IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES AND THEIR STOPPERING OR CLOSING DETAILS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Scott, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Glass Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BOTTLES AND THEIR STOPPERING OR CLOSING DETAILS."
Sealed the 3rd July 1857, and dated the 30th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Scott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
March 1857.
I, JOSEPH SCOTT, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Glass Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES AND THEIR STOPPERING OR CLOSING DETAILS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention comprehends an improved system of construction, tending
amongst other advantages to simplify and cheapen the manufacture of ordi-
nary black bottles and other glass bottles or vessels, together with an improved
mode of stoppering or closing the same; the improvements being also appli-
cable to earthenware bottles.
In the manufacture or construction of glass bottles as at present practised,
the bottle is blown in a mould by a workman, technically termed "the blower,"
and is then finished by another workman, technically termed "the bottle
maker," who applies additional glass to form a thick lip or ring at the mouth
or spout end of the bottle. Now, according to the present Invention, the work
of the finisher or "bottle maker" is entirely dispensed with, no thickened lip
or ring being formed upon the spout end, and the bottle is considered to be

page_text: completed when it leaves the mould in which it is blown, with the exception
of the mere squaring or trimming of the spout end, in case this is required.
The mould is, according to the present Invention, constructed so that when
the bottle leaves it, the extreme end of the neck is narrower or more con-
tracted than the portion of the neck nearer the body of the bottle, there being
a step or shoulder where the wider part is joined to the narrower part, and
the mould may be constructed so as to give any desired relative proportions
to these two parts.
In stoppering or closing bottles of this kind according to one plan, a capsule
or hollow cap of glass or other suitable material is employed, this capsule
being constructed to fit upon the narrow portion of the bottle's neck. The
capsule may or may not be lined with some elastic or yielding substance to
form a tight joint, and it may be shaped externally according to any con-
venient or ornamental design, or it may be made so as to be flush with the
thicker part of the bottle's neck, being arranged so as to meet the shoulder or
step when closed.
Various contrivances may be adopted for holding the capsule firmly upon
the bottle. Thus, when the capsule is flush with the neck, a strip of cloth
or other suitable material may be made to adhere to both the capsule
and the bottle neck by means of suitable adhesive matter, or rings may be
formed upon the bottle neck and upon the capsule, so as to retain or hold
wires twisted round each; or, again, a groove or grooves may be formed
across the head of the capsule to retain wires or strings attached to the neck
of the bottle and fastened over the capsule.
The forin and arrangement of the parts as herein-before described are
obviously applicable in the construction of all kinds of glass bottles and ale--
in the construction of earthenware bottles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPHI
SCOTT, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Glass Manufac-
turer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Scott, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Scott,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joseph Scott, 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 BOTTLES AND THEIR STOPPERING OR CLOSING DETAILS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Scott, my executors or administra-
tors, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said Joseph Scott, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My said Invention comprehends an improved system of construction, tending
amongst other advantages to simplify and cheapen the manufacture of ordi-
nary
black and similar glass bottles, and which is combined with an improved
mode of stoppering or closing the same. In the manufacture and construction
of ordinary black bottles and bottles of other kinds of ordinary glass as at pre-
sent practised, the bottle is blown in a mould by a workman, technically
termed the "blower," and is then finished by another workman, technically
termed the "bottle maker," who applies additional glass to form a thick lip or
ring at the mouth or spout end of the bottle. Now, according to the present
Invention, the work of the finisher or "bottle maker" is entirely dispensed
with, no thickened lip or ring being formed upon the spout end, and the bottle
is considered to be completed when it leaves the mould in which it is blown,
with the exception of the breaking off any superfluous glass from the spout
end. According to the present Invention, the mould is so constructed that
when the bottle leaves it, the extreme end of the neck or spout is narrower or
more contracted than the portion of the neck nearer the body of the bottle,
there being a step or shoulder where the wider part is joined to the narrower
part, and the mould may be constructed so as to give any desired relative pro-
portions to these two parts.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I have
hereunto appended a Sheet of explanatory Drawings relating thereto, to which
Drawings the herein-after contained references apply, the like letters marking
the like parts on the several Figures.
Figure 1 on the said Sheet of Drawings is an elevation of a bottle con-
structed according to my Invention; Figure 2 is an elevation of a capsule
adapted to the bottle; Figure 3 is a vertical section through the bottle and
capsule, the latter being in its place; and Figure 4 is an elevation of a portion
of the bottle, with the capsule in its place and secured by a band or label. The
mould in which the bottle is blown is shaped internally, so as to give to the
bottle the form shown in Figures 1 and 3. In this form the neck or spout
A, B, of the bottle, instead of being of a uniform or slightly tapering width all
the distance from the body C to the mouth A, is made with a step or shoulder
at D, the portion A, D, of the neck or spout above this shoulder being
narrower than the portion D, B. The bottle being taken from the mould in
this form and the superfluous glass being removed from the end A, it is con-
sidered finished, no thickened lip or ring being formed on or applied to the
end A, as in the ordinary process. The herein-before described form is given
to the neck of the bottle with the view of stoppering or closing the same by
means of a capsule, or hollow cap of glass, or other suitable material, and such
as is represented in Figures 2, 3, & 4. This capsule is constructed to fit upon
the narrow portion of the bottle's neck, and may be lined with some elastic or
yielding substance, such as cork, to form a tight joint, as shown at E in Figure 4.
The head and indeed the entire exterior of the capsule may be shaped according
to any convenient or ornamental design, but it is preferred to shape it so as to
meet and fit the step or shoulder D, and to be flush externally at that part
with the portion D, B, of the bottle neck. Various contrivances may be
adopted for holding the capsule firmly, and, if required, hermetically upon the
bottle neck. Thus, when the capsule is flush with the neck of the bottle, as
shown in the Drawings, a strip F of cloth or other suitable material may be
made to adhere to both the capsule and the bottle neck by means of suitable
adhesive matter; or rings may be formed upon the bottle neck and upon the
capsule, so as to retain or hold wires twisted round them, or a metallic band
contracted over them; or, again, a groove or grooves may be formed across
the head of the capsule to retain wires or cords attached to the neck of the
bottle and fastened over the capsule.
Having now particularly described my said Invention, I have to observe, in
conclusion, that since making application for the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, and since depositing a Provisional Specification as required

page_text: with such application, it has come to my knowledge that small bottles of a
form and size generally used for containing pomatum and such like matters
have been made of flint glass with a shoulder or step in the neck, prior to the
date of my said application; I must, however, also observe, that there are
important distinctions between the system or mode of manufacturing such
flint glass bottles, and my improved system or, mode of manufacturing ordinary
black bottles and bottles of other ordinary glass. In the first place, as is well
understood, the manufacture of articles of flint glass is quite distinct from the
manufacture of articles of ordinary bottle glass as regards the manipulation
involved. Secondly, in manufacturing the flint glass bottles referred to, the
bottle is not finished when it leaves the mould in which it is blown, it being
requisite for a workman to shape and trim the mouth of the bottle, in doing
which there is comparatively great facility with flint glass, as it can be worked
or shaped in a comparatively cold state, and can be reheated once or oftener
without inconvenience. Thus, although a thickened lip or ring may not be
formed by means of additional glass upon such flint glass bottles, still an
amount of labour corresponding to, though probably not so great as that of the
"bottle finisher," has to be bestowed thereon, whilst, according to my improved
system, this labour is entirely dispensed with, the bottle being finished on
removal from the mould in which it is blown, and when the superfluous glass
is broken off or removed from the end of the spout, it is true that the edge
of the neck or spout may not, according to my system, be so well or smoothly
finished, but it is precisely in the class of bottles to which my Invention refers
that this is of no importance, particularly when the system of manufacturing the
bottle comprehends or is combined with the stoppering or closing arrangements
herein before described. What I claim, therefore, as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
The system or mode of manufacturing bottles of ordinary bottle glass, in
the manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Scott, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
JOSEPH SCOTT. (L.S.)