MPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING OR Graining WOOD AND Other SurfACES.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Dean, the clder, of No. 5, Trentham
Road, Dresden, in the County of Stafford, for the Invention of
66
MPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING OR Graining WOOD AND Other SurfACES.
66 MPROVEMENTs in Ornamenting or Graining WoOD AND OTHEr Surfaces.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Dean at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1873.
I, WILLIAM DEAN, the elder, of No. 5, Trentham Road, Dresden, in
5 the County of Stafford, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "INPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING OR GRAINING WOOD AND OTHER
SURFACES," to be as follows:-"
This Invention has for its object improvements in ornamenting or
graining wood and other surfaces, and it consists in improvements on

page_text: the process described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to
myself and another, and dated the 21st day of April 1865, No. 1117.
This process shortly stated is as follows:-A board of any ornamental
wood is taken and it is made true and smooth on the surface, the pores
of the wood are then opened by the application of a caustic solution.
The board is then dried and coated with suitable coloring matter, a sheet
of thin paper coated with a sizing material is laid upon the board and
passed with it through a roller machine by which the paper is firmly
pressed against the board and so made to take up the coloring matter
from its pores, the paper is then partially dried and stript from the
board. The impression thus taken is laid upon a surface prepared to be
grained and with a soft pad is rubbed down on to it, the paper is stript
off the surface to which the colour has thus been transferred, the
surface is varnished and the work is complete. In the practical
working of this process considerable difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining good impressions by means of the machine; it requires that
the pattern board should be kept perfectly true; and in any case the use
of the machine is inconvenient.
'
I now dispense altogether with the machine, and I take the
impression from the pattern board by brushing down the paper upon
it with a soft brush; in this way I am able to make it take the color
from the board more regularly and completely than is possible by the
use of the machine; I also now apply the paper to the board dry in
place of wet as heretofore, the paper being sized beforehand in place of
at the time of use.
I also obtain better results than heretofore in consequence of
improvements I have made in the composition with which the pores
of the wand on onened in the composition of the coloring matter, and

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give.
and grant unto me, the said William Dean, the elder, Her special license
that I, the said William Dean, the elder, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Dean, the elder,
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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING OR GRAINING WOOD AND OTHER SURFACES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Dean,
the elder, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Dean, the elder, 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 thereof, that is to say :
-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ornamenting or
ġraining wood and other surfaces, and it consists in improvements on
the process described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to
myself and another, and dated the 21st day of April 1865, No. 1117.
This process shortly stated is as follows:-A board of any ornamental
wood is taken and it is made true and smooth on the surface, the pores
of the wood are then opened by the application of a caustic solution.
The board is then dried and coated with suitable coloring matter, a sheet
of thin paper coated with a sizing material is laid upon the board and
pressed with it through a roller machine, by which the paper is firmly
pressed against the board and so made to take up the coloring matter
from its pores, the paper is then partially dried and stripped from the
board. The impression thus taken is laid upon a surface prepared to be
grained, and with a soft pad is rubbed down on to it, the paper is
stripped off the surface to which the color has thus been transferred, the

page_text: surface is varnished, and the work is complete.
In the practical
working of this process considerable difficulty has been experienced
in obtaining uniformly good impressions by means of the machine,
especially from pollard or knotted woods, as it was almost impossible
3 that such pattern boards should be kept perfectly true, and in other
respects the use of the machine was found to be inconvenient.
I now dispense with the machine and take the impression from the
pattern board by brushing down the paper upon it with a soft brush, in
this way I am able to make it take the color from the board more
regularly and completely than is possible by the use of the machine; I
also now apply the paper to the board dry in place of wet as heretofore,
the paper being sized beforehand in place of at the time of use.
I also obtain better results than heretofore in consequence of improve-
ments I have made in the composition with which the pores of the wood
5 are opened, in the composition of the coloring matter, and in the com-
position of the size for the paper. .
In practically carrying out my Invention I proceed as follows:-The
board from which an impression is to be taken is first coated over with
the following preparation,-
0
American black ash
Washing soda
Boiling water
2 oz.
1 oz.
->
1 quart.
And when the board is dry it is rubbed over with sand paper and
afterwards a thin coating of oil brushed over it, it will then be ready for
5 printing.
The coloring matter I now employ for imitation oak, consists of,-
D
}
Italian ochre
-
4 oz.

page_text: colors are to be finely ground in boiled oil, and all the materials very
intimately mixed together. The pattern board is charged with this
colouring matter with a wood roller coated with india-rubber or gutta
percha, or with a large palette knife, at the discretion of the operator,
and the superfluous color taken off with a broad palette knife or a
scraper, when it is ready for receiving the paper. I now as before
stated apply the paper to the board dry instead of wet as heretofore, the
paper being sized and dried before instead of at the time of use, I then
place the sized paper on the pattern board charged with color, smooth
it down, and brush it over with a soft brush, in this way I am able to 1
make it take the color from the board in every part more regularly and
completely than was possible by the use of the machine.
The paper is at once removed from the board and the impression can
be transferred to the painted or other surface, which is done by laying
it on and rubbing the back of the paper with a piece of soft flannel or
other material, the paper is taken off and leaves the color transferred to
the surface, when dry it is varnished in the usual way.
In order to clean the pattern boards after they have been used, or to
clean them from time to time should the pores of the wood get clogged
up with color, the surface of the wood should be brushed over with a 2
common scrubbing or other brush, using therewith mineral turpentine,
naphtha, common turpentine, spirits of tar, benzoline, or any mixture of
these or similar solvents, and then rubbed over with a handful of
sawdust which will absorb the dissolved color out of the pores of the
wood and leave it clean for future use.
2

page_text: For inlaid work in imitation of marqueterie patterns, oak, and other
woods, solid or in veneer, may be used as described in the Specification
above mentioned, and the separate pieces be arranged in pattern according
to taste.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner
of performing the same, I would state that I claim, the improvements
herein-before described in ornamenting or graining wood and other
surfaces.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Dean, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness to this signature,
CHARLES CLARKE.
WILLIAM DEAN, SEN. (L.S.)