AN IMPROVED APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SCULPTURED FORMS, FIGURES, OR DEVICES IN MARBLE AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, 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 Fifth day of May, in the third year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said William Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said William Newton, my executors, administrators, 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 mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, an Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING
SCULPTURED FORMS, FIGURES, OR DEVICES IN MARBLE AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES,"
being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William Newton, by-an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled 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
William Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
This improved apparatus and process for producing sculptured forms,
figures, or devices in marble and other hard substances, consists, first, in the
adaptation of a mould, die, or matrice of metal, or some other hard material, in
which the counter form of the figure or device intended to be sculptured has
been made, and its application to the surface of the stone or other hard
substance to be wrought; secondly, in the means by which the operation of
sculpturing is effected (viz.), by the repetition of slight but rapid blows of
the mould or die struck against the face of the stone or other hard substance,
by which the surface of the stone becomes abraded and particles gradually
broken off, leaving the face of the stone ultimately in a form or figure
corresponding to or the counterpart of the mould or die which has been
working upon it.
In order that the means of carrying this Invention into operation may be
more fully understood, let it be supposed that I am about to produce, by means
of this improved apparatus and process, a copy of a medallion or mask
sculptured in bas relief.
In the first place, I should produce by casting from the original in metal
(say, iron case-hardened), or in some other hard material, a matrice or
counter-relief mould, or die of the figure or design; or I might model or cut
or otherwise produce a suitable matrice, mould, or die of the design. I should
then mount this mould or die in a convenient mechanical apparatus or
machine, capable of raising and depressing it, in order to strike the face of
the mould or die by a succession of rapid but very slight blows against the
face of the block of stone or other material about to be wrought.
The accompanying Drawing represents in several Figures a machine suited
to the purpose of carrying on this process; but I do not intend to confine
myself to the use of an apparatus so constructed; the adaptation of a mould,
die, or matrice, and the process of working it by repeated blows upon the stone

page_text: to produce a sculptured figure or design, being the subject matter of Invention
intended to be secured under the above in part recited Letters Patent.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine suited to the performance of this
process; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the back part of the same; and Fig. 3 is a
detached horizontal representation of the striking lever which carries the
matrice, die, or mould. A portion of this striking lever and mould, or die, is
shewn in section, and upon an enlarged scale, at Fig. 4, with the block of stone
under operation, the several letters of reference pointing out the same parts
in all the Figures. The block of stone to be worked upon is represented at
A, A, supported upon very firm stationary bearings B, B; the matrice, die, or
hollow mould C, formed to the counter figure of the mask intended to be
wrought, is securely attached to the lever D, which is a strong frame of iron
mounted in the machine on pivots E, E; these pivots are made adjustable,
in order to regulate the proper height of the frame from the block of stone. To
the outer end of the lever or frame D a staple F is attached, which is also
made adjustable by a nut and screw; a cord G attached to this staple F, is
also connected at H to the end of a series of cranks and rods I, I, I, and J,
mounted in a horn-shaped frame K, K. The crank J at the lower end
of this series is acted upon by stops, notches, or teeth in the periphery of
a ratchet or tappet wheel L, and this wheel is made to revolve by a pulley M
It will now be seen,
upon its axis, driven by a band N from any first mover.
the steps, notches,
that if rotary motion be given to the tappet wheel L,
or teeth of that wheel as it revolves will act against the arm of the lower
crank J, and produce a slight reciprocating motion in the series of cranks and
rods I, I, I, and J, which motion being communicated through the cord G to
the lever D, holding the mould or die C, will cause the mould or die, by a
rapid succession of slight blows, to beat upon the surface of the block of
stone A, and in a short time to abrade the stone in all those parts where the
surface of the mould or die strikes against it. This abrading process will be
facilitated by the introduction of sand, emery, diamond dust, or other hard
gritty powder, with water between the surfaces of the mould or die C and the
stone A under operation, which may be done by making several small
apertures through the mould or die, as shewn at a, a, in the section, Fig. 4,
in the most eligible parts for distributing the grit equally; and the sand may
be conducted from a hopper O down an inclined plane or gutter P, and the
water introduced in very small quantities from a flexible pipe Q, or in any
other convenient way. In this manner a rapid succession of very slight blows
on the surface of the stone or other matter to be sculptured will cause the

page_text: prominent parts of the mould or die to abrade or wear away the superfluous
parts of the stone, thereby reducing it and causing it gradually to assume the
form or rather the impression or counterpart of the mould or die, the hollow
parts of the mould or die forming the relief of the stone. Towards the end of
the work a finer powder should be used than at the beginning, in order that
the work may leave the mould or die in a more highly finished state. This
process is equally well adapted to every kind of sculpturing or engraving on
stone, and by employing several small moulds or dies, each forming a portion
of the subject, the most extensive and complicated work can be produced, and
even busts and statues may be made on this principle. By means of different
combinations of moveable letters, types, or tools, to be used as a mould or
die in the way described, any inscription may readily be produced; and such is
the delicacy with which the striking mould or die acts, that the finest incisions
may be made even in the most crumbling kinds of stone which would not
support the action of the common chisel. I may further state that the
apparatus is capable not only of operating on horizontal surfaces, but also on
vertical surfaces, as the fronts of walls or buildings, and even on inverted
surfaces, such as ceilings. The Figures in the Drawing will convey a correct
idea. of the apparatus in one of its simplest forms, that is to say, operating
on an horizontal surface; but it must be evident that in many cases, especially
in extensive works, it would be convenient to place the block to be sculptured
on a sliding base or moveable carriage, in order to present with facility any
desired part of the block to the action of the striking mould or die, and which
itself might also be made adjustable if required. Any number of these
striking moulds or dies may also be employed at the same time, so as to act
simultaneously on an extensive surface, and thus economize time. This
apparatus being of such general application, various modifications in the con-
struction will be found necessary; it is therefore to be observed that I do not
claim any particular arrangement of the parts of the machine; but that which
I do claim is, the application of the mould or striking die, which being made
by any means to strike a rapid succession of light blows on the matter to be
sculptured, shall abrade or wear away the superfluous parts of the surface
thereof, and consequently produce a form or figure corresponding to that
counterpart of itself.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Newton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
WILLIAM (L.S.) NEWTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of September,
in the fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
William Newton came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-
fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-second day of October, One thousand eight hundred
and forty.