as well as keeping the bag to its proper
width.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner of carrying it into practical effect, I desire it to be distinctly
understood that I do not confine myself to any particular proportions in the
mixture of the said materials, nor to the use of one of the said materials for
warp and the other for weft exclusively, as I can vary them at pleasure;
but I claim as my Invention, and which, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, has not been hitherto used within this realm, the mixture of jute and
cotton in the manufacture of bags, petticoating, canvas for tents, or other
similar articles, with the substitute for the ordinary temple, and the mixture of
linen and cotton for sail cloth, as herein described..
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armitage, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five.
WILLIAM ARMITAGE.
(L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-named
William Armitage, in the presence of.
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.