Improvements in the production of Letters or Designs on Glass or other Surfaces.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Nov., 1897-Accepted, 29th Jan., 1898
Improvements in the production of Letters or Designs on Glass or
other Surfaces.
I, ROBERT WILLIAM BILLINGS, of 54, Sabine Road, Lavender Hill, in the County of
London, Glass Designer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
According to my invention I produce obscured letters and designs on glass or other
surfaces in a new and improved manner, all as hereinafter described. Heretofore
obscured letters & and designs have been produced by means of sand blast and acid
printing process. By my invention I produce somewhat similar effects but in a very
much more expeditious manner at a very much smaller cost than the sand blast or
other process heretofore in use. In my invention I use suitable stencils in con-
junction with specially prepared plastic composition namely paste mixed with acid.
The stencils if used for flat surfaces may be of a rigid material but tin foil or other
suitable flexiable or plastic material or composition is preferable. The composition is
made in the form of a thick paste. The stencil having been placed on the glass or
article the composition is forced through the stencil. The article thus treated is
allowed to stand for a short time and then the composition washed off the glass or
other article and the letters or designs are then left permanently obscured on the
glass or other article in the same manner as produced by sand blast and acid printing
process. The same stencil may be used for reproducing the same inscription or
designs on any number of articles. Instead of applying the composition direct to
the glass or other article I may in some cases and especially for curved or irregular
surfaces apply the stencil process to paper or the like with the letters or designs
reversed and I then transfer the writing or designs to the glass or other surfaces.
. -
T 1
1007
Improvements in the production of Letters or Designs on Glass or
other Surfaces.
I, ROBERT WILLIAM BILLINGS, now of 7, Tennyson Street, Queens Road, Battersea,
in the County of London, but formerly of 54, Sabine Road, Lavender Hill, in the
County of London, Glass Designer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
According to my invention I produce letters or designs on glass or other surfaces
in a new and improved manner all as hereinafter described. Heretofore letters and

page_text: in use.
designs have for many years been produced by means of sand blast and acid printing
process. In the case of sand blast process it is absolutely necessary to have
machinery and in the case of the acid printing process a special copper plate is
necessary to be engraved for each particular inscription or design thus entailing a
considerable expense before the inscriptions or designs can be produced. By my
invention I produce somewhat similar effects but in a very much more expeditious
manner at a very much smaller cost than the sand blast or other process heretofore
In my invention I use suitable stencils containing the required letters or
designs. The stencils if used for flat surfaces may be of a rigid material but tin
foil or other suitable flexible material is preferable for all purposes whether on a
flat surface or irregular or curved surfaces. The acid composition which is used in
my invention is made with white acid (which is a term well known in the glass
embossing trade and is a combination of carbonate of ammonia and fluoric acid)
mixed with glue, flour and dexterine into a thick paste and applied through the
openings in the stencil plate by means of a spatula. The article thus treated is
allowed to stand for two or three minutes and then washed off leaving the glass or
other article permanently marked in the same manner as produced by sand blast
and acid printing process. The same stencil may be used for reproducing the same
inscription or design on any number of articles. Instead of applying the acid com-
position to the glass or other article I in some cases especially for irregular or curved
surfaces apply the acid composition to paper with the writing or design in reversed
position and then transfer the writing or design to the glass or other article.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The production of letters or designs on articles of glass or other suitable
surfaces by applying white acid in the form of a paste as before described to glass
or other articles through a stencil plate such letters or designs being thus per-
manently marked on the article so treated without the use of machinery as in the
case of the sand blast process and without the preparation of a copper plate as in the
case of the acid printing process as aforesaid.
2. The production of letters or designs on articles of glass or other suitable
surfaces by applying the white acid composition as before described to paper or the
like through a stencil plate in the reversed position and then transferring the
writing or designs to the glass or other article.
Dated this 22nd day of November 1897.