IMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING AND FINISHING PIECE GOODS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILLIAM RIPLEY, of Bradford, in the County of York, Dyer, 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 Nineteenth day of November, in the fourteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry William Ripley, Her especial license, full power, sole privi-
lege and authority, that I, the said Henry William Ripley, my exors, admors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Henry William Ripley, my
exors, 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 men-
tioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING AND FINISHING PIECE GOODS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Henry William Ripley,
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 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
Henry William Ripley, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-

page_text: tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, (that is
to say):
--
My Invention of Improvements in Dressing and Finishing Piece Goods
refers to a mode of improving the appearance of such fabrics, and in the case
of goods which are dyed black of materially increasing the intensity of the
tint. The classes of goods to which I find my improved process most parti-
cularly applicable are those made with a cotton warp, and worsted or woollen
weft, and those which are formed from cotton and silk or worsted and silk, or
the three materials combined or separate.
My Invention consists in applying oil or oleaginous matter or saponaceous
.matter to the surface of the fabric after it has been dyed and finished or
partially finished in the ordinary way, such oil or oleaginous or saponaceous
matter being imparted very sparingly to the fabric by means of a soft brush.
In applying the oil by hand it is first spread evenly upon a smooth flat
surface, and the brush being dabbed thereon will take up a small portion of
oil on the points of the hairs. The brush being thus charged is passed rapidly
and repeatedly over the surface of the fabric under operation until the oil is
brushed well into the fabric. But in order to carry on the operation with
greater speed, the fabric may be submitted to the action of a rotary brush
supplied with oil or oleaginous or saponaceous matter in the ordinary manner
of feeding printing rollers with ink, or in any other suitable manner, it being
a point of great importance that the supply to the brush shall be so limited
that the amount of greasy or saponaceous matter imparted by the brush will in
no perceptible degree saturate the fabric, but be present in an almost inappre-
ciable quantity. The fabric I cause to travel slowly forward and come in
contact with the rotatory brush, which, if revolving in the same direction that
the fabric is travelling, must have a greater surface speed than the fabric, the
object being to submit the fabric to considerable friction as it passes under
the brush, whereby an improved appearance will be imparted to the fabric.
The oleaginous matter which I prefer to employ is pure olive oil; but other
inodorous oils or saponaceous matters composed of fats and alkalies may be
used, if thought desirable.
Although I have mentioned that my Invention is particularly applicable to
piece goods composed of two or more materials, yet I find that goods produced
from one material, and particularly woollen cloths, may also be dressed and
finished with advantage in a similar manner.
By submitting woollen cloths to this process an additional lustre is imparted
thereto, and when dyed of a dark tint, as black or brown, the brilliancy or

page_text: intensity of the color is considerably augmented. When acting upon
woollen cloths or other goods requiring the lustrous appearance, it will be
best to cause the brush to rotate in the direction in which the cloth is
travelling, unless the back of the cloth alone is subjected to the operation, in
which case the direction of rotation of the brush is of no consequence.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above
recited Letters Patent I claim as of my Invention in dressing and finishing
piece goods submitting the same to the action of a frictional surface or of
frictional surfaces supplied with oleaginous or saponaceous matter, for the
purposes above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry William Ripley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year of
T
1
intensity of the color is considerably augmented. When acting upon
woollen cloths or other goods requiring the lustrous appearance, it will be
best to cause the brush to rotate in the direction in which the cloth is
travelling, unless the back of the cloth alone is subjected to the operation, in
which case the direction of rotation of the brush is of no consequence.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above
recited Letters Patent I claim as of my Invention in dressing and finishing
piece goods submitting the same to the action of a frictional surface or of
frictional surfaces supplied with oleaginous or saponaceous matter, for the
purposes above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry William Ripley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
HENRY W. (L.S.) RIPLEY.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid Henry William Ripley came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Suscifaction