CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS AND APPARA- TUSES FOR THE ADMISSION AND EXCLUSION OF LIGHT AND AIR INTO AND FROM BUILDINGS AND CARRIAGES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF REFLECTORS OF LIGHT, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE DECORATION OF ARTICLES OF FUR- NITURE
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ROBERT MELLISH, late of Regent Street, but now of Sloane Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Glass Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day
of May (One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one), in the fourteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Thomas Robert Mellish, my exors, adñors, and assigns,
Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Thomas Robert Mellish, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Thomas Robert Mellisb, my exors, adñiors, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS AND APPARA-
TUSES FOR THE ADMISSION AND EXCLUSION OF LIGHT AND AIR INTO AND FROM BUILDINGS
AND CARRIAGES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF REFLECTORS OF LIGHT, PARTS OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE DECORATION OF ARTICLES OF FUR-
NITURE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said
Thomas Robert Mellish, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said

page_text: Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Robert Mellish, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
My Invention consists, firstly, in the construction of ventilators, blinds, and
other articles of furniture, of glass in the form of tubes or parts of tubes, or
of rods or flat strips, or any other suitable forms, and either of plain white
or coloured glass, and with or without silvering on the interior surface.
One method of carrying out this branch of my improvements is shewn by
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings. Figure 1 is a tube or rod
of glass, from which a portion of the two opposite sides has been cut away,
leaving an open space or slot on each side, as shown by this Figure, which
represents the tube or rod as seen edgewise. The tube is fitted with a cap
at each end, the lower one being furnished with a centre pin and the upper
cap with two pins, for giving motion to the tube when it is required to turn
upon its centre, in the same way as dwarf Venetian blinds are usually turned.
Figure 2 represents a number of these tubes mounted in a frame to form a
blind and ventilator; one half of the tubes occupying the square A, B, C, D,
are shown as closed, and the tubes in the other compartment E, F, G, H, are
made to turn upon their centres one-fourth of a revolution, or at right angles
to the former, so as to present a series of apertures or openings between the
tubes, by which an increased quantity of air and light may be permitted to
enter the apartment, the difference in the quantity of light being considered
if colored glass is used, and still greater if the tubes have been silvered on
their interior surfaces. Figure 3 is a cylindrical rod or tube of glass, in
which a series of open slots have been made on the two opposite sides; and
Figure 4 represents a series of such slotted tubes mounted in a frame, to
form a blind and ventilator. One half of these tubes in the compart-
ment I, J, K, L, have the solid or unslotted surfaces of the tubes in contact,
in which position they form a close blind; the other portion of the tubes in
the compartment M, N, O, P, having been turned a quarter round, the
slotted surfaces are brought together, and a series of openings formed between
the tubes for the passage of air and light. If oblong squares or oval or half-
round tubes are employed, it is not necessary to cut or slot them, as tubes of

page_text: these forms when turned upon a centre, make a close or open blind or
ventilator at pleasure, by mere change of position.
A second method I employ for constructing blinds and ventilators of glass
tubes consists in mounting them on pairs upon a central pin within a frame,
so that by giving the tubes a quarter revolution a close or open blind may
be formed at will. Figure 5 is an elevation of a blind constructed according
to this modification; and Figure 6, a plan in section of the same, the tubes in
the compartment Q, R, S, T, being closed, and those in the other compart-
ment V, W, X, Y, shewn as being open.
A third method of forming blinds or ventilators consists in connecting a
number of glass tubes together by means of a series of jointed plates or
links at top and bottom, and making them to slide backward and forward in
grooves made for that purpose in the top and bottom rail of the blind frame.
Blinds thus constructed may be made to slide back into a suitable recess at
either side of the window or other opening, or they may be made to divido
in the middle, and slide part to the right hand and part to the left. In some
cases I prefer to form the ends of the sliding grooves of a spiral or scroll
shape, the glass tubes rolling in them, and forming ornamental columns at
the sides of the window.
Figure 7 represents a ventilating pane composed of strips of glass, the
edges of which have been notched or indented, so that when a number of
such strips are put together with the edges in contact, they form, as it were,
one perforated pane of glass, which permits the passage of air through it,
but which, by reason of the smallness of the apertures, is so broken up
and divided that no inconvenience will be felt in an apartment so ventilated.
The notched strips of glass may be mounted in a slight metal frame, or they
may be cut to the required dimensions, and fixed in the rebate of a sash
frame with putty.
Another method of constructing ornamental blinds or screens of glass tubes
consists in employing round or other tubes from which a portion of the
coloured exterior or casing has been removed, or which has been partially
ground or silvered, or by using parti-coloured tubes, so as to present letters
or ornamental surfaces. Each of the tubes being mounted on a centre
revolves easily to admit of cleaning, but in whatever position the tubes may
happen to be left, the representation of the letter or ornament will be perfect
on both the interior and exterior surfaces. Figure 8 represents an office
blind constructed in this manner.
Figure 9 is an ornamental ventilator for the ceiling of a room, centre of
a chimney board, &c., the amount of ventilation being regulated by the space

page_text: left between the rods or tubes. In some cases I construct;blinds or ventilators
with half-round tubes, having the flat parts silvered on the interior surface.
and the letter or ornament cut or otherwise produced on the', half-round
surface. In this way there is formed a lettered: or ornamental blind on the
exterior surface, and a looking glass on the interior. If a cased tube has
been employed, I cut off the colored casing from the flat surface previously
to silvering.
. Another improved method of. forming blinds consists, in the employment of
strips of glass, in lieu of the wooden laths commonly used in the construction
of dwarf Venetian blinds, and with this further difference, that the glass strips
are made not to overlap one another. In some cases, I use strips of plain
white or colored glass, or I employ strips of white glass cased or coated with
coloured glass, portions of which casing I remove, so as to produce various
ornamental designs; or, I form the strips or laths of two pieces of glass,
either white or colored, and having silvered the backs thereof, I unite them
by any suitable cement and secure them by a metal capping at top and bottom,
and mount them in a blind frame in the usual manner. Blinds thus formed
present two different colors, which may be shewn externally or internally at
pleasure.
Figure. 10 shows an ornamental cornice composed of glass tubes of various
lengths, supported horizontally and vertically in a suitable frame; the tubes are
shewn as made of white glass cased with green, the casing of which has been
removed so as to produce the. required pattern, and the tubes. being silvered
on their interior surface, the effect of this combination is singularly brilliant ;
plain, colored, or silvered glass tubes may in this way be applied to
ornamenting chimney boards, fire screens, musical instruments, articles of
furniture, &c., in an endless variety of ways.
.
Secondly, my Invention has relation to the construction of reflectors of
silvered glass, and embraces the several improvements represented in Figures
11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Figure 11 is a sectional representation of a concave
reflector formed double by bending a globe of glass while in the hot state into
the form shewn, and afterwards silvering the whole of the interior surface by
means of the opening Z at the back, which opening is afterwards closed with a
metal or other capping, which serves for the attachment of a holder. Figure 12
is a reflector, with an opening in the centre suitable for putting over the
glass chimney of a gas or other lamp. The annular opening Z serves for the
admission of the silvering materials, and is afterwards closed by a metal rim,
to exclude the air and form an attachment for a holder.
Figure 13 is another mode of constructing reflectors, and consists in the

page_text: employment of two concave glasses a, a, b, b, either white or colored, or one
of each combined. . I silver the concave surface of the one a, a, and the convex
surface of the other b, b, and then unite them by means of a circular metal rim,
to which a holder can be affixed as required....
Another method of forming reflectors consists in the employment of silvered
glass tubes, either round, half-round, or flat. For this purpose I take an
ordinary bending mould of the required form, and place a series of glass tubes
of suitable lengths side by side thereon, and expose them in a suitable furnace
to such a degree of heat as is sufficient to soften the glass tubes and cause
them to take the form of the mould. When the tubes thus bent are cold, I
silver their interior surfaces and mount them in a suitable frame, thus pro-
ducing a reflector, which, instead of casting a dark shadow behind, will permit
rays of light to pass through the unsilvered parts of the tube (that is, the edges
of the joints), which rays of light thus admitted are beneficially acted upon by
the dispersive effect of the silvered surfaces.
Another method of forming reflectors, especially when large ones are
required, consists in forming them in hollow segments, by blowing the glass in
suitable moulds. Figure 14 is a plan, and Figure 15 an edge section of one
of these segments, having an opening at its smaller end Z³, for the introduction
of the silvering materials. The edges of the segments are bevilled off so as
to overlap each other and maintain the continuity of the silvered reflecting
surface.
For silvering the tubes and hollow reflectors herein-before described, I prefer
to use the process for which Letters Patent were granted to Thomas Drayton,
November Twenty-fifth, One thousand eight hundred and forty-three; but
such process of silvering forms no part of my Invention.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements which I claim
are as follows:-
First, I claim the construction of blinds or screens, ventilators, and other
articles used for the purpose of or in connection with the admission and
exclusion of light and air into and from buildings and carriages, of glass in
the form of tubes or parts of tubes, or rods, or strips, whether the same are
plain or colored, or a combination of both, and whether silvered or not sil-
vered on their interior surfaces, all as before exemplified or described; also
the application of such glass tubes or parts of tubes, or rods, or strips, to the
decoration of articles of furniture generally.
Second, I claim the construction of ventilating panes, with strips of glass
notched or indented on their edges, as before described.

page_text: Third, I claim the construction of reflectors composed of glass formed double
by blowing, and silvered on the inside; or by uniting two concave or other
glasses together, the interior surfaces having been previously silvered.
Fourth, I claim the construction of reflectors composed of glass tubes bent
into the required forms, and silvered on the inside.
And, fifth, I claim the construction of reflectors with hollow segments of
glass silvered on the inside and joined together to form a circle or portion of
a circle..
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Robert Mellish, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-one.