THE APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL TO THE CON- STRUCTION OF PORTABLE HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Middlemass, of Edinburgh, in the
County of Mid Lothian, Scotland, Merchant and Outfitter, for the
Invention of "THE APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL TO THE CON-
STRUCTION OF PORTABLE HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Middlemass
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st January 1858.
1, JAMES MIDDLEMASS, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian,
Scotland, Merchant and Outfitter, lo hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "THE APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL TO THE CON-
STRUCTION OF PORTABLE HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the employment of zinc in the construction
of such edifices, in place of the material or materials hitherto employed
for the same purpose. The plates of zinc intended to be thus employed
will be adapted in their manufacture as respects their form, size, and
thickness to the particular portions of the buildings for which they are
designed. The mode of uniting the plates will depend upon the amount

page_text: of strain to which the junctions of the same may have to be exposed,
also upon the degree of portability required. In some cases it may be
found desirable to apply some other material than zinc at the junctions
in order to insure the building being weathertight. The material to be
so applied should be susceptible of removal with facility whenever it
is required to take the building to pieces, or in some cases it might. be
desirable to fasten the junctions more solidly by means of molten
metal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Middlemass in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st July 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES MIDDLEMASS, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, Scot-
land, Merchant and Outfitter, send. greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of January, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Middlemass, Her
special license that I, the said James Middlemass, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Mid-
dlemass, 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
"THE APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PORTABLE
HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said James Middlemass, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and. seal, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Middlemass, 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 (that is to say):
My Invention of "The Application of a New Material to thic Cou-
struction of Portable Houses and other Buildings" has for its object
the manufacture of such articles of various forms in portions which may
be readily put together, so as to constitute cither a temporary or a
permanent building. The material to be used for the purpose is zinc, out
of which the different portions of the buildings may be formed, and it may
be convenient to manufacture a considerable number of each of such por-
tions, which may be packed together so as to be transported from place to
place or to distant ports in ships. Plates of zinc to be used for the
purpose will be made of suitable form, size, and thickness, to adapt thein
for use in the particular portions of the buildings for which they are
designed. The mode of uniting the plates may be varied in different
cases. In some cases they may be bolted or rivetted together after the
manner of boiler plates, or they may be screwed so as to readily
disunited, if required, and the junctions of the plates may be covered
in various ways and with various materials, such as wood, metal, or
cement. The roofs of such buildings may also be formed in plates
or sheets of zinc, and covered at the apex with a ridge of the same
material, which may, if preferred, be ornamental in appearance.
It may be found desirable to apply wood at the bottom of the roof,
where it rests upon the top of the sides or walls of the building, and
the latter may be strengthened by vertical and horizontal or diagonal
ribs, in which case the plates which form the corners of the building
may have flanges formed upon them for the insertion of such ribs.
All the internal arrangements of the building may be adapted to
the purpose for which it may be required, but this forms no part of my
Invention. For instance, it may be found desirable, where the buildings
are to be used as dwelling houses, to line the outer casing or body of
zinc with some non-conducting material. For this purpose a frame of
wood may be formed inside the plates of zinc and boarded over, or it
may be covered with canvas, and the space between this and the

page_text: plates filled with non-conducting material. The arrangement and con-
struction of floors in these buildings may likewise be adapted to
circumstances, and the frame of wood above mentioned may be found
useful for such purpose.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would remark, that although I
have described other materials besides zinc which are to be used in the
finishing of buildings, arid in adapting them for particular purposes, yet
I do not claim the use of such materials as of my Invention, inasmuch
as buildings for some purposes may be constructed without them;
neither do I confine myself to the particular mode of construction of
buildings composed of zinc which has been described. But what I
claim as of my Invention is, the use of zinc as the material out of which
the sides or walls and roofs of buildings may be constructed, in place
of the material or materials hitherto employed for the same purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Middlemass, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, Oue thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three.
JAMES MIDDLEMASS. (L.S.)
W. FORTH, Witness.