AN IMPROVED PROCESS POR WASHING, FREEING FROM BURS, AND UNHAIRING SKINS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Fau and Eugène Fau, both of the
Town of Castres, Departement of the Tarn, in the Empire of
France, Wool Manufacturers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS POR WASHING, FREEING FROM BURS, AND UNHAIRING SKINS."
Sealed the 26th October 1869, and dated the 4th May 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Fau and
Eugène Fau at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 4th May 1869.
We, AUGUSTE FAU and EUGÈNE FAU, both of the Town of Castres,
Departement of the Tarn, in the Empire of France, Wool Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS FOR WASHING, FREEING FROM BURS, AND UNHAIRING SKINS," to be as
follows:-
In order to clean the skins of sheep, and other wool-coated animals
clogged with thistles, clot burs, or goose grass, they are usually soaked
in water during several hours, then placed one by one on an inclined
plane and there receive blunt strokes struck with a round iron rod so

page_text: as to detach these thistles, clot burs, goose grass, or catch weed as
much as possible, the skins are then washed in a running stream. After
they have been washed and submitted to a heating or fermentation, the
unhairing is effected either by hand or with an iron tool known as a
shaving knife. In lieu of this method of freeing from burs which is
dirty and fatiguing to the workman, and burdensome, tiresome, and
disagreeable to the employer, as well as of the above method of unhairing
which is costly and injurious to the skin, we use with considerable
advantage the following process of washing, freeing from burs, and
unhairing: We submit woolly skins clogged with thistles, clot burs, or
goose grass to a preliminary soaking in water. We then place one or
several in a cylindrical drum, preferably of a conical shape, and moveable
or rotary, or upon inclined planes or any kind of surfaces moveable or
fixed, and we direct on to the skins one or several jets of waters under
pressure obtained by means of a natural or an artificial fall, or of pumps
worked by any available motive power. The result of this operation
is a thorough washing and a complete extraction of all the filth and of
the foreign matters from the wool such as thistles, clot burs, or
burdocks, or goose grass, or catch weed. We remove the wool from
the skins by the same means of jets of water under pressure, either pure
water, soapy water, alkaline, or other water either hot or cold, without
having recourse to the old processes of unhairin g.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Auguste Fau and Eugène Fau in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 1st November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, AUGUSTE
FAU and EUGENE FAU, both of the Town of Castres, Departement of the
Tarn, in the Empire of France, Wool Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Auguste Fau and Eugêne Fau, Her special
licence that we, the said Auguste Fau and Eugêne Fau, our executors,

page_text: administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Auguste Fau
and Eugêne Fau, our executors, administrators, 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, ùse, 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 FOR WASHING, FREEING PROM BURS, AND UNHAIRING
SKINS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Auguste
Fau and Eugêne Fau, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our, 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 we, the said Auguste Fau and Eugêne Fau, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
In order to clean the skins of sheep and other wool-coated animals
clogged with thistles, clot burs, or goose grass, they are usually soaked
in water during several hours, then placed one by one on an inclined
plane and there receive blunt strokes struck with a round iron rod so as
to detach these thistles, clot burs, goose grass, or catch weed as much
as possible, the skins are then washed in a running stream. After they
have been washed and submitted to a heating or fermentation the
unhairing is effected either by hand or with an iron tool known as a
shaving knife. In lieu of this method of freeing from burs, which is.
dirty and fatiguing to the workman, and burdensome, tiresome, and
disagreeable to the employer, as well as of the above method of unhairing
which is costly and injurious to the skin, we use with considerable
advantage the following process of washing, freeing from burs, and
unhairing: We submit woolly skins clogged with thistles, clot burs,
or goose grass to a preliminary soaking in water, we then place one
or several of the skins on a cylindrical drum preferably of a conical
shape and moveable or rotary, or upon inclined planes or any kind
of surfaces moveable or fixed, and we direct on to these skins one or
several jets of water under pressure obtained by means of a natural or
an artificial fall, or of pumps worked by any available motive power.

page_text: The result of this operation is a thorough washing and a complete ex-
traction of all the filth and of the foreign matters from the wool such
as thistles, clot burs, or burdocks, or goose grass, or catch weed. We
remove the wool from the skins by the same means of jets of water
under pressure, either pure water, soapy water, alkaline, or other water
either hot or cold without having recourse to the old processes of
unhairing.
What we claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent is, the use of jets of water under
pressure as we have above described for washing, freeing from burs, and
unhairing woollen skins.
In witness whereof, we, the said Auguste Fau and Eugène Fau
have hereunto set our hands and scals, this Twenty-eighth day of
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and
sixty-nine.
Signed and sealed in the
presence of
EDOUARD VERDEI.
AUGUSTE FAU. (L.S.)
EUGENE FAU.. (L.S.)