AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING EMBOSSED SHEETS OR STUFFS CALLED EMBOSSED FICTITIOUS LEATHER FOR HANGINGS AND HOUSEHOLD FURNITURES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolphe Learch, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Journalist, for the Invention f AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF
MANUFACTURING EMBOSSED SHEETS OR STUFFS CALLED EMBOSSED FICTITIOUS
LEATHER FOR HANGINGS AND HOUSEHOLD FURNITURES."-A communication
from Henry Hendryckx, resident at St. Josse Ten Noɔde, near
Brussels.
Sealed the 1st May 1860, and dated the 8th November 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolphe Learch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
November 1859.
I, ADOLPHE LEARCH, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Journalist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS
OF MANUFACTURING EMBOSSED SHEETS OR STUFFS CALLED EMBOSSED FICTITIOUS
LEATHER FOR HANGINGS AND HOUSEHOLD FURNITURES," to be as follows:-
The materials used for manufacturing the fictitious leather to be embossed
are of various natures according to the use it is intended for. It can be made
with one or more sheets of paper glued together with a mixture composed of
flour, white chalk, glue, and boiled oil, or it can be made with a sheet of paper
covered with cloth. When the upper sheet is not to preserve its natural hue.
itis coated either with goldvarnish or any other varnishimitating the required
stuffs, metals, or other material. The principal parts of the pattern are
printed either by means of a typographical press with oily colored inks, or
[Price 8d.]

page_text: with water colours and hand blocks as for manufacturing paper hangings, it is
then embossed with a common stamping press with a metallic under plate
where the hollow parts of the pattern have been engraved. The embossed
hangings can be made by the same process, with either gutta percha, or any
other suitable stuff.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adolphe Learch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ADOLPHE
LEARCH, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Journalist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Adolphe Learch, Her special licence that I, the said Adolphe
Learch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Adelphe.Learch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "AN IM-
PROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING EMBOSSED SHEETS OR STUFFS CALLED EMBOSSED
FICTITIOUS LEATHER FOR HANGINGS AND HOUSEHOLD FURNITURES, "upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Adolphe Learch, my executors or
administrators, 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 Adolphe Learch, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The materials used for manufacturing embossed hangings according to this
process are of various kinds, depending on the size and nature of the surfaces
they are intended to be laid upon, flat; smooth surfaces, either in mason's

page_text: work, wood, or cloth; the sheets intended for making the hangings are com-
posed either of a single sheet of paper of any required shade,or of two or three
sheets of paper united together by means of an adhesive mixture composed of
flour,white chalk,glue, and boiled oil, or else of a single sheet of ряреr covered
with cloth. When the upper sheet is not to preserve its primitive shade, it is
coated either with the gold varnish, used for manufacting the ancient gilt
leather, or with any other varnish imitating the appearance and shade of either
stuffs,enamels,or metals, to be imitated. The impression of the ground or main
parts of the pattern may be made by means of a common printing press, with
oil colours composed of oil, varnish, and beeswax; or it may be printed by
means of engraved wooden plates and common water colors; the most
important parts being coloured by hand. The raised or embossed surfaces are
produced by a common fly press,and a metallic under plate, either of zinc, of
copper or of iron, or other suitable metal on which the pattern is cut or sunk,
then a layer of glueing cement is applied inside of the raised surfaces to give
them the required consistence.
With respects to hangings to be applied over rough surfaces, the way of
manufacturing them is the same, except that a layer of glueing, cement, or any
other similar material is applied, not not only to fill up the recesses, but also to
cover the raised parts with an uniform and plane thickness of about of an
inch,capable of adhering to the surfaces to be adorned. A coarse cloth or any
other stuff being used for the woof, according to the nature of the surfaces, is
put sometimes over, at other times in the middle of the layer will considerably
strengthen it, so as to make it last a number of years.
Lastly, the same kind of hangings may be made by the same process with
either leather, gutta percha, American leather, or other analogous materials.
Process for coloring and bench marking (repèra), the patterns for embossed
hangings composed of various materials, but especially of vellum paper pulp,
capable of great stretching. 1. This process consists in coloring with any
water or oil paint, largely diluted with essence of turpentine, the piece of stuff
intended to be embossed. For giving successivelyall the various colors of the
pattern, it is sufficient at each impression to dab with a sponge saturated with
water the back of the cloth, until it has expanded in a sufficient degree to
emboss it. The colored impressions are produced by means of carved wooden
plates, in the same manner as for common paper hangings, as is also the glazing.
For printing with oil colours, typographic rollers are used. The gilding is
performed by means of oily size, over which gold leaves are laid and struck
with the palm of the hand, then dusted over with great care; the stuff should
have been previously done over twice with suitable glueing composition

page_text: necessary to be enabled to varnish after embossing, for if this glueing were
done over the gilding it would be greatly injured. The velveting, either plain
or ornamented and gilt,is applied over an oily size; the band or piece of stuff
is prepared as is done for coloring it. All being perfectly disposed to corres-
pond with the embossing stamps of the pattern, the sheets or bands must be
stiffened or strengthened before embossing. The said bands or sheets being
either colored or velveted, as described; a second band, not coloured, but if
the same size is taken, and both ends are coated over with gluing mixture on
the under face, and the second sheet is besides coated with a mixture composed
of white chalk, china clay, colophony, melted together and bound with soft
black soap or salt of tartar; this coating is intended to maintain the embossing
and elasticity of the, stuff.after the.stamping. When uniting the two bands or
sheets thus prepared, care must be taken to leave near the end the colored or
velveted side of one of them, and to rub it softly with the hand,so as to give a
first adhesion, to the said bands or sheets. The bands are now in a suitable
state for embossing, and it is not necessary to make any other preparation as
was formerly the custom for embossing stuffs. The embossing is operated by
means of either a congreve or hydraulic press; the stamps used are made of
any suitable metal as iron, zinc, or copper. After the embossing or stamping
of the bands or sheets, there remains two more operations to make. The
stoning or stuffing up of the embossed pattern and the varnishing: the stuffing
up is performed with a large, scraping blade used to spread into the recesses
of the back side of the embossed stuffs the glueing mixture previously
described. Lastly, the embossed stuff is varnished after two layers of gelatine
glue have been spread over with a sponge, taking great care to rub smoothly
with a badger's hair brush, in order to remove all the little asperities of the
layers..
-
Now the nature of this Invention being completely described, and the
manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, I declare that I do not
restrict myself to the precise particulars of the operations before described, as
long as the general feature of the said Invention is preserved; but what I
claim more particularly and wish to be secured, is,―
1st, the preparation, printing, and coloring sheets or bands of paper to be
embossed, as described.
.
2nd; uniting the said sheets with one or several other sheets of the same.
size, either paper or any other kind of stuff, according to the requirements;by
glueing them with a special adhesive composition.
.: 3rd,. embossing or stamping the said sheets or bands under suitable presses
or apparatus used for such kind of work,

page_text: recesses ΟΙ
ve
embossing, and finally varnishing the front side, as set forth in the foregoing
description, and obtaining ornamented embossed surfaces, having the appear-
ance of embossed leather.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolphe Learch, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Signed and sealed in the presence of
L. D'AUBRÉVILLE, C.E.
A. LEARCH. (L.S.)