An Improved Mode or Method of Uniting Paper to a Cardboard or other Support, particularly applicable to the Art of Manufacturing Photographic Mounts.
Year: 1896

page_text: 'Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 22nd Oct., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Oct., 189-Accepted, 28th Nov.. 1896
An Improved Mode or Method of Uniting Paper to a Cardboard
or other Support, particularly applicable to the Art of
Manufacturing Photographic Mounts.
I, JAMES WILLIAM MCCABE, of No. 215 Pearl Street, in the City, County and
State of New York, in the United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of this said invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
A photographic mount comprises a piece of comparatively heavy cardboard,
usually rectangular, and either an applied panel or border, of ornamental paper.
The application of the panels and borders heretofore has required much skill and
time and the waste and loss, due to soiling and imperfect fitting and adherence of
the panels and borders, even with the most skilful hands, have been exceedingly
large.
My objects are to so apply such panels and borders as that less skill will be
needed, less time required, and the waste and loss practically eliminated, or at
least reduced to a great extent, and at the same time to improve the quality of the.
finished mount.
To these ends my invention consists in the mode of making photographic
mounts hereinafter fully described and particularly set forth in the appended.
claims.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a photographic mount made according to my
improvement, but showing one corner of the panel turned down or over to show
the reverse side.
. Figure 2 is a like view, but showing a border applied to the cardboard and with
one of the corners of the border turned down; and
Figure 3 is an elevation of an apparatus used by me in carrying out my
improvements.
1 designates the cardboard or support of a photographic mount, 2 the panel, and
3 the border. The panel and the border are made of ornamental paper and are
applied to the face of the cardboard. The panel is embossed in any suitable
design, as at 4, around its margin, and the border is likewise embossed as at 5 and 6
in any desired manner. The borders and panels are usually tinted to contrast in
color with the face of the cardboard.
The backs of the panels and borders are previously prepared with a coating of

page_text: shellac, albumen, or other adhesive ingredient possessing the qualities thereof.
This coating is represented by the broken lines 7 at Figures 1 and 2, to exhibit
which is the sole purpose of the turned down corners. The shellac, albumen, or
the like is permitted to thoroughly dry before the application of the panel or
border to the cardboard. In practice, I coat large sheets of ornamental paper and
subsequently cut the same into smaller sheets or pieces according to the size of the
mounts to be made; but of course, the ornamental paper may be coated when in
the web or rell form.
The ornamental paper thus coated or prepared is subsequently applied to the
cardboard or support 1 by heat and pressure, which cause the shellac or the like
to dissolve or soften and to adhere to the surface of the cardboard which is and
should be plain; that is to say,-without gloss, enamel, glue, or other like
adhesive coating.
Usually panels and borders are embossed and heretofore such embossing has
always been done prior to the application of the panels and borders to the card-
board, and this mode of making required the panels and borders to be cut out to size
from the stock previous to the hand wet pasting operation. It is a part of my
invention to simultaneously emboss, cut from the sheet, and apply the panel or
border to the cardboard.
At Figure 3 I have shown an apparatus which I have used in carrying out my
improvements; but of course the latter may be practised with the aid of other and
different means. 8 represents a die which is secured to the upper portion of a
press and which is hollow and heated, preferably by means of gas jets, a gas pipe
being shown at 9. The face of the die is formed or provided with the desired
design for the panel or the border, as the case may be, and with cutting edges, if it
be desired to do embossing. Beneath the die is a vertically-movable table or
bed 10 sliding in ways in the side frames and adapted to be raised by cams or
eccentrics 11 on a power shaft 12. If it be not desired to do embossing and cutting
out simultaneously with the applying operation, then the die 8 is made plain faced
and without cutting edges.
I shall first describe the operation of putting on a plain panel. The cardboard
is laid upon the bed 10, face side up, and the previously coated panel is laid upon
the cardboard with the dry shellac side there-against. The bed is then moved up
to the heated die or surface and pressure is applied. The heat of the device 8
softens the shellac, and the pressure and the shellac cause the panel to firmly and
evenly adhere to the cardboard.
I shall now describe the operation when embossing and cutting out of the panel
are also to be performed: The cardboard is placed upon the bed as before, suitable
gauges being used to correctly position the cardboard relatively to the die, and
then a piece of previously coated ornamental paper of a size slightly larger than
the panel to be formed is laid upon the cardboard with the dry shellac side in
contact with the face thereof. The bed is then forced up against the heated die,
which by reason of the pressure effects the embossing and the cutting out of the
panel and the sticking of the panel to the cardboard, the heat operating to soften
the adhesive ingredient. The surplus ornamental paper or the skeleton surrounding
the panel is subsequently removed when the bed is lowered. Although this surplus
portion is likewise coated it does not adhere to the cardboard because it lies outside
of the field of pressure. In thus applying the panels, little or no care need be
exercised since it is only necessary to place the ornamental paper on the cardboard
approximately centrally thereof, the exact centering of the panel being effected by
the die in the embossing, cutting off, and adhering operation.
In applying a border which is to be simultaneously cut out and embossed the
die is provided with cutting edges for the outside of the border and for the inside
thereof. The previously coated ornamental paper of size slightly larger than the
cardboard is laid upon the latter as before, the bed is brought up, and under the
pressure the central portion of the ornamental paper stock is cut out and simul-
taneously the outside straight edges of the border formed, while at the same time

page_text: owing to the heat and the shellac, the border is caused to properly adhere to the
cardboard. When the bed is brought down, the central portion of the stock cut
out and the outside surplus or skeleton are removed from the bed.
By previously coating the ornamental paper with shellac or the like and allowing
it to dry before use, not only may the panels and borders be caused to thoroughly
and uniformly adhere to the surface of the cardboard under the heat and pressure
(which was difficult of attainment in the old hand pasting process) but the work
may be done much quicker and with less liability of spoiling or soiling the mounts
by reason of using wet paste which was liable to exude past the edges of the panels
and borders and was liable otherwise to be smeared upon the surface thereof as
well as upon the surface of the cardboard. And by cutting out, embossing and
securing the previously coated panels and borders at one operation a saving of
operations is effected which considerably cheapens the manufacture, while at the
same time less skill is required and greater speed in the work is attained. In
addition the quality of the work is much superior to that formerly obtained, and
the loss due to imperfect work and soiling is almost entirely avoided.
My invention may be employed for mounting paper on cardboard for other
purposes than photographic mounts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing photographic mounts, the
mode of applying the panel or border to the surface of the cardboard, which
consists in placing together a sheet of cardboard and a sheet of ornamental paper
having a dry adhesive substance of the character specified, and in then causing
said ornamental paper to adhere to the cardboard by subjecting the same to heat
and pressure.
2. The mode of manufacturing photographic mounts, which consists in applying
a sheet of ornamental paper having a dry adhesive surface to the face of a sheet
of cardboard, and in then forcing the same against a heated die having an embossing
means and a cutting means, and thereby causing the ornamental paper to be
simultaneously cut out, embossed, and adhered to the cardboard.
3. The mode of making photographic mounts with embossed panels or borders,
which consists in applying to a sheet of ornamental paper an adhesive substance
which may be softened or dissolved under the action of heat, in laying such sheet
when dry upon the cardboard with the adhesive side of the paper to the face of the
cardboard, and in then simultaneously embossing and cutting out the ornamental
paper to form the panel or border, and at the same operation by means of the
pressure and also by the action of the heat, causing the said panel or border to
adhere to the surface of the cardboard.
4. The mode of uniting paper to cardboard which consists in applying to the
paper an adhesive substance which may be softened or dissolved under the action
of heat, in laying such paper when dry upon the cardboard with the adhesive side
of the paper to the face of the cardboard, and in then simultaneously embossing
and cutting out the paper, and at the same operation by means of the pressure and
also by the action of the heat causing the said paper to adhere to the surface, of
the cardboard.
5. The method of uniting paper to a support which consists in applying to the
support a paper having its back provided with a dry adhesive substance which
may be softened or dissolved under the action of heat, and in then, by means of
pressure and by the action of heat, causing the said paper to adhere to the surface
of said support.
6. The mode of uniting paper to a support which consists in applying to the
paper an adhesive substance which may be softened or dissolved under the action
of heat, in then laying such paper when dry upon the support with the adhesive

page_text: side of the paper to the face of the support, and in then by means of pressure and
also by the action of heat, causing the said paper to adhere to the surface of the
.said support.
Dated this 12th day of October 1896.
JAMES WILLIAM MCCABE.