IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLOCK FABRICS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLOCK FABRICS."
-A communication from abroad by the American Waterproof Cloth
Company, of the City of New York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 4th August 1865, and dated the 1st May 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st May 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
FLOCK FABRICS," to be as follows:-
In manufacturing cloths with a woollen, silk, or fur surface of flock
cemented by elastic gums to a woven back, it has been found necessary to use
a colored flock for the face of the goods owing to the fact, first, that in sub-
mitting the cloth so coated with india-rubber, gutta percha, or other gums or
varnishes to the heat requisite for producing and fixing the color on the face
by the process of dyeing, printing, or steaming, the heat has uniformly had
the effect of sending to the surface of the cloth more or less of the gums used.
Moreover, the action of the heat upon the lead, litharge, sulphur, oils, or
other matters mixed with the gums has been to produce chemical combi-
-

page_text: nations which have resulted in the formation of a kind of curd upon the face
of the fabric; a tendency has thus been created to deaden and destroy the
color as well as to give the face of the goods a spotted appearance. In order
to remove this defect and allow of the goods taking the dyeing or printing
color like other properly mordaunted fabrics, and of being manufactured of
any desired patterns, it is now proposed to submit the cloth to a steam heat
of from 220° to 290° Fahr. for, say during twenty or thirty minutes, and
afterwards to immerse it in a bath of muriate of tin standing at from 4° to
12° Fahr. The effect of the muriatic acid is to precipitate or solidify the
gum or curd evolved from the rubber or gutta percba to neutralize the effect
of the sulphate of lead formed, as well as to deposit a coating of tin upon and
throughout the flocked surface. After removing the goods from this bath
they are submitted to a bath of aqua ammonia and sal soda of a strength
sufficient to neutralize the muriatic acid or any impurities or other chemical
negatives which may be upon the face of the cloth; this latter application
may be used either before or after the bath of muriate of tin. The cloth is
then submitted to a solution of sulphuric acid and chloride of lime in order to
thoroughly oxide the previous deposit of tin, and afterwards to a solution of
sulphuric acid and water to remove the lime. This combination forms a
mordant for any color which may be desired in dyeing or printing, and at the
same time permits of the desired color being obtained at a lower temperature
of heat or steam, and of a more uniform and beautiful shade than by any
process heretofore known. The dyeing or printing of the goods is effected
in any well known or approved manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st November 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: William Edward Newton, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF FLOCK FABRICS," being a communi-
cation from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument.
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Edward Newton, 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 (that is to say) :-
In manufacturing cloths with a surface of wool, silk, or fur flock cemented
by elastic gums to a woven back, it has been found necessary, prior to this
Invention, to use a colored flock for the face of the goods owing to the fact,
first, that in submitting the cloth so coated with india-rubber, gutta percha,
or other gums or varnishes to the heat requisite for producing and fixing the
color on the face by the process of dyeing, printing, or steaming, the heat has:
uniformly had the effect of sending to the surface of the cloth more or less of.
the gums used, or emissions or exhalations from the same or from the sub-
stances used in combination therewith, and thus a tendency to deaden or
destroy the color as well as to give the face of the goods a spotted appearance
has been created; second, in attempting to dye or print goods composed of
vulcanized or unvulcanized india-rubber or gutta percha, and coated with
wool, silk, or fur. It has been found that upon subjecting the same to a heat
of two hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit a peculiar chemical combination ·
is produced from the ingredients used in curing, as, for instance, lead,
litharge, sulphur, oils, &c., whether in combination with india-rubber or gutta
percha when subjected to a heat of one hundred and sixty degrees to two
hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit, produces a chemical combination of
sulphate of lead, or white oxide of lead or galena, which is known as a compound
of lead and sulphur when combined with oxygen, but when combined with oily
substances, as in waterproof goods, becomes carbonized and forms a sulphu-
retted nitro-carbon; this, when drawn to the face of the cloth by the heat.

page_text: required in dyeing or steaming has the appearance of a gum or curd produced
by the action of these agents on the oily substance used in the lead, and forms:
a resistance to the chemical combination of the dye intended for the wool,
silk, or fur, and utterly destroys its effect..
Not only is the presence of the gum fatal to the production of a brilliant
color, but aside from this it is found that the sulphate of lead evolved by the
lieat overpowers and destroys the effect intended to be produced by the action
of the acid or other mordants mixed in the dye vat, or in the color to be used
for printing. For instance in colors which must be fixed upon wool, silk, or
fur at a certain degree of heat sufficient to evolve the exhalations of sulphate
of lead, or if the same be combined with a curd of linseed or other oil, this
would form an overpowering resistance to either muriate or sulpho-muriate of.
tin in the proportion in which these compounds must be used to give the color:
sufficient brilliancy and durability upon either silk, wool, or fur.
Now, in order successfully and uniformly to overcome the above-mentioned
difficulties, and place the dyeing and printing of waterproof or other flock face
goods, when composed of either india-rubber, gutta percha, or other like gums
or varnishes upon a feasible and reliable basis, the resistance produced, as
before described, to the action of the drug in either dyeing or printing must
be overcome before the cloth is dyed or printed. To effect this the cloth is
submitted to a steam heat of from two hundred and twenty degrees to two
hundred and ninety degrees Fahrenheit, for, say, during twenty or thirty
minutes. This process has the effect of evolving all the chemical action pro-
duced by the ingredients used in the rubber, gutta percha, or other mixtures
of which the cloth is composed; after this the cloth is submitted to a bath of
muriate of tin. at from four degrees to twelve degrees of strength. The effect
of the muriatic acid is to precipitate or solidify the gum or curd evolved from
the rubber or gutta percha to neutralize the effect of the sulphate of lead, as
well as to deposit a coating of tin upon and throughout the flocked surface.
After removing the goods from this bath they are submitted to a bath of aqua
ammonia and sal soda of a strength sufficient to neutralize the muriatic acid
or any impurities or other chemical negatives which may be upon the face of
the cloth; this latter application may be used either before or after the bath
of muriate of tin. The goods are then submitted to a solution of sulphuric
acid and chloride of lime in order to thoroughly oxydize the previous deposit
of tin, and afterwards to a solution of sulphuric acid and water to remove the
lime.
This combination forms a mordant for any color which may be desired
in dyeing or printing, and at the same time permits of the desired color being:

page_text: obtained at a lower temperature of heat or steam, and of a more uniform and
beautiful shade than by any process heretofore known.
It is well known that hitherto all waterproof cloths with woollen, silk, or
fur surfaces have been chiefly made from colored flocks on account of the
impossibility of obtaining brilliant or uniform colors by dyeing or printing the
goods after being flocked; also that all efforts heretofore made to print such
goods have been unsuccessful upon either white or colored goods such as have
been described, and chiefly for the reasons assigned. By the above described
Invention, however, these cloths can be produced in the most beautiful colors
and designs suitable for piano, table, and other furniture covers. The cloth
being impervious to water, dampness, or dust, will secure musical instruments
and other valuable articles of furniture against injury from such causes,
while greatly adding to their beauty. Also for robe linings producing a
design in colors which gives elegance to the robe while rendering it imper-
vious to rain, yet cheaper than the ordinary woollen goods used for that
purpose, and not liable to shrinkage. Also for travelling bags, shoes, and
shoe lining, saddle cloths, hats, caps, carpets, clothing, and a vast number of
other uses to which woollen, silk, or other expensive goods have hitherto been
applied.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in the
Manufacture of Flock Fabrics," as communicated to me from abroad, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that, under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the process,
substantially as herein-before described, of preparing, dyeing, and printing
goods having a surface of flock of the character herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the First day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)