A METHOD OF MAKING OF MANUFACTURING AS ARTICLE WHICH MAY HB, IN MANY INSTANCES, SUBSTITUTED FOR LEATHER, AND BE APPLIED TO VARIOUS OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HANCOCK, of Goswell Mews, Goswell Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Cork Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Fourth, by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of November
now last past, did give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Hancock, His
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Thomas Hancock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others
as I, the said Thomas Hancock, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A METHOD OF MAKING OF
MANUFACTURING AS ARTICLE WHICH MAY HB, IN MANY INSTANCES, SUBSTITUTED
FOR LEATHER, AND BE APPLIED TO VARIOUS OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES;" in which
said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas
Hancock, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled
in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months

page_text: next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the said recited Lotters Patent, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully appear.
my
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Hancock, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, as follows,
that is to say :-
The nature of my Invention consists in combining together the fibres or
filaments of various matters, such as flax, hemp, cotton, wool, hair, or other
matters of the like flexible nature, by saturating them in connection or in con-
tact with each other with a liquid which, when partially evaporated, becomes
a flexible and adhesive substance, such fibres being previously arranged or
disposed, as to shape and dimensions, according to the purpose to which they
are afterwards to be applied, so as as to produce a uniform combination of the
fibres and the substance, or in such a manner as that every individual fibre
may be so surrounded with the said substance as that the whole of the fibres
composing the mass, when united by the substance, may form a compound or
article somewhat resembling leather, and which said compound substance or
article may, in many cases, be substituted for leather more or less advanta-
geously, namely, for harness, straps, belts, accoutrements, boots, shoes, flexible
pipes, air-tight bags, and a variety of other things which have heretofore been
made of leather; and the said substance or article may also be applied to
various other useful purposes, such as parts of wearing apparel which it may
be desirable to have waterproof, and which commonly are made of other sub-
stances than leather; the article may also be applied for the roofs of virandas,
awnings, tent coverings, and to other similar purposes.
I shall now proceed to describe the method of making the said article, and
the manner in which my said Invention is to be performed; and in order the
more clearly to describe the same I will premise that the choice of the parti-
cular kind of fibres to be used, and the manner of preparing the said fibres,
will depend upon the use or purpose to which the article is to be applied when
made. Many of the substances I have mentioned, such as hair, wool, cotton,
flax, and others, having short fibres or filaments, are capable of being carded
in the same manner as is commonly practised in carding wool and cotton for
making yarn or thread; I therefore employ the carding machine (a machine
well known and in common use, and therefore needing no further description)
to card the aforesaid fibres, and those which are capable of being felted may
have that operation performed, and by this means I am enabled to obtain a
layer of fibres of uniform thickness, and of any convenient dimensions as to

page_text: length and width. I take one or more of such layers of fibres, according to
the required thickness of the article when made, and spread it or them upon &
flat board. When the thickness of the article to be made requires more than
one of such layers of fibres I spread them out upon a flat board, as before men-
tioned, layer upon layer until the number is completed; I then sprinkle the
whole with cold or warm water (but the latter answers best), at the same time
I press the layers together until the whole becomes uniformly wetted. In
this state they are placed between two flat boards or flat plates of any suitable
metal, and exposed to strong pressure in a screw or other press, or by passing
the said boards and plates, together with the layers of fibres between them,
through or between a pair of rollers. By this means the whole of the fibres
become more uniformly wetted, and the superfluous water is expelled or got rid
of. The said layers having been thus wetted are now ready or in a proper state
to be saturated with the liquid which forms the flexible and adhesive substance
herein-before mentioned. At the time of applying the same it is in a liquid
state, and I saturate the layer or layers of fibres therewith by first pouring
a proper quantity of it upon the said layer or layers, and I spread the
same over the surface of the said layer or layers with a small spatula or
other suitable instrument made of wood or other proper material, and by
gently pressing the said layer or layers of fibres with the spatula or other
suitable instrument, the liquid is made to sink into and mix with and pervade
the whole mass of fibres throughout the said layer or layers. I also perform
the said operation of saturating in a more convenient manner by placing the
said layer or layers of fibres in a shallow trough, with a flat and level bottom,
and by this means a greater quantity of the said liquid may be poured over the
layers, as the sides of the trough will prevent its running to waste, and the
fibres are thus more easily saturated by dabbing or pressing them with the
hand or a spatula. A trough may also be advantageously used for placing
the layer or layers of fibres in when they are to be wetted with water, as before
described. When the layer or layers of fibres have been sufficiently saturated
with the liquid I place them upon a flat board in an inclining position, and in
order to squeeze or press out any excess of the liquid I pass a wooden roller
over the surface of the layer or layers of fibres, at the same time applying a
sufficient force by hand or otherwise to the roller to force or squeeze out the
liquid. This operation may be carried on by exposing the layers to a strong
mechanical pressure, if necessary. The process having been carried on so far
the layer or layers of fibres now require to be dried; I therefore now place the
said layer or layers of fibres in a room heated to eighty or ninety degrees of
-temperature, and allow them to remain there till they are nearly dry, or until

page_text: the liquid becomes viscous, glutinous, and adhesive. The layer or layers of
fibres having been thus dried I expose them again to a strong pressure, by
which the whole of the fibres are brought into closer contact with each other,
and with the interposed substance, so as that the said fibres are made to
adhere firmly to each other. If, on exposing the layer or layers of fibres to
pressure for the first time after being dried, I perceive that any water or fluid
matter exudes or is driven out by the pressure, I conclude that the first drying
has not been continued long enough; I therefore place the layer or layers of
fibres in the warm room a second time, and afterwards subject the said layer or
layers to a second pressure. It is, in some cases, requisite to give a smooth
surface to the article, and this I effect by polishing the surfaces of the plates
between which the dried layers are pressed for the last time. The liquid I use
for the purpose herein-before mentioned is brought into this country, and said
to be the juice obtained from certain trees which grow in several parts of South
America, the East Indies, and other places abroad. It is stated in Mr.
William Nicholson's translation of Fourcroy's General System of Chemical
Knowledge, that this juice is obtained in South America from a tree called the
Hevaca. The juice or liquid I have made use of was obtained from South
America, and from my own experience 1 find that the said juice or liquid,
when exposed to the open air, in the sun, or in a warm room, becomes inspis-
sated or dried, and then forms a substance exactly resembling, and which I
believe to be identically of the same nature and to possess the same properties
with the substance well known by the names of caoutchouc or indian-rubber,
or elastic guin, and it is employed abroad for that purpose. Its colour and
consistence very much resemble cream. In manufacturing any article where
the colour is not an object I employ this liquid in its natural state, without
any previous preparation, excepting that of freeing it from ligneous or other
substances by straining it through a sieve or open cloth. But if the article is
intended to be of a light or delicate colour it is necessary to free the liquid
from the colouring matter combined with it, and for this purpose I put it into
a glass bottle or other vessel of an appropriate size, and add to it three or four
times its bulk of clean water; I then cork or stop the mouth of the bottle or
vessel so as to prevent evaporation, and after well shaking the liquid and water
together I allow it to stand undisturbed till I perceive the whole of the water
has subsided to the bottom of the vessel, which it dues in a few hours, and
leaves the liquid floating at the top. The vessel which I employ for this
purpose has a hole through its side at or near the bottom, and through this
hole (which is provided with a cock or stopper) I draw off the water after it
las completely separated from the said liquid above. This operation of

page_text: washing or cleansing the liquid I repeat as often as I find necessary for
rendering it sufficiently clear and colourless.
As the method of manufacturing the article intended to be employed as a
substitute for leather, which I have herein-before described, applies only to the
formation of pieces of uniform texture and strength in every direction, I will
now proceed to describe the method I employ in manufacturing any article,
such as a strap or band, or such as require the greatest strength in one
direction only. In such cases I make use of longer fibres, as the long wools,
hemp, flax, &c., and instead of subjecting the said fibres to the carding
operation I cause them to be combed or hackled, and thus lay the greatest
number of the said fibres nearly parallel with each other. In the operation of
combing wool or hackling flax it necessarily happens that you obtain a
quantity or bundle of long and short fibres mixed together in such a manner
as to cause the bundle to contain more fibres, and therefore to be thicker in
the middle than at the ends; or in other words, the bundle tapers off from the
middle towards the ends. In order, therefore, to obtain a layer of such fibres of
uniform thickness of a proper length and width required for the strap
I intend to make, and ultimately to produce a strap of uniform strength, or
nearly so, throughout its length, I first make a wooden trough of the required
length and breadth, with a flat bottom. In this trough I place in succession
small bundles of such fibres as are proper for the purpose, taking care that the
end of each consecutive bundle shall be laid upon or over the middle of that
which preceded it; and thus, filling the trough from side to side and from end
to end, I obtain a uniform mixture or splicing of the fibres one with another.
The layer being thus completed, I proceed to wet it, saturate it with the
liquid, to dry and press it in a similar to that herein-before described. But,
although straps and bands require the greatest strength in the the direction of
their length, I also find it necessary to strengthen them in the lateral direction
by interposing between the layers of longitudinal fibres several layers of shorter
fibres lying across the strap. If great stiffness, solidity, and firmness be
required in the article to be made, I saturate the layer or layers of fibres
with the liquid as herein-before described, and afterwards press it very lightly
with the roller, in order that a considerable quantity. of the substance may
remain incorporated with the layer of fibres, because the comparative solidity,
stiffness, and firmness of the article will depend upon the quantity of the
elastic and adhesive substance remaining in combination with the fibres, as
well as upon the degree of pressure to which the layers are subjected when
dried; and if after saturation a great portion of the liquid be pressed out, the
softer and more flexible will be the article when finished; consequently, wLen

page_text: I intend to manufacture an article to be substituted for the softer kinds of
leather, I expose the layer of fibres, after being saturated with the liquid, to
a greater degree of pressure, so as to drive out a greater proportion of the
liquid. In making an article of the kind last mentioned, I find it convenient
before I use the liquid, to mix with it about one fourth of its bulk of water;
after adding the water to the liquid they must be shaken together until a
uniform mixture is produced, and it must be used while in this state of
. mixture.
From what I have herein-before stated, and from the nature of the process,
any competent manufacturer will be led to make a proper choice of the fine-
ness, coarseness, and kind of fibre to be used for the various kinds and qualities
of the articles intended to be made. It is necessary for me to mention here,
that when I make use of the liquid in a washed or purified state, I take care
to place the layers of fibres to be saturated therewith in a trough made of
some of the whiter woods, such as sycamore or American piue, or such as will
communicate no tinge or stain to the liquid or fibres; and I also use the
same precaution in pressing out the superfluous quantity of liquid, by effecting
the pressure between boards of the same kind. And I have also to state, that
the liquid acts upon or is acted upon by iron, copper, and brass, and even tin
in a slight degree, and that these metals communicate a stain or tinge more
or less to the liquid in contact with them; but for pressing the layers of fibres
after being saturated and dried, metal plates may safely be used, and are
necessary to give a smooth or glossy surface. It will often happen, on account
of the great variety of purposes to which the article may be applied, that it
may or will require a combination of the fibres of several substances to be
mixed together and formed into one layer, or the combination of two or more
layers in which the fibres of one layer may be of a different substance from
the fibres of another layer: for instance, in making the article as a fit substi-
tute for leather harness, where it would be desirable to combine a neat smooth
surface to great strength, I interpose one or more layers of flax or hemp
between two layers of cotton, and other combinations may be made according
to the properties which it may be desired to give to the finished article, or as
economy may dictate.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Hancock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord:
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
TIIO HANCOCK. (L.s.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-eighth day of May,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Hancock came before our
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the shine Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year above written.