IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING METALLIC SURFACES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierre Joseph Meeus, of Paris, in the Empire of
France, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING
METALLIC SURFACES."
Sealed the 21st July 1854, and dated the 31st January 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre Joseph Meeus at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st January 1854.
I, PIERRE JOSEPH MEEUS, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO-
DUCING METALLIC SURFACES" to be as follows :-
This Invention consists in directly gilding or coating with metal (that is,
without mixing or interposing any other substance,) gums, gutta percha, caout-
chouc, or other analogous substances rendered adhesive by heat, which gilding
or coating is effected on or by means of such gums, and may be applied while
they are being moulded, rolled, or flattened, if they are to undergo either of
those processes.
The processes which I employ may be classified in two main divisions,
according to whether the gold or metallic leaf is to be applied on articles com-
posed of or moulded in gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other similar substance, or
on any other solid article made of wood, metal, plaster,, clay, glaze marble,
slate, &c., whether on a plane surface or relief, whether stationary.or moveable,

page_text: whether exposed to atmospheric influences and damp or protected from the
same. The direct application of metallic leaf on gutta percha, caoutchouc,
&c., is effected by heating such gums and making the gold or other metal
adhere thereon directly without any other intervening substance, or else in
joining two metallic leaves by means of films of gutta percha in order to impart
thereto a greater amount of thickness, consistency, and durability, by effecting
the direct adhesion of the two pieces on to the gutta percha by means of heat
and pressure. This pressure may be easily exerted on plane surfaces, and
with respect to surfaces in relief it may be effected in the mould, the gilding
or metallic coating being thus effected simultaneously with the moulding.
The following are the processes I prefer to use :-
If the object to be gilded or coated is portable and easily handled, I cover it
with a film of gutta percha, and I then proceed to gild directly by placing the
article to be gilt or coated in a stove of such a temperature as to render the
gutta percha adhesive or otherwise; I soften the film by placing the article to
be gilt before a fire or before radiating metallic plates.
In order to gild stationary bodies of large size, such as sculptural ornaments,
statues, domes, parts of buildings, &c., it is first requisite to dry completely the
portions to be gilded; the application of the gutta percha having been effected,
the heat radiating from a hot plate or other source is directed on to each part
successively, and the metallic leaf or powder is applied at the same time on to
the film rendered adhesive by heat. The chafing dish used by painters for
effacing oil colors from surfaces to be repainted may be used for this operation.
In some cases I gild beforehand leaves or films of gutta percha, and then make
them adhere on surfaces to be gilt.
"
This coating process moreover renders the surfaces on which it is applied
impermeable, and statues, bas reliefs, ornaments, &c., thus coated resist atmo-
spheric influences.
The polish should be taken off articles to be coated in order to render the
adhesion inore effectual. My process is applicable to the gilding of any elastic
or flexible fabric or body, such as net, canvas, lace, &c., whether plain or
ornamented, also of leather, pasteboard, &c. And, moreover, I claim, after the
moulding has been effected, the removal of the gutta percha in cases in which
I wish to use the coating as a material by itself as a species of electrotyping.
My Invention then consists in the direct gilding or coating with metal on and
by means of gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other similar gums; also the gilding
or coating with metal such substances simultaneously with the moulding of the
same. After having gilt or coated with metal solid surfaces or fabrics, I reserve
to myself the right of coloring or painting on the gold or other metal by

page_text: means of colors or varnishes applied by hand or otherwise; also of placing.
several metals on or over one another, and cutting away part or parts of one
or other of them, so as to form designs and patterns.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Pierre Joseph Meeus in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
31st July 1854.
$
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
JOSEPH MEEUS, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Pierre Joseph Meeus, Her special licence that I, the said Pierre Joseph
Meeus, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Pierre Joseph Meeus, 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
PRODUCING METALLIC SURFACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Pierre Joseph Meeus, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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 Pierre Joseph Meeus, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in directly gilding or coating with metal gums, gutta
percha, caoutchouc, or other analogous substances rendered adhesive by heat,
which gilding or coating is effected on or by means of such gums, and may be
applied while they are being moulded, rolled, or flattened, if they are to undergo
either of those processes. My Invention is applicable especially to the production
of imitations of embroidery in gold, silver, or other metals. The processes which
I employ may be classified in two main divisions, according to whether the gold

page_text: or metallic leaf is to be applied, (first,) on articles composed of or moulded in
gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other similar substance; or (second,) on any other
solid article made of wood, metal, plaster, clay, glass, marble, slate, &c., whether
on a plain surface or relief, whether stationary or moveable, whether exposed to
atmospheric influences and damp or protected from the same. The direct
application of metallic leaf on gutta percha, caoutchouc, &c., is effected by
heating such gums and making the gold or other metal adhere thereon directly
without any other intervening substance, or two metallic leaves may be united
by means of films of gutta percha in order to impart thereto a greater amount
of thickness, consistency, and durability, by effecting the direct adhesion of the
two pieces on to the gutta percha by heat and pressure. This pressure may be
easily exerted on plain surfaces, and with respect to surfaces in relief it may be
effected in the mould, the gilding or metallic coating being thus effected simul-
taneously with the moulding. When the articles to be coated are composed
of other materials than gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other like gums, I proceed
as follows: If the object to be gilded or coated is portable and easily handled,
I cover it with a film of gutta percha, and I then proceed to gild directly by
placing the article to be gilt or coated in a stove of such a temperature as to
render the gutta percha 'adhesive or otherwise. I soften the film by placing
the article to be gilt before a fire or before radiating metallic plates. In order
to gild stationary bodies of large size, such as sculptural ornaments, statues,
domes, parts of buildings, &c., it is first requisite to dry completely the portions
to be gilded; the application of the gutta percha having been effected, the heat
radiating from a hot plate or other source is directed on to each part succes-
sively, and the metallic leaf or powder is applied at the same time on to the
film rendered adhesive by heat. The chafing dish used by painters for re-
moving oil colors from surfaces to be re-painted may be used for this operation.
In some cases I gild beforehand leaves or films of gutta percha, and then make
them adhere by heat on surfaces to be gilt: This coating process moreover
renders the surfaces on which it is applied impermeable, and statues, bas reliefs,
ornaments, &c. thus coated thoroughly resist atmospheric influences. The
polish should be taken off articles to be coated in order to render the adhesion
more effectual. My process is applicable to the gilding of any elastic or flexible
fabric or body, such as net, canvas, lace, &c., whether plain or ornamental, also
of leather, pasteboard, &c. After the moulding has been effected, I sometimes
remove the gutta percha in cases in which I wish to use the coating as a mate-
rial by itself as a species of electrotyping. After having gilt or coated with
metal solid surfaces or fabrics, I reserve to myself the right of coloring, print-
ing, or painting on the gold or other' metal by means of colors or varnishes

page_text: applied by hand or otherwise. Also of placing several metals on or over one
another, and cutting away part or parts of one or other of them so as to form
designs and patterns. I employ, according to circumstances, moulds or matrices
either sunk or in relief, plain or cylindrical; I also use plates which may also
be sunken, or in relief, or open work, that is to say, having designs or patterns
cut out in them; I also sometimes powder the gutta percha, that is to say, I
cover it with metallic powders, with or without flock powders, or fabrics made
from silk, wool, &c.
16
!
Another method of making imitations of gold embroidery by my process is
to make any particular pattern in detached pieces, which I sew on to the
fabrics, or I arrange my moulds so as to make a pattern and apply, on a fabric
my imitation embroidery during the operation of moulding and gilding. The
same heat and pressure that on the one side attaches and fixes the metallic
leaf, fixes and attaches on the other side the stuff which is to be ornamented
with the embroidery or lace ornamental work. I more completely attach or
fasten the ornaments on to the fabrics, if need be, by piercing small holes in
the fabric corresponding with the pattern or design, so as to allow the gutta
percha to pass through the fabric, and thereby rivet, as it were, the pattern to
the fabric; or, in making the detached pieces, I leave small points projecting
which form pins or rivets, serving either as a means of fastening instead of
sewing, or which may be used in combination with the sewing to render it more
secure; or I further render the fastening more secure by the addition of
adhesive gums, such as caoutchouc or other descriptions, laid on by a brush or
plate. I make the moulds or matrices for my designs stationary, and in sheets
or cylinders, or moveable like printing types, and I use presses or rolling mills
according to the nature of the pattern. I sometimes form my designs of open
work plates or patterns; as, for example, suppose I have a plane or sunken
surface with a design on it, on which is stretched a thin metallic leaf (such as
gold leaf as is used for gilding), I then superimpose a sheet of fabric paper or
metal cut out with a design or pattern, or an open work fabric such as net
canvas, &c., then over the whole I lay a sheet of gutta percha. Now, the
adhesion of the gutta percha with the gold will only take place at such parts of
the pattern as are cut out, while the same gutta percha will have adhered to the
interposed paper or fabric, whereby any required pattern, either flat or in relief,
will be produced; or else I punch out sheet gutta percha into a pattern, and
place the pattern thus cut out on a surface covered with gold leaf, and over
the fabric intended to be ornamented. The adhesion will only take place
where the gutta percha is and nowhere else. In all these cases I use pressure
and heat, and employ the rolling mill or press. My moulds may be either

page_text: double and made of two engraved cylinders, or they may be single; if the
latter, I employ metallic counter-moulds or elastic or flexible counter-moulds
made of bran, sand, (sometimes in a warm state,) cold or warm caoutchouc, or
even liquids suitably enclosed, which form excellent counter-moulds on account
of the imperviousness of the interposed leaves of gutta percha. These liquids
are used warm or cold as may be needed. One of the principal objects attained
by my gilding or metallization is, that I am enabled to color or paint on the
patterns or metallized surfaces by means of colored and transparent varnishes.
I thus obtain on silver and white metals an effect resembling mother-of-pearl
either for fabrics or solid bodies, or on gold and dark metals I obtain warmer
tones and preserve them from oxidation. I employ an apparatus by the aid of
which I perform the four operations. It consists of four cylinders a, b, c, d,
and works as follows, for example:-The cylinder a receives a strip of sheet
gutta percha, and is so heated as to render the gutta percha adhesive. The
cylinder receives a strip of gold or silver (either plain or figured) at the
corresponding point. The pressure of the cylinders a and b forms gilt streaks
or stripes which are deposited on the fabric, which is brought by the com-
pressing cylinder c on to the gutta percha while still in a soft state; thence
the fabric passes down between the coloring cylinder d, which imparts to the
metallic stripes or streaks the pearly appearance desired. By this system of
metallizing in stripes I produce ribbons, and gold and silver lace trimming of
all description, which may be cut out with the fabrics without the latter ravelling
out; that is to say, by my method of gilding I produce a binding or selvage,
either straight or ornamented, by cutting out, punching, or pinking. When I
use tulle I put behind the design a piece of fabric cut out, such as flock
paper.
I also combine my process with the old systems of gilding, thus, I apply on
my gilding a second coat of gilding by some cold process by means of the
compositions or varnishes hitherto used in gilding; or I first gild in the usual
manner, and then add a coat of gold by my processes; or I take fabrics, paper,
skins, &c., gilt in the manner usually hitherto practised, and apply them on to
sheets of gutta percha, whereby I obtain the double effect of adhesion in a
warm state through such fabrics, paper, and skin, with the metallic leaf already
applied on the surface; or I compose my sheets or leaves of gums of pure or
mixed gutta percha, or of layers of gutta percha and caoutchouc or analogous
gums, or I mix among the layers of the various gums sheets of paper, fabric,
tulle, &c., here and there, or alternately; or I mix with these gums fibrous
matters, threads, tow, pasteboard, &c. I sometimes, instead of gilding, flock
the surfaces to be ornamented, that is to say, I cover the surfaces with any

page_text: substance capable of adhering by the application of heat and pressure on the
gums in a soft state, as, for example, flock, fine fabrics, skins, and even spangles
and metal shavings, &c. I also metallize on both sides of the fabric or paper
or other material under treatment, and by pinking or cutting out materials
thus metallized on both sides I obtain an imitation of fringe or gold or silver
lace or articles of that description.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my.
Invention is,
The gilding and coating with metals, by means of heat and pressure, articles
composed of or coated with gums, gutta percha, caoutchouc, or mixtures or
combinations of the same or substances analogous thereto, as herein-before
described.
And I also claim the several methods of imitating embroidery and embossed
or figured goods of all descriptions on yielding fabrics and bodies, and the pro-
duction of ribbons, trimmings, braid, gold or silver lace, fringes, and articles of
the like description in gold, silver, platinum, or other metals, either plain or
colored, tinted or shaded, so as to resemble mother-of-pearl or otherwise, as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Joseph Meeus, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
PIERRE JOSEPH MEEUS. (L.S.)