IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF DRESS OR WEARING APPAREL, FANCY ORNAMENTS, AND FIGURES, AND IN METHOD OF RENDERING CERTAIN MANUFACTURES AND SUBSTANCES IN A DEGREE OR ENTIRELY IMPERVIOUS TO AIR AND WATER, AND OF PROTECTING CERTAIN MANU- FACTURES AND SUBSTANCES PROM BEING INJURED BY AIR, WATER, OR MOISTURE
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, THOMAS
HANCOCK, of Goswell Mews, Goswell Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Waterproof Cloth Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King William the Fourth, by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth day of August now last past,
did give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Hancock, His especial licence,
full I power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Hancock, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Hancock, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF
DRESS OR WEARING APPAREL, FANCY ORNAMENTS, AND FIGURES, AND IN
METHOD OF RENDERING CERTAIN MANUFACTURES AND SUBSTANCES IN A DEGREE OR
ENTIRELY IMPERVIOUS TO AIR AND WATER, AND OF PROTECTING CERTAIN MANU-
FACTURES AND SUBSTANCES PROM BEING INJURED BY AIR, WATER, OR MOISTURE;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said
Thomas Hancock, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, par-
ticularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled
in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar months

page_text: next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Hancock, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained by the following description thereof, that is to say:
The improvements in the manufacture of certain articles of dress and
wearing apparel, fancy ornaments, and figures, consist in making them of a
certain fibrous material, as herein-after described, and coating them, where
necessary, with a certain liquid, composition, or varnish, as herein-after also
described. The principal ingredient used in the improvements for which this
Patent is granted is liquid caoutchouc, which is obtained from South America,
the East Indies, and other places, and when dried forms the substance called
india-rubber, and is more particularly described in the Specification inrolled in
the Petty Bag Office in the Court of Chancery under a Patent for an Invention
granted to me, dated the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, to which I hereby refer. The fibrous
compound or material is made by mixing hair, wool, cotton, or other fibrous
substance with liquid caoutchuc, to which should be added certain substances,
according to the intended object, such as whiting, ochre, brick dust, emery
powder, or other such substances. The following proportions may be advan-
tageously used:-Ten pounds of liquid caoutchouc, ten ounces of whiting, ten
ounces of Oxford ochre, and ten ounces of hair, wool, cotton, or other similar
fibrous substances.. The whiting and ochre should be first mixed with a very
small quantity of water, and the hair, wool, or cotton, or fibrous substance is
generally better cut very short, averaging about one-eighth of an inch in the
staple. The whole should be well mixed together. Sheets may be made of
this compound, by spreading some of it on a flat surface, such as a stone, or
on plaister cast, and leaving it to dry either in the open air or in a warm
room. When dry it may be made more compact and firm by pressure. This
may be effected by passing it between rollers, or pressing it in a common screw
press between plates, and the operation will be facilitated by the temperature
of the plates and rollers being kept while used at about blood heat. These
ingredients may be altered or varied very considerably, according to. the pur-
poses to which it is intended to apply the material when made. If.intended:
for purposes where sewing is required, the quantity of fibrous ingredient-should
be increased, and the fibres used somewhat longer. If greater stiffness is
required, a small quantity of glue, size, thin starch, or paste, or a thin solution.
of gum arabic may be added. For some purposes the wet pulp of rags, such.

page_text: as is used by paper makers, may be used instead of the before-mentioned
fibrous substances. The color may be varied by adding a little lamp-black,
chrome yellow, blue verditer, Venetian red, or other coloring matter. With
these sheets, gaiters, coloshes, boots, shoes, hats, caps, and other articles of
dress and wearing apparel, may be manufactured in the usual manner; hats,
shoes, caps, and other such articles of dress and wearing apparel, which may
be moulded, and also fancy ornaments and figures, may be manufactured by
preparing moulds of plaister-of-paris or other substances. The fibrous com-
pound should be poured into the mould, and allowed to stand a few minutes,
and all the compound that will then run out should be poured from it, and the
mould be allowed to stand till that which remains is nearly dry. The mould
should be again filled, and so from time to time, till the proper thickness is
obtained for the article or purpose required. In forming large figures, such as
the human figure, anatomical subjects, or busts, that part of the figure which
forms the aperture by which the compound is poured into the mould should be
formed into a neck, in which a valve or stop-cock should be inserted, by which
sufficient air may be introduced into the figure when it is taken out of the
mould to fill out its form; or the aperture may be made larger so that the
figure may be filled with bran, fine sawdust, or any other such material; or it
may be filled before it is taken out of the mould with glue dissolved in equal
parts of water and treacle by boiling. For shoes, hats, caps, and other articles
requiring strength, the quantity of fibrous matter may be increased, and the
thickness of any part may be increased by pouring into the mould a small
quantity of the compound, and allowing it to cover that part only, and repeat
the operation, as before stated. The soles of shoes or boots may be thickened
in the same manner; or they may be formed of the sheets before described and
cemented on to the other part of the shoes or boots by a fresh application of
the compound or liquid caoutchouc. In forming the sheets for soles of shoes
or other articles requiring great firmness, it is better to substitute for the ochre
and whiting harder substances, such as brick-dust or fine emery. If, from
any cause, so great a quantity of fibrous or other ingredients should have been
mixed with the liquid caoutchouc that the compound formed should be too
porous for the designed purpose, coatings of the liquid caoutchouc may be
applied in sufficient quantities to bring it to the desired closeness. The
improvements in the method of rendering certain manufactures and substances
in a degree or entirely impervious to air and water, and of protecting certain
manufactures and substances from being injured by air, water, and moisture,
consist in the application in the manner herein-after described of liquid caout-
chouc, having mixed with it as much of the coloring matters herein-before

page_text: mentioned, or others, such as extract of cochineal, logwood, indigo, lake liquor,
or red or black ink, shall be thought desirable to give it any required tint,
well.stirring and mixing it together, and using no more of the coloring matter
than is necessary. The coloring substances when solid must be first ground
very fine in water, and the whole composition well stirred and mixed together,
but no more of the coloring matter must be used than necessary to give the
color required. If a light color should be required, and the liquid caoutchouc
should be too dark, it may be washed by adding to it pure water in a proper
vessel, and shaking it well together. It should be then left undisturbed, the
pure caoutchouc will separate and float on the top, and the one may be drawn
off from the other. Most of the colors require that this last-mentioned
composition or varnish should be used immediately it is mixed; and where the
article is intended to be used under any exposure to the rays of the sun, the
color should be black or dark, as otherwise caoutchouc, when so exposed, is
liable to soften and crack. When the sheets before described are required
(from the use to which it is intended they should be applied) to be exposed to
the sun's rays, or to be rendered more completely waterproof, the colored
composition or varnish should be applied to them after they have been rolled
or pressed, spreading it on them as uniformly as possible with a spatula or
other convenient instrument, or by diluting it with water, and laying it on with
a brush or other suitable instrument, and when nearly dry repeating the coating
either over the whole or a part as the case may require. When a fine surface is
required, the sheets should be again pressed when dry between smooth or polished
rollers or plates. The various other manufactured articles may be made water-
proof by applying the varnish in the same manner as to the sheets, except
that in some cases they cannot be conveniently subjected to pressure. Where
articles of the fibrous compound which are formed in moulds requiro to be
protected from moisture or air, and it is wished to give them a fine surface,
the colored composition or varnish should be first poured into the moulds and
allowed to dry, and then as many coatings of the fibrous compound or of the
liquid caoutchouc added as may be necessary. To render articles made of
linen, cotton, woollen, silk, leather, and also packing cases, tanks, and other
articles of wood or metal impervious to water and air, more or less, as may be
required, they are to be coated on one or both sides in such thickness as may
be necessary with the colored composition or varnish; and in the same manner,
by coatings of the varnish, substances such as metals, paper, plaister casts,
walls, and the interior of rooms may be protected from being injured by air,
water, or moisture. If one part of any article is not required to be so per-
fectly inpervious to water as another, the colored composition or varnish may

page_text: bo diluted by mixing with it one-third of its weight of water, or more or less,
according to the degree of protection required, and giving that part only one
or two coatings. A boot or shoe for instance made of 'woollen or other cloth,
felt, or leather, may first have applied one or two coatings of the diluted
varnish; and then, beginning at the sole; as many coatings of the thicker varnish
as shall be necessary, according to the substance of which the boot or shoe is
formed, may be applied as high as it may be wished that the boot: or shoe
should be more perfectly impervious. If the article is required to be im-
pervious to water throughout, such as fishing boots or stockings, gloves, hose-
pipes, or bags to contain liquid, they may be filled with the thicker varnish,
which should be allowed to remain long enough within the article to saturate
the material of which it is composed. The varnish should then be poured
out, its sides being kept from collapsing until the varnish is dry. The article
may, then be immersed in the varnish so as to saturate the outside, and the
external coating allowed to dry, and this proceeding may be, continued: from
time to time until the article is waterproof. The operation may be, carried on
and completed on one side only, either within or without. Articles intended to
contain air, such as beds, pillows, or cushions, may be formed of linen, cotton,
silk, or other suitable material. They must be sewed strongly together, and
made with the necessary partitions so as to preserve their form, and an aperture
or apertures should be made, by which they may be inflated. They should be
immersed in the liquid caoutchouc and then withdrawn, or it should be spread
over them, and this should be repeated as each coating becomes dry or nearly
so until the material is well saturated. The article should then be finished
with the colored varnish, adding as many coatings as may be necessary to
render them air-tight. Cloths of all kinds, leather, or other materials for
great-coats, cloaks, gaiters, travelling bags, portmanteaus, wrappers, flour
sacks, cart covers, and other purposes required to be rendered waterproof by
the varnish, may be strained on frames, and the varnish applied in repeated
coatings until they become impermeable to moisture. If it is wished to form
any impression of figures, letters, or ornaments on the surface of any of the
articles for which the fibrous compound or varnish is used, it may be done
with a stamp appropriate to the purpose before the composition is quite dry,
when a slight pressure is sufficient. Although certain proportions of materials
have been herein-before stated as those which may be advantageously used, it
is evident that such proportions may be considerably varied, according to the
discretion of the operator and the quality of the liquid caoutchouc; but it is
to be observed that the elasticity and toughness of the compound is increased
with the proportion of the caoutchouc.

page_text: Lastly, I hereby state that I only claim, as the subject of this Patent, the
manufacture of various articles, as herein-before mentioned, of the combination
or compound of liquid caoutchouc with fibrous and other matters, as herein-
before described, and the application of the colored composition or varnish to
the various purposes, as herein-before also described:
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Hancock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty.
11. LDEN.
AT
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fifth day of October, in
the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Hancock came before our
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and everything therein contained, in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Fifth day of October, in the year above written.