IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL CORAL."
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Isaacs, of 22, Newman Street, Oxford Street,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL CORAL."
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Isaacs at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
January 1855.
'
I, SAMUEL ISAACS, of 22, Newman Street, Oxford Street,' in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby déclare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL CORAL" to be as follows:-
I take a shaped piece of marble, alabaster, or any other poreous mineral,
which I place in vitriol diluted with water, which in their proportions are two
hundred drops of vitriol to a gallon of water for forty-eight hours. Having
been soaked for forty-eight hours, I then expose the article to the air for
twenty hours, which exposure is varried according to the size of the piece or
block I intend to convert to utility. I.then place it in oil or grease, in which
it remains for twenty hours, after which I take it out, wash it in warm water,
so as to get rid of the greasy matter from the surface, and then place it in dye
for at least five days, which dye I mix according to the color I may require or
as my taste may direct. Having done, I polish the article in the ordinary way.
When polished, I again place it in dye for twenty-four hours, after which I
expose it to the air for another two days. I then place it in grease, oil, or any
hard varnish for about six hours, which gives it a polish and translucency; or I
place.the marble or alabaster in vitriol and water, as in the first instance, after

page_text: which I make a hollow in the solid stone, in which I place a mixture of pre-
cipitated carbonate of iron and coral pounded to a very fine powder, which I
make into a paste by means of grease. I then place it into an oven for twenty
hours, which must be graduated from fifty to two hundred and fifty degrees of
Fahrenheit, by which process the paste soakes through the marble, alabaster, or
whatever other porcous mineral I may think fit to act on. Having done this,
I then observe the same method as in the first instance after the article had
been taken from the vitriol and water; or I take a piece of alabaster mineral,
which I place in vitriol and water, as before. I then bake it, graduating the
oven from fifty to two hundred and fifty degrees of Fahrenheit for twenty hours.
I after this immerse it in grease or oil for four hours. I then wash it in warm
water, and then expose it to the air for sixteen hours, then place it in warm dye
for about twelve hours, then polish it in the ordinary way, and a second time
dye it for four hours, place it in grease, oil, or hard varnish for half an hour,
and this completes the process, and gives the article the required color and
translucency.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Isaacs in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th July 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
ISAACS, of 22, Newman Street, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Isaacs, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Isaacs, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel
Isaacs, my executors, adininistrators, 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 MANU-
FACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL CORAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Samuel Isaacs, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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 Samuel Isaacs, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists of causing alabaster after it has been subjected to the
action of dilute acid to be impregnated or saturated with oil or grease, and
coloring or dyeing matter, in order to obtain a better manufacture of artificial
coral than has heretofore been produced.
The details of the process of this manufacture may be greatly varied. I will,
however, proceed to describe the means pursued by me, and I may state that
the time occupied in the process depends to some extent on the sizes of the
articles of alabaster for the time being acted on. In practice I prefer that
the alabaster should be first formed into the article desired, or at any rate
nearly to the form; but this is not essential, as pieces of alabaster may be first
treated by the processes herein described, and then shaped into the form of
article desired.
The articles of alabaster having been first formed are placed in dilute oil of
vitriol, in the proportion of about two hundred drops of oil of vitriol to each
gallon of water (by preference rain water) for about forty-eight hours, if the
articles are not thick, say, not exceeding half an inch in any part. The articles
are afterwards subjected to the action of the atmosphere for the space of about
twenty hours. This may be at the natural temperature of the atmosphere, or
the atmosphere may be gradually heated; and I have found it of advantage to
heat the articles up even to 250° of Fahrenheit when surrounded by atmospheric
air. Afterwards, when the articles are nearly cooled down, they are either to
be saturated with oil or grease, and then dyed and polished, as herein described;
or what I think is preferable, they are to be immersed in a dye bath for about
five hours, then polished in the ordinary manner of polishing real coral, then
they are again to be immersed in the dye bath for about twenty-four hours, and
then again for about two days subjected to the action of the atmosphere, which
may be at the ordinary temperatures, and then the articles are to be immersed
in oil or grease for about six hours. For this purpose I prefer to use olive oil,
though other oil or grease may be employed, but I think not so advantageously;
after which the articles are to be washed with warm water, and, if required,
polished or rubbed with a cloth. In dyeing articles of alabaster, dyes which
are ordinarily used for other purposes are employed, and according to the precise

page_text: tint of colour désired to be obtained. Thus, for imitating the ordinary red coral
I employ peach wood, fustic chips, and cochineal in water, and sometimes a
small quantity of tin liquor, using more. or less of these matters according to
the tint of colour desired; or other-dyes may be used to modify the colours of the
dyes mentioned, or in place of them. I would state that I prefer to use the
dye liquor warm. In place of the process of converting alabaster into artificial
coral, above described, I cause the articles of alabaster, after being treated with
dilute acid, as above explained, and dried in the open air, to be heated in an
oven, gradually raising the heat to about 250° of Fahrenheit, the articles of
alabaster, where they can be made. hollow, having placed therein fine powder
of real dark red coral, together with some deposited carbonate of iron made. up
into a paste with oil or grease; or the. articles of alabaster may be surrounded
with a wall of any suitable material, and the oil and colouring matters with the
powder of coral placed therein. By this means may alabaster be.impregnated
with grease or oil and colouring. matter, as well. as powder of natural coral, by
which means a superior imitation of coral may be obtained, and the color
resulting from the carbonate of iron, which will depend, on the quantity
absorbed, may be modified or heightened by subsequently dyeing the articles.
The articles thus treated are to be polished and finished as if of real coral... ..
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that. I do not confine myself to
the details of process herein described so long, as the peculiar character of my
Invention be retained; and. I would state that. I do not claim.to immerse
alabaster in dilute acid when not subsequently dyed or coloured and impreg
nated or saturated. with oil or, grease; neither.do I claim to heat, alabaster, or
to saturate or impregnate. alabaster with oil, grease, or varnish; but what I
claim is, the manufacture of artificial coral, by causing alabaster to be impreg
nated or saturated with oil or grease and coloring or dyeing matter (with or
without powdered coral) after having been treated with dilute acid, as herein
described..
In witness whereof, I, the.,said Samuel Isaacs, have. hereunto set my
hand and seal, this. Sixth. day of, July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
SAMUEL ISAACS. (L.S.)