IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF GLASS, CHINA, OR EARTHENWARE то THE ORNAMENTATION OF LOOKING GLASSES, PICTURE FRAMES, ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES IN HOUSEHOLD USE, FURNITURE, AND HOUSE DECORATION
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Charles March, of 6, Pall Mall Place,
Saint James', in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF GLASS, CHINA, OR
EARTHENWARE то THE ORNAMENTATION OF LOOKING GLASSES, PICTURE
FRAMES, ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES IN HOUSEHOLD USE, FURNITURE, AND HOUSE
DECORATION."
Sealed the 24th December 1872, and dated the 30th October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Charles March
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th October 1872.
I, THOMAS CHARLES MARCH, of 6, Pall Mall Place, St. James', in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF GLASS,
CHINA, OR EARTHENWARE TO THE ORNAMENTATION OF LOOKING GLASSES, PICTURE
FRAMES, ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES IN HOUSEHOLD USE, FURNITURE, AND HOUSE
DECORATION," to be as follows:―
This Invention has for its object improvements in the application of
glass, china, or earthenware to the ornamentation of looking glasses,
picture frames, ornamental articles in household use, furniture, and
°

page_text: house decoration; and consists in the employment of glass, china, or
earthenware in the form of stems, leaves, petals, flowers, fruits, etc., of
plants, ribbons, or other objects suitable for decoration in combination
with suitable plastic materials, so that greater freedom is given to the
artist in arranging his designs than when as ordinarily he is com-
pelled to accept the ornament as furnished by the manufacturer
complete.
The plastic material I prefer to use is the ordinary mixture
used in the decoration of picture frames composed of water, glue,
whiting, resin, and linseed oil, though other plastic materials may be
employed, such as gutta percha, or mixtures of resin, wax, and bituminous
substances, especially where the action of water has to be resisted, the
principle being that the plastic material whilst in a soft and yielding
state shall have the detached parts of the ornamentation embedded into
it according to the skill of the designer, and then harden into a compact,
solid, and substantial ornament.
The kind of plastic material being chosen I mould it into a suitable
form, such as the stem or branch of a plant (in flower decoratio."), and
then whilst in a soft or pliant state I insert the glass, china, or earthen-
ware made into the forms of leaves, petals, or buds of various colors to
make the desired design; the stem or footstalk of each leaf or bud can
be made with the stem a little bent or with a bulbous extremity, so that
the plastic material may close over it, and when set hold the ornament
more firmly. Where it is desired to make a group of flowers and leaves
the pieces of flowers, leaves, and stems, etc., are so embedded in the
plastic material that the material itself is hidden, and in many kinds of
ornamentation this is essential.
In some combinations I find it desirable to use ornaments of the three
kinds, glass, porcelain, and earthenware, and each piece being separate
the materials and color varied an unlimited number of designs are at the
command of the artist.
For the purpose of avoiding the ordinary frame in looking glasses or
mirrors I attach to the back of the looking glass a bevelled piece of
glass or other material in the manner hereafter described, with or without
holes through it, to which to attach a cord or a piece of glass or other
material having holes through it without the bevelled edge, and from
which the glass may be suspended. I also in certain cases drill a hole.
°

page_text: entirely through the glass, and attach a hook or frame or hinged
standard by a screw, bolt, or other fastening, from which the mirror
may be suspended or supported. It will be necessary in the case of a
mirror to remove the silvered surface before cementing the bevelled
glass thereon, and to hide these means of suspension or support by some
ornament attached to the face of the glass in the manner hereafter
described, this system of decoration more easily hiding what would
otherwise be a great defect.
The plastic material which holds the ornamentation may be attached
to any backing, but the mode of attachment will differ according to the
substance chosen to unpolished surfaces. The composition already
described for picture frames will adhere when wet by means of the glue,
which is one of its component parts, or by an additional coat of glue;
and in the case of velvet, silk, or other textile fabrics the nap of the
fabric is generally sufficient to hold whatever plastic material is used,
especially if aided by heat, as in the case of gutta percha.
Screws and nuts or other attachments of that kind can be used
whenever the backing permits of the insertion; and in the case of
smooth surfaces in which it is undesirable to drill holes, such as glass,
marble, or slate, I prefer to attach in the first instance a piece of glass,
wood, or other suitable substance to such smooth surfaces by a cement
of gelatine dissolved in acetic acid or other adhesive cement, and I give
to this piece of glass or other substance a bevelled form, attaching it by
the smaller area, so that the enlarged projection may hold the plastic
material when it is embedded round it.
Globular ornaments, such as the majority of those which are made in
flint glass, can be readily ornamented in my manner by pressing the
plastic material as a collar round portions of the globular parts or stems,
the configuration retaining the material round it.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Charles March, Her special license that I,
the said Thomas Charles March, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Thomas Charles March, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thercafter 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
APPLICATION OF GLASS, CHINA, OR EARTHENWARE TO THE ORNAMENTATION OF
LOOKING GLASSES, PICTURE FRAMES, ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES IN HOUSEHOLD USE,
FURNITURE, AND HOUSE DECORATION," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Charles March, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Charles March, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the application of
glass, china, or earthenware to the ornamentation of looking glasses,
picture frames, ornamental articles in household use, furniture, and
house decoration; and consists in the employment of glass, china, or
earthenware in the form of stems, leaves, petals, flowers, fruits, &c., of
plants, ribands, or other objects suitable for decoration in combination
with suitable plastic materials, so that greater freedom is given to the
artist in arranging his designs than when as ordinarily he is com-
pelled to accept the ornament as furnished by the manufacturer
complete.
The plastic material I prefer to use is the ordinary mixture used
in the decoration of picture frames composed of water. glue, whiting.

page_text: resin, and linseed oil, though other plastic materials may be employed,
particularly gutta percha or mixtures of resin, wax, and bituminous
substances, especially where the action of water has to be resisted, the
principle being that the plastic material whilst in a soft and yielding
state shall have the detached parts of the ornamentation embedded into
it according to the skill of the designer, and then harden into compact,
solid, and substantial ornament.
The kind of plastic material being chosen my mode of proceeding
depends on whether the ornaments of glass, china, or earthenware either
separately or together are to be at once applied by means of the plastic
material to the surfaces which they are intended to decorate, or whether
they are to be made separately from such surfaces. In the former case
I am guided by the nature of the material which forms the surface to
be decorated. If, for example, it be intended to ornament surfaces of
wood, such as picture or looking glass frames, panels, or cornices, or
similar articles of wood covered with velvet, silk, or other stuffs, I
prefer to bore holes in the wood, which I fill with the plastic material,
and then push in the separate pieces of glass, china, or carthenware at
proper intervals, so as to form the design, sometimes inserting several
pieces into one hole, and sometimes a single piece. When the plastic
material hardens, the ornaments, which may be made of various colours
and shapes, to represent natural objects, such as flowers, leaves, stalks,
and buds, are firmly fixed to the background of wood, and may thus be
made to represent wreaths, bouquets, and other floral designs of great
beauty and variety, and in high relief.
If it be wished that any part of the ornaments should stand out in
very high relief the plastic material can be raised or heaped up above
the surface of the wood, and if necessary can be held there by a screw or
other convenient projection.
In ornamenting smooth surfaces, such as glass, slate, marble, or other
material, into which it is not convenient or desirable to bore holes, I
prefer to attach in the first instance a piece of glass, wood, or other
suitable substance to such surfaces by a cement of gelatine dissolved in
acetic acid or other adhesive cement, and I give to this piece of glass or
other substance a bevelled form, attaching it by the smaller area, so that
the enlarged projection may hold the plastic material when it is
embedded round it.

page_text: In all these cases the plastic material is hidden as much as possible,
and the ornaments appear to spring from the background itself.
When the ornaments of glass, china, or earthenware are to be embedded
in the plastic material without applying the latter simultaneously to a
given surface or back I mould or form the plastic material into the shape
required, keeping the back of it flat, and then press in the ornaments, so
as to conceal the material in which they are imbedded. In certain cases
however I make the plastic material form part of the ornament by
, moulding it previously into the shape of a branch or stem, in which I
insert leaves or other ornaments of glass, china, or earthenware, so as to
make out the design.
These detached ornaments can be afterwards fixed to any required
surface. Where composition has been the plastic material employed it
can be applied to wood and other unpolished surfaces by simply wetting
the back in the same way that composition ornaments are fastened on to
wooden frames, or glue may be employed to aid the adherence. In the
case of gutta percha or other plastic material, which is not brittle, attach-
ment may be made to the backing by means of screws, nuts, or any
other means by which wooden mouldings and ornaments are affixed to
walls and articles of furniture.
In some cases, in order to fix the pieces of glass, china, or earthenware
more securely, I find it useful to rough the stems or footstalks of the
leaves and flowers, or bend them somewhat, or give them a bulbous
extremity, the object being that the plastic material may close over
them, and hold them more securely.
Globular or cylindrical surfaces, such as the majority of those which
are made in flint glass and surfaces of metal work of similar forms, can
be readily ornamented in my manner by pressing the plastic material as
a collar round portions of the stems or parts, the configuration retaining
the material around it.
For the purpose of avoiding the ordinary frame in looking glasses
or mirrors, which are frequently ornamented in my way, I take
advantage of the great power of adhesion between two surfaces of
polished glass cemented together, and having scraped off the silvering
from a portion of the back of the mirror I cement on a piece of a
thick glass, so shaped that it will hold either a cord or wire by which
to suspend the mirror or a. hinged standard or support, by which the

page_text: mirror can be made to stand on a table or otherwise. The piece of glass
for this purpose has a bevelled form, and is attached to the back of the
mirror by its smaller area, so that the enlarged projection may hold
either a cord or the hinged framework. In scraping off the silver from
the back of the mirror I choose a part which can be conveniently masked,
or concealed by the ornaments fixed to the front of the mirror. The
means of suspension or support above described are in this manner
effectually hidden.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would
have it understood that what I claim is, the application of glass, china,
or earthenware to the ornamentation of looking glasses, picture frames,
ornamental articles in household use, furniture, and house decoration,
by the use of detached pieces of glass, china, or earthenware embedded
in plastic material, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Charles March, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of April, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.