Improvements in and relating to Tablets, Facias, Signboards, and the like for Advertising Purposes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1894-Accepted, 9th June, 1894
Improvements in and relating to Tablets, Facias, Signboards, and the
like for Advertising Purposes.
I, HENRY GRUEBER of 37 Snow Hill, in the City of London E.C. Die Sinker
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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of tablets, facias,
entabletures, signboards and the like having a facing of glass, and used for
advertising purposes, and consists of a method of painting upon the whole of the
back surface of such glass, with black or colored opaque pigment, (such for instance
as black varnish or Brunswick black) with the exception of such part or parts
through which the advertisement is to be seen, such part or parts being left blank.
The letters figures or other characters constituting such advertisement I form of
sheet metal the face or faces of which has been electro plated and polished, and by
the use of suitable dies I may indent upon the said plated surface or surfaces, small
dots, stars, or other ornaments arranged in such shape or contour as to form letters,
figures, characters or the like corresponding to and coinciding with, the blank spaces
left upon the before mentioned glass, and by the use of the same or other varnish or
pigment used in the coating of said glass, I cement or fix the said metallic plate or
plates upon the painted side of the glass in such a manner that these may be seen
through the blank spaces left thereon, and when the said paint or cement is dry the
whole may be mounted in a suitable frame, the back board of which resting upon or
against the back of said plate or plates would further conduce to the keeping of
this or these in position upon the glass.
I am aware that metallic letters characters and figures have hitherto been fixed
upon the back surface of glass, but these have invariably been cut out of metal
sheet, and provided with some special groove or grooves upon the edge or edges for
the reception of some suitable cement by which they have been fixed upon the
glass, which has necessitated the employment of special and costly dies that would
at one operation form and cut out the letters or characters and form therein the
said groove or grooves, and letters or characters thus produced, and the time and
trouble of fixing them upon the glass has rendered advertisement tablets so made
too costly for general adoption, and I am not aware that advertisement tablets
facias and the like have hitherto been produced by the method and means employed
by me and forming the subject of my invention, the object of which is to produce an
advertisement that shall be showy, attractive and durable at a cost at least 50%
cheaper that such advertisements as hitherto produced.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood reference may be had to
the accompanying drawings in which,
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are examples or specimens of letters produced according to my
invention, and illustrate some among many of the designs of indents 1 may employ
in the production of same.
Fig. 4 is a view of the back surface of a sheet of glass, as I purpose preparing it
for receiving an advertisement which for example may be the word "Bovril."
Fig. 5 illustrates the position the plates, upon which the said letters have been
formed, (after the manner shewn by Figs. 1, and 3,) are placed and fixed
thereon.
Fig. 6 is a front view of Fig. 5 mounted in a suitable frame to form a tablet.
When tablets such as Fig. 6 are to be produced I procure a sheet of electro
plated and highly polished plain or ornamented tin iron or other metal, which I cut
into plates of the required size, and by the means of suitable dies I may indent

page_text: the polished surface of these in the form of the letters or characters required, and
at the same operation and within the said indents, I may form any number of dots
stars or other designs tracing a line centrally of each limb of each letter or character,
such stars dots or the like having as. many facets as possible in order to provide the
greatest number of reflecting surfaces.
It is not absolutely necessary that the said plates be rectangular as at Figs. 1
and 2, as in some letters a greater part of the superfluous metal may be cut away
as shewn at Fig. 3, so long as a sufficiency of plane surface is left by which the said
plates may be cemented to the glass as hereinafter explained.
Having in this manner prepared the required number of letters, figures or
characters, which according to example would be B, O, V, R, I, L, I provide a
piece of sheet glass A of the requisite size, one surface of which I coat with some
preferably dark opaque pigment, such for instance as Brunswick-black, or black-
varnish, or copal varnish mixed with lamp black, or vegetable black, or any other
color or colors desired carefully leaving blank spaces corresponding to the size and
shape of the letters indented upon the plates, such spaces being of course in reverse
order for reading, as shewn in Fig. 4, and when the coating upon the glass is dry
or nearly so, the flat or plane surfaces of the letters (such as those shewn by XXX
in Figs. 1, 2, and 3) I coat or partly coat with the same pigment or varnish, and
while this is wet the plates would be placed in position upon the glass A with
their polished surfaces next the coated glass, and in such positions that the indented
letters upon the plates would exactly coincide with the transparent letters upon the
glass, as at Fig. , and as the painting upon the plates became dry these would be
firmly fixed in position by reason of the paint or varnish upon these adhering to
that upon the glass. The whole may then be mounted in a suitable frame B, and
when the back of this was fixed in position and resting upon or against the back of
the plates, the same would serve to keep these firmly in position. A front view
of this tablet is shewn in Fig. 6.
It is obvious, that if desired, such small tablets as these could be produced with
all the letters upon one plate, if preferred, by arranging the dies suitably therefor,
and I wish it understood that I may produce any arrangement of letters characters,
numbers, figures, designs, trade marks or other devices in the same manner, by the
means of suitable dies (or by the use of plates of highly polished electro plated
metal without indentations) and suitable preparation of the glass A therefor, and I
may employ the same in the production of advertisements upon facias, entabletures
signboards and the like of any size or dimensions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
In the construction of tablets, facias, entabletures, signboards and the like for
advertising purposes, the combination of a sheet or plate of glass coated upon one side
with any suitable colored or black paint or varnish, transparent spaces being left
therein corresponding to the letters, characters, figures or design of the advertise-
ment desired, and the production of such letters, characters, figures or design upon
polished electro plated metallic plate or plates, indented thereon in dots stars or
other suitable devices by the means of suitable dies and the manner of fixing such
plate or plates upon the coated side of such glass, by the use of similar paint or
varnish, with or without the whole being mounted within a suitable frame, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described and shewn by the accompanying
drawings.
1
1004
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
1, Broad Street Buildings, Liverpool Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.