AN IMPROVED IMPERMEABLE OIL VARNISH
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Stevens, Manager of the British & Foreign
Office for Patents, No. 1B, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED IMPERMEABLE
OIL VARNISH." A communication from abroad by Antoine Bouet, of
No 49 Rue Laffite. Paris. in the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Stevens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th September 1860.
I, CHARLES STEVENS, Manager of the British & Foreign Office for Patents,
No. 1B, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED IMPERMEABLE
OIL VARNISH," (& that it has been communicated to me from abroad by
Antoine Bouet, of 42, Rue Laffite, Paris, in the Empire of France,) to be as
follows:-
The varnish, which is composed of 100 parts of alcohol, 100 parts of spirits
of turpentine, 1 part of sulphuric ether, and 1 part of carbonate of soda, is
impervious to water, and consequently preserves the substances to which it is
applied in a manner not attainable by the varnishes at present employed. Its
chief qualities are, 1st, to render the object varnished extremely pliable; 2nd,
to give it a brilliant polish; and, 3rd, to preserve both the object and itself from
humidity, as already stated.

page_text: The varnish gives a brilliant polish to shoes, and is applicable to all kinds
of leather of any nature or colour. It may be applied to harness, which can
be washed and steeped in water with impunity, even a few moments after the
varnish has been applied; also to wood, furniture, and marble, to which it
restores its original beauty; and when oilcloths, prints, engravings, and
portraits done in oil are treated with it, they may be rolled up without any
danger of the varnish cracking. It can also be applied to metals, which it
preserves from rust; and paper-hangings prepared with this varnish remain
for ever proof against moisture. The varnish is usually white and limpid, but
may receive a black, rose, or any other colour.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
February 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
STEVENS, Manager of the British & Foreign Office for Patents, 1B, Welbeck
Street, Cavendish Square, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles
Stevens, Her special license that I, the said Charles Stevens, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Stevens, 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 IMPERMEABLE OIL VARNISH," (a
communication to me from abroad by Antoine Bouet, of 42, Rue Laffite, Paris,
in the Empire of France), upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Charles Stevens, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Stevens, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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:-
This Invention relates to an improved impermeable oil varnish, the
ingredients of which will be hereafter specified. The advantage it possesses
over the varnishes in present use consists in being impervious to water, and its
principal qualities are, 1st, to render the object varnished extremely pliable;
2nd, to give it a brilliant polish; and, 3rd, to preserve both the object and itself
from humidity, as already stated.
This varnish gives a brilliant polish to shoes, and is applicable to all kinds
of leather of any nature or colour. It may be applied to harness, which can
be washed and steeped in water with impunity a few minutes only after the
varnish is laid on. It restores and beautifies wood, furniture, and marbles,
and renders paper-hangings quite impermeable to moisture. Oilcloths, prints,
engravings, and oil paintings may also be treated with this varnish, and may
be afterwards rolled up without the slightest danger of the varnish cracking.
Metals of all descriptions may be coated with the varnish, which preserves
them from rust and maintains their purity and brilliancy. The ingredients
employed in the composition are, 100 parts of alcohol, 100 parts of spirits of
turpentine, 1 part of sulphuric ether, and 1 part of carbonate of soda. The
varnish may be coloured to suit the article to which it is to be applied, but is
usually white and clear.
Having thus described my Invention, what I claim and desire to secure by
Letters Patent is, the improved impermeable oil varnish, composed of the
ingredients above mentioned, to be used for the purposes above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Stevens, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
CHARLES STEVENS. (L.S.)