Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 17th Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 1st June, 1889
I, Madame PIERRE PUECH (née Cécile Laure) of Mazamet (Tarn) in the Republic
of France do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
The unhairing of skins of sheep is generally effected either by the use of a depilatory..
or by heating in a stove.
For unhairing skins of this country the leather of which is generally of great value
a depilatory is preferably used such as arsenic, quick lime, sulphur, etcetera. These...
skins being generally clean the depilatory is passed over the fleshy side while the skin
is fresh, or if dry, after it has been soaked. The wool is removed and dried in the
ordinary way, and the leather sold in its fresh state, as the leather is not dried by the
use of the depilatory.
Skins of foreign sheep and principally those of the "Glata" are unhaired in
the following manner.
-
1. The skins being dry, they are soaked in clear water for from 24 to 48 hours.
2. Having been thus softened, they are passed through a well known machine called
"Sabreuse" in combination with a water spray. This operation removes all thistles,
grease, and in short all impurities previously contained in the wool and leaves. the skin
ready for the process of unhairing.
3. The skins being wet from the last operation are hung 2 or 3 inches apart, one
by one, by the hind legs, in closed chambers or stoves. After a period of about
48 hours in summer and 5 or 6 days in winter, fermentation takes place and the wool
is loosened from the skins which are now sorted previous to unhairing.
4. Unhairing is now effected by hand, or with the aid of knives etcetera.
5. If partly washed (lavé à dos) wool is required, it is now dried and is ready for
the market. But if thoroughly washed (Lavée à fond) wool is required it is scoured,
rinsed and dried.
6. The leather is dried and prepared for the market.
A very large proportion of the leather obtained from imported skins has no value
except for the manufacture of glue, and in passing through the "Sabreuse" these
inferior skins get considerably damaged and cut into pieces, the manipulation of
these numerous pieces adding considerably to the cost and trouble of the unhairing
process as they can only be unhaired by hand.
The result of unhairing skins by heat is that the wool is of poor quality and loses its
brightness, on account of the skins being kept for a greater or less period of time in

page_text: the stoves and of the fermentation which tends to rot the skins. Moreover the
passage of the skins through the stove is inconvenient more especially so in the case of
small pieces of skin.
However in spite of all disadvantages the heating system has up to the present time
been used for imported skins, in the absence of a better system.
My invention is intended to do away with these disadvantages and its essential
characteristic is the dis-use of the stove and of the depilatory.
Under the old system all imported skins and pieces thereof are placed in the stoves
in a thoroughly wet state as it is only under such conditions that the necessary heat is
produced and when they are depilated the wool is detached and dried (and the
leather also) if partly washed (lavé à dos) wool be required, or if thoroughly washed
(lavée à fond) wool be required it is washed and scoured after depilation and then
dried.
According to my invention I take the skins or pieces of skin direct from the
sabrage" that is to say directly after the washing and cleansing has been effected by
the "Sabreuse," but instead of placing the skins in stoves, I simply dry them in the
sun or in a drying chamber taking care to spread them out or hang them up so that
the leather remains smooth. When the skins are dry I have wool which is cleansed
and dried but which still adheres to the leather.
In order to separate the wool from the leather. I simply pass the skins. through
a shearing machine such as is employed for shearing rabbit skins, but of such a width
as to shear the. smallest pieces as well as the largest skins.
The wool which falls from this machine is that which I call "Pierre nouvelle "
wool.
It will be seen that my above described process differs essentially from the
ordinary one. By the latter the wool is removed from the skin after passing it
through a stove and the wool also requires to be afterwards scoured and dried.
Whereas in my process I dry the wool and leather together, no stove is required,
and the wool is detached from the leather by a machine which shears the leather
while dry and the wool resulting from my process is of considerably greater value.
The Pierre nouvelle wool thus obtained is only partly washed (lavé à dos)
that is to say it is washed and cleaned on the skin but not thoroughly scoured.
To produce thoroughly washed (lavée à fond) wool I scour the skins with warm
water and salts or crystals of soda at the moment of "sabrage" and, as before stated,
I dry the wool and leather together and shear after drying.
To produce perfect and thoroughly washed (lavée à fond) wool, for carding or
for the manufacture of hats I stretch the skins before drying, causing the wool to
stand erect and to dry with a good pile. After it is cut this wool resembles velvet.
In shearing skins which have been thus stretched whilst drying, I sometimes
arrange the shearing machine so that the fleece falls from it in one piece, and I thus
produce a superb velvet like fabric which may be used in the manufacture of
artificial fur.
It will be understood that by the employment of my process for unhairing skins
the wool produced is of a novel character is of greater value than that produced in
the ordinary way and the process is less costly as the use of the shearing machine
necessitates the employment of fewer hands and small pieces of skin can be easily
treated. The leather resulting from my process is also of a better quality than that
resulting from the ordinary processes.

page_text: A New or Improved Process for Unhairing Skins and
Pieces of Skins.
1, Madame PIERRE PUECH (née Cécile Laure) of Mazamet (Tarn) in the Republic
of France, 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, that is to say :-
The removal of wool from sheep and lamb skins is generally effected either by the
use of a depilatory, or by heating in a stove.
For unhairing skins in the country of their origin, the leather from which is
generally valuable, a depilatory is preferably used, such as orpiment, quick-lime,
sulphur &c. The depilatory is passed over the fleshy side while the skin is fresh, or if
dry, after it has been soaked. The wool is removed and dried in the ordinary way,
and the skin is delivered in its fresh state to the tawers, as the use of the depilatory
does not permit of the skin being dried.
Foreign sheep skins, and especially those of La Plata, are unhaired in the following
manner :-
1. The skins being dry, they are soaked in clear water for from 24 to 48 hours.
2. Having been thus softened, they are passed through a well known beating
machine called in French "Sabreuse," in combination with a water spray. This
operation removes all thistles, grease, and in short all impurities previously contained
in the wool, and leaves the skin ready for the process of unhairing.
3. The skins, wet from the last operation, are hung 2 or 3 inches apart, one by
one, by the hind legs, in closed chambers or stoves where they heat and ferment
spontaneously. In about 48 hours in summer, and 5 or 6 days in winter, this fer-
mentation has loosened the wool so that it can be detached from the skins which are
then withdrawn from the chambers or stoves previous to unhairing.
4. Unhairing is now effected by hand, or with the aid of knives &c.
5. If partly washed (lavé à dos) wool is required, it is now dried and is ready for
the market. But if thoroughly washed (lavée à fond) wool is required, it is scoured,
rinsed and dried.
6. The skins are dried and delivered to the tawers.
A great many of the skins obtained from abroad are what are called epidemy skins
and have no value except for the manufacture of glue, and in passing through the
beating machine ("Sabreuse") these inferior skins get considerably damaged and cut to
pieces and the subsequent manipulation of these numerous pieces adds considerably
to the cost and trouble of the unhairing process as they can only be unhaired by
hand.
The result of unhairing skins by heat is that the wool is of poor quality and loses
its brightness, on account of the skins being kept for a considerable period of time in

page_text: the stoves, producing heating and fermentation which more often than not leads to
putrifaction. Moreover, if the passage of the skins through the stove is a disadvantage,
it is especially so in the case of pieces of skin produced by the beating machine,
because in order to produce fermentation in them they have to be placed in heaps in
the stoves, and when they are withdrawn therefrom to be unhaired, the wool has lost
more than 25 per cent. of its value, without reckoning the additional cost of removing
the wool from such small pieces.
However, in spite of these disadvantages the heating system has alone been used
heretofore for imported skins.
My invention is intended to obviate these disadvantages, and its essential
characteristic is the dis-use of the stove and of the depilatory.
Under the old system all imported skins and pieces thereof are placed in the stoves
in a thoroughly wet state, as it is only under such conditions that the necessary heat
is produced, and when the skins are depilated the wool detached is dried, as is also the
skin, if partly washed (lavé à dos) wool be required; or if thoroughly washed (lavé à
fond) wool be required, it is washed and scoured after depilation, and then dried.
According to my invention, I take the skins or pieces of skin after beating, that is
to say, directly after the washing and cleansing has been effected by the heating
machine, but instead of placing the skins and the pieces of skins in stoves, I simply
dry them in the sun or in a drying chamber, taking care to spread them out, or hang
them up, so that the skin remains smooth. When the skins or pieces of skins are dry,
I have a product the wool of which is cleansed and dry but which still adheres to the
skin. I thus preserve all the nature and whiteness of the wool, because after the
beating and washing, which are performed at the same time, I dry the whole
immediately.
In order to separate the wool from the skins, I simply pass them or the pieces
thereof through a shearing machine such as is employed for shearing rabbit skins,
but of such a width as to shear the largest skins as well as the smallest pieces.
The wool which falls from this machine I call "Pierre nouvelle wool."
It will be seen that my above described process differs essentially from the ordinary
one. By the latter, the wool is removed from the skin after passing it in a moist
state through a stove, and the wool has to be afterwards scoured and dried; whereas
in my process, I dry the wool and skin together, no stove or depilatory being required,
and the wool is detached from the skin by a machine which shears the latter while
dry, and the wool resulting from my process is of considerably greater value than
wool obtained by the ordinary process.
The "Pierre nouvelle wool" thus obtained is only partly washed, that is to say,
is washed and cleaned on the skin but not thoroughly scoured.
it
To produce thoroughly washed wool, I scour the skins or the pieces of skins with
warm water and salts or crystals of soda while performing the beating operation, and
as before stated, I dry the wool and skin together, suppressing the stove, and then
shear after drying.
To produce perfect and thoroughly wasbed wool for carding, or for the manufacture
of hats, I beat the skins before drying; causing the wool to stand erect and to dry
straight. After it is cut this wool resembles velvet.
In shearing skins which have been thus beaten whilst drying, I sometimes arrange
the shearing machine so that the fleece is delivered from it in one piece, and I thus
produce a superb velvet-like fabric which may be used in the manufacture of artificial
fur.
It will be understood that by the employment of my process the wool obtained is of
a novel character, of greater value than that obtained in the ordinary way, and the
process is less costly, as the use of the shearing machine necessitates the employment
of fewer hands, and small pieces of skin can be easily treated; consequently I obtain
by my process better wool and skin, great saving in hand labour, great rapidity in
'the treatment, and complete suppression of the putrifaction caused by the stoves, and
of the employment of chemicals.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
First. The improved process for removing wool from sheep and lamb skins and
from pieces of such skins, which consists in drying the wool and the skin together,
that is to say, while the former still adheres to the latter, in the sun, in a drying
chamber or otherwise, after the said wool and skin have been submitted to the action
of the beating machine and to the simultaneously conducted washing, or washing and
scouring process, and in then separating the dried wool from the dried skin by means
of a shearing machine, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Second. The modification of the process forming the first claim clause hereof, which
consists in beating the skins in order to raise the wool thereon after the said skins
have been submitted to the action of the beating machine, and to the simultaneously
conducted washing, or washing and scouring process and before the said skins are
dried, substantially as hereinbefore described and for the purpose set forth.
Third. The process of separating the wool from the skin, after the same have been
dried, by means of a shearing machine of the kind used for shearing rabbit skins, as
herein before described.
Dated this 17th day of April A. D. 1889.
MADAME PIERRE PUECH.
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, E.C.,
Agent.