IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTI- FOR PURPO
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTI-
"
tion
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th May 1854.
1, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
ARTIFICIAL STONE FOR BUILDING AND OTHER PURPOSES" to be as follows:-
In manufacturing artificial stone, according to this Invention, bullocks' blood
or other blood is employed for saturating sand and lime or other analogous
earthy materials, and thereby producing when the mixture is dry a hard and
durable cement; or to sand and lime oil and litharge are added and well
mixed, and this mixture it is proposed to add to the above-mentioned com-
pound. These compounds when in a plastic state may be formed into any
required figure-in suitable moulds, and when set will be found to be hard and
durable.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,, or such others as I, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL STONE FOR BUILDING AND OTHER
PURPOSES," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 per-
formed, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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):-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,' relates
to certain improvements in the manufacture of plastic compounds (of which
sand or pulverized stone is the chief ingredient), applicable to the moulding
of architectural ornaments, statuary, or other ornamental forms, which, after
being hardened by exposure to the atmosphere, will have the appearance and
possess the characteristics of stone.
One mode in which the desired result is obtained is by mixing together, in

page_text: the manner and in about the proportions herein-after described, sand or pul-
verized stone, plaster of Paris, and blood.
The following is the mode of proceeding :-
Take of any description of sand or pulverized stone ninety parts by measure: .
if beach sand, it will require to be washed in fresh water to deprive it of saline
matter; but if other sand, no preparation will be necessary further than sifting:
if pulverized stone, the stone may be of any kind suitable for building pur-
poses, and may be obtained by grinding the stone to a powder of a sufficient
degree of fineness, and for this purpose broken pieces, which are useless for
other purposes, may be used. The degree of fineness of the stone or sand
may vary, according to the degree of fineness of the surface to be produced;
but the sand or stone should be sifted, to deprive it of lumps or large
particles. Then take of plaster of Paris thirty parts by the same measure,
and mix it well with the sand or pulverized stone upon a board or in a trough,
and when well mixed add twenty-four parts by the same measure of beast's
blood (preferably in a clotted state), and with a trowel, spatula, or other suit-
able implement, triturate and work the whole well together, until the mass
assumes the consistency of moist paste, when it will be ready for moulding
or casting.
The mould in which the composition is to be cast or moulded may be of
wax or sulphur, or other material generally used in moulding or casting
plaster figures or ornaments. Before receiving the composition; it should be
prepared by first varnishing it with shellac varnish, and then, immediately
before the moulding or casting is performed, coating it with sweet oil. The
composition in the state above last described is dabbled into the mould with
the fingers, or with suitable tools, with a tremulous motion, as by that motion
the block or article will be produced more compact.
The composition then requires to be left in the mould for fifteen or sixteen
hours, more or less, when the cast can be removed. This being done, the newly-
formed article should be left for a few days in a warm dry atmosphere, when
it will acquire the desired hardness..
In large blocks or articles, the centre may be filled with pieces of broken
stone or other hard durable substances, care being taken that the spaces between
the said pieces be well filled with the composition.
The artificial stone thus produced is capable of withstanding greater tensional
or crushing force than most kinds of stone used for building purposes, and will
become harder by exposure to the atmosphere.
Its color may be varied by the addition of coloring matter to the com-

page_text: position. Its cheapness is. scarcely necessary to be mentioned, as all the
component parts are comparatively valueless, and no expensive preparation
or manipulation is required.
The proportions of the several ingredients of the composition may be some-
what varied, without materially affecting its character, though I have satisfied
myself, by carefully conducted experiment, that no departure from the above
proportions can be made with advantage.
Another mode of giving consistency to sand and forming therewith a plastic
composition, which when dry and hard will assume the appearance and possess
the characteristics of stone, is as follows:-.
-Take of, fine sand, sixteen parts by measure, (if beach sand, it should be
washed to deprive it of all saline matter; but if other sand, it will only require
sifting, to deprive it of lumps or large particles; and this would be also neces-
sary for beach sand.). and of granulated or pulverized slaked lime, finely
sifted, four-parts by the same measure, and of litharge in powder, one part
by the same measure: mix the whole well together in a trough or on a
board, and add two-parts by the same measure of boiled linseed oil, and with
a trowel, spatula, or other suitable implement; triturate: and mix the whole.
well together until the several ingredients become thoroughly incorporated,
and the nïass assumes the consistency of moist sugar, when it is ready for
moulding or casting.
The mould in which the composition is to be cast or moulded may be made
as before described. The composition in the plastic state is then applied to
the mould, and after it has remained therein about fifteen or sixteen hours the
cast article may be removed, and by being left for a few days will acquire
the hardness requisite for practical purposes. Coloring matter may be added:
to the composition to produce any required tint.
-
The proportions of the several parts of the composition may be varied,
without materially affecting the character of the composition, butinot, as far as
experiments have shewn, with a beneficial effect.
Having now described the improvements-in-the-manufacture of artificial
stone, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, the combination with sand or pulverized stone of plaster of Paris
and beast's blood, when these ingredients are mixed in the manner and in about
the proportions herein set forth, (without limiting myself precisely thereto,)
for moulding or casting (while in a plastic state) blocks, architectural orna-
ments or devices, statuary, or ornamental or other forms or figures.

page_text: And secondly, I claim, combining powdered lime, litharge, and boiled oil
with sand, in the manner and in about the proportions herein specified, and
thereby forming a plastic material suitable for being cast or moulded into
architectural ornaments or devices, statuary, or ornamental forms or figures.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fourth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)