IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATER- PROOF FABRICS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Wansbrough, of the Grove, Guildford
Street, Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Waterproofer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATER-
PROOF FABRICS."
Sealed the 13th June 1854, and dated the 13th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Wansbrough
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th December 1853.
I, JAMES WANSBROUGH, of the Grove, Guilford Street, Southwark,
in the County of Surrey, Waterproofer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATER-
PROOF FABRICS" to be as follows:-
-
This Invention consists in giving to waterproofed fabrics an artificial
face or finish different from that of the fabric itself, so as to resemble
woollen cloth or such other fibrous materials as are capable of being
worked into flock, which may be effected in the following manner:-
The fabric employed to form the basis of the material may, if necessary,
be of any woven or textile material inferior to that which the face of the
fabric when finished is to resemble; this fabric is then saturated with a
solution of india-rubber (in the manner usually practised for rendering
fabrics waterproof), which whilst in a plastic state is covered with several
layers of solution of india-rubber, mixed with flock of the material

page_text: which the finished face is required to resemble. It is then coated or
covered with varnish and passed between pressure rollers, so as to
impart any required pattern or design to the face of the fabric, and
finally, the fabric thus prepared, if required to have a dull face, is
subjected to the action of steam, and fabrics thus prepared possess all
the properties which other waterproof fabrics possess, without the
objection of exposing to view the waterproofing solution employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Wansbrough in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th June 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES WANSBROUGH, of the Grove, Guildford Street; Southwark, in
the County of Surrey, Waterproofer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said James- Wansbrough, Her
special licence, that I, the said Jamies Wansbrough, my exccutors.
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Wansbrough, my 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, 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 MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF
FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the 'said James
Wansbrough, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 James Wansbrough, do hereby
declare, the, nature, of the said Invention, and in what manner the.

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in giving to waterproof fabrics an artificial
face or finish, different from that of the fabric itself, so as to resemble
woollen cloth or such other fibrous materials as are capable of being
worked into flock. And a peculiar feature in my said Invention is the
saturating of the cloth with a solution of india-rubber or gutta percha,
either separately or in combination, after the flock has been placed
thereon, and then passing the fabric between pressure rollers in the
manner herein-after described. And in order to explain my said
Invention as completely as possible, I now proceed to describe the
best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practical
effect, together with the manner in which the process is to be and may
be performed, according to my said Invention.
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE.
The fabric which I employ to form the basis of the waterproof
material may, if necessary, be of any woven or textile material, inferior
to that which the face of the material when finished is to resemble.
The fabric is then placed over rollers and strained as tight as possible
in any convenient manner, so as to obtain as near as may be a level
surface; and having done this I proceed to cover the surface thereof
with a solution of india-rubber in the manner usually practised for
rendering fabrics waterproof, and I continue to cover it with the
solution until it is made waterproof, taking care to let each coating of
solution dry before the next is put on, excepting the last coating, over
which, and whilst the solution is in a plastic state, I shake either
cotton, woollen, or silk flock of the colour which it is desired to have
the waterproof fabric. Or the same result may be obtained by mixing
the flock with the solution, and then covering the fabric therewith. I
next coat or cover this surface by saturating it. with a thin solution of
india-rubber or gutta percha, either separately or combined, and whilst
the solution is in a plastic state I pass the waterproofed material
between pressure rollers, upon one of which a pattern or device is
engraved or otherwise formed, and in this manner and by these means I'
give to the surface of the material any pattern, or design; and finally, if

page_text: it is desired to give to the finished surface a dull face, so as to give to
it the appearance of woollen cloth, the same may be effected by passing
it over an open vessel containing steam, and afterwards dressing it
with brushes, and pressing it by passing it between rollers, for the
purpose of fixing it in the body of the solution which has been
previously spread over the fabric.
And I would here remark that the substance or consistence of the
india-rubber or gutta percha solution employed for the purposes of this
Invention will depend upon the nature and substance of the material
to be waterproofed; for example, if the material is thin, the solution
must also be thin, and vice versa.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention of improve-
ments in the manufacture of waterproof fabrics, and in what manner
the same is to be and may be performed, I would remark, in con-
clusion, that I do not claim the exclusive use of any of the materials,
matters, or substances above mentioned and referred to, neither do I
claim as improvements in the manufacture of waterproof materials the
coating or covering of a woven fabric with a flock material, as the same
has already been done. But what I claim is, the saturating of the
flock with a solution of india-rubber or gutta percha, either separately
or combined, and then passing the material between rollers, to fix the
flock in the body of the solution upon which the flock is spread, as
herein-before particularly described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wansbrough, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
ALEX. PRINCE,
Patent Agent,
JAMES WANSBROUGH. (L.B.)
4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross.