IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ORNAMENTAL FABRICS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
AUCHTERLONIE, of Glasgow, North Britain, Manufacturer and Calico Printer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day of February,
in the thirteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Auchterlonie, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Auchterlonie, my
exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Auchterlonie,
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 expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-on-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PRODUCTION OF ORNAMENTAL FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, requiring that I, the said Thomas Auchterlonie, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, shall particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and shall cause the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Auchterlonie, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by this present instrument in writing as follows, referenco
being had to the Drawings hereunto attached, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention consists of certain arrangements or contrivances of
machinery, apparatus, or means to be used in the ornamentation of various
fabrics, by attaching to the surface of such fabrics devices or figures formed
out of other fabrics or materials, which devices or figures appear in relief
upon the fabric forming the ground or other portion of the design.
And in order that the object of my said Invention may be properly under-
stood, I shall now proceed to describe the process or processes by which my said
Invention is or may be carried into effect, together with the several Figures
on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto attached.
The fabric or material to be employed in forming the relief ornament of the
fabric is first treated on the under or wrong side with an adhesive solution, and
the required devices or figures are then cut or punched out of it in readiness
for being attached to the surface to be ornamented with the assistance of heat.
Various adhesive coatings may be used for attaching the ornamental figures,
but the solution which I prefer consists of raw and unadulterated gutta percha
dissolved in mineral or coal tar naphtha, in the proportion of about one ounce
of gutta percha to one gill of naphtha, and evaporated to the consistency
required to suit the fabric to be coated and the goods to be ornamented.
These ingredients I place in a steam-cased digester, the cover of which
is vapour-tight, applying steam heat until the required solution is formed.
The material to be used as the relief ornament is then laid on a flat surface
covered with stout calico slightly damped with water, the face or ornamental
side of the material being downwards, and the gutta percha solution is applied
to the upper surface by a brush, or by any other convenient apparatus which
will lay the coating uniformly. Or, in place of this arrangement, it will be
obvious to practical men that some classes of fabric may be better coated
whilst stretched in a frame. When the coating is dry, the fabric is cut up
into narrow strips, of a size according to the pattern or device to be produced.
The object of the division of the material into strips is to facilitate the pro-
duction of the devices by the use of cutting-out rollers or rotatory cutters, but
if the figures or devices are to be punched out by hand punches this division
is unnecessary.
Figure 1, of my Sheet of Drawings, represents a side clevation of the rotatory

page_text: cutting machine which I employ for cutting out the figures or devices, and
Figure 2 is a corresponding front elevation of the same. A, B, are the two
end standards of the machine for carrying the rollers and pressure apparatus.
These standards have each a vertical slot for receiving the brass bearings C, D,
of the cutting rollers E and F, thus allowing for a vertical rise and fall of either
of the rollers. The lower roller F is the cutter, the cutting device being
formed upon it in relief by the ordinary process of engraving and milling.
The bearings of this roller are supported on the vertical spindles G, G, on the
lower ends of which a constant pressure is kept up by a triple weighted lever
arrangement. Each spindle rests on the short end of a lever H, turning on a
fulcrum at I, the pair of levers being set angularly with respect to each other
in order that their longer ends J may approximate to each other, so that a
single link connects both to the weighted lever K. This lever is carried on a
centre at L, and being placed beneath and between the two upper levers, the
weight M upon it governs both ends of the roller. The upper roller E is of
plain soft iron, or other suitable metal, and forms the resisting surface for the
cutting action of the lower roller; this roller is held down to a fixed height in
the vertical slot by the adjustable screws N, N, which are screwed into the
tops of the standards and press on the upper surfaces of the roller bearings.
The shaft of this upper roller is prolonged on one side beyond the standard of
the machine to receive the hand wheel O for turning. the rollers, the lower
cutting roller being driven by frictional contact with the upper one. The
fabric, as satin, velvet, or other material, cut out into narrow strips, is entered-
over the top of the upper roller and is then passed back between the two.
rollers as at P, P, when the device or figure formed in relief on the lower-roller-
cuts out or partially severs corresponding devices or figures in the material:
As an example, the figure of a leaf is represented on the lower roller in
Figure 2, the machine being fitted to produce an ornamental device like that
delineated in the pattern, Figure 8, and tinted red; a portion of the plain.or
partially ornamented fabric to which the relief ornaments are to be applied
is represented in Figure 3, the material being supposed to be a barége or
mousseline de laine, the striped or checked figure thereon being produced in
the ordinary manner. In this example it is intended to place relief ornaments:
in the centres of each of the spaces formed by the checks, and for this purposo
the outline of the intended device is printed on the fabric, as represented in the
Figure. In this state the fabric is removed to a heated table; for the purpose
of attaching to its surface the devices which have been previously cut out of
the ornamenting material. This table, with the rollers for carrying the piece,
is represented in end elevation in Figure 4. A is a cast-iron chest or hollow

page_text: table of sufficient length to receive the whole width of the fabric; it is sup-
ported on standards B, which serve also to carry the rollers or beams C, D.
The plan, Figure 5, represents two of these tables as they are arranged when a
series are used. Steam is supplied to each table by the pipe E, the connecting
pipe F being arranged to convey the steam from the first to the second table G,
the same arrangement being continued through the series. The fabric to be
ornamented is wound upon the roller D, which is prevented from turning
freely by stiff friction caused by the cord H, attached at I to the standard of
the machine, and passing over a disc pulley on the end of the shaft, the friction
being given by the pull of the weight J. The fabric is drawn off this roller in
the direction of the arrow and passed round a roller K and over the top of the
heated table, which is slightly convex, so as to ensure the contact of the metal
with the fabric in all parts. When the first portion of the piece is stretched
on the table in this way, with the surface to be ornamented uppermost, the
attendant proceeds to attach the devices or figures with the assistance of the
instruments delineated in Figures 6 and 7. Figure 7 is a small pricker, by
which each device is taken up and placed upon the fabric in the position
assigned to it by the printed outline, as in Figure 3, and pressure is then
applied to it by the presser, shewn in Figure 6. This instrument is a wooden
handle with an end face covered with felt, and the pressure given by it to
the device causes the adhesive coating on the lower surface of the latter
to become sufficiently softened by the heat of the table beneath to make it
adhere firmly to the fabric, as represented in Figure 8, which has upon it two
figures of the shape which would be produced by the cutting rollers of the
machine, Figures 1 and 2. As each section or portion of the fabric covering
the area of the table is ornamented, it is passed forward over the roller L
and wound upon the receiving roller C. In some designs or patterns of
fabrics it is not necessary that the positions of the figures should be set
out by any guiding mark, as the precise setting may be left to the judgment
of the attendant; or a guide frame N, N, as shewn in the plan, Figure 5, may
be used. This frame has guide strings stretched across it, either at right
angles to each other or obliquely, so as to form a series of intersections to
guide the attendant in placing the figures. In some patterns the fabric itself
may afford the necessary guide in one direction, so that one parallel set
of strings only will be required to set out the distances in the other. The
frame is so placed on the table that the strings shall stand a little above the
fabric to prevent any difficulty in placing the figures.
According to another modification of this ornamenting process, the
devices or figures, instead of being formed out of a plain material of onc

page_text: colour, may be cut out of a fabric or material previously printed or ornamented
by figures. For example, the fabric out of which the devices are to be cut
may be printed with a series of roses, which are to be subsequently cut out
and attached to the piece to be ornamented, as already described. The orna-
mented goods are finally finished by a hot rolling or pressing process, and
for this purpose the machine represented in Figures 9 and 10 is employed.
Figure 9 is a side elevation of the machine, which is similar to an ordinary
calender. Figure 10 is a front view of the machine, corresponding. The
piece, either loose in a tray, as at A, in Figure 9, or on the roller C, as
taken from the hot table, is passed in the direction of the arrows over
and under a set of breadtheners to a roller B, which turns in bearings.
in the short arms of a pair of levers C, turning on centres at D. These
rollers are made to bear up against the central hot steam cylinder E by
weights F, F, hung on the longer arms of the levers. The fabric being passed
beneath the roller B, is thus constantly pressed against the heated cylinder,
which revolves in the direction of the arrow. In its passage the fabric is first
pressed against the steam cylinder by the upper pasteboard cylinder G, and after-
wards in a like manner by the lower cylinder G'. It is then passed round the
guide rollers H, H, and is finally wound upon the beam I, which is turned by
the upper pasteboard cylinder. The cylinders are pressed together in the
usual manner by weighted levers, and the upper and lower ones being driven
simply by frictional contact with the central steam cylinder, the fabric in pass-
ing through is merely submitted to heat and pressure. This last process
firmly attaches the figures to the fabric, so that they cannot be removed by
any ordinary wear or by washing. The roller B is covered with six or eight
rounds of flannel, and the upper and lower pasteboard cylinders G, G¹, are
wrapped with the same material; with an additional covering of clean stout
calico, the fabric in passing through them being always kept with its back or
non-ornamented face next the steam cylinder.
Ilaving now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect,
I
may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to the
precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or refer
to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the system or mode of ornamenting fabrics in relief, by attaching to

page_text: -the surface thereof figures or devices which are made to form in whole or in
part the ornamentation of the fabric.
Second, the use or employment of the roller cutting-out apparatus for cutting
out or shaping devices or figures, as herein-before described.
Third, the use or employment of the guide frame, as herein-before described,
for setting out the positions of the ornamental devices or figures.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Auchterlonie, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty.
THOMAS (L.S.) AUCHTERLONIE.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of
JOHN H JOHNSON,
English Sol', & Patent Agent, Glasgow,
TT
JOHNSON, Extra.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Thomas Auchterlonie came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.