IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED AND SUNKEN DESIGNS IN IMITATION OF CARVING IN WOOD, IVORY, BONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George William Ley, of St. John's Road, Croydon,
in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PRODUCTION OF RAISED AND SUNKEN DESIGNS IN IMITATION OF CARVING IN
WOOD, IVORY, BONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS."
Sealed the 4th October 1870, and dated the 20th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George William Ley at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th April 1870.
I, GEORGE WIlliam Ley, of St. John's Road, Croydon, in the County
of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED AND SUNKEN DESIGNS IN IMITATION OF
CARVING IN WOOD, IVORY, BONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the production of
raised and sunken designs in imitation of carving in wood, ivory, bone,
and other materials.

page_text: In order to produce a raised or sunken design in ivory or bone I take
a thin sheet or veneer of the ivory or bone, and after polishing it on one
side I place over the polished side a sheet of thin tough material, such
as metal foil; say, of brass or copper, and above this a metal plate with
the design engraved or produced in it, a backing of comparatively soft
material, such as a sheet of thick cardboard, or preferably a strip of
wood cut endwise of the grain is placed below the ivory, and the whole
is pressed together in a powerful press, by preference an hydraulic press.
The engraved plate may in some cases be heated previously to pressing it
on to the veneer. The ivory or bone might also, if desired, be softened
previously to subjecting it to pressure under the dic. By this means the
sheet or vencer of ivory or bone is moulded to the form of the die, and
when relieved from pressure it will retain the form imparted to it.
Afterwards if desired the moulded sheet of ivory-or-bone-may-again-have-
the die plate pressed on to it without the interposition of the metal foil.
Before subjecting the thin sheets or veneers to pressure the back of the
sheet or vencer may be cemented to vegetable parchment or paper or other
tough material, or it may be cemented to a strip of wood cut endwise
of the grain; or in some cases metal foil may be placed at the back of
the veneer as well as on its face. The metal foil might also if desired
be cemented to the face of the shect or veneer. The ivory or bone
might also in some cases be softened if desired previous to subjecting it
to pressure under the die.
Metal foil may similarly be used when
impressing designs upon veneers of wood. Thin sheets of other material,
as, for example, mother of pearl, may have designs impressed upon them.
in the manner above described, as the interposition of a thin sheet of
tough material such as metal foil between them and the die plate will
in most cases prevent their cracking or splitting when the die plate is
pressed on to them. In the case of mother of pearl I prefer in all cases
that it should be cemented to a backing before subjecting it to pressure.
Sheets or vencers with designs impressed on to them in the manner
above described may be employed for a great variety of purposes, as, for
example, for covering card cases and book covers, also for clock cases
and for the leaves of fans, and for a great variety of cabinet work, and
for other uses.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters l'atent,
filed by the said George William Ley in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th October 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WILLIAM LEY, of St. John's Road, Croydon, in the County of Surrey,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by ler
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George William Ley, Her special licenco
that I, the said George William Ley, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said George William Ley, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED AND SUNKEN DESIGNS IN IMITATION
OF CARVING IN WOOD, IVORY, BONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George William Ley, 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 Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George William Ley, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the production of
raised and sunken designs in imitation of carving in wood, ivory, bone,
and other materials.
In order to produce a raised or sunken design in ivory or bone I take
a thin sheet or vencer of the ivory or bone, and after polishing it on

page_text: one side I place over the polished side a sheet of thin tough material,
such as metal foil, say, of brass or copper, and above this a metal plate,
with the design engraved or produced on it, a backing of comparatively
soft material, such as a sheet of thick cardboard, or preferably a strip
of wood cut endwise of the grain, is placed below the ivory, and the 5
whole is pressed together in a powerful press, by preference an hydraulic
press. By this means the sheet or veneer of ivory or bone is moulded
to the form of the die, and when relieved from pressure it will retain
the form imparted to it. Afterwards the moulded sheet of ivory or bonc
again has the die plate pressed on to it without the interposition of the 1
metal foil.
In practically carrying out my Invention I prefer to fix the engraved
die plate in a metal chase, as shewn at Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed.
In this Figure-a-is-the-engraved die plate, and b, the chase in which it
is fixed. A plan view of this chase and die plate is shewn at Figure 2. 1
Above. the chase is placed a moveable chase c, shewn separately at
Figure 3. This chase has an opening through it above the engraved die
plate, and has also four holes formed through it for register pins d, d,
projecting up from the lower chase to pass through.
To impress a design upon a thin sheet or veneer of ivory or bone I 2
proceed as follows:-A shect of thin tough material, by preference thin
sheet brass, is placed above the engraved plate, and over this is placed
the sheet or veneer of ivory or bone upon which the design is to be
impressed. Above this sheet or veneer is placed a backing of com-
pressible material, by preference a block of wood which has been cut 2
endwise of the grain, and prepared by being boiled in glue and resin as
described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me on the 4th
June 1869 (No. 1730). This block of wood is marked e in the Drawing,
it is of somewhat greater thickness than the chase c, and is of a size to
fit closely within the top of the opening in this chase; the side edges a
of the opening in the chase are cut on the bevil as shown. The whole
is then pressed in an hydraulic or other powerful press, and the block e
is pressed down on to the veneer of ivory or bone and presses it and the
thin sheet metal on to the engraved die plate. The interposition of the
thin sheet of metal keeps the ivory or bone from cracking, and also to
some extent rounding off the angles of the die renders the process gradual.
The pressure is then taken off, and the plate c is lifted away from the

page_text: chase, carrying up with it the block e and the veneer of ivory or bone, a
small portion of adhesive material, such as wax, having been placed on
the back of the veneer to cause it to adhere slightly to the block. The
thin sheet of brass is then taken from above the engraved plate, and the
plate c is again placed over the chase, whereby the impressed veneer of
ivory or bone is again placed correctly on to the engraved dic plate, as
the register pins d, d, ensure its coming correctly into position. The
whole is then again pressed in the hydraulic or other press to bring the
design impressed upon the sheet or vencer to the desired degree of
sharpness. Afterwards the veneer is separated from the block c.
Thin sheets or vencers of ivory or bone may also have designs
impressed on to them by the use of two or more engraved plates in
succession. The engraved plate on to which they are first pressed
having the edges of the design to some extent rounded off, whilst the
edges of the design in the last plate are of the required sharpness, so
that the sheets or vencers are gradually moulded to form by successive
pressures. I, however, prefer to proceed in the manner above described.
For low relief and designs in which there is no sharpness it is not
essential to employ successive pressures, but the sheet or vencer of ivory
or bone might be moulded to form at one pressure. Before subjecting
the thin sheets or vencers to pressure the back of the sheet or vencer
may be cemented to vegetable parchment or paper, or other tough
material, or it may be cemented to a strip of wood cut endwise of the
grain, or in some cases metal foil may be placed at the back of the
veneer as well as on its face. The metal foil might also, if desired, be
cemented to the face of the sheet or vencer. The ivory or bone might
also in some cases be softened if desired previous to subjecting it to
pressure under the dic, but I prefer to conduct the process in the
manner above described.
The process herein-before described of interposing a thin sheet of
tough material between the die and the vencer to be impressed before
pressing the vencer on to the die, and subsequently again pressing the
veneer into the die without the interposition of such sheet, may also be
employed with great advantage when impressing designs upon veneers of
wood, as the interposition of the thin sheet metal or other tough material
will prevent the wood from cracking or splitting when first subjected to
pressure. Thin sheets of mother-of-pearl may also have designs impressed

page_text: upon them in the manner above described as the interposition of a thin
sheet of tough material, such as metal foil, between them and the dic
plate will, for the most part, prevent their cracking or splitting when the
die plate is pressed on to them. In the case of mother-of-pearl I prefer
that it should be cemented to a backing before subjecting it to pressure.
Sheets or veneers with designs impressed on to them in the manner
above described may be employed for a great variety of purposes, as for
example, for covering card cases and book covers, also for clock cases
and for the leaves of fans, and for a great variety of cabinet work, and
for brooches and for other uses. Thin flat sheets of ivory or other
material after having designs impressed upon them as above described
may also be bent or curved în order to be fixed upon curved surfaces as
in the case of covering panels or the rims of drinking cups, or cylindrical
forms may be ornamented-by-bending around them narrow veneers with
designs impressed upon them in the manner above described. In some
cases, where it is desirable that the device or pattern is to be placed upon
another ground or is to form an inlayed device, the vencers of ivory
or other material may be moulded by dies formed with a cutting edge
so that the moulded device or pattern is cut out from the flat sheet or
vencer.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I would have it understood that what I
claim is,―
First. The production in ivory and bone of raised and sunken designs
in imitation of carving by pressing in a hydraulic or other press thin
sheets or veneers of ivory or bone placed between wood cut endwise of
the grain or similar compressible material, and die plates with the desired
designs formed in them, as herein described.
Second. The production of raised or sunken designs in imitation of
carving upon thin sheets or vencers of wood, ivory, bone, and mother-of-
pearl by first pressing the sheets or veneer on to a die plate with the
desired device formed in it, and with a thin sheet of tough material, such
as sheet brass interposed between the two, and subsequently pressing
such sheets or veneers on to the die plate without the interposition of
such sheet of tough material, as herein described.
Third. I also claim the retaining the backing material by which thin
sheets or veneers of ivory and bone are pressed on to a dic plate in a

page_text: metal chase to prevent its spreading laterally when it is being forced
against the ivory or bone.
In witness whereof, I, the said George William Ley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
GEORGE W. LEY. (L.S.)