Process for Obtaining Designs on Glass or other Surfaces for Decorating or Advertising Purposes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 26th Apr., 1892-Accept:d, 18th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Process for Obtaining Designs on Glass or other Surfaces for
Decorating or Advertising Purposes.
I FREDRICK WINTERHOFF of No. 3 Ashmount Road in the Parish of
Tottenham, London, N. Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This is a process for obtaining designs on glass or other surfaces for decorating
or advertising purposes and has for its object and means the purpose to produce
highly artistic French and other embossings on any flat or round surfaces.
Heretofore outlines were first traced on the glass and then drawn over by the
artist with asphalte or such composition, which will resist the acid, but as it is
very difficult to use such compositions very thick, so that they would effectually
resist the acids, it was found that the outlines or design as the case may be,
lifted and floated away, as soon as the acid acted upon them, as the artists have
to use the composition in a very thin state, and the plate was very often quite
useless and the work spoilt.
By another way, a print was made from a lithographic stone and transfered onto
the surface of the glass, but the same difficulty was found here, as in the former
case, as the French embossing has to go, from 10 to 12 times under the acid, to
produce the various tints and shadings, and the outline or design must resist all
these acids.
To produce these embossings it is quite necessary to have the design in a good
artistic outline, similar to those as by painters on glass, these outlines are usually
produced by experienced artists, and as it is very often the case to produce from
10 to 12 plates of one design, the artist who makes the first, must do them all by
hand, to have every plate exactly alike, as the first one drawn by the artist.
For my process, I use glass printing plates, produced in the following manner.
I clean my glass plate well, and then coate the same with a solution of gelatine,
Syrian asphalte or such substances, which will be affected by the light and let the
same dry.
When dry I either transfer or print direct on this coated surface from any
printing plate and use any ordinary paper for transfering.
I then place the plate with the coated side towards the light, for half an hour,
the result being, that the exposed surface of the coating is hardened, but the
portion covered with the printing ink, being protected from the light remains soft,
I then wash the protected parts out with mineral-oil.
Then the glass plate is put under, fluoric-acid for about half an hour, I then
wash the same well with water and clean it, whereupon it is ready for printing
from.
It must be understood that these glass printing plates can be made to any
required size.
For French and other embossings, by my invention, I first obscure my plates,
with a selution of soda and fluoric-acid, or better known as white-acid, and then
dry the same well (or as the case may be, I produce my outline direct on the clear
glass). I then coate the plate or article, I intend to ornament, with an asphalte
solution as before described, and let the same dry, when dry I make as many
impressions on transfer or any ordinary printing paper, as I want, from my glass
printing plates, as before described, I then transfer these prints onto the coated
surface of the glass and put the same in the light (day or artificial) for about half
an hour, I then wash the same out with mineral-oil, and it will be seen that I have
only the outlines, as clear and sharp on the glass as if drawn by artists of great

page_text: experience, so that an outline, produced in the first instance by an artist, can by
my process be produced by any ordinary workman.
At the same time, I produce, by my invention engravings in the glass for
silvering purposes, or for filling the engraving with colour afterwards, for adver-
tising and ornamenting purposes.
Dated this 97th dor of July, 1901
FREDRICK WINTERHOFF.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Process for Obtaining Designs on Glass or other Surfaces for
Decorating or Advertising Purposes.
I, FREDRICK WINTERHOFF of No. 3 Ashmount Road in the Parish of
Tottenham, London, N. Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This process has as its object, the means, for obtaining designs on glass or other
surfaces, without the assistance of an artist, for decorating, advertising and other
purposes, it has for its object and means, to produce a fine or bold outline on glass
or other surfaces, sharper and with more body of colour, than even the artist could
produce with his brush, or by any other process, and it has the purpose to produce
highly artistic designs for double French and other, embossings, on any thickness
and size of glass, or on any flat or round surface.
Heretofore outlines were drawn direct on the glass by the artist, with a com-
position of asphalte, or any other composition which would resist the acid, but as it
is impossible to use such compositions very thick, so that the same will float out of
the brush properly, the same has to be thinned down to such an extent, that it
is impossible for such drawings or outlines, to resist the acids for any length or
number of times and would and does float away, by the first swilling of water,
necessary for French embossing, the whole outline must therefore be retouched
and would make such ornamentation a very costly affair besides spoiling the
sharpness of the outlines, and making same very ragged and bad looking, and in
many cases, the plate is quite useless and the work spoilt.
By another way a print was made from a lithographic stone and transferred onto
the surface of the glass, but the same difficulty was found here as in the former
case, as double French embossing has to be put under the acids from 10 to
12 times, to produce the various tints and shadings, the outline and design must
resist all these acids if the above result shall be obtained.
To produce these embossings it is quite necessary to have the design in a
good artistic outline, similar to those as by painters on glass, these outlines are
usually produced by experienced artists, and as it is often the case to produce
from 10 to 12 plates of one design and often many more, the artist who does the
first must do them all, by hand to have them all alike, as the first one drawn by the
artist.
For my process, I use my patent glass printing plates, Patent No. 8865, dated
26 May 1891, and use same in the following manner.
For French and other embossing, by my invention, I first obscure my plate, with
a solution of soda and fluoric acid or better known as white acid and then dry well
(or as the case may be, I produce my outline direct on the clear glass, if I intend
to produce the design, clear glass with an obscured back ground) I then coate the
plate or article I intend to ornament, with the following solution, I take about
1 gallon of dissolved asphalte, and add to this lb. of Burgundy pitch, lb. of
white rosin and 3 ounces of wax, I then boil this together, for about five hours, in
a sand bath. When the composition has cooled down, I add as much spirit of
turpentine until I have the thickness I require, for coating the article or glass plate,
a thin solution will give a thin coate, and a thick solution a thicker coating on the

page_text: article or plate, but in all cases the coating must be very evenly coated over the
article, glass or other plates, to produce a good and sharp outline, drawing or
design on the glass, when thus coated, I let same dry, when dry I take a glass
printing plate, on which the outline is deeply engraved out, so that if I take a
print from this glass printing plate, the outline must be white on a black ground,
I then make as many prints from my glass printing plates, as I require, on litho-
graphic chromo paper or lithographic transfer paper, for the articles or glass plates,
I want to ornament, and transfer these prints onto the coated surface of glass plates
or other articles, and then put same into the light (day, sun or artificial) for about
half an hour, I then wash the same out with mineral-oil, and it will be seen that,
I have only the outlines, on the glass, as clear and sharp, as if drawn by artists of
great experience, so that an outline produced in the first instance by an artist can,
by my process, be produced by any ordinary workman, thousandfold.
At the same time, I produce, by my invention, engravings in the glass for
silvering purposes or for filling the engraving with colour afterwards either enamel
colours for burning in or otherwise, and as such, filled in colours are more solid
than any other method can produce them, and therefore would never be affected by
the sun or any other light as is often the case with burnt in colours, on glass and
painted by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1) The method of producing a design or outline onto glass or any other article
in the way herein before described.
2) The transfering from a glass printing plate, either direct or through the
medium of paper or other material, onto the coated surface, for French and.
other embossings and exposing the same to light and dissolving out, such parts of
the coating, which are not rendered insoluble by the light, with parafin or
mineral-oil.
3) The within described preparation or composition used for coating the
surface.
Dated this 26th day of April 1892.
FREDRICK WINTERHOFF.