IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR BLOCK PRINTING
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
APPLEGATE, of Crayford, in the County of Kent, Calico Printer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-second day of May, in the first year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Augustus Applegath, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Augustus Applegath, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Augustus Applegath, my executors,
administrators, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR BLOCK PRINTING;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, the said Augustus Applegath, shall cause a par-
cular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the late
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
Augustus Applegath, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof; reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
Figure 1 is a side view of an improved apparatus for printing four colors;
Figure 2 is an end view of part of the same; Figure 3 is a plan of the upper
part thereof, and Figure 4 is a plan of a part thereof called the "traversing
frame." The same letters apply to the similar parts in each Figure. A, A,
is the cast-iron frame; B is the printing or impressing table; C is the feeding
drum; D is the roll of cloth or material to be printed; E is a roller, which
guides the cloth or material to be printed to the feeding drum; F is a roller
which guides the cloth on or to the printing table; and F is a roller which
guides the cloth off from the printing table; G is a drum, which assists to draw
the cloth off the printing table after being printed; H is a roller, which guides
the endless piece of woollen cloth or printing blanket I to the feeding drum,
around which it passes in the direction of the arrows shewn in Figure 1; K is
a piece of endless japanned cloth, upon which the material to be printed
receives the impression; it may be washed and rubbed clean at the place
indicated by the in Figure 1, and it passes over and is guided by several
rollers L, L, the bearings of which cannot conveniently be shewn in the
Drawing. The roller L should have tightening screws in the usual manner.
M is an endless piece of soft cotton cloth called the back cloth, which embraces
the drawing drum G by means of the roller N; its use is to keep the back of
the printed work from soiling or "marking off" by coming into contact with
the surface of the drum G; it should be long enough to become quite dry
before returning to G. The material to be printed is advanced to receive the
impression in the following manner :-The feeding drum C has a pulley O
fixed upon its spindle, part of which is grooved to receive a catgut band, which
connects the feeding drum C with the drawing drum G by means of another
grooved pulley S, which is fixed upon the spindle of the drawing drum G
so that the drums C and G move simultaneously. The plain part of the
periphery of the pulley O is accurately divided into four equal parts by the gaps
or notches P, P, into which a light catch Q fits and holds the drums, &c. steady
during the printing. When the row of work is completed, the catch is lifted up,
and the feeding drum is advanced to another division or gap by means of the
handles R, R, which are screwed on the face of the pulley O, whereby the
material to be printed, the japanned cloth, the printing cloth, the drawing

page_text: drum and its back cloth, and their respective guide rollers, are simultaneously
moved, and a fresh surface of the material to be printed is brought under the
blocks. T, T, is the traversing frame, which is best made of cast iron, and of
which Figure 4 is a plan; it may be moved sideways upon the V ribs V, V,
and it serves to support the block carriage W and the sieve carriage X;
Y is a catch or pall, with a long handle attached to the frame T by a joint or
hinge; the pall falls into the notches or gaps in the bar Z, which are exactly
the same distance apart as the width of the blocks or pattern. The upper
part of the block carriage may be made of wood, such as mahogany, and can
be disengaged from its spindle a by unscrewing the nut b; there is a steady
pin c fixed in the upper part of the spindle a, which fits into a hole in the
block carriage. The spindle A is furnished with a collar d, which acts against
the thick part of the spindle; the collar is connected with a long lever e, one
end of which is fastened by a joint to the traversing frame T; the other end
terminates in a handle by which the lever e can be raised occasionally. When
the lever e is raised the spindle a moves upwards through its bearings f, f, and
through the toothed wheel g, which has a key or feather fixed in it, which acts
in the groove or key way cut in the lower part of the spindle A. Thus the
blocks can be lifted clear off the sieves and off the printing table while the
handles h, h, rise out of the guides i, i, so that the block carriage W may be
made to revolve. The printing blocks Bs may be made in the usual way,
and the pattern or work upon them may be executed by coppering, cutting,
casting, or any other proper manner. The blocks have pieces of any common
hard wood Fs screwed to them, half an inch thick, which may overhang the
blocks one inch and a half each way, which I call false backs, and they may
be unscrewed when the blocks are out of use, and the blocks may then be
used by hand as usual. The false backs are attached to the block carriage W
by means of T-headed holders, having screws and nuts, which pass through
holes in the false backs and the block carriage. The holes are chased to
admit of adjusting the blocks into register with each other. The upper part
of the block carriage is cut through in the manner shewn in Figure 3, in
order that the maul or printer's hammer may strike upon the false back. The
ends of the block carriages are furnished with thin iron plates, to which the
guide handles h, h, are firmly fixed. When the block carriage is lowered, one
of the guide handles falls into one of the guide gaps i, i, whereby the accuracy
of the register, or "hitting" of the various blocks, is secured. The gaps i, i,
should be set the same distance from each other as the width of the pattern,
and they also must be placed exactly in line with the gaps in the division
bar Z. X, the sieve carriage, which consists of four rings of iron cast or con-

page_text: nected together, and attached to the spindle k, which has no upward motion,
but can revolve in its bearings 1, 1. Upon the lower end of the spindle / is
fixed a small toothed wheel, which is connected with the toothed wheel g by
means of the intermediate wheels, so that when the block carriage W revolves
the sieve carriage X must revolve with it, by which the similar colored blocks
and sieves are sure to act together. The method of applying the color to the
block is the same in principle as that patented by me on the Fifteenth of
November, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, to which reference
may be made, namely, by raising or pressing the colored surface of the sieve
against the block by means of a roller or rubber acting against and moving
along or across the under surface of the sieve, whereby the contact of the
color and the block is performed in the most perfect manner. m is the teering
table upon which the sieve rests while the color is brushed or teered upon it
by hand in the usual manner; it is made of wood, with two or three layers
of woollen cloth, and covered with a piece of japanned cloth. is the rubber
trough, containing a flexible or yielding waterproof tube, nearly filled with
water or any other fluid that will not permeate the tube, and securely closed
at either end; the tube is retained in the trough by enclosing both in a covering
of thin linen cloth sewed together, and the firmness of its touch against the
sieves can be easily adjusted by tying the ends of the tube more or less, by
which its capacity, and consequently its resistance, can be increased or lessened
without removing or injecting more fluid. The rubber trough is moved back-
wards and forwards by means of the pulleys o, o, which are furnished with a
handle p; a catgut band is attached to the pulleys o, o, and passes over the
small guide pulleys o*, o*, and are fastened to the end of the rubber trough n,
which moves in the slide n*, seen in Figure 1. The colors are contained
in square stone or wooden boxes q, q, resting upon the color board r. This
board is supported by rollers s, s, acting in bracket carriages at each end of
the frame A, one of which is seen in Figure 1, and the board is connected
with the traversing frame T by means of the teering table m, which is
screwed down upon the traversing frame, and also bolted through a block
of wood to the color board r, so that when the traversing frame is moved
sideways the color board moves with it, rolling upon the rollers 8, s, and
thus the boxes containing the colors are kept in the most convenient position
for the teerers just clear of the sweep of the sieve carriage. The color
board should be sufficiently long not to come off the rollers s, s, when at its
extreme positions sideways. In order to keep the color surface or sieve
perfectly steady while the block is receiving its color, each sieve ring is fur-
nished with a pin t, which acts against the spring catch u, which descends

page_text: under the pin t when the sieve ring is moving in the direction of the arrow,
but prevents its return; the left hand of the tecrer grasps the handle v and
holds the pin t firmly against the catch. w, w, w, w, are four bolts or headed
pins, which screw into the centre part of the sieve carriage; they serve as
points of support to the guide handles of the block carriage when it and the
blocks descend upon the color sieves and printing table. The manner of using
this apparatus is as follows:-The color sieves being supplied with color, the
"lifting boy," who stands near the handle of the lever e, lowers the block car-
riage so that one block rests upon the printing table while the other dips into
one of the sieves, when the "rubber boy," who stands near the handle p, moves
the pulley o by means of its handle, which causes the rubber to pass under
and along the sieve, raising it into contact with the block in the manner before
described; at the same time the printer, who stands at the end of the machine,
near the feeding drum, gives the impressing blow or blows with the maul or
printer's hammer upon the false back of the block, holding one of the guide
handles h, h, in his left hand to keep the block quite steady, in case there
should be any play in the guides i, i. While this is doing the "teerer
teers or brushes the color upon that sieve which is opposite to the block which
is printing; the "lifting boy" then raises the lever e with his right hand,
and turns the next arm of the block carriage to the printer, and the before-
described operations are repeated until the four blocks are successively printed.
The "lifting boy" then raises the handle of the catch or pall Y, and draws or
pushes the traversing frame and the block and sieve carriages upon it, together
with the color board, &c., across or sideways till the pall Y falls into the next
division or gap in the bar Z, shewn in Figure 4. The same course of teering
and printing is then repeated, and when the cloth or material has been printed
all across the "rubber boy" raises the pall Q and causes the feed drum, &c.
to revolve one quarter of its circumference, which supplies a fresh quantity of
cloth or the material upon the printing table, and so on till the whole is printed.
It is convenient to have two teerers to supply color to the sieves alternately.
When the work comes from the machine printed it passes over rollers for the
purpose of drying in the usual manner, the positions of which rollers must
depend upon the place where the apparatus is fixed. As the feed drum G
and some of the rollers are placed below the floor in a cavity made therein,
the boards x, x, and x, x, x, are placed across that cavity, for the printer and
girl who cleans the endless japanned cloth to stand upon.
Figure 5 is a side view of an apparatus for printing in two colors.
Figure 6 is an end view of the same, and Figure 7 is a plan thereof. In

page_text: this modification of my improvements most of the parts are similar to those
herein shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, and need not be described again, the
difference being in the construction of the traversing frame T, T, which
answers the purpose of a sieve carriage, as shewn in Figure 7, in which the
sieves s, s, are oblong, and may be fastened to the frame in any convenient
method. Each side of the traversing frame is furnished with a slide n and a
rubber n. The lifting lever e projects from the sieve end of the apparatus,
instead of being placed at the side, as shewn in Figures 2 and 3, and the
pall Y and the division bar Z are also placed at the sieve end. The feeding
drum C delivers the material to be printed immediately upon the impressing
table without using the small roller which is marked F in Figures 1, 2, and 3,
and which I prefer in cases where the pattern is very difficult to join. The
feeding drum C is shewn as of smaller diameter; its circumference is supposed
to be three times the length of the block, and the division pulley O should
therefore be made with three divisions or gaps. But a method of working
blocks of various lengths is shewn in Figure 8, in which A is the spindle of
the feeding drum. B is a quadrant which moves around the spindle, but can
be fixed by the set screw C. D is a fixed gap or division attached to the
quadrant, and E is a moveable division which is to be adjusted to the exact
length of the pattern, and then secured by means of its screws, which act in
the chased slit. The method of using it as follows:-When the printing
begins the pall Qis in the fixed gap D, but when the row of printing is
completed the "rubber boy" raises the pall Q, and moves the feeding drum
round till the moveable gap E comes to the pall, which falls into it; the
"rubber boy" then places his foot upon the lever G, the brake end of which
F presses against and holds the pulley O and the feeding drum from moving;
he then unscrews the set screw C, and lifting the pall he turns the quadrant
back till the pall falls into the fixed gap D as at first, and thus the feeding
drum is.inade to measure out and supply various quantities of material to suit
different lengths of pattern or blocks. Variations in the width of the pattern
can be provided for by making the guides i, i, i, i, before described, with
chased holes, the divisions in the bar Z being also made adjustable in the
same manner.
Figure 9 represents a side view of a traversing frame, having sieves or color
surfaces made endless, and Figure 10 is a plan of the same. A is the
traversing frame which moves upon the ribs X, X; B is part of the arm of a
block carriage; C is the spindle of the block carriage; D, D, are the endless
sieves; and F, F, are the rollers which serve to extend them, and which

page_text: should be furnished with the usual tightening screws to regulate the running
of the endless cloth; E is the rubber, as before described. The endless sieve
cloth can be advanced, when required, by the handle G, which is fixed to one
of the rollers F, as shewn in Figure 10. H is the "teering board," to
support the sieve, or that part of the endless cloth which is being teered
with color.
Figure 11 is a side view or diagram of the manner in which two dips or
two applications of the color can be obtained, which is sometimes desirable.
Figure 12 is a plan of the same. A is part of the arm of a block carriage
and block. B is the sieve or color surface extended in a light iron frame X,
which can be moved in the slide C by means of the pulleys D, which have
catgut bands attached to them, which pass over the small pulleys p, p, and
are fastened to the pins of the iron frame which act in the slide C. E is a
frame forming the slide C, and the slide for the rubber, and it is supposed to
be attached to the traversing frame by hinges at Z, Z. The mode of using it
as follows: When the block descends upon the sieve the rubber is moved
quickly to impart the color, as before described, and then the end of the
frame E is depressed until the sieve is clear of the block; the pulley D is
then turned so as to move the sieve frame a, and bring a new surface of color
under the block; the frame E is then raised up again, and the rubber quickly
moved, whereby a second application of color is made to the block.
These improvements may be arranged in various other ways. For instance,
I sometimes make the arms of the block carriage long enough to hold two
blocks instead of one, and sometimes I combine two block carriages with a
wide impressing table, and sometimes I make the blocks long enough to print
all across the piece of material without moving the traversing frame, and
sometimes I give an up and down motion to the sieve carriage as well as to
the block carriage, so that I cannot limit the use of these improvements in
printing apparatus to the particular forms herein set forth or described;
but I claim all the numerous applications which can be made of them
according to the number of colors required, the size of the blocks, or the
nature and quantity of the material to be printed, and they may be used to
printing paper as well as woven materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Applegath, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
AUG (L.S.) APPLEGATH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of November,
in the second year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
Augustus Applegath came before our said Lady the Queen in Ier Chancery,
and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-
fifth year of the reign of His late Maiesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-second day of November, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-eight.