Improved Means for Producing Ornamental and other Designs in Relief.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Jan., 1890-Accepted, 1st Mar., 1890
Improved Means for Producing Ornamental and other
Designs in Relief.
I, EDMOND GEORGE REUTER of 6 Harding Terrace, Stoke-upon-Trent, in the
County of Stafford, Designer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
The object of my invention is to produce ornamental or other designs in relief in
a more expeditious manner than those already employed, and also to enable any
person, with a slight knowledge of drawing only to produce designs in relief which
have hitherto required skilled artisans in the various substances in which such designs
have been produced, to execute.
My invention consists in drawing in outline the pattern, which it is desired to
produce in relief, upon a sheet of metal, or material of any suitable thickness and
character which will receive and retain an impression. Thin sheet lead is very
suitable for this purpose, and to facilitate the action of the stylus, or pencil which I
use to execute the design, I slightly grease the surface. The sheet of material to
be operated upon is placed upon a drawing board, which is covered with a textile
fabric, blotting paper, or other suitable yielding substance.
The tool used in drawing the outline may be an ordinary black-lead pencil, or a
blunt pointed stylus of hard texture, such as wood, bone, ivory, glass, agate,
metal, etc., which pencil or stylus is drawn over the sheet lead as a pencil is used in
drawing on paper, using however a slight pressure sufficient to produce a sunk line,
or depression of the required extent.
When the whole outline, or a sufficient part of it, has been drawn on one side of
the sheet of lead, or other material, the sheet may be turned over so as to expose the
reverse side upon which all the outlines or figures drawn in sunk lines on the first side
will appear as raised parts.
On that reverse side other lines and details may be drawn, to complete the design,
in sunk lines, which in their turn will appear raised on the side which was first
operated upon.
The simple action of drawing sunk lines upon the material to be operated upon, in
the manner indicated, will produce upon those parts of the surface between the lines
subtle undulations and thereby a finish of great artistic value. But if it be desired
to give greater relief or depth to some parts of the design, other tools than those
above enumerated might advantageously be employed, and in conjunction therewith
stamps with geometrical, or repeat patterns could be used where found desirable.
When the whole design has thus been completely carried out, as above described, I
take a cast from the prepared plate in plaster of Paris, or other plastic material, and
use this as a matrix, from which a reproduction could be made in metal, or other
inaterial, which reproduction could be used as a die, for producing relief patterns for
decorative purposes upon tiles, ceramic and metal wares, plaster ornaments, wall papers,
papier maché, pressed glass, book-covers and to other things.
Dated this 23rd day of Auril 1889.

page_text: Improved Means for Producing Ornamental and other
Designs in Relief.
I, EDMOND GEORGE REUTER, of 6 Harding Terrace, Stoke upon Trent, in the
County of Stafford, Designer 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 :-
The object of my invention is to produce ornamental or other designs or patterns
in relief, in a more expeditious manner than those already employed, and also to
enable any person having a slight knowledge of drawing, to produce designs or
patterns in relief, which have hitherto required skilled artisans for their execution.
This process is applicable to all materials which can be cast in a mould or stamped in
a die.
My invention consists in drawing a pattern of any desired form upon a sheet of
metal or other suitable substance, which will receive and retain an impression. I
have found in practice thin sheet lead a suitable medium for this purpose, but other
material can be used. The pattern or design is executed by means of an ordinary
black lead pencil, but a stylus of some hard material may be used in lieu thereof,
such as wood, bone, ivory, glass, agate or metal. The stylus or pencil is drawn over
the sheet of metal or other medium in the same manner as a pencil is used in drawing
using however a slight pressure sufficient to produce a sunk line or depression of the
required extent. Before commencing the drawing I coat the surface of the plate to
be operated upon with a substance which allows the pencil or stylus to be moved
more freely, and I have found ordinary tallow answer very well for this purpose.
The sheet of metal or other material to be operated upon is placed upon a table or
drawing board the surface of which is covered to a suitable thickness with some
elastic or yielding substance, such as blotting paper, textile fabrics, india-rubber, or
compounds having similar properties. This permits of the pencil or stylus being
pressed into the plate.
When the outline, or a sufficient part of it has been drawn on the metal plate or
medium, the same may be turned over and the reverse side worked upon. The
operator will now see his original outline in relief, or raised, and he may then fill
in such details as he deems sufficient to complete the design, such in their turn
appearing as raised parts upon the side of the medium first treated. In practice
have found that superior effect can be obtained from this treatment, that is working
on both sides of the plate, and produces an object of great artistic value, having a soft
and pleasing finish. In some cases it will not be necessary to work on both sides of
the medium, where the product only requires to be in very low relief, but on the
other hand it may also be necessary to intensify the relief by using extra pressure on
both sides of the plate. In conjunction with the above, stamps with geometrical
repeat or other patterns might advantageously be employed, either to form the
outline of some pattern which requires to be differently treated in each case, or
a series of small stamps might be used to fill in a design already outlined by
hand.
When a design has been carried out to the satisfaction of the operator in the
manner above described, a cast is taken from the prepared plate in Plaster of Paris
or other plastic compound, this serves as a matrix from which a reproduction could
be made in metal or other substance such reproduction serving as a die for producing
relief patterns for decorative and other purposes upon tiles, ceramic and metal wares,
jewellery, ornaments, wall papers, papier mache, leather and other things.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that

page_text: I do not confine myself strictly to the method above described, as the same may be
varied without departing from the principle thereof, but I declare that what I
claim is :-
The use of a drawing board table or equivalent covered with some yielding
material, upon which a sheet of metal or other substance is placed during the
execution of a design or pattern, such material being capable of receiving and
retaining an impression by being worked upon with a stylus or the like by the
pressure of the hand, as and for the purpose herein set forth and substantially as
described.
EDMOND G. REUTER.