AN IMPROVED METHOD OF PRODUCING DIVERS COLOURED LETTERS, FIGURES, OR OTHER CHARACTERS UPON A CARD, TICKET, LABEL, PLACARD,.
Year: 1870

page_text: Scaled the 24th March 1871, and dated the 11th October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles John Letts
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 11th October 1870.
I, CHARLES JOHN LETTS, of No. 8, Royal Exchange, in the City
of London, Stationer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF PRODUCING DIVERS COLOURED LETTERS,
FIGURES, OR OTHER CHARACTERS UPON A CARD, TICKET, LABEL, PLACARD,
.

page_text: OR OTHER LIKE ARTICLE, OR UPON ANY SUITABLE SURFACE FOR ADVERTIZING OR
SIMILAR PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The object of my said Invention is the production in a less costly and
more expeditious manner than has heretofore been practicable of letters,
figures, and other characters or devices in any number of colours upon
a show card, an advertising placard, bill or poster, a railway or other
ticket, a label, a book cover, or other similar article. In the production
of a show card or other card, sheet, or surface, with letters in a number
of different colours according to my Invention, the method of producing
the divers colored surface is the chief peculiarity. This method consists
in ruling, marking, or drawing colored lines or stripes upon the card,
sheet, or other article, and therefore my said Invention is entirely
distinct from any system of producing many colored cards or other
articles by printing or impressing the colors upon their surfaces.
In practising my said Invention I first impart the required colors
to the surface by passing the card, or sheet, or material to be colored
through a machine similar to that used for ruling the pages of account
books and for similar work. This machine is furnished with a number
of "pens" which consist of small metal holders or sockets provided with
a strip or tongue of flannel. These pens are arranged side by side at
the required distance apart, and are supplied with the colors in a liquid
condition by a hand brush or by any suitable feeding apparatus attached
to the machine. I may use simple strips of flannel or rollers instead
of these pens. The card, sheet, or material is moved forward by the
machine with the flannel strips resting on its surface and a number of
colored lines or stripes are produced upon it, the number, colour, and
position of the lines corresponding with the number, colour, and
arrangement of the pens. I may have the colours in parallel or diagonal
rows, or crossing each other, or partly in all of these directions or
otherwise by simply changing the position of the card or sheet upon
the machine. The colored lines or stripes may be made either continuous,
or intermitting, or broken. In the latter case the pens or some of them
are made to lift at certain intervals by a cam or other lifting device
attached to the machine.
Although I use the aforesaid machine as being the most convenient
means for the purpose of my Invention, yet I wish it understood that I
do not limit myself solely to the employment of this machine, as I may
in some cases find it more convenient to have a differently constructed

page_text: machine or apparatus for "ruling" the colored strips, but any such
modified machine or apparatus must be constructed to rule or mark
the colours either by the motion of the sheet or card or material to be
coloured, or by the motion of some part of the machine and not in any
case to print or impress the colors thereon.
Having thus given to the card or sheet the desired colours or tints,
I print on this colored surface the letters or other characters from a
lithographic stone, an engraved block, a plate, or other printing surface.
The letters or other characters must be made "open" and the ground
solid," that is to say, the stone or other printing surface must be so
prepared that the ground alone will take the ink, the letters, figures, or
other characters being left blank. The size and arrangement of the
letters or other characters and the arrangement and distance apart of
the various colours will of course be adapted to each other according to
the design or effect to be produced, that is to say, every line of letters
of a show card or other article may be of a different colour to the other
lines, or two or three or other number of lines may be of the same
color while the other lines are of different colors. Another variation
may be produced by having the letters in the same line of different
colours, or the letters themselves may be of one color at the top and
another color at the middle portion and bottom. This method of forming
the letters and figures will furnish a simple but efficient means for
preventing the fraudulent alteration of railway tickets and other like
articles, as any attempt at erasure will exhibit the colour of the substance
of such ticket or other article, which colour will be different to that of
either the ground or the lettering.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles John Letts in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
JOHN LETTS, of No. 8, Royal Exchange, in the City of London, Stationer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-

page_text: fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Charles John Letts, Her special licence
that I, the said Charles John Letts, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles John Letts, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 IMPROVED
METHOD OF PRODUCING DIVERS COLORED LETTERS, FIGURES, OR OTHER CHARACTERS
UPON A CARD, TICKET, LABEL, PLACARD, OR OTHER LIKE ARTICLE, OR UPON ANY
SUITABLE SURFACE FOR ADVERTIZING OR SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles John Letts, 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 Charles John Letts, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:
The object of my said Invention is the production in a less costly and
more expeditious manner than has heretofore been practicable of letters,
figures, and other characters or devices in any number of colours upon a
show card, an advertizing placard or poster, a railway or other ticket, a
label, a book cover, or other similar article.
In the production of a show card or other card, sheet, or surface, with
letters in a number of different colours according to my Invention, the
method of producing the divers coloured surface is the chief peculiarity.
This method consists in ruling, marking, or drawing the coloured lines
or stripes upon the card, sheet, or other article, and therefore my
Invention is entirely distinct from any system of producing many
coloured cards or other articles by printing or impressing the colours
upon their surfaces.

page_text: In practising my said Invention I first impart the required colours to
the surface by passing the card, or sheet, or material to be coloured
through a machine similar to that used for ruling the pages of account
books and for similar work. This machine is furnished with a number
of "pens," which consist of small metal holders or sockets provided
with a strip or tongue of flannel. These pens are arranged side by side
at the required distance apart, and are supplied with the colours in a
liquid condition by a hand brush or by any suitable feeding apparatus
attached to the machine. I may use simple strips of flannel or rollers
instead of these pens. The card, sheet, or material is moved forward by
the machine with the flannel strips resting upon its surface and a
number of coloured lines or stripes will be produced upon it, the number,
colour, and position of the lines corresponding with the number, colour,
and arrangement of the pens. I may have the colours laid parallel with
the edge of the card, or slantingly, or crossing each other, or partly in all
of these ways or otherwise by simply changing the position of the card
or sheet
upon the machine. The coloured lines or stripes may be made
either continuous, or intermitting, or broken. In the latter case the
pens or some of them are made to lift at certain intervals by a cam or
other lifting device attached to the machine.
Although I use the aforesaid machine as being the most convenient
means for the purpose of my Invention, yet I wish it understood that
I do not limit myself solely to the employment of this machine, as I may
in some cases find it more convenient to have a differently constructed
machine or apparatus for "ruling" the coloured stripes; but any such
modified machine or apparatus must be constructed to rule or mark the
colours either by the motion of the sheet, or card, or material to be
coloured, or by the motion of some part of the machine, and not in any
case to print or impress the colours upon such card, sheet, or material.
<
Having thus given to the card or sheet the desired colours or tints,
I print on this coloured surface the letters or other characters from a
lithographic stone, an engraved block or plate, or other printing surface.
The letters or other characters must be made “open," and the ground
I solid," that is to say, the stone or other printing surface must be so
prepared that the ground alone will take the ink, the letters, figures, or
other characters being left blank. The size and arrangement of the
letters or other characters and the arrangement and distance apart of the
various colours will of course be adapted to each other according to

page_text: the design or effect to be produced, that is to say, every line of letters of
a show card or other article may be of a different colour to the other
lines, or two, or three, or other number of lines may be of the same
colour, while the other lines are of different colours. Another variation
may be produced by having the letters in the same line of different
colours, or the letters individually may be of one colour at the top and
another colour at the middle portion and bottom.
In order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood,
I have in the accompanying Drawing illustrated the manner of producing
a show card in several colours.
The three stripes or bands a, b, c, which are produced in the manner
herein-before described entirely across the card or sheet, may be of any
desired color, say red, blue, and yellow; then' over these colored stripes
or bands I print the ground d, which fills up the body of the card and
covers the colors between the letters and forms the open letters on the
coloured stripes, so that there will be one line of red, one line of blue,
and another line of yellow letters upon a black or other suitable ground.
It is obvious that by introducing other stripes or bands either parallel
with the stripes a, b, c, or crossing the same a still greater variety of
colours may be obtained. It will also be obvious from the above
description that although the coloring is produced by ruling or marking
straight lines on a card or sheet, yet circles, or half circles, or other
curves of letters may be produced. By making a stripe of any desired
colour of such a breadth as to include the whole of any curved line of
letters all these letters will be of the same color; or, if desired, the
curves of letters may cross the lines or stripes of colours.
This method of forming the letters and figures will furnish a simple
but efficient means for preventing the fraudulent alteration of railway
tickets and other like articles, as any attempt at erasure will exhibit the
colour of either the lines or stripes or the substance of such ticket or
other article, which colour will be different to that of the ground.
Furthermore, by the peculiar method of applying the colours to the
surface I am enabled to use colours which cannot be used in any other
known process of printing, and I thereby obtain a great variety of tints
or colours and novel effects which give to the cards or other articles
produced by my process an appearance totally different from any other
printed surfaces. The ordinary means for registering accurately are not

page_text: required, as the sheets may be simply placed against an edge, as in
ordinary printing.
Moreover, I effect an enormous saving in the production of coloured
cards or other articles, for whereas by the ordinary process to print a
six-colored card it would be necessary to engrave six blocks or draw six
stones and pass the card or sheet through the machine six times, by my
improved process only one block or stone and one passage through the.
machine are required.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice,
I claim, the production of letters, figures, or other characters in any
desired variety of colors upon a show card, label, ticket, or other card,
sheet, or surface by first ruling or marking colored stripes or bands
upon the same, and then forming the letters or other characters by
printing over the said colored stripes or bands, substantially as herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles John Letts, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
E. C. JACKSON.
CHARLES JOHN LETTS.
(L.S.)