IMPROVEMENTS IN THE Treat- MENT OF MATERIALS AND FABRICS, RENDERING SUCH MATERIALS AND FABRICS WATERPROOF AND TRANSPARENT, AND ALSO FOR ADAPTING THEM TO GENERAL AND SURGICAL PURPOSES."
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Townsend, of Union St., Bristol,
Wholesale Druggist, and Alexander Rollason, of Baptist Mills,
Bristol, Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE Treat-
MENT OF MATERIALS AND FABRICS, RENDERING SUCH MATERIALS AND FABRICS
WATERPROOF AND TRANSPARENT, AND ALSO FOR ADAPTING THEM TO GENERAL
AND SURGICAL PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Townsend and
Alexander Rollason at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 4th November 1871.
We, CHARLES TOWNSEND, of Union St., Bristol, Wholesale Druggist,
5 and ALEXANDER ROLLASON, of Baptist Mills, Bristol, Chemist, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF MATERIALS AND FABRICS, RENDERING such MATERIALS & FABRICS

page_text: WATERPROOF, & TRANSPARENT, & ALSO FOR ADAPTING THEM TO GENERAL ANd
SURGICAL PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in treating glazed and unglazed calicoes, linens,
silks, papers, and other fabrics in such a way as to render them trans-
parent or semi-transparent simply and in this state they would be
useful for a variety of purposes.
In addition to their being transparent or semi-transparent, we also
render them adhesive as for surgical plaster, and this we do either by
the same process which renders them transparent or semi-transparent or
subsequently as may be desired. The same process which renders them
transparent or semi-transparent makes them also semi-waterproof, after
which they may be overspread or coated with collodion, or compounds
of collodion, gums, resins, oils, and such like, as described in a former
Patent granted to Alexander Rollason, and dated 1860, 15th September,
No. 2249.
The way in which we render the said fabrics transparent or semi-
transparent is by saturating them with hydrocarbon oils such as pelialine
paraphine, benzoline, either separately or combined, or these in con-
junction with gums, resins, oils, and soaps, separately or combined, and
after such saturation allowing them to dry either spontaneously or by
artificial heat. If adhesiveness is required in addition to transparency,
as for surgical plasters, then we take care to use such a proportion of
soap and resin to the saturating solution as shall render the fabric
adhesive by the use of moderate heat, or without making the saturating
solution of an adhesive we can subsequently spread an adhesive solution
upon the transparent or semi-transparent fabrics, which solutions would
be of isinglas or gelatine, separate or combined, or gum resin and tops,
separate or combined, held or dissolved by any of the hydrocarbons
before named, or by either alcohol, methilated spirit, wood, or other
naptha, or we spread crude melted plasters upon our transparent or
semi-transparent fabrics.
.
We also render sheets of collodion or collodion compounds adhesive
by spreading upon them the before-named plaster solutions or solutions

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Townsend and Alexander Rollason in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th May 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
TOWNSEND, of Union Street, Bristol, Wholesale Druggist, and ALEX-
ANDER ROLLASON, of Baptist Mills, Bristol, Chemist, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fiftli year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Townsend and Alexander Rollason,
Her special licence that we, the said Charles Townsend and Alexander
Rollason, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Charles Townsend and Alexander Rollason, our 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, usc, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ircland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF MATERIALS AND FABRICS, RENDERING SUCH MATERIALS AND FABRICS
WATERPROOF AND TRANSPARENT, AND ALSO FOR ADAPTING THEM TO GENERAL AND
SURGICAL PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Charles Townsend and Alexander Rollason, our executors or ad-,
ministrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said Charles Townsend and Alexander
Rollason, do hereby declare the nature of our 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:
Our Invention consists in treating glazed and unglazed calicos,
linens, silks, papers, and other fabrics in such a way as to render them.

page_text: transparent or semi-transparent simply and in this state they would
be useful for a variety of purposes.
In addition to their being transparent or semi-transparent we also
render them adhesive as for surgical plaster, and this we do either by
the same process which renders them transparent or semi-transparent or
subsequently as may be desired. The same process which renders them
transparent or semi-transparent makes them also semi-waterproof, after
which they may overspread or coated with collodion or compounds
of collodion, gums, resins, oils, and such like, as described in a former
Patent granted to Alexander Rollason and dated 1860, 15th September,
No. 2249.
The way in which we render the said fabrics transparent or semi-
transparent is by saturating them with hydrocarbon oils, such as petraline,
paraffin, bensoline, either separately or combined, or these in conjunction
with gums, resins, oils, and soaps, separately or combined, and after
such saturation allowing them to dry either spontaneously or by artificial
heat. If adhesiveness is required in addition to transparency, as for
surgical plasters, then we take care to use such a proportion of soap and
resin to the saturating solutions as shall render the fabric adhesive by the
use of moderate heat, or without making the saturating solution of an
adhesive nature we can subsequently spread an adhesive solution upon
the transparent or semi-transparent fabrics, which solutions would be
of isinglas or gelatine, separate or combined, or gums, resins, and soaps,
separate or combined, held or dissolved by any of the hydrocarbons
before named, or by either alcohol, methilated spirit, wood, or other
naptha, or we spread crude melted plasters upon our transparent or
semi-transparent fabrics.
We also render sheets of collodion or collodion compounds adhesive
by spreading upon them the before-named plaster solutions or solutions
of isinglass or gelatine.
First. When we desire to treat any of the fabrics before named in
such a way as to render them transparent or semi-transparent or water-
proof or semi-waterproof we pass them through a trough containing, or
by some other means saturate them with the following compounds,
viz., 48 gallons benzine, 128" rosin, to which we sometimes add th
or 11th part of wax, or such a proportion as will prevent the rosin from
cracking when dry. When the fabrics are dry after being saturated
with this compound we spread upon them if required to be further

page_text: waterproofed one or more coats of the before named compound in a
concentrated form, or we spread this compound in a concentrated form
upon the fabrics without having previously saturated them with the
solution above named. We don't confine ourselves to the use of rosin
alone dissolved in benzine, or to rosin and wax combined, as what is
known as stearine, paraffin, balsoms, and soap, tallow or paraffin, Japan
wax, and such like would partly answer the same purpose as wax
when mixed or held in solution by benzine, neither do we confine
ourselves to the use of benzine as a solvent or menstruum, as any of the
hydrocarbon oils would to a certain extent answer the same purpose,
but by preference we use resin and wax only held in solution or sus-
pended by benzine as described.
Second. When we desire to render our fabrics adhesive, as for surgical
purposes, we dissolve or suspend ordinary plaster such as emplast plumbi,
emplast resinœ, and other plasters whether described in the British
Pharmacopice or not in benzine or in any of the before-named bydro-
carbon oils, or we make plaster similar in composition to those named
without solidifying them, adding thereto the said oils, which can then
be spread upon our fabrics in a cold or warm state, although we prefer
to spread them cold, and the proportion we have found to answer
best for this purpose is as follows, viz. :-Dry plaster, 2", benzine, 2″,
these proportions, however, would require to be modified according to
the weather and the plaster used; we also spread upon ordinary cloth
known as shirting, jaconets, &c., or upon other fabrics. These various
plasters or compounds suspended or held in solution by benzine and other
hydrocarbin oils without the cloth or fabrics having been previously
saturated as described, or we previously prepare the cloth or fabrics
with a coat or more of collodion before applying the plaster, and we
find when plaster is so held in solution or suspended by benzinc, that
it is much more soft after being spread and much less likely to crack
and rub off, as the present method of spreading is by simply melting
the various plasters and spreading them upon fabrics in a warm
state.
Third. Having saturated our fabrics as before stated with benzine,
rosin, and wax, we render them additionally waterproof by coating
them with collodion or collodion compounds as named in a former
Patent granted to Alexander Rollason and Stephen Barnwell, and dated
September 15th, 1860, No. 2249.

page_text: We do not confine ourselves to these precise details, but what we
claim is, making fabrics transparent, waterproof, and adhesive either in
whole or in part as described, and spreading said fabrics with plaster, as
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Townsend and Alexander
Rollason, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Third day
of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-two.