IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF PRODUCING IMITATION MOSAICS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Henry Birkbeck, of the Firm of Tongue
and Birkbeck, of 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agents and Engineers, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF PRODUCING IMITATION MOSAICS."-A
communication from abroad by Charles Auguste le Bourg, Statuary,
of Paris. in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 25th September 1862, and dated the 27th March 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Henry Birkbeck
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th March 1862.
I, GEORGE HENRY BIRKBECK, of the Firm of Tongue and Birkbeck, of
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agents and Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF PRODUCING IMITATION MOSAIOS," to be as
follows:-
Hitherto in the attempts which have been made in order to produce works
of art, or to imitate those of the great masters, by means of enamelled plates
ór surfaces no successful results have been obtained owing to the difficulty of
joining or blending the various parts together, so as to avoid the unsightly
breaks or divisions at the junction of the several parts employed for composing
works of this character.

page_text: Now, the object sought by the present improvements consists in employing
the means herein-after described for producing enamelled mosaic plates or
surfaces so as to render them suitable for being applied to the interior and
exterior decoration of public or private buildings or monuments, or for the
reproduction of pictures, bas reliefs, or other works of art.
For this purpose,
after having determined upon the surface it is intended to cover with the
enamelled mosaic for the production of a picture, surface in relief, or other
decorative work of art, the model of the design is first executed in paper or
other suitable material of the exact size, and colored to give an idea of the
general effect required in the ultimate result. This model design is then cut
up into sections of varying size, suited to the character, and following exactly
the contour of the various parts of the design. The several parts or sections
are then placed separately on plates or surfaces of baked or unbaked earthen-
ware, metal, or other substance suitable for enamelling upon, which is cut or
shaped to the contour of the particular part of the design under treatment.
When all the parts are thus arranged, they are placed together to ascertain if
they fit correctly, so as to represent the original design. The various parts
are then covered with enamel, either separately or combined, the enamel being
so applied to each part as to produce, when "fired" or baked, the various
colours required in the complete design. When baked, the parts are to be
combined and cemented or secured together in any suitable or convenient
manner.
In the application of this Invention to a model sculptured in bas relief, the
sections are to be made in the plaster mould, or in the mould made of dry
sand, according to whether it be an original work or one required to be
reproduced: The several parts or sections thus made, after being baked, will
be enamelled and put together as above explained.
These mosaic surfaces will in some cases be composed entirely of enamelled
earthenware or of other substances, and in some cases the same piece or
surface of mosaic, work may be composed of several or all of the above-
described enamelled substances combined according to the richness and
character of the colours required in the picture, bas relief, decoration, or
other work of art produced as herein described.
The method of producing the models or original designs suitable for
carrying out this Invention may be varied, together with the process of
enamelling, finishing, and the combining of the several parts together to
complete and perfect the design, may be varied to suit the particular work
to which the Invention may be applied.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Henry Birkbeck in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th September 1862.
"TO "ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HENRY 'BIRKBECK, of the Firm of Tongue & Birkbeck, of 34, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agents and
Engineers, send greeting.
iWHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord' One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Henry Birkbeck, Her special licence that I, the said George
Henry Birkbeck, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Henry Birkbeck, 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 MEANS OF PRODUCING IMITATION MOSAICS," a communi
cation to me from abroad by Charles Augusté le Bourg, Statuary, of Paris,
in the Empire' of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said" George Henry Birkbeck, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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.
65
2
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Henry Birkbeck, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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:
"Hitherto in the attempts which have been made in order to produce works
of art, or to imitate those of the great masters, by means of enamelled plates
or surfaces, no successful results have been "obtained owing to the difficulty of
joining or blending the various parts together, so as to avoid the unsightly
breaks or divisions at the junction of the several parts employed for com-
posing works of this character, and it is owing to the above difficulty that no
important applications of this art have ärisen.

page_text: Now, the object sought by the present improvements consists in employing
the means herein-after described for producing enamelled mosaic plates or
surfaces so as to render them suitable for being applied to the interior and
exterior decoration of public or private buildings, or monuments, or for the
production or reproduction in enamel of pictures, bas reliefs, statuary, or other
works of art of an entirely novel character, which may be produced by
earthenware or porcelain manufacturers, enamellers on metal, and others.
For this purpose, after having determined upon the surface it is intended to
cover with the enamelled mosaic for the production of a picture, surface in
relief, or other decorative work of art, the model of the design is first executed
in paper or other suitable material of the exact size, and colored to give an
idea of the general effect ultimately required. This model design is then
carefully cut up into sections of varying size, suited to the character and
following exactly the contour of the various parts of the design, and there
may be a considerable number of these parts or pieces according to the size
and character of the subject or design. These several parts or sections com-
posing the picture or other work of art are then placed separately on plates or
surfaces of baked or unbaked earthenware, metal, or other substance suitable
for enamelling upon, which is then cut or shaped to the exact contour or shape
of the particular part of the design under treatment. When all the parts are
thus arranged they are placed together to ascertain if they fit correctly, so as
to represent the original design. The various parts are then covered with
enamel, either separately or combined, the enamel being so applied to each
part as to produce, when "fired" or baked, the various colors required in the
complete design. When baked, the parts are to be combined, and cemented
or secured together in any suitable or convenient manner.
In the application of this Invention to the production of a model sculptured
in bas relief, the sections are to be made in the plaster mould, or in the
mould made of dry sand, according to whether it be an original work, or one
required to be reproduced. The several parts or sections thus made, after.
being baked, will be enamelled and put together as above explained.
These mosaic surfaces will in some cases be composed entirely of enamelled
earthenware, or of other substances, and in some cases the same piece or
surface of mosaic work may be composed of several or all of the above-
described enamelled substances combined according to the richness and
character of the colors required in the picture, bas relief, decoration, or other
work of art to be produced as herein described.
From the previous description it will be seen that by means of the enamelled
sections made and combined together as above described, that works of art

page_text: may be produced in ceramic or enamelled ware of a character corresponding
in beauty with the works of art so highly appreciated in colored glass.
The mode of producing the models or original designs suitable for carrying
out this Invention may be varied, together with the process of enamelling,
finishing, and the combining of the several parts together to complete and
perfect the design may be greatly varied (without departing from the nature
of this Invention), in order to suit the particular work of art to which the
Invention may be applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Henry Birkbeck, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE, Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.
G. H. BIRKBECK. (L.S.)