IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUC- THON-OF-PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES
Year: 1869

page_text: LOCANDON & PATENT]
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
ROBERT MATHER SAWYER, of No. 36, Rathbone Place, in the County of Middlesex,
Photographer, WALTER STRICKLAND BIRD, of No. 36, Rathbone Place, Photo-
grapher and PAUL FREDERICK BIRD, of No. 16, Hyde Park Place, in the County
of Middlesex, Esquire, severally send greeting.
aforscald
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victorin, by Her Letters Patent
under the Great Seal of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster,
the Third day of February, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and
Numbered 336, did for herself, her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto John
Robert Johnson, of Number 5, Haymarket, in the County of Middlesex, Director of
the Autotype Printing and Publishing Company, Limited, Her special licence that
he, the said. John Robert Johnson, his executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as he, the, said John Robert Johnson, his executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term of Fourteen years from the date of the said
Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and-Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the
Isle of Man, an Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUC-
THON-OF-PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES:
And whereas in pursuance and performance of a proviso in the said--Letters
Patent contained, the said John Robert-Johnson, did,-within six calendar months
next after the date of the said Letters Patent, cause a Specification in writing under
his hand and seal; particularly describing the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, to be duly filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office:

page_text: John Robert Johnson of the one part and the Autotype Printing and Publishing
Company Limited of the other part, and duly registered in the Great Seal Patent
Office, the said Letters Patent and Invention were assigned to the Autotype
Printing and Publishing Company Limited:
And whereas by an Indenture dated the Twenty-ninth day of September, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, made between the Autotype Printing
and Publishing Company Limited of the one part and the Autotype Fine Art
Company Limited of the other part, and duly registered in the Great Seal Patent
Office, the said Letters Patent and Invention were duly assigned to the Autotype
Fine Art Company Limited:
and
And whereas by an Indenture dated the Twelfth day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three, made between the Autotype Fine Art Company
Limited and Thomas Lace Caley, the liquidator of the said company, appointed as
therein mentioned of the one part, and John Alexander Spencer, ▲ us, the said
John Robert Mather Sawyer and Walter Strickland Bird of the other part, and
duly registered in the Great Seal Patent Office, the said Letters Patent and Inven-
tion were duly assigned to the said John Alexander Spencer, and us, the said John
Robert Mather Sawyer and Walter Strickland Bird:
And whereas by a mortgage dated the First day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-four, and made between the said John Alexander Spencer,
John Robert Mather Sawyer, and Walter Strickland Bird, of the one part, and me,
the said Paul Frederick Bird, of the other part, and duly-registered in the Great
Seal Patent Office, the said Letters Patent and Invention were duly assigned to me,
the said Paul Frederick Bird, subject to a proviso for redemption, as therein
mentioned:
And whereas by an Indenture dated the Thirtieth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven, made between the said John Alexander Spencer
of the one part, and us the said John Robert Mather Sawyer and Walter Strickland
Bird of the other part, and duly registered in the Great Seal Patent Office, all the
interest of him, the said John Alexander Spencer, in the said Letters Patent and
Invention, was assigned to us, the said John Robert Mather Sawyer and Walter
Strickland Bird:
And whereas we have been advised that it is doubtful whether the improvements
described in the said Specification as "the first improvement," "the second improve-
ment," and "the third improvement" are respectively new, and as the same
respectively have not come into general use, we are desirous of disclaiming so much
of the said Specification as describes or claims the said first, second, and third
improvements, and of further altering the said Specification, so that it may not be
capable of being so construed as to include and claim anything which is not new,
and of further amending the said Specification by correcting the following clerical
error, that is to say, we strike out the first letter "o" in the word "anologue" in
the thirty-second line of the tenth page, and substiute therefor the letter "a."
and Paul Frederick Bird,
Solicitor
NOW KNOW YE that we, the said John Robert Mather Sawyer, Walter
Strickland Bird, a by and with the leave of Her Majesty's Attorney General,
do hereby, for the reasons aforesaid, and for effecting the objects aforesaid, insert
after the word "in" in the eleventh line of the seventh page of the print
of the said Specification printed by the Queen's Printers, and published at the
Great Seal Patent Office, the words "some of." And we strike out of the said
Specification the whole of the passage commencing with the words "1. Now my
first improvement," in the seventh line of the eighth page of the same Specification,
and ending with the words "behind them" in the thirtieth line of the tenth page
thereof; and we also strike out from the thirty-first line of the same tenth page the
figure and words "4. My fourth improvement consists," and we inserst. in lieu
thereof the figure and words "1. My first improvement consists;" and we strike
out from the thirty-seventh line of the same tenth page of the said Specification the
words "and the tissue be well exposed;" and we strike out from the said Specification

page_text: 33
the whole of the passage commencing with the words "even if" in the seventeenth
line of the eleventh page thereof, and ending with the words "impure surface" in
the eighteenth line of the same page; and we strike out from the said Specification
the whole of the passage beginning with the words "or the resinous cement" in the
fourteenth line of the twelfth page thereof, and ending with the word "together"
in the seventeenth line of the same page; and we strike out from the thirty-fourth
and thirty-fifth lines of the same page the words "under this fourth head of my
improvements," and insert in lieu thereof the words "under this first head of my
improvements;" and we strike out the word "permanent" in the last line of the
said twelfth page, and we insert in the said last line of the same page the words
"herein referred to" after the word "support;" and we strike out from the eighth
line of the thirteenth page of the said Specification the figure and words "5. My
fifth improvement consists," and insert in lieu thereof the figure and words "2. My
second improvement consists."
And in order that it may be clearly understood what is the Invention which we
now consider to be secured by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, we
shall proceed to repeat (omitting preamble and teating clause) the said Specification
as proposed to be amended by this present Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration,
as follows:-
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Robert Johnson, 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 first improvement consists of a new mode of obtaining photographic images
in pigmented gelatine or its analogue, upon plates of metal, glass, or other substance
impermeable to water, which plates may be used either as permanent or temporary
supports, dispensing in the latter case with the india-rubber paper heretofore used
for this purpose.
This improvement is based upon the observation, that if the support be imper-
meable to water, no cementing material is necessary to effect the adhesion necessary
for mounting the tissue upon its support, all that is necessary being the perfect
exclusion of air between the moistened surface of the tissue impressed by light and
the impermeable surface to receive the picture as its support. I effect thisby
wetting the tissue and laying it upon the metal or other surface, and sponging or
rubbing the back of the printed tissue so as to drive out air with the superfluous
moisture, as in mounting a print upon card.
To effect perfect and permanent adhesion, the surface of the glass or metal
forming the support must be chemically clean, particularly when such surface is
polished. To avoid the necessity of thus cleaning the surface, I occasionally cover
the surface with a very thin layer of plain collodion, using for this purpose a collodion
containing about one or two grains of cotton to the ounce of ether and alcohol
forming the solvent. When the collodion is set, but not dry, I plunge it into water
to wash off the solvents until the greasy appearance has ceased; I then lay upon
the plate thus prepared the wetted tissue; when the picture is completed, it adheres
to the glass with great tenacity by surface adhesion only. Pictures thus mounted
upon glass or metal, as their permanent support may not only be used as pleasing
pictures but can be employed in various processes as a model or pattern to obtain
casts or impressions, either by means of pressure, by the electrotype process, or by
casting.
The hardened gelatine picture, either negative or positive, on a plate of zinc,
copper, or steel, may be also used as a resist which enables us to etch the plate or
to gild it for the purpose of etching it, subsequently with the object of producing
a plate in intaglio or relief for the purpose of printing therefrom. When the plates of
metal, glass, or other impermeable substance are used as temporary supports, such
plates must have received some slight smear or coating of wax or other fatty body
to prevent the absolute adhesion of the picture film. Instead of wax alone, I find

page_text: equal parts of wax and yellow resin dissolved in turpentine to give the best smearing
compound. This is rubbed over the plate and immediately rubbed off again with
a piece of clean flannel, leaving only a very thin coating.
When polished glass plates are used as the support instead of the wax and resin,
I prefer to use a coating of the thin collodion already described to prevent the
adhesion, but in this case the collodion coating must be allowed to dry before
immersion in water. The film so formed then readily leaves the glass attached to
the print, which retains the polish of the temporary support. Plates thus prepared
allow of pigment gelatine images being formed on their surface, not only by deve-
lopment in the way described, but indirectly, by employing the image formed by
developement, and as a model or pattern for obtaining a mould from which other
and similar gelatine images are obtained by casting, and images thus formed may
equally be transferred to paper in the way described. The nature of the surface of
the support will determine the resulting surface of the gelatine image.
A polished surface will give a polished surface to the print. If a mat or grain
surface be required, the support must be grained or tooled to give that surface.
The gelatine image may be transferred to paper while in the wet state by
bringing into contact with it a piece of paper coated with gelatine or other analogous
substance, or, which is preferable, the image may be allowed to dry upon its support,
and the prepared paper soaked in water may be laid upon it, air being carefully
excluded. I also transfer the print from its temporary support to a sheet of imitation
ivory, as in the so-called eburneum process, or to a sheet of imitation porcelain or
marble formed of plaster or other plastic substance.
When the print is required to be mounted upon a fabric I take fine muslin or
other porous fabric, and after wetting it, I lay it over the print upon its temporary
support, and I spread over the muslin or fabric any of the before-mentioned cements
mixed with whiting or other pigment. This compound penetrates to the surface of
the print, thoroughly expelling air, and when dry, perfect contact is effected. The
muslin or fabric can then be lined with canvas, as is well understood.
out
If the picture be very large, and be formed of several negatives, I mount the
several parts upon paper or other flexible support, either coated with india-rubber,
as already practiced, or as above described; I cut the several parts, wet them,
and lay them down well matched upon a drawing board, and I then proceed to
or
mount them upon, A rather under, the muslin or fabric as already said.
serving
I claim as my Invention under this first head of my improvement.—
First. The formation of the mounting of the gelatine image formed, as described,
upon a sheet of glass, metal, or other impermeable surface as the support
herein referred to, without the intervention of any cementing material, to be used
as pictures or as models, moulds for producing engraved plates, or otherwise.
Second. The mode of transferring images of gelatine mounted upon the surface
of plates of glass or metal from such surface (serving as a temporary support) to
the surface of paper or the like material by means of an intervening film of wax or
other substance having the like properties.
2. My second improvement consists in another mode of transferring the picture
in one or many parts from its temporary to its permanent support for the purpose
of being painted upon in oil or being varnished. I mount the picture in this case
upon paper rendered transparent by wax, paraffin, or any fatty matters not fusible
at the temperature used for developing the gelatine pigment prints. When the
developed print is quite dry I varnish the surface of the permanent support which
is to receive it, such as wood panel or oil canvas, I varnish also the face of the
picture, and if of several parts I carefully match these. The two varnished surfaces,
when nearly dry, are then rubbed down together, and when in perfect contact the
back of the waxed paper is warmed, and then leaves the pigment film perfectly
attached to the panel or canvas. Before the picture is transferred it may be tinted

page_text: or painted, and if painted with opaque color it may be laid over another picture
without the latter being seen. Thus I form composition pictures by laying down a
landscape background, for example, upon the canvas, and upon it I place figures
trimmed to their contours, and which have received a coating of white or colored
opaque varnish at the back. These then shew as perfect forms without the landscape
or other background interfering, and as the gelatine film is extremely thin the
superposition is not visible.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Robert Mather Sawyer, Walter
Strickland Bird, and Paul Frederick Bird, have hereunto set our hands and
seals, this Seventeenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
I hereby grant my Fiat, giving leave to the above-named John Robert Mather
Sawyer, Walter Strickland Bird, and Paul Frederick Bird, as Assignees of the said
Letters Patent, to file in the Great Seal Patent Office with the Specification to
which the same relates, the above written Disclaimer and Memorandum of
Alteration.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Robert Johnson, of 5, Haymarket, in
the County of Middlesex, Director of the Autotype Printing and
Publishing Company, Limited, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Robert Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 3rd February 1869.
I, JOHN ROBERT JOHNSON, of 5, Haymarket, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Director of the Autotype Printing and Publishing Company,
Limited, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM.
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES,"
to be as follows:

page_text: sensitive to light, by the action of which it becomes insoluble in warm
water..
2. The spreading of the gelatine upon paper or other "
form a " tissue."
"
support
to
3. The mounting of the tissue after it has been exposed to light upon
2
paper or other " support for the purpose of developement, that is, for
the removal by washing of the gelatine which remains unacted upon by
light, leaving that which has been acted upon and rendered insoluble to
constitute the picture. If the picture be retained upon the paper or
other support upon which it has been developed it is called a permanent
support, and the images of the picture are then reversed. In this
case it has been usual to employ albumen, coagulated by alcohol or
by heat, and gelatine rendered partly insoluble by the alums as the
cementing material.
6
66
4. To avoid the objection of obtaining reversed pictures it has been
usual to mount the picture upon a temporary support," in which case
paper is prepared with an adhesive coating of india-rubber or other
substance soluble in benzole, and the face of the gelatinous tissue after
exposure to light is also coated with a solution of the same substances,
and when dry these are brought together under heavy pressure to effect
adhesion. The mounted tissue is then developed, the resulting reversed
picture being supported upon the india-rubber paper. The picture thus
obtained is then mounted upon or cemented to paper by means of
gelatine or gelatine rendered partly insoluble by the alums. The india-
rubber paper is moistened at the back with benzole and may be then
torn from the face of the print which is left upon the permanent gelatine
support, the image of the picture being in their correct or non-reversed
position.
1. Now my first improvement consists of a new mode of treating the
pigment to be used in the production of these pictures, which is required
for this purpose to be in the finest possible state of division, and has
hitherto only been successfully used in a moist condition fresh from the
mill or grinder. If kept for some time after grinding aggregation takes
place among the particles of the pigment, and the results are then no
longer of the same degree of perfection. A moist pigment, unless
specially treated, is also of unequal density and cannot be used con-
veniently to obtain definite shades of colour, equal portions of such
pigment giving unequal depth of colour. I obviate this inconvenience

page_text: by mixing thoroughly by mechanical uneans the pigments, black, red,
white, or other colours, with gelatine and sugar, these being in much
smaller proportion than that which is required for the production of the
sensitive compound, and I pour the mixture upon a slab or surface
where it is allowed to set and dry. The sheet of prepared pigments is
then cut up into leaves or cakes. I prepare in the same manner trans-
parent or colourless sheets or cakes of: the gelatine or similar substance
mixed with its proper quantity of sugar or like material, and I form the
tissue compound of variable tint by using variable quantities of these,
that is, of the prepared pigment and of the transparent or colourless
compound, the result being definite and the pigment in its most perfect
state of division; and by pigment I mean not only those pigments used
in oil or water colour painting, but those used for painting upon glass,
enamel, and ceramic surfaces. In addition to the pigments just referred
to I also use dyes and other colouring matters soluble and insoluble.
mix these .also with gelatine and sugar or their analogues, and dry them
for the purpose of giving colour to the tissue compound.
I
2. My second improvement consists in a new mode of making tissue
in continuous lengths, and of modes of using the gelatine compound
without the necessity of forming the ordinary tissue. I manufacture tissue
in long or short lengths by rolling the paper as it leaves the mill upon a
roller in a continuous length and bringing it from such roller in contact
with the surface of the gelatine solution by means of an endless band of
canvas or other fabric stretched upon rollers, which band may con-
veniently rest upon the roller carrying the paper. When the endless
hand is set in motion it draws off the paper from the roller without any
tension upon the paper itself, and thus admits of indefinite lengths being
made continuously instead of operating intermittingly with single sheets
or sheets of definate length made into endless bands as has heretofore been
done. Or I avoid the necessity of forming the ordinary gelatinous tissue
by proceeding as follows:-I spread the gelatine compound upon a layer
or film of wax, paraffin, or similar substance supported upon a plate of
metal, japanned panel, oiled cloth, or other impermeable substance, and
I expose this under a negative and cement the exposed face to another
surface. I then warm the metal panel or cloth to soften the wax or
similar substance, when the gelatine layer separates attached to the
support to which it has been cemented, and is then subjected to the
ordinary treatment; or I spread the gelatine compound upon a layer

page_text: or film of wax or similar material supported by a transparent support of
glass, and when dry I print through the glass by means of the camera
or by parallel rays, or by rays proceeding from a luminous point, and I
develope the picture upon the glass as a temporary support.
Or I place
the layer or film of wax or similar substance upon the negative itself,
and after exposure I develope it upon the negative and transfer to a
permanent support in the usual way.
3. My third improvement consists of the substitution of resinous and
other substances which may be rendered soluble in water but which
become insoluble when dry in place of the substances hitherto used for
cementing the pigment picture to its permanent support, such as
albumen or gelatine rendered only partly insoluble, and which are liable
to putridity and decomposition in a moist atmosphere. The substances
I prefer are colophony or pine resin, shell lac, or their analogues, dis-
solved in water to which a caustic alkali or other substance having the
like solvent property has been added. The new cements may be used
either spread upon paper and brought in contact with the wetted tissue,
or paper and tissue may be moistened with water and then brought
together in a solution of the cement so as to expel air bubbles and bring
the two surfaces into contact with a thin layer of the cement between
them, as described by Swan in the Year Book of Photography, 1868, in
respect to a compound of gelatine and chrome alum. When dry the
adhesion is complete and the mounted may be developed as usual.
I have assumed paper to be the permanent support, but other surfaces
may be so employed, as glass, porcelain, or prepared canvas, and when
glass is used as the permanent. support it is obvious that the pictures
are not reversed when seen through the glass either as transparencies or
with a white backing behind.
: 4. My fourth improvement consists of the substitution of plates of
metal, glass, or other substance for the india-rubber paper as a temporary
support during development. This improvement is based upon the
observation that if the support be impermeable to water and the tissue
be well exposed no cementing material is necessary to effect the adhesion
necessary for mounting the tissue upon its support during developement,
all that is necessary being the perfect exclusion of air between the
moistened surface of the tissue impressed by light and the impermeable
surface to receive the picture as its support. I effect this by wetting the
tissue and laying it upon the metal or other surface and sponging or

page_text: rubbing the back of the printed tissue so as to drive out air with the
superflous moisture, as in mounting a print upon card.
For greater
certainty however where the prints contain large surfaces of white I give
the metal a preliminary coating of the resinous cement herein-before
mentioned. When the support is only temporary the metal plate must
have received some slight smear or coating of wax or other fatty
body to prevent the absolute adhesion of the picture film after develope-
ment. The nature of the surface of the metal support will determine
the resulting surface of the picture.. A polished surface of the metals.
will give a polished surface to the print. If a mat or grained surface be
required the metal support must be grained or tooled to give that
surface. I prefer sheets of planished zinc or tin as the support, but
sheets of glass, porcelain, oil cloth, japanned or oiled paper, and other
materials may be used, that is, any plain surface non-permeable to
water. The developed print may be allowed to dry upon the plate, or
may be brought in contact with the paper while wet, as is well under-
stood; I prefer however to use the resinous cements already referred to
in my third improvement. I also transfer the print from its metal or³
other temporary support to a sheet of imitation ivory, porcelain, or
marble. When the print is required to be mounted on a fabric I take
fine muslin or other porous fabric, and after wetting it .I lay it over the
print upon its temporary support, and I spread over the muslin or fabric
any of the before-mentioned cements mixed with whiting or other
pigment. This compound penetrates to the surface of the print,
thoroughly expelling air, and when dry perfect contact is effected. The
muslin or fabric can then be lined with canvas as is well understood.
If the picture be very large and be formed of several negatives I mount
the several parts upon paper or other flexible support either by means
of india-rubber, as already practised, or as above described. I cut out
the several parts, wet them, and lay them down well matched upon a
drawing board, and I then proceed to mount them upon or rather under
the muslin or fabric, as already said.
5. My fifth improvement consists in transferring the picture in one or
many parts from its temporary to its permanent support for the purpose
of being painted upon in oil or being varnished. I mount the picture
in this case upon paper rendered transparent by wax, paraffin, or any
fatty matter not fusible at the temperature used for developing the
gelatine pigment prints. When the developed print is quite dry I

page_text: varnish the surface of the permanent support which is to receive it,.
such as wood, panel, or oil canvas. I varnish also the face of the picture,
and if of several parts I carefully match these. The two varnished
surfaces when nearly dry are then rubbed down together, and when in
perfect contact the back of the waxed paper is warmed and then leaves
the pigment film perfectly attached to the panel or canvas. Before the
picture is transferred it may be tinted or printed, and if painted with
opaque colour it may be laid over another picture without the latter being
seen. Thus I form composition pictures by laying down a landscape
background, for example, upon the canvas, and upon it I place figures
trimmed to their contours and which have received a coating of white
or coloured opaque varnish at the back. These then shew: as perfect
forms without the landscape or other background interfering, and as
the gelatine film is extremely thin the superposition is not visible.
SPECIFICATION
in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Robert Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd August 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROBERT JOHNSON, of 5, Haymarket, in the County of Middlesex, Director
of the Autotype Printing and Publishing Company, Limited, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Robert Johnson, Her special
licence that I, the said John Robert Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Robert Johnson,
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 THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Robert Johnson,

page_text: my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Robert Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 of certain improvements in the operations by
which photographic pictures in carbon or other pigments are obtained.
These operations are usually as follows:-
1. The mixing of the pigment with gelatine or its analogue, and with
sugar or its analogue, and with a bi-chromate to render the compound
sensitive to light, by the action of which it become insoluble in warm
water.
2. The spreading of the gelatine upon paper or other " support " to
form a " tissue."
33
3. The mounting of the tissue after it has been exposed to light upon
paper or other "
support for the purpose of developement, that is, for
the removal by washing of the gelatine which remains unacted upon by
light, leaving that which has been acted upon and rendered insoluble to
constitute the picture. If the picture be retained upon the paper or
other support upon which it has been developed it is called a permanent
support," and the images of the picture are then reversed. In this
case it has been usual to employ albumen, coagulated by alcohol or by
heat, and gelatine rendered partially insoluble by the alums as the
cementing material.
66
66
4. To avoid the objection of obtaining reversed pictures it has been
usual to mount the picture upon a temporary support," in which case
paper is prepared with an adhesive coating of india-rubber or other
substance soluble in benzole, and the face of the gelatinous tissue after
exposure to light is also coated with a solution of the same substances,
and when dry they are brought together under heavy pressure to effect
adhesion. The mounted tissue is then developed, the resulting
reversed picture being supported upon the india-rubber paper, The

page_text: "
picture thus obtained is then " mounted upon or cemented to paper
by means of gelatine, or gelatine rendered partially insoluble by the
alumis. When dry the india-rubber paper is moistened at the back with
benzole, and may be then torn from the face of the print, which is left
upon the permanent gelatine support, the images of the picture being
thus brought into their correct or non-reversed' position.
'
1. Now my first improvement consists of a new mode of treating the
pigment to be used in the production of these pictures, and which is
required for this purpose to be in the finest possible state of division,
and has hitherto only been successfully used in a moist condition fresh
from the mill or grinder.. If kept for some time after grinding aggre-
gation takes place among the particles of the pigment, and the results
are then no longer of the same degree of perfection. A moist pigment
unless specially treated is also of unequal density, and cannot be used
conveniently to obtain definite shades of color, equal portions of such
pigment giving unequal depth of color. I obviate this inconvenience
by mixing thoroughly by mechanical means the finely ground pigments,
black, red, or other colors, with gelatine and sugar, these being in much
smaller proportion than that which is required for the production of the
sensitive compound, say four parts of the gelatine and two of sugar to
one part of the dry color, but these proportions may be greatly varied,
and I pour the mixture upon a slab or surface where it is allowed to
set and dry. The sheet of prepared pigments is then cut up into leaves
or cakes. I prepare in the same manner transparent or colorless sheets
or cakes of the gelatine or similar substance mixed with its proper
quantity of sugar or light material, and I form the tissue of variable
tint by dissolving variable quantities of these, that is, of the prepared
gelatinized pigment and of the transparent or colorless compound, and
spreading the tissue compound so prepared upon paper, as is well under-
stood, the result being definite, and the pigment being. in its most
perfect state of division; and by pigment I mean not only those pig-
ments used in oil or water color painting, but those used for painting
upon glass, enamel, and ceramic surfaces. In addition to the pigments
just referred to I also use dyes and other coloring matters, soluble and
insoluble. I mix these also with gelatine and sugar or their analogues,
and dry them for the purpose of giving colour to the tissue compound.
2. My second improvement consists in a new method of making
tissue in continuous lengths, and of modes of using the gelatine com-

page_text: This
pound without the necessity of forming the ordinary tissue, I
manufacture tissue in long or short lengths by rolling the paper as it
leaves the mill upon a roller in a continuous sheet, and bringing it from
such roller in contact with the surface of the pigmented gelatine
solution by means of an endless band of canvas or other fabric stretched
upon rollers, which band may conveniently rest upon the roller carrying
the paper. When the endless band is set in motion it draws off the paper
from the rollers without any tension upon the paper itself, and thus
admits of indefinite lengths being made continuously instead of operating
intermittently with single sheets or sheets of definite length made into
endless bands, as has heretofore been done; the length of which sheets
is greatly limited by the small amount of tension which the paper when
wet will bear. Instead of the endless band of canvas stretched upon
rollers a simple roller of wood or other material may be used.
is driven by hand or power while the long roll of paper rests upon it,
the paper being thus unwound by the friction of the driven roller,
instead of by the endless cloth, as is in the former case, the principle being
the same, that is, the paper is delivered to or brought in contact with
the surface of the tissue compound in solution without any tension or
strain upon the paper itself.
Or I avoid the necessity of forming the
ordinary gelatinous tissue with its support of porous paper by proceeding
as follows:-I spread the gelatine compound upon a layer or film of wax,
paraffin, or similar substance supported upon a plate of metal, japannėd
panel, oiled cloth, varnished paper, or other impermeable substance, and
I expose this under a negative and attach the exposed face to another
surface. I then warm the metal panel or other impermeable substance
to soften the wax or it analogue. The metal panel or other imper-
meable substance may then be removed, leaving the gelatine layer
attached to the support to which it has been cemented, and it is then
subjected to the ordinary treatment. If the fatty matter employed to
form the film be fusible at the temperature required for developing the
picture, the support upon which the gelatine layer has been formed
separates without any further application of heat, leaving that layer
fully exposed to the action of the water; or I.spread the gelatine com-
pound upon a layer or film of wax or similar material (which in this
case must be infusible at the temperature at which the picture is
developed) spread upon a transparent -support of glass, and when dry I
print through the glass by means of the camera, or by parallel rays, or
by rays proceeding from a luminous point, and I develope the picture

page_text: upon the glass as a temporary support.
Or I place the layer or film of
wax or similar substance upon the negative itself, and after exposure I
develope it upon the negative, and transfer to a permanent support in the
usual way. And here I would have it understood that I do not claim this
mode of operating with the sensitive compound upon the negative or
glass support, except so far as regards the intervening film of wax,
which enables me to transfer the developed picture from the negative or
other temporary glass support to its final support of paper or other
material.
3. My third improvement consists of the substitution of resinous and
other substances which may be rendered soluble in water but which
become insoluble when dry for cementing the pigment picture to its
permanent support in place of the substances hitherto used for this
purpose, such as albumen or gelatine rendered only partially insoluble.
The substances I prefer are colophony or pine resin, shell lac, or their
analogues dissolved in water, to which caustic, ammonia, or other
substance having the like solvent property has been added.
The new
cements may be used either spread upon paper and brought in contact
with the wetted tissue, or the paper and tissue may be moistened with
water and then brought together in a solution of the cement, so as to
expel air bubbles and bring the two surfaces into contact with a thin
layer of the cement between them, as described by Swan in the Year
Book of Photography, 1868, in respect to a compound of gelatine and
chrome alum. When dry the adhesion is complete and the mounted
tissue may be developed as usual. I have assumed paper to be the
permanent support, but other surfaces may be so employed, as glass,
porcelain, or prepared canvas. And when glass is used as the per-
manent support it is obvious that the pictures are not reversed when
seen through the glass either as transparencies or with a white backing
behind them.
4. My fourth improvement consists of a new mode of obtaining photo-
graphic images in pigmented gelatine or its anologue upon plates of
metal, glass, or other substance impermeable to water, which plates
may be used either as permanent or temporary supports, dispensing in the
latter case with the india-rubber paper heretofore used for this purpose.
This improvement is based upon the observation that if the support be
impermeable to water and the tissue be well exposed no cementing
material is necessary to effect the adhesion necessary for mounting the

page_text: tissue upon its support, all that is necessary being the perfect exclusion
of air between the moistened surface of the tissue impressed by light
and the impermeable surface to receive the picture as its support. I
effect this by wetting the tissue and laying it upon the metal or other
surface, and sponging or rubbing the back of the printed tissue, so as
to drive out air with the superfluous moisture, as in mounting a print
upon card.
To effect perfect and permanent adhesion the surface of
the glass or metal forming the supports must be chemically clean,
particularly when such surface is polished. To avoid the necessity of
thus cleaning the surface I occasionally cover the surface with a very
thin layer of plain collodion, using for this purpose a collodion containing
about one
or two grains of cotton to the ounce of ether and alcohol
forming the solvent. When the collodion is set, but not dry, I plunge
it into water to wash off the solvents until the greasy appearance has
ceased. I then lay upon the plate thus prepared the wetted tissue.
When the picture is completed it adheres to the glass with great
tenacity by surface adhesion only, even if such glass had had a slightly
greasy or otherwise impure surface. Pictures thus mounted upon
glass or metal as their permanent support may not only be used as
pleasing pictures but can be employed in various processes as a model
or pattern to obtain casts or impressions either by means of pressure
by the electrotype process or by casting. The hardened gelatine picture,
either negative or positive, on a plate of zinc, copper, or steel may be
also used as a resist, which enables us to etch the plate, or to gild it
for the purpose of etching it subsequently, with the object of producing
a plate in intaglio or relief for the purpose of printing therefrom. When
the plates of metal, glass, or other impermeable substance are used as
temporary supports such plates must have received some slight smear
or coating of wax or other fatty body to prevent the absolute adhesion
of the picture film. Instead of wax alone I find equal parts of wax
and yellow resin dissolved in turpentine to give the best smearing
compound. This is rubbed over the plate, and immediately rubbed off
again with a piece of clean flannel, leaving only a very thin coating.
When polished glass plates are used as the support instead of the wax
and resin I prefer to use a coating of the thin collodion already de-
scribed to prevent the adhesion, but in this case the collodion coating
must be allowed to dry before immersion in water. The film so formed
then readily leaves the glass attached to the print, which retains the
polish of the temporary support. Plates thus prepared allow of pigment

page_text: gelatine images being formed on their surface not only by developement
in the way described but indirectly by employing the image formed by
developement, as a model or pattern for obtaining a mould from which
other and similar gelatine images are obtained by casting, and images
thus formed may equally be transferred to paper in the way described.
The nature of the surface of the support will determine the resulting
surface of the gelatine images. A polished surface will give a polished
surface to the print. If a mat or grain surface be required the support
must be grained or tooled to give that surface. The gelatine image
may be transferred to paper while in the wet state by bringing into
contact with it a piece of paper coated with gelatine or other analogous
substance, or, which is preferable, the image may be allowed to dry
upon its support and the prepared paper soaked in water may be
laid upon it, air being carefully excluded. Or the resinous cements
already referred to in my third improvement may be used, giving to
the dried image coating of the shellac solution, and to the paper
a similar coating, and then bringing the two wet surfaces together.
I also transfer the print from its temporary support to
imitation ivory, as in the so-called eburneum process, or to a sheet
of imitation porcelain or marble formed of plaster or other plastic
substance. When the print is required to be mounted upon a fabric
I take fine muslin or other porous fabric, and after wetting it I lay it
over the print upon its temporary support, and I spread over the
muslin or fabric any of the before-mentioned cements mixed with
whiting or other pigment. This compound penetrates to the surface
of the print, thoroughly expelling air, and when dry perfect contact is
effected. The muslin or fabric can then be lined with canvas, as is
well understood. If the picture be very large and be formed of several
negatives I mount the several parts upon paper or other flexible support,
either coated with india-rubber as already practiced; or, as above described,
I cut out the several parts, wet them, and lay them down well matched
upon a drawing board, and I then proceed to mount them upon or
rather under the muslin or fabric as already said.
a sheet of
I claim as my Invention under this fourth head of my improve-
ments,―
First. The formation of the mounting of the gelatine image formed
as described upon a sheet of glass, metal, or other impermeable surface
serving as the permanent sunnort without the interand

page_text: cementing material to be used as pictures or as models, moulds for
producing engraved plates or otherwise.
Second. The mode of transferring images of gelatine mounted upon
the surface of plates of glass or metal from such surface (serving as a
temporary support) to the surface of paper or the like material by
means of an intervening film of wax or other substance having the like
properties.
The
5. My fifth improvement consists in another mode of transferring the
picture in one or many parts from its temporary to its permanent
support for the purpose of being painted upon in oil or being varnished.
I mount the picture in this case upon paper rendered transparent by
wax, paraffin, or any fatty matters not fusible at the temperature used
for developing the gelatine pigment prints. When the developed print
is quite dry I varnish the surface of the permanent support which is
to receive it, such as wood, panel, or oil canvas. I varnish also the
face of the picture, and if of several parts I carefully match these.
two varnished surfaces when nearly dry are then rubbed down together,
and when in perfect contact the back of the waxed paper is warmed,
and then leaves the pigment film perfectly attached to the panel or
canvas. Before the picture is transferred it may be tinted or painted,
and if painted with opaque color it may be laid over another picture
without the latter being seen. Thus form composition pictures by
laying down a landscape background, for example, upon the canvas, and
upon it I place figures trimmed to their contours and which have
received a coating of white or colored opaque varnish at the back.
These then shew as perfect forms without the landscape or other back-
ground interfering, and as the gelatine film is extremely thin the super-
position is not visible.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Robert Johnson, have