AN IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING PAPER OR OTHER SMOOTH SURFACES SO THAT THE PREPARED SURFACE MAY BE EASILY EMBOSSED
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis William Matthes, of Liverpool Road, Islington,
in the County of Middlesex, Artist, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF PREPARING PAPER OR OTHER SMOOTH SURFACES SO THAT THE PREPARED
SURFACE MAY BE EASILY EMBOSSED."
Sealed the 10th April 1879, and dated the 7th November 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis William Matthes at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th November 1878.
FRANCIS WILLIAM MATTHES, of Liverpool Road, Islington, in the County of
Middlesex, Artist. "AN IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING PAPER OR OTHER SMOOTH
SURFACES SO THAT THE PREPARED SURFACE MAY BE EASILY EMBOSSED."
The object of this Invention is so to prepare paper or other smooth surfaces that
a beautiful and realistic appearance may be given to any design that may be
sketched or drawn upon it; the sketch or design as it is produced by the hand of
the artist becoming embossed or made to stand in strong relief against the ground of
the paper or other smooth surface.
To this end I prepare a thick paste which is composod of, say, half-ounce of rice
starch, to which is added sufficient cold water to give it the requisite amount of con-
sistency. This thick paste is then diluted by the addition of boiling water until
the mass is sufficiently reduced to admit of its being spread on a smooth surface
by a soft brush or by any other suitable means. The thin paste thus produced is
then applied to the smooth surface that it is desired to emboss, care being taken
that the whole of the smooth surface be covered by the paste. A piece of Chineese
rice paper is then placed on the smooth surface that has been covered with the paste
and the whole may then be subjected to slight pressure to cause the rice paper to
adhere to the pasted smooth surface.

page_text: The surface thus prepared should then be left to dry and finally put into a press
or passed between smoothing rollers in order to give the desired smoothness of
surface to the rice paper.
If desired the smooth surface to which the rice paper is applied may be prepared
with a design of any suitable character so that all the artist will have to do will be
to follow the outline of the prepared design (which is clearly visible through the
rice paper) and the surface of the rice paper operated upon by the artist's brush will
be found to stand out in bold relief from the ground of the snooth surface, thus
producing a very natural and pleasing effect.
It is evident that surfaces thus prepared are specially applicable for Christmas 1
and new year's cards, valentines, and ornamental or embossed surfaces of all
kinds.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Francis William Matthes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th April 1879.
FRANCIS WILLIAM MATTHES,. of Liverpool Road, Islington, in the County of
Middlesex, Artist. "AN IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING PAPER OR OTHER SMOOTH
SURFACES SO THAT THE PREPARED SURFACE MAY BE EASILY EMBOSSED."
The object of this Invention is so to prepare paper or other smooth surfaces that
a beautiful and realistic appearance may be given to any design that may be
sketched or drawn upon it; the sketch or design as it is produced by the hand of.
the artist becoming embossed or made to stand in strong relief against the ground
of the paper or other smooth surface.
Designs of flowers, scriptural texts, proverbial sayings, well-known legends, have
been and are now sketched in outline and sold for the purpose of being filled in
by the hand of the operator, the object of giving the outline of the subject being to
enable a person not well acquainted with art designs to prepare a picture that shall
be at all events correct in outline and so save much labour to the operator. It has
been found, however, that the finished work leaves much to be desired, and frequently
the attempts of a tyro to fill in the outline thus sketched in an effective and natural
manner are very disappointing to the tyro.
The object of this Invention is not only to assist a novice in the art of colouring
or illumination by giving them such an outline as has been described but also to so
prepare the surface to be operated upon that with a minimum of skill or knowledge
an effective and natural result may be attained.
To this end I prepare a thick paste, which is composed of, say, half an ounce
preferably of rice starch, to which is added sufficient cold water to give it the
requisite amount of consistency. This thick paste is then diluted by the addition
of boiling water until the mass is sufficiently reduced to admit of its being spread
on any smooth surface by a soft brush or any other suitable medium.
The thin paste thus produced is then applied to the smooth surface that it is
proposed to emboss, care being taken that the whole of the smooth surface be
covered by the paste and that the latter be free from lumps or foreign substances.
A piece of thin Chinese rice paper is then placed on the smooth surface that has
been covered by the paste, and the whole may then be subjected to slight pressure
to cause the rice paper to adhere to the pasted smooth surface. The surface thus
prepared should then be left to dry, and finally put into a press or passed between
smoothing rollers in order to give the desired smoothness of surface to the rice
paper.
If desired the smooth surface to which the rice paper is applied may be pre-
viously prepared with a design of any suitable character, so that all the artist will
have to do will be to follow and fill up the outline of the prepared design, which
will be clearly visible through the rice paper, and the surface of the rice paper which
has been operated upon by the artist's web brush will be found to stand out in
bold relief from the untouched ground of the smooth surface, thus producing an effect
both natural and pleasing and somewhat resembling the velvety appearance that
may be observed on the petals of the flower called pansee or heartsease.
For the use of more advanced students in the art of colouring the outline sketch
may be left out and the artist supply his own design.
It is evident that surfaces thus prepared are specially applicable to Christmas
and new year's cards, valentines, and ornamental or embossed surfaces of all
kinds.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Mode of Preparing Paper
or other Smooth Surfaces so that the Prepared Surface may be easily Embossed,"

page_text: and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,―
The mode of preparing paper and other smooth surfaces by means of starch and
rice paper for the purpose of enabling them to be more readily embossed, substan-
tially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis William Matthes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this
day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
F. W. MATTHES. (L.S.)