THE MANUFACTURE OF A FLEXIBLE TRANSLUCENT MATERIAL OR FABRIC TO BE USED AS A PARTIAL SUBSTITUTE FOR GLASS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Moritz Pinner at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd September
1863. A communication- from abroad by Christoph Süssegger, of the
City, County, and State of New York, United States of America..
I, MORITZ PINNER, of No. 12, South Terrace, Grosvenor Park, Camberwell,
in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "THE MANUFACTURE OF A FLEXIBLE TRANSLUCENT MATERIAL OR FABRIC TO BE
USED AS A PARTIAL SUBSTITUTE FOR GLASS," to be as follows:-
For. the body of my material or fabric I take tinned wire webbing or cloth
of about sixteen to twenty meshes to the inch or flexible perforated metallic
plates. This webbing, cloth, or plate I cover with a transparent material
which I prepare in the following manner and proportions:-I take, say one
pound of Russian or Prussian isinglass or French gelatine, and put it into
two quarts of water, and therein let it soak for twelve hours, I thereupon take
the isinglass or gelatine out of the water, press it so as to free it from water,
and then put it into two quarts of fresh water to let it soak.another twelve
bours for the purpose of partly dissolving it. Good isinglass or gelatine will
require only two such soakings to purify and partly dissolve it, poorer qualities
require more. Rain or distilled water should be used. The complete solution
of the isinglass is thereupon effected by placing the vessel containing it into a
hot water bath, or better still into a vessel containing a hot water or steam
jacket. To this solution of isinglass or gelatine I add one ounce each of gum
arabic and rock candy, both these articles being first dissolved in hot water, and

page_text: to the whole I then add (1) three-sixteenths part of an ounce of oxalic acid
and two fluid ounces of pure alcohol. The mixing of all these articles takes
place while the vessel containing the whole of them is in a hot water bath,
and the solution is then allowed to cool until nearly the point of thickening.
The wire webbing, cloth, or plate is then dipped into or drawn through this
solution, and after that is turned and moved long enough to equalize the
thickness of the solution on the body of the material; upon that again the
thus coated wire webbing, cloth, or plate is hung up to dry in the air. When-
ever the solution becomes too thick it should be warmed to thin it again.
After the wire webbing, cloth, or plate has thus become perfectly dry it receives
one or more coats of some clear waterproof varnish, such as copal, amber,
dammer, or other transparent mastic or varnish. The ingredients and pro-
portions in the preparation of this flexible partial substitute for glass can be
somewhat varied without substantially changing the result. It will easily be
perceived that for many articles for which glass .so easily broken is now used,
this new fabric or material on account of its flexibility, safe transportation,
easy and quick manufacture, and easy repair could be used to much. better
'advantage, and it is also far superior to mica in this, that it can be had in
much larger size.