AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PREPARING SKINS AND HIDES OR LEATHER, SO AS TO RENDER SUCH " RENDER SUCH SUBSTANCES WATERPROOF AND MORE DURABLE THAN HERETOFORE
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Moore Miller, of Southsea, in the
County of Hants, Doctor of Medicine, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS FOR PREPARING SKINS AND HIDES OR LEATHER, SO AS TO RENDER SUCH
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Moore
Miller at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th September 1865.
.I, JOHN WILLIAM MOORE MILLER, of Southsea, in the County of Hants,
Doctor of Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PREPARING SKINS AND HIDES OR LEATHER, SO AS TO!
RENDER SUCH SUBSTANCES WATERPROOF AND MORE DURABLE THAN HERETOFORE," to_
be as follows:-
My Invention of "An Improved Process for Preparing Skins and Hides or
Leather, so as to render such Substances Waterproof and more Durable than.
heretofore," consists in the employment of a novel preparation or compound of
liquid matters with which the skins, hides, or leather are to be impregnated,
so as to harden and render them more durable and waterproof than unprepared
leather or skins.
. In carrying out my Invention I prepare two solutions in which the sub-
stances to be operated upon are steeped in succession. The first solution

page_text: consists of india-rubber dissolved in rosin oil, to which is added about two
ounces of vegetable or fictitious wax, and one drachm of nitro-benzole for
every half pound of india-rubber. The leather is steeped in this solution
until thoroughly impregnated. The operation may be facilitated by operating
upon the leather in a close vessel, from the interior of which atmospheric
pressure may be removed by means of an air pump as is well known. When
the leather has become thoroughly impregnated it should be removed, and
rolled to express. therefrom the superabundant liquid, after which it should be
dried at the ordinary temperature. The leather may then be soaked in the
second solution which consists of gum thuss or frankincense "dissolved in
methylated spirit. The leather should be rolled again and dried, and then
the surface may be varnished with a varnish composed of frankincense dis-
solved in methylated spirit as before, with the addition of a small quantity of
shellac to harden it, and a small quantity of turpentine, say, two fluid ounces
of the latter to one gallon of the varnish.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the-Letters -Patent, filed
by the said John William Moore Miller in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WILLIAM MOORE MILLER, of Southsea, in the County of Hants, Doctor of
Medicine, 'send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John William Moore Miller, Her special licence that I, the said
John William Moore Miller, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or:
such others as I, the said John William Moore Miller, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 "AN IMPROVED PROCESS POR PREPARING SKINS AND HIDES
OR LEATHER, SO AS TO RENDER SUCH SUBSTANCES WATERPROOF AND, "MORE-DURABLE.
THAN HERETOPORE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
William Moore Miller, my executors or administrators, by an instrument

page_text: writing under. my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly 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 I, the said John William Moore Miller, 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 "An Improved Process for Preparing Skins and Hides
or-Leather, so as to render such Substances Waterproof and more Durable
than heretofore," consists in the employment of a novel preparation or com-
pound of matters with a solution or liquid preparation, of which the skins,
hides, or leather are to be impregnated, so as to render them more durable
and waterproof than unprepared leather or curried skins.
In carrying out my Invention I prepare two solutions in which the
substances to be operated upon may be steeped in succession; or theso
solutions may be mixed together and used in combination. The latter is the
plan I prefer.
The leather when in the form of skins or hides (before being subjected to
my process) may or may not be prepared in the usual way, according to the
wishes of the operator, by scouring, shaving, blacking, or dyeing with the
usual dies now in common use among curriers. It is, however, absolutely
necessary that the leather be quite dry when put into the cylinder or appa-
ratus to be operated upon by the solutions, as hereafter explained. The
waterproof solution with which I impregnate leather. for the purpose of
rendering it waterproof throughout its whole consistence, is composed of six
to eight ounces of india-rubber dissolved in one gallon of rosin oil, cotton oil,
poppy oil, cod oil, or any of the fixed and drying oils. The other solution
consists of one pound of gum thuss or frankincense to a gallon of methylated
spirit or methylated "finish," as it is termed in commerce. I prefer to mix
these two solutions together, and to every gallon of these mixed fluids I add
one ounce of vegetable or japan wax rendered fluid by heat. I then add from
half a pint to a. pint of best spirits of turpentine to every gallon, and one fluid
ounce of nitro-benzole. Care must be taken in. mixing the japan wax to see
that it is not too hot or hot enough to set fire to the whole; and it must be
well mixed before the turpentine is added. The nitrq-benzole should be added.
last. When the whole of these ingredients are thoroughly mixed (and they
ought to be frequently stirred) they are to be put into a cask or cylinder, to

page_text: which a syphon pipe and stop-cock is to be fitted and jointed on to a cylinder
er vessel, which, when closed, must be perfectly air-tight. The leather is
placed in this cylinder or vessel, which is also provided with a pipe fitted to it
leading to or connected with an air pump, whereby the air is to be exhausted,
and as perfect a vacuum as practicable is, to be produced. When a proper
vacuum is obtained, which may be ascertained by means of a suitable vacuum
gauge, the cock of the syphon pipe is to be turned and the fluid admitted.
The action of the air pump may be kept up slowly to facilitate the entrance
of the fluid into the cylinder or vessel. The leather is then allowed to soak
for from four to twelve hours, so as to become thoroughly satuated; the
solution is then run off by the admission of air into the cylinder or vessel.
The leather is then to be removed and cleansed by a suitable instrument
called by curriers a "slicker," and may then be hung up in an airy place to
dry. When the hides are quite dry they will be benefitted by passing them
between the rollers of a rolling mill. The leather is then to be cleansed
over with a piece of tow or other suitable substance soaked in turpentine or
methylated finish, after which it may be polished with the ordinary curriers'
size, and it is then fit for use. The process of preparing (in the case of
hides) usually requires from four to six days, and in the case of skins from
twenty-four to forty-eight hours. When the skins or hides are removed from
the cylinder or vessel they are "slicked out" very gently and hung up until
perfectly dry. They are then slicked freely with a glass slicker, are bruised
and grained, and sized, in the usual manner adopted by curriers.
One of the advantages of the Invention is the rapidity with which skins
can be dressed and rendered fit for use for making boots and shoes. They are
rendered waterproof throughout, whereas enamelled or patent leather is only
waterproofed on its grain. Another advantage is that in waterproofing bides
and skins any amount of softness or pliability of the leather can be obtained,
thereby rendering all tanned leather fit to be manufactured.
The process, moreover, can be carried on without any alteration of tem-
perature, as the leather readily and quickly dries in the ordinary atmosphere.
There is no offensive odour in the preparation, and by the process above
described the india-rubber is sealed within the cellular texture of the leather,
and adds the frictional endurance of india-rubber to the strength of the
leather, whilst the leather holds the india-rubber in its minutest fragments,
and is therefore capable of resisting wet.
In any case where particular hardness is required for the leather by
soaking it in a watery solution of shellac, and allowing it to become perfectly

page_text: dry before the process; or if after the process, soaking the leather in a
spirituous solution of shellac, any degree of hardness may be obtained.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Process for Pre-
paring Skins and Hides or Leather, so as to render such Substances Water-
proof and more Durable than heretofore," and having explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I claim as my Invention the mode of or
process above described for preparing or treating hides, skins, or leather for
the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Moore Miller, have here-
unte set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
J. W. M. MILLER. (Ls.)