IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEAPOTS AND OTHER HOLLOW ARTICLES OR VESSELS OF METAL
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Maxfield and Joshua Maxfield, of 139,
Arundel Street, Sheffield, in the County of York, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEAPOTS AND OTHER HOLLOW
ARTICLES OR VESSELS OF METAL."
Scaled the 5th August 1873, and dated the 28th May 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Maxfield and
Joshua Maxfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 28th May 1873.
WC, JOHN MAXFIELD and JOSHUA MAXFIELD, of 139, Arundel Street,
Sheffield, in the County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEAPOTS AND OTHER
HOLLOW ARTICLES OR VESSELS OF METAL," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
teapots and other hollow articles or vessels of metal.
In order to produce teapots and such like metal articles without a
join or seam in the body of the vessel I proceed as follows:-I first raiso
the metal, by the well-known process of stamping, into the form of a

page_text: bowl of the full diameter of the vessel it is desired to make. The mouth
of the bowl is by this process necessarily left larger in diameter than
any other portions of the vessel, neither by stamping can any re-entering
hollow be formed in the side of the vessel. I next proceed to contract
the mouth or other part of this bowl-like vessel so as to lessen its
diameter where the pattern may require, and this I do by squeezing the
vessel at the part where a contraction is required between a pair of tools,
which when they come together form an oval collar, the smaller diameter
of which is somewhat less than that of the bowl or vessel at the part
where the contraction is to be made. I squeeze the vessel repeatedly
between these tools, turning it partly round between each pressure, and
in this way a contracted neck is commenced to be formed.
In order to carry the contraction further the vessel is passed on to
another similar but smaller pair of tools, and so it is operated upon in
the manner already described by a series of tools until the full con-
traction desired has been produced.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Maxfield and Joshua Maxfield in the Great
Scal Patent Office on the 28th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
MAXFIELD and JOSHUA MAXFIELD, of 139, Arundel Street, Sheffield, in
the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her:
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said John Maxfield and Joshua
Maxfield, Her special license that we, the said John Maxfield and Joshua
Maxfield, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said John Maxfield and Joshua Maxfield, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term

page_text: 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 OF TEAPOTS AND OTHER HOLLOW ARTICLES OR VESSELS OF
METAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John
Maxfield and Joshua Maxfield, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 we, the said John Maxfield and Joshua
Maxfield, 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:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
teapots and other hollow articles or vessels of metal.
In order to produce teapots and such like metal articles without a
join or seam in the body of the vessel we proceed as follows:-We first
raise the metal, by the well-known process of stamping, into the form of
a bowl of the full diameter of the vessel it is desired to make. The
mouth of the bowl is by this process necessarily left larger in diameter
than any other portions of the vessel, neither by stamping can any
re-entering hollow be formed in the side of the vessel. We next proceed
to contract the mouth or other part of this bowl-like vessel so as to
lessen its diameter where the pattern may require, and this we do by
squeezing the vessel at the part where a contraction is required between
a pair of tools, which when they come together form an oval collar, the
smaller diameter of which is somewhat less than that of the bowl or
vessel at the part where the contraction is to be made. We squeeze the
vessel repeatedly between these tools, turning it partly round between
each pressure, and in this way a contracted neck is commenced to be
formed.
In order to carry the contraction further the vessel is passed on to

page_text: the manner already described by a series of tools until the full con-
traction desired has been produced.
The metal is annealed from time to time when it is found to be
necessary.
In order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we have in the Drawings hereunto annexed shewn
illustrations of the process of constructing a cream jug as above
described.
Figure 1 of the Drawing shews a side view of the jug when finished;
Figure 2 shews a Diagram view of the metal bowl a, from which the
jug is to be formed, and of the progressive contractions which are to be
formed in it to bring it to the shape desired; Figure 3 shews a side
view; and Figure 4 a plan of the pair of tools for forming the first
contraction in the bowl; Figure 5 shews a side view of the pair of tools
for forming the second contraction. The other pairs of tools for forming
the successive contractions are of a similar construction, but are pro-
gressively of smaller and smaller size.
The bowl a as above stated is first formed by the well-known process
of stamping. The part of the bowl to be contracted is then placed
between the first pair of squeezing tools and is repeatedly squeezed
between them, the bowl being turned partly round after each pressure.
In this way the bowl is contracted to the form of the dotted line 1,
Figure 2; it is then annealed and afterwards operated upon by the
second pair of tools, which reduce it to the form of the dotted line 2, and
so on until the bowl has been reduced to the required size. It is then
finally pressed in a similar manner between a pair of pressing tools, such
as shewn at Figure 6, which are shaped to fit the whole body, and are
of the form required for the finished jug. The upper part of the bowl
is then cut away to bring the mouth of the jug to the shape desired; a
handle may also if desired be soldered on to the jug in the usual
manner.
In a similar manner teapots and other such like hollow metal articles
may be produced without a join or seam in the body of the vessel, the
form of the pressing tools and the number of tools employed being varied
according to the shape required to be produced.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, we would have it understood that we claim, the

page_text: manufacture of teapots and other such like hollow metal articles by the
process substantially as herein described, so as to produce them without
a join or seam in the body of the vessel.
In witness whereof, the said John Maxfield and Joshua Maxfield,
have hereunto set hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-three.
JOHN MAXFIELD.
(L.S.)
JOSHUA MAXFIELD. (L.S.)
November 25th, 1873.