IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING ARTICLES COMPOSED OF EARTHENWARE OR CHINA
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FELIX
EDWARDS PRATT, of Fenton Potteries, in the County of Stafford, Earthenware
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Thirty-first day of December, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Felix Edwards Pratt, Her especial licence; full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Felix Edwards Pratt, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Felix Edwards
Pratt, my executors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time
.
agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING ARTICLES COMPOSED OF EARTHENWARE OR
CHINA;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said Felix Edwards Pratt, by an instrument in writing under my hand and-
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Felix Edwards Pratt, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of Improvements in Manufacturing Articles Composed of
Earthenware or China, applies to that class of articles which are cylindrical,
or nearly so, on their outer circumference, and are formed on the "throw
wheel" or "jigger." According to the ordinary mode of manufacturing
these articles, a ball of clay or other suitable plastic material is placed upon
the throw wheel or jigger, and brought by the workman's fingers into an
embryo shape of the jar, box, pot, or lid required to be formed.
A gauge,
or rib, or profile is then applied to the outer circumference and the top edge
of the article to shape the outside correctly, while at the same time the
workman, either with his fingers or with a chamfered edge tool, shapes the
interior of the article, after which it is removed from the wheel. When it
has been left some time to dry, the box or other article is carried to a lathe,
where it is turned down to its proper dimensions by a cutting tool or chisel,
and smoothed and finished fit for undergoing the firing process. Now, the
object of my Invention is, to effect the manufacture of jars, pots, boxes, lids,
and other similar articles whose outer circumference is cylindrical (or whose
outer and inner diameter is capable of being determined by the means here-
after described), in such a manner that the clay or plastic mterial while in
a soft state shall be so perfectly manipulated as to assume the desired shape
and proportions, and require no turning on the lathe to bring the article to
the proper state for undergoing the operation of firing. I would here remark,
that I am aware this object has been proposed and in some degree carried out
by the employment of moulds, to form either the outside or the inside of the
box, or pot, or lid, and of a rib, profile, or scraper to complete its formation;
but although articles of uniform proportions may be thus produced, the cost
of new moulds, when a change in the form or size of the article is required,
must prevent their general adoption for low-priced wares, such as those
which I contemplate generally to manufacture under my Invention. In
manufacturing jars, boxes, pots, and other similar articles upon the "throw
wheel" or "jigger," so as to economise the labor of the workman and the
cost of moulds, while at the same time the articles under manufacture shall

page_text: be made of uniform size, a cap piece or mould, as shewn in the accom-
panying Drawing at A, A, Fig. 1, is employed (it being suitably formed on
its upper surface to recess the bottom of the pot, box, jar, or other article).
This mould A is placed upon the throw wheel or jigger, and caused to rotate
as usual, while upon it is laid a bat or disc of plastic clay or other materiał
formed to the proper size, and above this a ball of the same material is placed.
The workman then, as the clay is rotating, shapes it into the embryo pot,
jar, box, or other article, and when so shaped, he applies thereto my improved
construction of gauge in a vertical, or nearly vertical, position, over the centre
of the rotating throw wheel or jigger, whereby the clay or other plastic mate-
rial is quickly brought to the required shape, and is then ready to be removed,
together with the mould A, from the throw wheel or jigger.
I will now describe my improved construction of gauge, the action of which
effects the improvements above set forth. In the Drawing an improved gauge-
intended to form a "
paste box" is shewn as applied to the mould A at
Fig. 1, and at Figs. 2 and 3 it is shewn detached; Fig. 2 being a view taken.
at the opposite side to that shewn at Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 being an edge view
of the gauge inverted. This gauge is formed, by preference, of earthenware
or porcelain, or of glass or metal, and those of its edges which come into con-
tact with the clay to form the box or other article are chamfered off, as shewn
in the Figures, so that but a narrow edge shall act upon the clay, and all
unnecessary contact therewith is avoided. It will be seen that the gauge
embraces both sides of the box, it may therefore be properly termed a double
gauge. The centre part a forms the interior, and the edge b, b, of the recess c
completes the outside of the box, by doubling the gauge and enabling it to
embrace the opposite sides of the box. It is intended to prevent the possibility
of the workman producing varying sizes of box with the same tool, a result
which he could not prevent if the gauge or tool had not a second recess to
regulate the diameter of the box, and a bearing upon the mould at the opposite
side of the box, whereby to insure the proper position of the gauge with regard
to the mould, and prevent the edge 6 from being tipped out of a line parallel
with the centre of motion. d is a recess which embraces the side of the box
opposite to that of the recess c; its object and action is to cut away the clay
or destroy the work performed by the recess c when the gauge is improperly
placed upon the rotating mould, at which time it would (if the work could
be perfected) produce a box of a larger or smaller size than is required.
This recess & need not, however, be of the precise form of the section of the
article to be made, but it may with advantage be of larger proportions than
the recess c, provided that some portion of its edge shall touch the periphery

page_text: of the box or other article, and thereby ensure an unvarying diameter.. In
using the gauge the lower part of the edge b at 6. is to be brought flush
against a raised part of the rotating mould A, and being steadily held there
by the workman the gauge will remove all the superfluous clay and perfect
the form of the box or other article, which must necessarily be of 'the exact
form and proportions indicated by the recess c of the gauge, the diameter-
being determined as above stated by the combined action of the two recesses
c and d. The gauge is now drawn off the clay, and the box or other article.
is removed from the throw wheel or jigger to be dried; the above-described
operation is then repeated on another bat and ball of clay. When sufficiently
hard to handle (which they will be in about two hours) .the boxes or other
articles are severally placed on a rotating wheel, where their edges: are
trimmed and their surfaces are also smoothed by suitable tools, the bottom
edge of the box, if required to have a rim as shewn in the Drawing, being
trimmed with a tool, shewn at Fig. 4, they are then, ready to undergo the
firing operation. From the foregoing. it will be understood that the double-
gauge is applicable to the formation of circular articles, the sectional figure.
of which is formed by vertical lines, the gauge being capable of removing
therefrom without disturbing the clay or other plastic material which it has
brought into the required form; but it will be obvious that the gauge is also
applicable to the formation of articles the sides of which in their sectional"
figure incline to opposite sides of a common vertical line, as shewn in the
Diagram Fig. 5, and, therefore, such forms of articles may, in like manner
to those with vertical sides, be completed (with the exception of the "finish-
ing") on the throw wheel or jigger, and made ready for the firing process,
thus dispensing with the use of the lathe, and effecting a great economy in
the manufacture as well as an improvement in the article produced. When
articles of a greater or less exterior or interior diameter are required to be
made it will in most cases be only necessary to change the size of the gauge,
but when a considerable increase or diminution in size is wanted the mould A
should also be changed.
.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not mean or intend
to claim the application generally of gauges, ribs, or profiles for forming upon
the "throw wheel" or "jigger" the exterior and interior (either singly or
simultaneously) of jars, boxes, pots, or other similar articles; but I claim the
exclusive use of a double guage, whereby I am enabled expeditiously to deter-
mine and ensure the exact and uniform capacity and dimensions of any
number of jars, or boxes, or pots, or other similar articles manufactured upon

page_text: the throw wheel or jigger, and at the same time can sufficiently perfect such
articles, while in a plastic state, as to render the operation of turning at the
lathe unnessary.
In witness whereof, I, the said Felix Edwards Pratt, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-eight.

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FELIX
EDWARDS PRATT, of Fenton Potteries, in the County of Stafford, Earthenware
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Thirty-first day of December, in the eleventh
year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Felix. Edwards Pratt, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Felix Edwards Pratt, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Felix Edwards
Pratt, my executors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING ARTICLES COMPOSED OF EARTHENWARE OR
CHINA;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said Felix Edwards Pratt, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Felix Edwards Pratt, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of Improvements in Manufacturing Articles Composed of
Earthenware or China, applies to that class of articles which are cylindrical,
or nearly so, on their outer circumference, and are formed on the "throw
wheel" or "jigger." According to the ordinary mode of manufacturing
these articles, a ball of clay or other suitable plastic material is placed upon
the throw wheel or jigger, and brought by the workman's fingers into an
embryo shape of the jar, box, pot, or lid required to be formed. A gauge,
or rib, or profile is then applied to the outer circumference and the top edge
of the article to shape the outside correctly, while at the same time the
workman, either with his fingers or with a chamfered edge tool, shapes the
interior of the article, after which it is removed from the wheel. When it
has been left some time to dry, the box or other article is carried to a lathe,
where it is turned down to its proper dimensions by a cutting tool or chisel,
and smoothed and finished fit for undergoing the firing process. Now, the
object of my Invention is, to effect the manufacture of jars, pots, boxes, lids,
and other similar articles whose outer circumference is cylindrical (or whose
outer and inner diameter is capable of being determined by the means here-
after described), in such a manner that the clay or plastic mterial while in
a soft state shall be so perfectly manipulated as to assume the desired shape
and proportions, and require no turning on the lathe to bring the article to
the
proper state for undergoing the operation of firing. I would here remark,
that I am aware this object has been proposed and in some degree carried out
by the employment of moulds, to form either the outside or the inside of the
box, or pot, or lid, and of a rib, profile, or scraper to complete its formation;
but although articles of uniform proportions may be thus produced, the cost
of new moulds, when a change in the form or size of the article is required,
must prevent their general adoption for low-priced wares, such as those
which I contemplate generally to manufacture under my Invention. In
manufacturing jars, boxes, pots, and other similar articles upon the "throw
wheel" or "jigger," so as to economise the labor of the workman and the
cost of moulds, while at the same time the articles under manufacture shall

page_text: be made of uniform size, a cap piece or mould, as shewn in the accom-
panying Drawing at A, A, Fig. 1, is employed (it being suitably formed on
its upper surface to recess the bottom of the pot, box, jar, or other article).
This mould A is placed upon the throw wheel or jigger, and caused to rotate
as usual, while upon it is laid a bat or disc of plastic clay or other material
formed to the proper size, and above this a ball of the same material is placed.
The workman then, as the clay is rotating, shapes it into the embryo pot,
jar, box, or other article, and when so shaped, he applies thereto my improved
construction of gauge in a vertical, or nearly vertical, position, over the centre
of the rotating throw wheel or jigger, whereby the clay or other plastic mate-
rial is quickly brought to the required shape, and is then ready to be removed,
together with the mould A, from the throw wheel or jigger.
I will now describe my improved construction of gauge, the action of which
effects the improvements above set forth. In the Drawing an improved gauge
intended to form a "paste box" is shewn as applied to the mould A at
Fig. 1, and at Figs. 2 and 3 it is shewn detached; Fig. 2 being a view taken.
at the opposite side to that shewn at Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 being an edge view
of the gauge inverted. This gauge is formed, by preference, of earthenware
or porcelain, or of glass or metal, and those of its edges which come into con-
tact with the clay to form the box or other article are chamfered off, as shewn
in the Figures, so that but a narrow edge shall act upon the clay, and all
unnecessary contact therewith is avoided. It will be seen that the gauge
embraces both sides of the box, it may therefore be properly termed a double
gauge. The centre part a forms the interior, and the edge b, b, of the recess c
completes the outside of the box, by doubling the gauge and enabling it to
embrace the opposite sides of the box. It is intended to prevent the possibility.
of the workman producing varying sizes of box with the same tool, a result
which he could not prevent if the gauge or tool had not a second recess to
regulate the diameter of the box, and a bearing upon the mould at the opposite
side of the box, whereby to insure the proper position of the gauge with regard
to the mould, and prevent the edge 6 from being tipped out of a line parallel
with the centre of motion. d is a recess which embraces the side of the box
opposite to that of the recess c; its object and action is to cut away the clay
or destroy the work performed by the recess c when the gauge is improperly
placed upon the rotating mould, at which time it would (if the work could
be perfected) produce a box of a larger or smaller size than is required.
This recess d need not, however, be of the precise form of the section of the
article to be made, but it may with advantage be of larger proportions than
the recess c, provided that some portion of its edge shall touch the periphery

page_text: of the box or other article, and thereby ensure an unvarying diameter.. In
using the gauge the lower part of the edge 6 at 6*. is to be brought flush
against a raised part of the rotating mould A, and being steadily held there
by the workman the gauge will remove all the superfluous clay and perfect
the form of the box or other article, which must necessarily be of the exact
form and proportions indicated by the recess c of the gauge, the diameter
being determined as above stated by the combined action of the two recesses
c and d. The gauge is now drawn off the clay, and the box or other article.
is removed from the throw wheel or jigger to be dried; the above-described
operation is then repeated on another bat and ball of clay. When sufficiently
hard to handle (which they will be in about two hours) the boxes or other
articles are severally placed on a rotating wheel, where their edges are
trimmed and their surfaces are also smoothed by suitable tools, the bottom
edge of the box, if required to have a rim as shewn in the Drawing, being
trimmed with a tool, shewn at Fig. 4, they are then ready to undergo the
firing operation. From the foregoing it will be understood that the double-
is applicable to the formation of circular articles, the sectional figure.
of which is formed by vertical lines, the gauge being capable of removing
therefrom without disturbing the clay or other plastic material which it has
brought into the required form; but it will be obvious that the gauge is also
applicable to the formation of articles the sides of which in their sectional'
figure incline to opposite sides of a common vertical line, as shewn in the
Diagram Fig. 5, and, therefore, such forms of articles may, in like manner
to those with vertical sides, be completed (with the exception of the "finish-
ing") on the throw wheel or jigger, and made ready for the firing process,
thus dispensing with the use of the lathe, and effecting a great economy in
the manufacture as well as an improvement in the article produced: "When
articles of a greater or less exterior or interior diameter are required to be
made it will in most cases be only necessary to change the size of the gauge,
but when a considerable increase or diminution in size is wanted the mould A
should also be changed.
gauge
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not mean or intend
to claim the application generally of gauges, ribs, or profiles for forming upon
the "throw wheel" or "jigger" the exterior and interior (either singly or
simultaneously) of jars, boxes, pots, or other similar articles; but I claim the
exclusive use of a double guage, whereby I am enabled expeditiously to deter-
mine and ensure the exact and uniform capacity and dimensions of any
number of jars, or boxes, or pots, or other similar articles manufactured upon

page_text: he throw wheel or jigger, and at the same time can sufficiently perfect such
rticles, while in a plastic state, as to render the operation of turning at the
athe unnessary.
In witness whereof, I, the said Felix Edwards Pratt, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-eight.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year above written.