MULTIPLYING COPIES OF WRITING MUSIC, DRAWINGS &C
Year: 1886

page_text: WILLIAM CORDEAUX Barrister-at-Law, Hooton Roberts Rotherham Yorkshire,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for MULTIPLYING COPIES OF WRITING
MUSIC, DRAWINGS &C to be as follows:-
A method of producing any number of copies of writing, music, drawings, or
other delineations by means of the following process.
I take a sheet of very thin soft copper, or brass, or tin foil with silver surface, or
very tough paper or parchment and place it upon a piece of stout but soft blotting
paper. I then write or draw on the sheet so placed with a pointed pencil of agate,
bone or ivory, and by firm pressure in writing or drawing I make a deep indentation
on the sheet which produces an impression on the blotting paper placed beneath it,
the result is, that when I turn the sheet over, after writing or drawing, I find the
subject matter appears in bold relief and backwards way, upon the opposite side of
the sheet written upon.
I then take this sheet, and without backing it with
Plaster of Paris or anything else, I lay it and fix it on a board, having the relief
side uppermost.
This board is placed in a frame, which frame is double the length of the board.
The other half of the frame is occupied by a slab on which the printing ink is
spread in the usual way. The slab is on the same level with the writing or drawing
in relief on the other board.
An ordinary printers' roller but with bandles at each end fixed horizontally, the
roller and handles being in one line, is worked backwards and forwards from one
end of the frame to the other but it is carried by two small wheels or slides which
travel along the edge of the sides of the frame, so as to pass over and upon the ink
slab and to come in contact only with the writing or drawing in relief without
touching the other parts of the sheet not written or drawn upon.
This roller may be raised or lowered by means of screws so as to increase or
decrease the pressure.
After passing the roller over the ink slab, and so getting it
supplied with ink, and after passing it over the writing or drawing in relief, I place
a piece of paper or whatever I wish to be printed, upon the inked writing, as if it
were type and pass over it another roller similar in construction to the inking roller,
Price B11

page_text: but covered with india rubber, after regulating its pressure to cause contact I find
the writing or drawing is impressed or printed on the paper, and so any number of
copies may be taken in black or any other colour the ink may consist of.
I then remove the printing sheet, and by placing it on a hard smooth surface,
plate glass is best, and smoothing it by pressure with a bone, ivory or other rounded
instrument, it is restored to its original condition, and may be used again and again
until it is no longer fit for writing or drawing upon.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Multiplying Copies of Writing, Music, Drawings, and Plans.
'
I WILLIAM CORDEAUX Hooton Roberts Rotherham Yorkshire Barrister-at-Law,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for MULTIPLYING COPIES OF WRITING,
MUSIC, DRAWINGS AND PLANS and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention is a new and simple process for obtaining an unlimited number of
copies of writing, Music Drawings and Plans, and any other delineations in the
following manner :-I take a sheet of very thin soft copper, or brass, or tin foil
with silver surface, or very tough paper or parchment and place it upon a piece of
stout but soft blotting paper, or upon one or more sheets of soft common paper,
I then place these together upon a smooth hard surface, I use a thin sheet of steel
about 20 guage thick. If the subject matter to be copied is writing or music, and
not a drawing or plan, the blotting or other medium paper, is dispensed with, but
the face of the metallic, or paper, or parchment sheet must still be kept from close
contact with the steel sheet upon which it is placed; this is accomplished by placing
upon the steel, and under the metallic or other sheet, thin strips of steel about one
sixteenth of an inch thick, the strips being placed, one above and one below the
line of writing or music, thus suspending the part written upon, one sixteenth of
an inch above the steel plate or sheet. I then write or draw upon the topmost
sheet, namely the metallic, or tough paper or parchment, with a pointed pencil or
style of agate, bone or ivory, I prefer to use an agate style, and by firm pressure
in writing or drawing, and whether I place the blotting paper as a medium, or
make use of the steel strips, I make a deep indentation upon the metallic or other
top sheet, so written or drawn upon. Using the strips of steel when writing or
music is to be copied, enables me to obtain a better printing surface, as the metallic
sheet is forced by the agate, style directly against the face of the smooth steel
beneath it, and thus after I have so written or drawn, I find, when I reverse the

page_text: metallic or tough paper or parchment sheet, the result is, I have a negative in bold
relief upon the opposite side of the sheet so written or drawn upon, the face of the
raised writing or music being perfectly smooth like type, whereas the face of a
drawing or plan in relief has a slight roughness on it, owing to its contact with the
blotting or other paper. Having thus obtained a negative, it is not necessary to
back it with Plaster of Paris, or any similar substance, as the nature and quality
of the metallic or other sheet is sufficiently hard & firm to withstand pressure when
printing. I then take the negative and place it loose upon the same steel sheet
I used when writing or drawing. This steel sheet, having the negative on it relief
side uppermost, is then fixed on a board, and being thin and flexible steel, it is so
fixed that it is sprung or slightly arched, and does not rest flat on the board; the
bend or curve of the sheet is only sufficient to raise the centre part of it about half
an inch above the board upon which it is so fixed. Thin strips of steel or tape are
then passed over and across the margin of the negative and they are adjusted to
the size of it, the ends of these strips being fastened on the edges of the board,
and thus the negative is kept in its place, and by its being placed on a rounded
surface, the relief stands out bolder, and there are no bends or waves in the negative
sheet. The board is then placed in a frame in which it rests upon light wire or
india-rubber springs to allow it to yield or give way slightly, as the inking roller,
hereinafter described, passes over it. When the negative is on the board, it is level
with the frame, the sides of the frame being curved to correspond with the bend
or arch of the steel sheet holding the negative. The frame is double the width of
the board, the other half of the frame is not curved, and it is occupied by a slab
or plate of steel, glass, or slate, upon which the printing ink is spread in the usual
manner. The ink slab is on the same level with that side of the negative nearest
to it. I use ordinary printers' ink made of a proper consistency to suit the work,
that is to say, a negative on brass or copper requires a dryer and less fluid ink than
tinfoil. An ordinary printers roller but with handles at each end fixed horizontally
the roller and handles being in one line, is worked backwards and forwards from
one end of the frame to the other, but it is carried by two small wheels or slides
which travel along the edge of the frame so as to pass over and upon the ink slab,
and to come in contact only with the negative, without touching the parts not
written or drawn upon. This roller may also be raised or lowered by screws so as
to increase or decrease the pressure; this screw arrangement only applies if the
roller is a long one for printing large plans. After passing the roller over the ink
slab, and so getting it supplied with ink, and after passing it over the negative,
I place a sheet of paper or whatever I wish to print, upon the inked negative as if
it were ordinary type, and pass over it another roller similar in construction to the
inking roller, or it may be covered with india rubber instead of composition,
I prefer a composition roller. This second roller is not carried on wheels or slides,
it rests entirely on the negative, and pressure can be put upon it, whereas the
inking roller is passed over the negative without pressure beyond its own weight.
I thus multiply copies of the negative in black or any other colour the ink may
consist of. After this the negative is removed, and if no more copies are required,
I place it upon a smooth hard surface, and first clean off the ink from the writing
or drawing in relief, with dry soap powder or soda mixed with common whitening
and water, and when it is still wet, I reverse it and smooth it flat with a bone,
ivory or other rounded instrument, until the writing or drawing has disappeared;
any buckles or waves in the sheet when so cleaned and smoothed are easily removed
by scraping or pressing it out with the edge of a flat piece of hard wood or steel
it should also be polished bright after this, and is thus restored to its original
condition, and may be used again and again until it is no longer fit for writing or
drawing upon, this operation being repeated each time it is so used: Small plans,
sketches, and post cards may be printed in an ordinary printing press, if the
negative prepared in the same manner as described, is so on brass or copper, and
then mounted on a wood block, type high, a piece of indiarubber or other flexible

page_text: material being placed underneath the brass or copper negative before it is fixed on
the wood block; it may then be placed in a chase with or without ordinary type.
This applies also to small plans or outline sketches to be printed in a newspaper
press as part of a newspaper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
(i.) Making or producing a negative in relief of any writing, music, drawing or
plan, upon any of the metallic sheets herein specified, or upon tough paper or
parchment, and substantially in the manner described.
(ii.) Multiplying copies from the said negative by the combination of the curved
steel sheet, the frame, the spring board, and the construction and working arrange-
ments of the rollers, herein fully described.
(iii.) Multiplying copies from the said negative, when it is on brass or copper, by
placing it in an ordinary printing press, or a newspaper press, with or without
ordinary type, having first made it type high in the manner herein described.
(iv.) Smoothing and restoring the said negative to its original condition, as in
. the manner described, and for the purpose named herein.