Pictures or Designs on Mirror Glass.
Year: 1885

page_text: Pictures or Designs on Mirror Glass.
We, ANDREW ADIE DALGLISH, and WILLIAM DALGLISH, both of 26; Renfield
Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire Artists, do hereby declare the nature of our inven-
tion for " AN IMPROVED METHOD OF ETCHING AND TRANSFERRING OR PAINTING
PICTURES OR DESIGNS ON MIRROR GLASS," to be as follows:-
In putting ornamental designs, lettering, flowers, or pictures on mirror glass the
usual practice is to paint or transfer the designs on the outer surface of the mirror,
and to protect them by an outer coating of varnish. This method of ornamenting
mirrors is objectionable mainly on account of the liability of the design wearing off
the surface in cleaning the mirrors, and also because of the back of the object being
reflected by the mirror.
•
We avoid these objections according to our invention by applying the objects or
designs to the back of the glass, and this we do in the following manner; we take
a Photograph or a painted or printed design or similar object whose outline we
trace or cover with lithographic ink or other transferring medium. We then apply
the photograph or design to the back of the silvered mirror and rub down or
transfer the traced outline on to the silvering. We next coat the silvering outside
the outline with any suitable varnish, such as the " Patent Backing" usually
employed to preserve the silvering of mirrors, leaving the part of the object within
the outline unacted on.
We next wash off the silvering from the unvarnished part of the mirror by using
nitric acid or other substance capable of taking off the silvering without acting on
the glass or the varnish, and we then carefully apply the photograph or design to
the clear glass to come exactly within the silvered outline. The photograph or
design may be secured by any adhesive substance or by varnishing or pasting paper
over the back of the mirror.
When a painting or design which cannot be conveniently transferred is to appear
on the mirror, we form the outline on the silvering as above described, and then
directly paint in the figure or design on the bare portion of the glass; and we
employ a mirror as a means of reflecting to the painter's eye a reverse of the
figure or design to be painted.

page_text: Pictures' or Designs on Mirror Glass.
We, ANDREW ADIE DALGLISH, and WILLIAM DALGLISH, both of 26 Renfield
Street, Glasgow Lanarkshire Artists, do hereby, declare the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, that
is to say:
In putting ornamental designs, flowers, or pictures on mirror glass the usual
practice is to paint or transfer the designs on the outer surface of the mirror and
to protect them by an outer coating of varnish. This method of ornamenting
mirrors is objectionable mainly on account of the liability of the design wearing off
the surface in cleaning the mirrors, and also because of the back of the object being
reflected by the mirror.
We avoid these objections according to our invention by applying the objects
or designs to the back of the glass, and this we do in the following manner, we
take a Photograph or a painted or printed design or similar object whose outline
we trace or cover with lithographic ink or other transferring medium. We then
apply the photograph or design to the back of the silvered mirror and rub down or
transfer the traced outline on to the silvering. We next coat the silvering outside
the outline with any suitable varnish, such as the " Patent Backing" usually
employed to preserve the silvering of mirrors, leaving the part of the object within
the outline unacted on.
We next wash off the silvering from the unvarnished part of the mirror by using
nitric acid or other substance capable of taking off the silvering without acting on
the glass or the varnish, and we then carefully apply the photograph or design to
the clear glass to come exactly within the silvered outline. The photograph' or
design may be secured by any adhesive substance or by varnishing or pasting paper
over the back of the mirror.
When a painting or design which cannot be conveniently transferred, is to appear
on the mirror, we form the outline on the silvering as above described, and then
directly paint in the figure or design on the bare portion of the glass; and we
employ a mirror as a means of reflecting to the painter's eye a reverse of the
figure or design to be painted.
Having thus described the nature and, novelty of our said Invention we will
now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is to be performed or carried
into effect or practice-
“་
When it is a Photograph we are to transfer to the surface of the mirror we mount
it on a sheet of stretched cartridge paper attached to a board, to get it into a flat
or level shape, but for designs or chromo-lithographs painted or printed on stronger
paper this will be unnecessary. We trace or cover the outline of the Photograph
or design with lithographic transfer ink or other transferring medium, and when
this has become sufficiently dry we rub down the said traced outline on to the
back of a mirror of silvered glass, previous to any backing being placed on it.

page_text: We then coat or paint the silvering outside the outline with Patent French or other
prepared backing for mirrors, leaving the part of the silvering within the outline
of the transferred ink unacted on, or free from any "backing."
When a number
of copies of the same Photograph or other subject are required, an outline may be
formed by preparing and using a rubber or other stamp to the desired configuration
that will transfer a sufficient number of impressions to the silvered glass and the
part of the silvering outside the outline would be painted with backing as herein-
before described.
We wash or etch off the silver from the unvarnished or unprotected parts of the
glass mirror within the outline by using diluted nitric acid or other suitable solvent
for the silver which would not injure the glass, leaving the edge of the outline very
sharp and unbroken. We afterwards coat the part of the mirror or glass plate, so
cleaned, with a thin film of "Sohnee Freres," or other transparent photographic
varnish to give the glass a tooth when dry to make the photograph or design adhere
better to it; and when the mirror surface has become dry, we coat the face of the
photograph or design with dextrine or other adhesive mixture and carefully apply
it to the cleared part to come exactly within the silvered outline, and then gently
rub it outwards from the centre to remove superfluous dextrine or air bells. When
dry we afterwards coat the whole of the plate or back of the mirror with French
or other backing or varnish, or paste it over with paper or other covering. Our
Invention and improvements also comprise the etching and transferring of pictures
or designs to gold, as well as to silvered glass mirrors; the only difference being
that in the etching out or removing of the gold from within the picture outline we
use dilute aqua regia as our solvent for the gold, instead of nitric acid as used for
silvered mirrors; Otherwise our improvements are applied to gold mirrors in
substantially the same manner as hereinbefore described for silver mirrors.
Having now particularly described the nature of the said invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I declare that what I claim as new and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is,-
First. The method or mode and means of etching and transferring or painting
photographs, pictures or designs on the back of mirror glass, substantially.as herin
set forth.
Second. The method or mode and means of transferring and fixing the outline
for the pictures or designs on the back of mirror glass, and etching or removing
the metallic mirror surface or coating from the glass within such outline, substan-
tially as herein described.