Improvements in the Decoration of Articles of Porcelain and other Earthenware, Glass, and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Apr., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 10th Jan., 1900-Accepted, 3rd Mar., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Decoration of Articles of Porcelain and other
Earthenware, Glass, and the like.
We, THE WORCESTER ROYAL PORCELAIN COMPANY, LIMITED, of The Royal
Porcelain Works, in the City of Worcester, Potters, and SAMUEL RANFORD, of
the College Precincts, in the said City, Decorator, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
In the decoration of articles of fictile ware including porcelain, china, earthen-
ware and also glass, it has been customary to apply in the well known manner,
a matt," or dead metallic surface, and by the use of a chaser such parts,
points, or lines as will produce the desired design are cut out, chased, or made
bright. Amongst the drawbacks attendant upon this method of attaining a
design, or ornamentation in gold, or the like, effect is the expenditure of time,
labour and trained skill required to properly manipulate the chasing tools
and the impossibility of correcting or effacing the error without injury to the
"
matt or metallic surface
design, the tendency of the reserved portions of the "
by attrition to become polished, or brightened and so the contrast and conse-
quently the design is lost, as the article becomes " worn," and otherwise the
process is expensive.
The present invention has for its object to simplify the method of production
of such ornamentation and to reduce the cost thereof, by substituting for such
highly skilled technical labour as chasing the cheaper mode of applying the
gold design, or the like application of metal, by groundlaying, printing, or
transfer or by hand with camel hair or other brush.
The design, device, pattern or ornamentation, which it is designed to bring
out in gold, or metallic lustred relief, is first drawn, printed, or otherwise
produced, upon the surface of the ware, either, when said ware is in the "biscuit,"
or the glazed state; by the employment of a suitable pigment, which is selected
so that it shall when so applied and afterwards burned upon the ware, resemble
the colour and effect of a surface of dead unburnished gold. This design in
such pigment having been duly laid on, or as technically expressed having been
filled in or transferred to the pattern, or design the ware is burned in an enamel
or other suitable kiln, the heat employed being such as to suffice to entirely
harden the gold, or metallic, coloured pigment, and render it impervious to
dirt, the absorption of any gold, or other metallic, application and incapable of
being scratched, or affected in any way by the agate or burnisher, which is
subsequently used on the metallic overlay as will be referred to. Although
it is possible to get either effect just referred to without recourse to the firing at
the point just referred to, the result is not so reliable or good.
The pattern, or embellishment, which is to be added on the pigment just
referred to, so as to imitate and produce the effect of chased gold or the like, is
now applied either by transfer-printing from a copper or steel plate. or from a
lithographic stone, or by the use of any of the equivalent means of effecting such

page_text: an end, or it may be done by hand with camel's hair, sable, or other brush or
other implement adapted to the laying on of gold or colour.
This gold or other metallic application in imitation of the effects produced by
the chasing tool, having been completed, the article treated is again burned at
such a temperature as experience teaches will be sufficient to properly fix the
gold work, or the like, on the pigment design or pattern. The design will
then be finished by being burnished with the agate, or other suitable burnishing
tool, in the manner well understood in the art, and the effect of a rich gold
"matt," or ground part presenting a dead surface, with burnished or chased
embellishments thereon, will be attained.
Similar effects can also be obtained by the use of the same pigments by
different methods of treatment; such as gold, design upon which a colour is
put by printing or otherwise and upon this colour a further print in gold or by
hand design is applied.
By these means a rich ornamental effect is capable of being produced at a
much lessened cost and by the employment of much less skilled labour with the aid
of mechanical means of reproduction of design; with greatly increased wear
resisting qualities, and with a much greater range of pattern or elaboration of
design than would be possible to effect with the chaser on the old method of
production described; as well as economy of time and precious metal secured.
Dated the 11th
1 1000
Improvements in the Decoration of Articles of Porcelain and other
Earthenware, Glass, and the like.
We, THE WORCESTER ROYAL PORCELAIN COMPANY, LIMITED, of The Royal
Porcelain Works, in the City of Worcester, Potters, and SAMUEL RANFORD, of
the College Precincts, in the said City, Decorator, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
In the decoration of articles of fictile ware including porcelain, china, earthen-
ware and also glass, it has been customary to apply in the well known manner,
a matt," or dead metallic surface, and by the use of a chaser such parts,
points, or lines as will produce the desired design are cut out, chased, or made
bright. Amongst the drawbacks attendant upon this method of attaining a
design, or ornamentation in gold, or the like, effect is the expenditure of time,
labour and trained skill required to properly manipulate the chasing tools
and the impossibility of correcting or effacing the error without injury to the
design, the tendency of the reserved portions of the
or metallic surface
by attrition to become polished or brightened and so the contrast and conse-
quently the design is lost, as the article becomes " worn," and otherwise the
process is expensive.
matt"
The present invention has for its object to simplify the method of production
of such ornamentation and to reduce the cost thereof, by substituting for such
highly skilled technical labour as chasing the cheaper mode of applying the
gold design, or like application of metal, by ground laying, printing or transfer,
or by hand with camel hair or other brush.

page_text: The design, device, pattern or ornamentation, which it is designed to bring
out in gold, or metallic lustred relief, is first drawn, printed or otherwise
produced, upon the surface of the ware, either, when said ware is in the "biscuit,"
or the glazed state; by the employment of a suitable pigment, which is selected
5 so that it shall when so applied and afterwards burned upon the ware, resemble
the colour and effect of a surface of dead unburnished gold.
Such pigment may be produced by a mixture of the following potters' colours.
White vellum, yellow, brown, copper red, and raise colour with the addition,
according to the particular shade or tone desired, of other colours prepared
from the various known metallic oxides, by the ordinary methods well under-
stood by any practical pottery decorator.
This design in such pigment having been duly laid on, or as technically
expressed having been filled in or transferred to the pattern, or design, the
ware is burned in an enamel or other suitable kiln, the heat employed being
such as to suffice, to entirely harden the gold, or metallic, coloured pigment,
and render it impervious to dirt, the absorption of any gold, or other metallic,
application and incapable of being scratched, or affected in any way by the
agate or burnisher, which is subsequently used on the metallic overlay as will
be referred to.
Although it is possible to get either effect just referred to without recourse
to the firing at the point just referred to, the result is not so reliable or good.
The pattern or embellishment, which is to be added on the pigment just
referred to, so as to imitate and produce the effect of chased gold or the like, is
now applied either by transfer-printing from a copper or steel plate, or from a
lithographic stone, or by the use of any of the equivalent means of effecting such
an end, or it may be done by hand with camel's hair, sable, or other brush or
other implement adapted to the laying on of gold or colour.
This gold or other metallic application in imitation of the effects produced by
the chasing tool, having been completed, the article treated is again burned at
such a temperature as experience teaches will be sufficient to properly fix the
gold work, or the like, on the pigment design or pattern.
The design will be finished by being burnished with the agate, or other
suitable burnishing tool, in the manner well understood in the art, and the
effect" of a rich gold "matt," or ground part presenting a dead surface, with
burnished or chased embellishments thereon will be attained.
"
Similar effects can also be attained by the use of the same pigments by
different methods of treatment; such as gold design upon which a colour is
put by printing or otherwise and upon this colour a further print in gold or by
hand design is applied.
By these means a rich ornamental effect is capable of being produced at a
much lessened cost and by the employment of much less skilled labour with the aid
of mechanical means of reproduction of design; with greatly increased wear
resisting qualities, and with a much greater range of pattern or elaboration of
design than would be possible to effect with the chaser on the old method of
production described; as well as economy of time and precious metal secured.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
-
1. The improved method of decoration of porcelain and other earthenware,
glass and the like articles, by first producing on the surface of the ware in the
biscuit or the glazed state in suitable pigment, the selected design, then burning,
and then applying on the surface of this pigment the further embellishment in
imitation of or producing the effect of chased metal-say-gold, and further.
burning and finishing, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The method of decorating porcelain and other articles by producing on
the goods in suitable pigment, more or less resembling gold, the design and

page_text: thereon applying further embellishments to produce the effect of chased metal-
say gold, with such burning and burnishing as may be required, all sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated the 10th day of January 1900.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicants.