Improvements in or connected with the Manufacture of Metal Letters, Figures, and the like for Advertising Signs or other analogous purposes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Jan., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 5th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 5th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with the Manufacture of Metal
Letters, Figures, and the like for Advertising Signs or other
analogous purposes.
We JOHN EBORALL HARTLEY, and HERBERT EDWARD HARTLEY, both of
13 Saint Pauls Square, in the City of Birmingham Electro Platers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with the manufacture of
letters, numerals, or other analogous figures, for sign or advertisement boards, and
its object is to provide an improved alloy of fusible metals particularly suitable. for
the casting of such letters &c., in chill moulds, to provide therewith a combination
of processes of electro deposition of copper, and then finished in the manner
hereinafter described; while in other instances the said electro copper deposition
is followed by a further deposition of gold or of silver; such deposition being further
succeeded by a transparent film or coating of celluloid, and to provide that such
film of celluloid shall be further protected by a coating of transparent cold drying
seed-lac varnish.
By these means improvements are made in the letters &c. for signs and the like
advertisements, they being much less liable to become tarnished or perished
from exposure to the atmosphere, than the gilded or painted letters, wooden or
otherwise, in present use.
In carrying out this invention suitable moulds are prepared, these being preferably
of metal, but may be of plaster of Paris, the object being to obtain a perfectly
smooth surface. An alloy composed of five parts by weight of lead, and one part
by weight of antimony, is then melted and poured into the moulds. The castings
having been suitably dressed, are then embellished as follows:-First, by pickling,
cleaning and polishing by the present well known methods; adopted in the pre-
paration of articles of metal for the electro plating bath: second, in the electro
deposition of a coating of copper: third, in the electro deposition of a coating of
gold, or of silver. These coated surfaces are now further protected from the
oxidising influences of acids, gases, and the like atmospheric impurities, and also to
permit of their being washed free, from time to time, of any accretions of dust and
dirt, by coating them further with a transparent film of celluloid composed of any
of the known non-hygroscopic solvents of pyroxyline and the ordinary pyroxyline.
An important feature in this invention is to further combine with the aforesaid
processes a final coating of transparent cold drying seed-lac varnish, for the
purposes of preventing the otherwise liability of the celluloid coating to peel or
rub off if submitted to any wear, and thus, to expose such rubbed or worn parts to
the atmospheric &c. influences already named.
The shapes of the cast letters &c. may of course be varied at will. Also the
processes herein named, subsequent to the casting process may be also combined
with letters formed by the stamping or other similar process.
Dated this 4th day of January 1892.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
Applicants' Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with the Manufacture of Metal
Letters, Figures, and the like for Advertising Signs or other
analogous purposes.
We JOHN EBORALL HARTLEY, and HERBERT EDWARD HARTLEY, both of
13 Saint Pauls Square, in the City of Birmingham, Electro Platers 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:—
This invention relates to the manufacture of letters, including of course numerals
or other similar figures, used for signs, and its object is first to provide an improved
alloy from which the letters shall be cast which is peculiarly suited for such purpose
and for the subsequent processes employed; also to combine with such letters the
following processes, first, of an electro deposition of copper, to be followed by an
electro deposition of gold or of silver which is then coated with any of the well
known coatings of celluloid, and further in combining with the last named process,
a further coating of seed-lac varnish.
We carry our invention into effect in the manner illustrated in the accompanying
sheet of drawings in which :-
Fig. 1, is a view in elevation of a letter to which our improved process is
applied.
Fig. 2, is an enlarged cross sectional plan view on line 1, 1, Fig. 1.
We provide what are known as chill moulds, which are preferably made of metal,
but may be made of plaster of Paris, the object being to obtain a perfectly smooth
surface. We then melt an alloy composed of five parts by weight of lead, and one
part by weight of antimony, from which the letter A, is cast. The difficulty
experienced in obtaining an alloy for casting these letters has been to get a cheap
alloy, that will flow freely when fused, and afford a smooth surface free of air holes,
when cold. The alloy herein stated we find to answer these purposes satisfactorily.
These letters are now pickled and cleaned by the well known methods ready for the
electro plating bath. They are then treated with an electro deposition of
copper B, as a base, and further with a subsequent electro deposition of gold or of
silver C.
These depositions are now protected by a film D of celluloid applied in any of
the ordinary methods.
Similar surfaces when thus only protected by this film D of celluloid, as is the
present custom, are open to the objection that the film is liable to chip, particularly
at the edges, and especially should the articles so coated be subject to frictional
wear. In order to avoid this however, we add a further coating of colourless, or
as near colourless as may be, cold drying seed-lac varnish E. This we find to
effectually prevent such chipping or peeling, and very much increasing the duration
of the brilliancy of the letters.
The forms and sectional shapes of the letters, may of course be varied, and also
by letters we include numerals, or such similar figures analogous to letters, used for
sign board purposes.
We are aware of various alloy compositions for casting purposes in which
antimony and lead have been used, but we are not aware that these ingredients
have been used in the proportions herein stated, and which said proportions we find
to yield the best results. Also we are aware that a film of celluloid has been
already applied to preserve metallic surfaces from atmospheric, gaseous or acidiferous
action, also that the process of electro deposition in itself is old, and therefore we
do not claim those processes broadly; but;

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
In sign letters, numerals &c., the combination with the cast metal body, of the
coating of copper and the coating of precious metal and the films of celluloid and
seed-lac varnish, substantially as described.
Dated this 4th day of October 1892.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
12, Cherry Street, Birmingham, Applicants' Agent.