CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR PRODUCING METALLIC TISSUES, AND ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN SUCH TISSUES, APPLICABLE TO THE MAKING OF BUTTONS, EPAULETTES, TASSELS, AND OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH GOLD AND SILVER LACE OR BRAIDING IS COMMONLY EMPLOYED, AND TO THE MAKING OF IMITATIONS OF JEWELERY AND OTHER FANCY ARTICLES
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MILES
BERRY, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent and Mechanical Draftsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at'
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of August, in the second year of Her reign,
and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, did,"
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Miles
Berry, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Miles Berry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others' as
I, the said Miles Berry, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOOMS FOR PRODUCING
METALLIC TISSUES, AND ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN SUCH TISSUES, APPLICABLE TO THE
MAKING OF BUTTONS, EPAULETTES, TASSELS, AND OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH GOLD
AND SILVER LACE OR BRAIDING IS COMMONLY EMPLOYED, AND TO THE MAKING OF
IMITATIONS OF JEWELERY AND OTHER FANCY ARTICLES," being a communication from
a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said Miles Berry, by an instrument in writing under my hand

page_text: and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso contained in
the said recited Letters Patent, I, the said Miles Berry, do hereby declare that
the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, are particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
description thereof, reference being had. to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
or
This invention of certain improvements in looms for producing metallic
tissues, and also improvements in such tissues, relates to the weaving or pro-
ducing ornamental metallic tissues or fabrics of wire applicable to various
useful purposes for which ordinary gold and silver lace is commonly used; as,
for instance, in the making of different articles of ornamental dress, epaulettes,
bands, sashes, bindings, trimmings, tassels, buttons, and various other purposes
where gold and silver lace is now applied also to the covering of boxes, books,
card cases, and covering or forming various imitations of jewelery and other fancy
articles, and consists in weaving, making, forming such ornamental metallic
tissues entirely of strands of wire, either of gold, silver, silver gilt, copper gilt,
or other metal or mixtures of metal, which wires are woven into a tissue or
fabric, having patterns or ornamental devises thereon, by any suitable "engine,"
or "figuring loom;" such ornamental metallic tissues being composed entirely of
metal in contradistinction to the ordinary gold and silver lace, and have all the
variety of design or pattern and brilliancy of appearance of the finest figures or
brocaded silk or other fabric without their perishable qualities, and are capable
of being cleaned by boiling or washing with water or immersing in acid solution,
and gilded or silvered, or even soldered together, after they have been woven,
which cannot be done with tissues having silk, cotton, or other threads interwoven
in the fabric; the improvements in the looms for weaving such tissues or fabrics
being the application and adaptation of the well known jacquard mechanism or
apparatus for acting upon the warp strands or wires to produce the figure or
design, together with suitable mechanism, whereby the same is made or rendered
better applicable to the loom for this purpose; for when the jacquard apparatus
is applied in the ordinary manner, the abrupt or sudden action caused by the
treadles through the jacquard upon the warps, and also their great extent of
opening or separating to allow the shuttle to pass, is liable to break the 'metallic

page_text: strands, they not being so elastic or.capable of yielding longitudinally as warps of
silk or twisted fibrous material; and therefore a means. of remedying this evil is
adapted with the jacquard to. the loom. The rising motion of the head board
or top of the jacquard apparatus being first met by an elastic resistance, and then
stayed at the proper distance by an adjustable stop piece. I would here
remark; that I am aware that solid gold and silver or gilt wire has been hereto-
fore applied in the making of gold and silver lace, but it has only been used as
weft threads interwoven with warps, consisting of threads of silk or fibrous
materials, such warps being covered. (or nearly so) by the shoots of metal weft,
and having a small or finer binding warp thread of silk or fibrous material to
secure such metal weft in parts where it floats over several warps to produce
the figure of the pattern or design on the face of the fabric; and such com-
bination of metal and silk or other fibrous material. has heretofore only been
woven in an ordinary figuring loom without the jacquard apparatus: such lace
has all the disadvantages of the common gold and silver lace, composed entirely
of threads of silk or fibrous material (both warp and weft), covered by a thin
coating of metal wound. or coiled around: them. Also I would state that a
description of metallic tissue.has heretofore been woven in ordinary looms of
the simplest construction. (that is, without the means of producing figures or
designs), but this has been done only in broad pieces of plain fabric, the warp
and weft regularly interweaving with one another at each shoot of weft or
change of the sheds of warp (that is, one up and one down); and without any
design or ornamental pattern or figure, which woven wirework or fabric is appli-
cable to the making of window blinds, paper strainers, sieves, screens, fireguards,
and other purposes where the same may be used. Therefore' I wish it to be
understood that I do not intend to claim as this Invention or improvements
the making or forming of any fabric or tissue in which wires or strands of
metal are used, interwoven with threads of silk or fibrous material, neither
the making of a broad plain tissue or fabric of wire with the warp and weft
regularly interwoven with each other at each change of warp, as in ordinary
woven wirework.
I will now proceed to describe how this Invention is to be carried into effect,
and first state the process of annealing the wire strands, then describe the
improved application of the jacquard and the apparatus connected therewith,
and finally refer to the various applications of the metallic tissues so made, and
how they may be joined together and .cleaned when required. In order to
apply this Invention with good éffect, and produce the ornamental tissues with
the best advantage, the metallic strands or wire should be carefully annealed.
by heating the same, and allowing it to cool gradually; in order to destroy the

page_text: brittleness caused in the drawing of the wire, and to render it as' pliant as
possible, so that the metallic strands may work well with the jacquard appa-
ratus; and this should be done without destroying its colour or brilliancy, and
therefore the following means or method of effecting this object should be pur-
sued: The wire is first wound upon hollow metal bobbins, of the form shewn
in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings, which are side and end
views of one of them. Into the hollow part or centre of these bobbins are to
be placed red-hot pieces of metal, whereby the wire will be heated, and then
allowed gradually to get cold. In order to preserve the polish of the wire, and
not to injure its colour, the bobbins should be of different metals, according to
the different metal wires to be operated upon; for instance, when copper wire is
to be used, the bobbin should be formed of copper; if the wire is silver or silver
gilt or copper gilt, the bobbin should be formed of silver; and they are recom-
mended to be of the shape shewn in the Drawing, as they have been found to
answer well. But this process of annealing, as well as the means employed,
may be varied according to circumstances and the kind of metal to be operated
upon; or the wire or metallic strands may be annealed in any other convenient
way, but the above described process prevents the wire being injured by heat,
and gives it all the pliancy desired. The jacquard mechanism for operating upon
the warps, according to the figure or pattern desired to be formed upon 'the
fabric, is so well known, that it will not be necessary for me particularly to
describe the same, it forming no part of this Invention, and the manner of
applying it to a loom for weaving fancy or figured goods in silk and other
materials is so well understood, that it will only be necessary for me to allude
to its parts and shew the mechanism by which it is rendered more applicable
to the weaving of these ornamental metallic tissues. The ordinary jacquard
mechanism is composed of a fixed part, through which vertical wires ascend
and descend, and a movable top or head board, which is raised or lifted' up
by the action of the lever and cord attached to the treadle of the loom. When
the treadle is depressed, the cord is drawn down, and the head board of the
jacquard raised, taking with it all the vertical wires that have not been dis-
placed by the action of the pierced cards upon the horizontal wires of the
jacquard mechanism. It is to this movable head board of the jacquard
that the mechanism represented in the Drawing is applied for the purpose
of regulating the opening of the warp threads by an elastic or yielding
resistance and an adjustable stop piece, instead of leaving them to the ordinary
action of the treadle and jacquard. This mechanism may be placed at either
or both ends of the head board of the jacquard, which is limited in its action
by the stop piece and adjustable set screws. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the

page_text: -mechanism or elastic stop, shewing the head board of the jacquard when down
ready to bring up the vertical wires; Fig. 4 is a face or side elevation of the
same; and Fig. 5 a similar representation to Fig. 3; shewing the head board
of the jacquard in the act of rising. A represents the head board or top of
the jacquard. B; B, part of the standards or framework of the jacquard
mechanism, forming guides, between which the head board moves up and down.
C is a plate or block bearing on the head board by means of the helical spring D.
The block Chas a rod E attached to it, surrounded by the open coiled or helical
spring D, one end of which abuts on a collar formed upon the rod; and the other
against the piece F attached to the standards B. The rod E passes freely through
the adjustable stop G, and also the part F, and the cross piece H of the standards.
The stop plate G is held in the required position by the two adjustable screws I, I,
passing through the pieces F and II, the screws being attached to the stop plate
by screw bolts K, K, covered with leather or other elastic material to deaden the
blow of the head board. The screws I are furnished at their other ends with
adjustable screws and nuts L to regulate the position of the stop piece G, 'and
consequently the extent of motion of the head board and of the opening of the
warps, for whenever the treadle is depressed for this purpose the helical spring D
yields gradually to the action of the head-board by collapsing between it's bearings,
while the stop piece G, being kept in its proper situation by the screws I,
receives the blow of the head- board, and stops 'it at the required time, "the
spring D expanding again on the downward movement of the head board. *Sup
posing the loom to be fitted with the jacquard apparatus, and the elastic and
adjustable stop above described, and ready for operation, I will proceed to
explain the manner of setting the loom to work: First, begin by warping the
annealed metallic strands or wires by six at a time on the ordinary warping
roller, each wire being supplied- from a bobbin placed on a' créel; in the 'same
manner as in the ordinary method of warping cotton, silk; or other thread..
These metallic strands are to be fastened by packs of 25 together in the "warp
roller" of the loom, taking care they are all equally distended. When this
is done, the roller is to be turned round, and all the warp' threads wound evenly
thereon. It is requisite at each revolution of the roller to place a slip of card-
board or piece of stiff paper or other material upon the metallic strands
wound upon the roller in order to prevent them from getting entangled one
with the other, or. a continuous sheet of cardboard, paper, or cloth "may
be wound. on with the strands for this purpose. This precaution is very
necessary, as otherwise the warps would bind one with another, and prévent
them, unwinding or drawing off regularly, and thereby become broken."...A
sufficient.length of the metallic warps must be left unwound to allow of their.

page_text: being passed through the headles and the reed: This is done in the same
way as with cotton or silk warps; the workman, however, must be careful
not to let any of the strands escape, for if he does so, the wire, springing
back, would coil upon itself and look up into a kind of knot, and consequently
be spoilt. When this is the case the injured wire must be replaced by
another to be taken from an extra spool or bobbin placed at the back of the
loom, and every time a metallic strand breaks during the weaving of the tissue
it must be replaced by a fresh one taken from an extra bobbin, and the part
of the broken strand remaining on the "warp roller" conducted out of the way
by passing it over a small pulley, and kept by means of a leaden weight
attached, to it from intermixing with the other or perfect warps: When all
the warps are passed through the headles and the reed they are to be collected
in packs of 25 and fastened to the "work roller," the strands being distended
equally thereon. These preliminary operations-being performed the loom is
ready for working, and the weaving. may begin. The shuttle employed is
similar to that.used in the weaving of silk, and is supplied with a bobbin or
spool containing the metallic weft strands, which is to be replaced' by a full
bobbin as the weft is used in the progress of weaving. The shuttle should,"
however, be rather heavy, or, instead of governing the delivery of the weft, it
would be governed by it, and would spring back and cause injury to the work.
The first few courses of the shuttle serve to regulate the position of the warps
as in ordinary weaving, and for that purpose string or any kind of weft
may be used instead of metallic wires. The remainder of the operation of
weaving is effected in precisely the same way as when working with silk or
other materials. Care should, however, be taken that the weft strands of
wire should be finer than those of the warp. Tissues composed of copper wire
may be woven in their natural colour and afterwards gilded or silvered, or this
may be done previous to the weaving, as thought desirable. Silver tissues
require much less care' in the course of fabrication than wire gilt or silvered,
as with the latter care must be taken not to injure the surface. The tissue
as it is woven should be covered with a cloth: Metallic galloons, bindings, or
ribbons are made' as above described, without changing either the preparation
of the strands or the jacquard or mechanism, and the same observations
applies to all such narrow goods.
Having now described the manner or method of carrying this Invention
into effect, I will proceed to make some remarks upon these ornamented
metallic tissues and their application and uses. These metallic tissues may be
applied to a great variety of articles and purposes, and by their being composed
entirely of metal may be cut into any number of parts or forms and attached to

page_text: each other, or to other metal pieces by soldering, or by the usual mode of joining
various articles of jewelery and fancy work: They may be used for the top
parts and binding of epaulettes, where common gold and silver lace is now
employed; for covering the heads of tassells; covering buttons and various
fancy articles; and, when woven in narrow breadths after the manner of gold
and silver lace galloons or binding, they may be used for hat and other bands,
sashes, bindings, and trimmings for various purposes. The metallic tissues
composed of silver wire are very readily cleaned with a solution of water and
sulphuric acid. The strength or proportion of acid is regulated according to
the degree of oxidation of the metallic tissues, or they may be cleaned in any
other way that delicate metal articles are usually cleaned. Those articles
which have become discolored by exposure to the atmosphere, the effect of
smoke, or other causes, may be dipped in acid solution and their primitive
freshness restored.
Having described this Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into
effect, in conclusion I would remark, that what I claim as the Invention or
improvements secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent.
in the improvements in looms for weaving ornamental metallic tissues, is, the
application and adaptation of the jacquard mechanism or apparatus thereto for
the purpose
of acting upon the metallic warps or strands of wire, and producing
the design or pattern upon the face of the fabric, together with the elastic
resistance and adjustable stop to regulate the action and the extent of motion
of the said jacquard mechanism, and the opening or separating of the sheds of
metallic warp; and also I claim as this Invention the weaving, making, or
manufacturing of ornamented metallic tissues entirely of wire, with designs or
figures or patterns thereon, by any suitable "figuring loom," and which tissues
are applicable to the purposes for which ordinary gold and silver lace is com-
monly used, as well as for various other purposes to which such gold and silver
lace is not applicable.
In witness whereof, I, the said Miles Berry, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.

page_text: and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of
the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third..