New or Improved Process for the Treatment of Animal Skins.
Year: 1895

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c., Act, 1883), as
allowed by the decision of the Comptroller General of the 12th day of
August 1896.
Date of Application, 25th Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 25th Oct., 1895-Accepted, 25th Jan., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Process for the Treatment of Animal Skins.
We, CESAR MARTER, of 107 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, Mechanic, and
ISIDOR LEVY, of 6 St. George's Avenue, Aldermanbury, Manufacturers Agent,
both in the City and County of London, do hereby declare the nature of this.
invention to be as follows:-
Our invention has for its object a process for treating animal skins, more especially
those having particularly long fibres, as those of the wild animals found in the
Dutch Indies and surrounding regions, whereby they are rendered hard and
transparent or partly transparent and are capable of being pressed, moulded, or
otherwise formed into numerous articles of commerce, such as buttons, shuttles, stay
busks, and the like.
This process we carry into effect by first washing, drying and stretching the raw
skins and then painting same with aqueous solution of arsenic.
After the arsenic solution has been allowed to dry in, the skins are then placed
in a cold water bath for from about 1 to 15 days, and are then subjected to the action.
of three lime baths.
The lime baths are of increasing strength and the period in which the skins are
allowed to remain in them depends upon the nature of the skins and the density,.
transparency, and toughness required.
•
In the first of these baths the hair and fleshy matter on the skins is loosened to
such an extent that these may be detached by scraping them on both sides; in the:
second bath the transparency of the skins is increased and then are freed from
grease, and in the third bath the skins are hardened.
After being treated in the three lime baths the skins may, if required, be dyed
any desirable colour, and are then soaked in a bath of tepid oil for a period varying
from a few hours to several weeks, when they may be pressed or otherwise shaped
into the desired articles.
Dated this 25th day of January 1895.
CASTLE SMITH,
"Invention " Office, 54 Fleet Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
New or Improved Process for the Treatment of Animal Skins.
We, CESAR MARTER, of 107 Charlotte Street Fitzroy Square, Mechanic, and
ISIDOR LEVY, of 6 St. George's Avenue, Aldermanbury, Manufacturers Agent,
both in the City and County of London, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention has for its object a process for treating animal skins, more
especially those having particularly long fibres, as those of the wild animals found
in the Dutch Indies and surrounding regions, whereby they are rendered hard and
transparent or partly transparent and are capable of being pressed, moulded, or
otherwise formed into numerous articles of commerce, such as buttons, shuttles, stay-
busks and the like..
This process we carry into effect by first washing, drying and stretching the raw
skins and then painting same with aqueous solution of arsenic in the proportion of
about 1 gramme of arsenic to 10 litres of water.
After the arsenic solution has been allowed to dry in, the skins are then placed in
a cold water bath for from about 1 to 15 days, and are then subjected to the action
of three lime baths.
The lime baths are of successively increasing strength the time during which the
skins are allowed to remain in them, and their strength, depending upon the nature
of the skins and the density, transparency, and toughness required, but the propor-
tion of lime per 1000 litres of water usually found most suitable is 24 kilogrammes
in the first bath, 44 kilogrammes in the second bath, and 6 kilogrammes in the
third.
In the first of these baths, the hair and fleshy matter on the skins are loosened to
such an extent that these may be detached by scraping the skins on both sides; in
the second bath the skins are freed from grease and their transparency increased..
After having been treated in the three lime baths, the skins may be dyed the
desired colour or colours by any suitable known process and dried.
To increase the hardness and transparency of the skins, they are when dried
immersed in two. baths of hot linseed oil, and in this they are allowed to remain for
a period varying according to the degree of hardness required-the periods varying,
in the case of boiling baths.from one to ten minutes.
After being so hardened and dried the skins are sponged with alcohol by the aid
of a sponge to fix the oil in the skins and so prevent it oozing out.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manuer the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A process for treating skins in which the cleansed skins are first treated with
an aqueous solution of arsenic then immersed successively in cold water, in three
lime baths of increasing strength, and in one or more oil baths and are finally treated
with alcohol substantially as described.
2. The material consisting of skins treated according to the process herein set
forth.
CASTLE SMITH,
Invention" Office, Mitre Court, Fleet Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicants.