IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERPROOFING FABRICS, AND A COMPOSITION FOR SUCH PURPOSE
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Christy, of 155, Fenchurch Street,
London, for the Invention of ** IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERPROOFING
FABRICS, AND A COMPOSITION FOR SUCH PURPOSE."-A communication
from abroad by Dr. Paul Fournaise, of Paris.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Christy at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st June 1875.
I, THOMAS CHRISTY, of 155, Fenchurch Street, London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER-
PROOFING FABRICS, AND A COMPOSITION FOR SUCH PURPOSE," (being a com-
munication from Dr. Paul Fournaise, of Paris,) to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a process of waterproofing cloth, woollens,
linens, canvas, cotton, alpacca, and silk, and other fabrics, and consists

page_text: 3334
For a bath of 9 quarts of water I take 3 ounces of cetraria islandica
and place them in a vessel containing 3 or 4 quarts of water (taken from
the 9 quarts) intended for the bath, and boil for 10 minutes until the
cetraria islandica is softened. I then take the vessel off the fire and
allow the cetraria islandica to be infused for 10 minutes. The
substance should be stirred during ebullition, and the solution poured
into the water prepared beforehand for the bath. I put into the
mixture described above 29 ounces of acetate of alumina, stir again, and
the bath is ready. The tissues or fabrics may then be immersed and
rubbed so that the solution may be more easily absorbed.
The tissues or fabrics may be kept in the bath for two or three hours,
according to the thickness of the material and the quantity to be
operated upon, after which they may be arranged for drying.
For hemp and linen cloths I find it advantageous to work at a tem-
perature of 50° or 60° centigrade. It is well to increase the acetate of
alumina to 100 or 120 parts per 1000 for certain hemp and linen cloths,
according to their thickness, and make and allow them to remain longer
in the composition.

page_text: I would observe that as a rule stuffs shrink very little during the use
of my process.
My process, besides being very effective, will in practice be found
more economical than any effective method of waterproofing materials
hitherto known.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Christy in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
CHRISTY, of 155, Fenchurch Street, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Christy, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Christy, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Christy, 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 WATER-
PROOFING FABRICS," a communication to me from abroad by Dr. Paul
Fournaise, of Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Thomas Christy, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
In practice I find that cloth only requires to be passed through the
bath, care being taken that the material is well saturated with the
mixture as described in my Specification.
For tissues the proportions of the mixture may be graduated as low
as follows, and still be an efficient waterproof.
and 3 parts Iceland moss
per 1000 parts water.
4
"
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per 100 parts water.
No. 11 part acetate alumina
2 = 2
ditto
33
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3 =
3
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4 = 4
ditto
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5 = 5
ditto
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6 = 6
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7=7
ditto
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8 = 8
ditto
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"
The time for saturation and quantity of material depends on the
thickness of the material treated.
For linen, hempen, and cotton goods it is not well to go lower than
No. 4 on the tables, and the bath should be about 100° Fahrenheit, and
the material opened out before being passed through the bath.
It is also advisable to pass the material through rollers so as to force
the mixture well into the fabric, and in drying to cylinder or calender it.
Linen requires a longer time than cloth to saturate.
2
I pass the materials through a bath of the mixture before described,
and after the penetration I squeeze the excess of moisture through 2
rollers and allow the fabric to dry, when it is calendered in the ordinary
manner.
For clothes and uniforms I merely saturate the garment in the bath
and allow it to dry as quickly as convenience will permit of.
I can also employ with the Iceland moss chloride and azotate besides 3
the acetate of alumina.
I claim to produce a cheap and effective waterproofing for tissues.
which allows the air to pass, and which is not injurious to health (as the
compositions now employed of lead are found to be) and which can

page_text: also be applied to clothes and uniforms when made up, as well as tissues
in the piece.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Christy, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.