IMPROVEMENTS IN PREVENTING THE OXIDATION OF IRON
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
HENRY PARIS, of Paris, in the Republic of France, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-third day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles Henry Paris, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Charles Henry
Paris, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Charles
Henry Paris, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all
Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PREVENTING THE OXIDATION OF IRON," (communicated to me
by my brother, Charles Emile Paris, a foreigner residing abroad, in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Charles Henry Paris,
should cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the-same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of

page_text: Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Henry Paris, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists of certain means of coating articles made of wrought
iron with glass, or vitrious matter, so as to keep off the atmosphere and other
fluids and matters which would cause the iron to oxidize.
And in order that the Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
Articles made of sheet or of wrought iron, whether in the form of vessels,
trays, pipes, or otherwise, are first to have their surfaces cleansed, which I
prefer to be done by dilute acid, as is well understood, and dried, then a
coating of gum arabic (dissolved in water) is to be laid on to the surfaces by
means of a brush or otherwise, then by means of a sieve the fine powder of
glass or vitrious matter is to be sifted all over the surfaces. The article is
then to be introduced into a heated oven or retort (two hundred and twelve
degrees to three hundred degrees of Fahrenheit) to be dried, and when dry the
article is to be removed into another retort and heated to a bright red heat till
the glass or vitrious matter melts on the surface, which will readily be seen by
looking through a hole in the cover of the retort or oven. The article is then
to be removed into a close chamber, or covered over with a cover, to exclude
as much as may be the action of the atmosphere till the whole is cooled down.
If, on examination, the coating is imperfect, another is to be added in like
manner to the first.
The glass or vitrious mixture which I prefer to use is as follows:-One
hundred and thirty parts of flint glass reduced to powder, twenty and a half
parts of carbonate of soda, and twelve parts of boracic acid. These matters
being intimately mixed are to be placed in a glass-maker's crucible and melted,
the same is then to be drawn off and cooled, and then broken down into fine
powder, which is to be sifted through a fine seive (say, about 60 holes to the
inch,) and this powder is to be applied in the dry state, as beforo described.
I would remark, that although I believe the above to be the best composition
for the purpose, I do not confine myself thereto, as the same may be varied.
It is important, in preparing the glass or vitrious matter, that it should be free
from foreign matter; for this reason I employ hardened steel stampers for
crushing the matters into powder, and before employing the crucible I cause.

page_text: it to be coated with glass, by applying gum water to the inner surface of the
crucible, and then dusting over the powder of glass, and after the same has
been well dried I cause the same to be heated gradually up to the heat which
fuses the glass, by which the surface of the crucible will be coated with glass,
and will thus when used prevent impurities from the crucible getting mixed
up with the glass or vitrious mixture melted therein. If it be desired that
the surfaces of the iron should have colored glass or vitrious matter applied
thereto, then I cause it first to be coated with the mixture above explained,
and afterwards I apply a further coating of colored glass mixture to the whole
or parts of the surfaces, as may be desired.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the details herein given, so long as articles of wrought iron are coated
with a glass or vitrious matter by the means herein described. And I would
wish it to be understood that what I claim is, the cleansing of the iron and
then applying dry products of glass on to the adhesive matter on the surface
of the iron, then drying and fusing the glass, as described; and I also claim
the application of carbonate of soda when applying glass to the surfaces of
wrought iron.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Henry Paris, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.