IMPROVEMENTS IN. THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL LEATHER
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arnold James Cooley, of Parliament Street,
in the City of Westminster, Consulting Chemist, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN. THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL
LEATHER,'
Sealed the 12th February 1853, and dated the 23rd October 1852. ·
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arnold James.
Cooley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 23rd October 1852.
I, ARNOLD JAMES COOLEY, do hereby declare the nature of the
5 said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL
LEATHER" to be as follows:-:
This Invention refers to the manufacture of a plastic compound or
plastic compounds, which, when brought by pressure into the form of
sheets, may be dressed and finished so as to present the appearance
0 of, and become an efficient substitute for, leather in many of its
applications.
In carrying out this Invention I take gutta percha, gutta tuban, gutta-
girek, or any of the hydro-carbons commonly known in commerce under-
the name of gutta percha, either in their raw or manufactured state, or-

page_text: I take the newly imported substance called "catimundo," or any like
substance or substances, or mixtures thereof; and having purified them
(by means of heat, the addition of some solvent subsidence, and strain-
ing) I add thereto caoutchouc, gintawan, shellac, asphaltum, or solid
bitumen, previously softened or dissolved in any cheap and convenient
solvent or liquid; or I add, with or without tho before last named
substances, powdered sulphate of barytes, or heavy spar sulphate, sul-
phurit, or hyposulphate of lead, magnesia, or carbonate of magnesia,
or powdered alumina, or aluminous carth, either one of them, or in
mixtures of two or more of them, which I combine by agitation and
the application of heat. I then add some powdered mineral or ammo-
niacal salt, or powdered sugar, gum, starch, or any like powdered
substance or substances, freely soluble in water; or 1 add large quan-
tities of mineral or coal tar, naptha or other cheap solvent, without the
before named powdered substances; and after thorough admixture as
before, I further add certain quantities of carded wool, silk, cotton,
flax, or any like fibrous substance, with or without some colored pig-
ment or powder, and I then form the composition into sheets, or masses
to be cut into sheets, to which I impart, either whilst soft or sub-
sequently, a polished figured or grained surface resembling leather.
These sheets or pieces I, either at once, or after puncturing or piercing
them with minute holes by hand or machinery, soak and wash in water,
or in milk of lime, or in water acidulated with oil of vitriol or sulphuric
acid, and after thoroughly rinsing and drying I smooth, press, roll, rub,
crush, and otherwise manipulate them, and dye, color, oil, grease, wax,
varnish, gild, bronze, burnish, and the like, (any one or two or more of
them,) in a manner greatly resembling some of the like operations
commonly employed in dressing leather made from the skins of
animals.
In some cases I omit the addition of the caoutchouc, gintawan,
shellac, asphaltum, bitumen, sulphate of barytes, sulphate, sulphuret,
or hyposulphate of lead, magnesia, or alumina, or of the powdered
saline, saccharine, or gummy matters, or other like substances before
named to the dough or paste; and I employ one, two, or more of these
ingredients, according to the purposes for which the artificial leather

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Arnold James Cooley in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ARNOLD JAMES COOLEY, of Parliament Street, in the City of West-
minster, Consulting Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Arnold James Cooley, Her special
license that I, the said Arnold James Cooley, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Arnold James Cooley,
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 ARTIFICIAL LEATHER," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Arnold James Cooley, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said Arnold James Cooley, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say):
In carrying out this Invention I take gutta percha, gutta tuban,
gutta gireck, or any other of the hydrocarbons or substances met with
in commerce, and commonly known by the name of gutta percha; or
I take the newly imported substance called "catimundo," or any like
substance or substances possessing similar properties to those of the
hydrocarbons or substances above mentioned, or I take any mixtures
of the said substances, and having reduced them to fragments by
cutting, planing, rasping, or grinding them, or by any other convenient
or suitable method, I garblo or separate the purer portion from the
refuse or foreign matter previously mixed with it, and I introduce the
'said garbled portions into any convenient vessel admitting of being
closely covered up and heated, and of agitation or stirring, pounding
or kneading, being applied to its contents. I then apply heat to the
said vessel and its contents, which I continue until the latter are re-
'duced to a perfectly soft dough or paste, frequently stirring or agitating
the mass, to assist the action of the heat. Sometimes, to assist the
process, and for certain purposes, I add to the substance or substances
so heated small quantities of the oil of turpentine, pyrogenous oil of
turpentine, rectified mineral or coal tar, naptha, or bitumen, benzole,
bisulphuret of carbon, pine oil, resin oil, caoutchoucine, or any similar
solvents or liquids, either singly or in mixtures of two or more of them,
which liquid additions I incorporate with the other ingredient or in-
gredients by agitation and stirring, until the mixture is reduced to a
homogeneous dough or paste, possessing less consistency than it would
do without such addition. I then allow the dough so prepared to repose
for some time, the heat being continued, and for some purposes slightly
increased. After some time further, during which the softened or melted
mass generally separates into two or more portions, I take out the
partly purified mass, which I at once employ in the manner herein-after
mentioned, or further purify it by passing it through strainers or media
of metal wire or perforated metallic plates, by means of either hand,
steam, or hydraulic pressure. I next take any quantity of the substance
or substances so prepared, or of the ordinary gutta percha of commerce

page_text: as now prepared or manufactured in sheets, lumips, and pieces under
any of the now existing Patents, and I reduce the same to the state
of dough or paste, by heating it in some suitable vessel admitting of its
contents being pounded, ground, or forcibly agitated together, and of
being closed or partially closed, to prevent, when desired, évaporation and
the access of air. I keep the said dough or paste at. a heat, varying
according to the results required, of from one hundred and seventy-five
degrees to two hundred and fifty degrees (more or less) of Fahrenheit's
thermometer, for a period varying in like manner from, thirty minutes,
to forty-eight hours (more or less), according to the purpose to which
the composition is intended to be applied, and during this time I con-
tinue the agitation, pounding, or forcible stirring. of the same. I then
add to the paste.or dough so produced or manipulated, according to the
degree of cellularity or porosity required in the artificial leather under
preparation, from twenty-five per cent. to four hundred per cent, (more
or less) of powdered crude or commercial carbonate, or sesqui-carbonate
of soda, Scotch soda, soda ash, common culinary salt; or chloride of
sodium, or of any other salt or salts or saline matter freely soluble in
water, or of powdered carbonate or sesqui-carbonate of ammonia, or
of any other like substance freely soluble in water, and volatilizable by
a moderate heat; or of powdered sugar gum, British gum, or roasted
starch, or of any other like saccharine or gummy substance or sub-
stances freely soluble in water; and I mix the said saline'matters, salts,
gums, or sugars, either one or mixtures of two or more of them, with
the before described purified and softened gutta percha, or other hydro-
carbons or materials, by means of pounding, stirring, or grinding.
together in any suitable or convenient vessel or apparatus, either
alone or with the addition thereto, as may be required, of from fifteen
to fifty per cent. of oil of turpentine, pyrogenous oil of turpentine,
rectified mineral or coal tar, naptha, or bitumen, pine oil, resin oil,
benzole, bisulphuret of carbon, choutchoucine, or any of the solvents or
liquids berein-before mentioned, or of any other like solvents or liquids,
either singly or in mixtures of two or more of them; and I con-
tinue the aforesaid agitation or grinding until a perfectly homogeneous
dough or paste is produced, observing always to keep the heat em-

page_text: ployed some degrees below the liquefying or melting temperature of
the saline matters, salts, gums, or sugars respectively employed in the
manner before described. I next regulate the temperature of the
dough, to allow its being conveniently employed in the formation of
sheets, skins, pieces, and other useful articles, in the way herein-affer
mentioned. Thus, for example, if I wish to prepare an artificial leather
as a substitute for the leather which is manufactured from cow-hides, I
submit the paste or dough to a heat of one liundred and seventy-five
degrees or thereabouts for a period of from thirty to forty minutes, and I
then add to the dough, say fifty per cent. of any one of the soluble sub-
stances above named, and otherwise treat this compound in the manner
above explained. Or if I require to produce a thick, spongy, or porous
artificial leather, I add say from three hundred to four hundred per
cent. of the soluble matters above mentioned, the paste or dough having
been previously subjected to a temperature of from two hundred to
two hundred and twenty degrees for from half an hour to one hour, it
being understood that the quality of toughness and smoothness is in
great part obtained by the application of a high and long sustained
temperature.
When I wish to increase the capacity of the said composition to resist
heat, and to harden the same, I add to the prepared dough or paste,
before the addition of the powdered saline, saccharinc, or gummy sub-
stances, and other articles referred to in the last before described process,
asphaltum or solid bitumen or shell-lac; and when I desire to render
it more elastic or flexible, I also add caoutchouc thereto, previously dis-
solved or reduced to a dough or paste by means of heat, and the addition
of the essential oil of turpentine, pyrogenous oil of turpentine, rectified
mineral or coal tar, naptha, bisulphuret of carbon, pine oil, caoutchouc,
vegetable or wood naptha, or any similar solvent of the above named
added substances, which I incorporate by means of heat and agitation,
or pounding; or, instead thereof, I add powdered sulphate of baryta,
or heavy spar hydrate of lime or slaked lime, finely powdered caustic or
quick lime, calcined magnesia or carbonate of magnesia, sulphate of
lead, sulphuret of lead or hyposulphite of lead, any one, or a mixture
of any two or more of these substances, to the before described dough

page_text: or paste; and I promote admixture and union of the said combined
materials by exposing the same to a heat of from one hundred and
eighty degrees to three hundred degrees (more or less), the higher
temperatures being employed when a more rapid or perfect union of
the materials is desired, and by stirring, rubbing, and grinding in the
way already described. I then either at once make the mass into
sheets and other formis, or previously mix it in any required proportions
with the dough or paste, in either one of the stages of preparation
already mentioned, and in any desired proportion, and after again sub-
mitting the mass to heat, proceed as before.
For certain purposes, more especially the adapting the sheets for the
purposes of being joined by sewing, I also add to the dough or paste,
in any of its before described stages of manufacture or condition, or to
any mixture of them, from two to twenty per cent. (more or less) of
wool (perfectly carded without oil), or of carded cotton, silk,.flax, hemp,
holz-wolle or wood or pine wool, or of such other like fibrous sub-
stances, the admixture of which with the dough or paste I effect by
means of beating and stirring the mass until the fibrous substances
become equally distributed throughout its bulk, after which it may be
made into sheets or other useful forms, in the same way as the other
before named compositions.
When required to possess great hardness without flexibility, I add to
any one of the compositions before referred to, or to any mixture of two
or more of them, whilst in the state of dough or paste, wool dust,
cotton dust or refuse, sawdust, wood dust, cork dust, raspings or cut-
tings of cork, filings or drillings of iron, steel, copper, and other metal,
pounded glass, flints, or quartz, or siliceous sand, either singly or in the
form of mixtures of two or more of them, which I then manufacture
into sheets, blocks, and other useful forms.
When I desire to impart any particular color to the compositions
now described, I mix therewith any of the ordinary pigments or stains,
giving the preference to those containing a sulphuret of a metal or a
metallic, base, and to those stains that readily impart a color to resin,
wax, and oil. I next take any one of the before described compositions

page_text: or combinations of materials, either singly or in mixtures of two or
more, of them, whilst in the state of dough or paste, and still warm;
and I form the mass into sheets or skins by passing it between rollers
or cylinders of metal, stone, wood, or paper, or any combination of the
same, the surfaces of the said rollers or cylinders being polished,
grained, or figured in any manner it is desired that the surface of the
artificial shall also be; and I prefer passing the sheets or skins so pro-
duced through another like pair of cylinders, or a second time through
those first used, but in a cross direction or at a right angle with that
before employed, for the purposes of equalizing the grain, or partially
destroying the same, and strengthening the sheets.
I also produce sheets or skins out of the said dough or composition,
by forming it first into blocks or lumps, by pressure between surfaces
of stone, wood, or metal, which blocks or lumps I subsequently cut
into sheets or skins by means of knives or saws. I also form sheets
out of the said mixture of materials or dough by spreading it on the
surface of an endless band of metal, parchment, leather, felt, gutta-
percha, indian-rubber, canvass, calico, or any other textile fabric or
suitable material, in a common spreading machine, adhesion between
the band and the then preparing artificial leather being prevented
by keeping the surface of the former moistened with water or oil,
or with a weak solution of soft soap or sugar. I also frequently form
the body of the sheet or skin of one combination of the above-named
materials, and the face or one or both of its surfaces by another, either
by the processes of rolling or by spreading, as already described; by
which I am enabled to combine compositions of different degrees of
compactness, porosity, and strength, and of different colors.
When it is required to strengthen the sheets composed of any of the
mixtures of materials before described, 1 apply the composition by means
of a spreading machine to a back or foundation of some felted, woven,
or other suitable fabric, and thereby form a compound sheet, which may
be applied to various useful purposes. I also mould or press the said
compositions into various forms and articles, adapted to either useful or
ornamental purposes, and which are now commonly made of leather.

page_text: I next subject the sheets, skins, or other articles, prepared as already
described, to some or all of the processes and manipulations herein-
after mentioned, as the case may require.
When any saline, saccharine, or gummy inatter has been used in
the preparation of the sheets or skins or other articles, I first expose
them for a short time to the air, and then immerse them in cisterns,
pits, vats, or other convenient receptacles containing water, and sub-
mit them to long soaking (varying from twelve to forty-eight hours,
according to the density of the materials), with frequent agitation.
While in the water, or when removed temporarily from the water, I
submit the sheets, skins, or other articles containing soluble matter to
rubbing, rolling, and like manipulations, until their pores open, and they
Become sufficiently soft and flexible. I then drain them, and subject
them to a second immersion and like treatment in fresh water, frequently
renewed, after which I hang them up or otherwise expose them to the
air to dry. When the sheets are very thick, or when great porosity is
required in the thinner sheets, I repeat the processes of soaking, rinsing,
and drying a second and sometimes a third time, it being preferred to
allow some days to clapse between the same, during which period I
expose the sheets or skins to a current of warm air, preferring for this
purpose a temperature of eighty-five degrees to one hundred degrees
Fahrenheit, or thereabouts. I also commonly acidulate the second water
with sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol, or I add fresh burnt and slaked
lime thereto.
When ammonia or any of its preparations, or any like volatile sub+
stance, is employed, instead of the other before-named saline, gummy,
or saccharine matters, I prefer keeping the sheets or skins for some
days in a current of air, heated to the temperature above named;
to facilitate the evaporation of the ammonia or other like volatile
substance, before subjecting them to the subsequent processes of soaking,
washing, and drying.
I next take the articles so prepared, and having cleaned their
surfaces from foreign matter, and smoothed and rubbed off any
inequalities or defects with a piece of pumice stone, and fish or shark

page_text: skin, and a polished wooden rubber, I sort them into classes, depending
on their texture, stiffness, flexibility, and other qualities. Those that
are too stiff and rigid I then soften by rubbing, rolling, and the like
manipulations. Those that are too soft and loose in their texture I
submit a second time to pressure between rollers, by which their
compactness and strength become increased at the same time that any
desired surface may be given to them in the manner already described.
I also produce a peculiar grain or pattern on the skins by causing the
one cylinder to revolve, by means of cog wheels, a little faster than the
other.
The sheets, skius, or other like articles are now ready to be subjected
to one or more of the processes herein-after described, as desired, in a
manner somewhat resembling the like operations with animal leather.
I stain the sheets or skins by brushing them over with or immersing
them in a strong liquor of any of the common dyes, to which a little
gum arabic, British gum, white of egg, bullocks blood, or solution of
starch has been added, at a temperature of from seventy to ninety
degrees Fahrenheit, more or less; this operation succeeds best with
those skins abounding in fibrous matter. I next commonly prepare the
sheets and skins of artificial leather with a mixture of oil or fat or any
like greasy substance, which I apply by means of friction and any
suitable rubber, and I allow it to remain applied until a sufficient
degree of softness or power of repelling water is produced. Sometimes
I effect the same object by simple immersion in a cistern containing
the said oily or greasy matter, heated to a temperature of about eighty-
five to ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit, or the lowest point that will
produce partial liquefaction; after a time the sheets or skins are
removed and drained, and the superfluous grease and oil wiped off.
For some purposes I prepare the sheets or skins by smearing or rubbing
them with pidgeon's dung, white of egg, bullock's blood, milk, and other
like substances, either alone or mixed together until the required degree
of softness, toughness, compactness, smoothness of texture, and the like,
is produced, after which I clear them off as before mentioned, and
expose them to dry. For like purposes I unite the last two processes

page_text: together, and employ a mixture of the several articles therein mentioned,
which I thicken with starch or barley meal, and apply to the back of
the said sheets or skins by smearing and friction. I then commonly
colour the front surface of the skins by rubbing in Prussian blue or any
other desired pigment combined with calcined lamp black, ground up
with any of the before-named liquids or solvents, the preference being
given to pyrogenous oil of turpentine. When the surface thus given is
dry I apply a little of the same colouring matter ground up in common
size, bullocks blood, or white of egg, by means of a common rubber ;
and sometimes I employ the latter method without previously preparing
the surface as last before described.
When I desire to imitate enamelled or patent leathers, or glazed or
varnished leather, I apply a varnish for that purpose, before oiling, greas
ing, or otherwise finishing off the same in the manner above described,
either omitting those processes altogether, or not employing them until
the varnishes become perfectly dry and hard. I do not confine myself to
the use of any particular varnish or japan, but merely select one which
is hard, tough, and flexible, and I prefer to effect the drying and
hardening of the same in an atmosphere heated to from 85° to 100°
Fahrenheit. Sometimes I finish off the back of the sheets or skins
with fancy linings of silk, cotton, thread or woollen fabrics, which I
cause to adhere to the said sheets or skins by passing them between
cylinders or rollers whilst the material is in a soft and adhesive state, or
by spreading the material or composition thereon; otherwise I effect
the same purpose by passing the two substances between rollers, the
one next the woven fabric being sufficiently heated to produce adhesion,
as before. In some cases I finish off the said sheets, skins, or articles
by only one of the above described methods of finishing the same; at
other times I employ two or more of them, according to the description
of leather I desire to imitate. Nor do I confine myself to the order in
which the several processes are herein-before noticed, but I employ the
whole or any of them, as thought desirable, for the production of the
articles herein-before mentioned.
Having now described my Invention of improvements in the manu-

page_text: facture of artificial leather, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the treatment of the
vegetable gums or hydro-carbons above enumerated in the manner and
for the purpose above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arnold James Cooley, have!
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day o
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lanc.
A. J. COOLEY. (L.B.)