IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBOSSING AND PRINTING DIES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE' OR PERFORATED EMBOSSED PAPER." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bell, Die Maker, late in the employment
of Thorne and Lemon, of Fore Street, in the City of London, Engineers,
but now in the employment of John Windsor, of Coppice Row, Clerken-
well, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBOSSING AND PRINTING
DIES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE' OR PERFORATED EMBOSSED PAPER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
August 1858.
I, GEORGE BELL, Die Maker, in the employment of Thorne and Lemon, of
Fore Street, in the City of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBOSSING AND PRINTING DIES,
AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE' OR PERFORATED EMBOSSED PAPER," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, in constructing, embossing and printing dies
with movable collars or "tops," retained in the body or frame of the die by a
screw or screws, or by other suitable means, and in forming slides or "centres"
working in apertures made in the collars, with heels or lateral projections at
bottom to prevent their being drawn out or their falling out from the dies
while being used.
Secondly, my Invention consists in the manufacture of "lace" or perforated
embossed paper, by first embossing the paper in an embossing die, in order to
produce the embossed pattern thereon, then in the employment of a plate of
metal, which I place upon the paper while still in the die, and in producing

page_text: the perforations or open-work in the paper by bringing down the press upon
the metal plate, which will cause the cutting away of all those parts of the
paper not contained in the sunk parts of the die.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Bell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd
February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
BELL, Die Maker, late in the employ of Thorne and Lemon, of Fore Street,
in the City of London, Engineers, but now in the employ of John Windsor,
of Coppice Row, Clerkenwell, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty. Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Bell, Her special licence that I, the said George Bell, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Bell, 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 EMBOSSING AND
PRINTING DIES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE OR PERFORATED EMBOSSED
PAPER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Bell,.
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said George Bell, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
In order more clearly to explain the nature of my Invention, I will first
describe an embossing and printing die which has heretofore been in use, and

page_text: will then proceed to describe the nature of my improvements. An ordinary
embossing die is frequently used for embossing and printing by merely inking
its surface with an inking roller, or by rubbing ink into the hollows and
wiping it off from the surface; but when it is required to apply the ink or
colour to one portion only of the design, a die, such as that shewn in plan
in Figure 1, and in section in Figure 2, is frequently used. A is the main
body of the die, the lower part of which is hollow; B, B, are loose "centres."
or plugs fitting freely into corresponding holes in the die. C is a plate or
disc, which is pressed upwards by a helical spring D, lodged in a cavity in a
plug E, screwed into the bottom of the body of the die A. When a piece of
paper is laid upon this die, and the "force" or counterpart of the embossing
press is brought down upon it, the "centres " B, B, are pressed down until the
disc C rests upon the piece E. The "centres" are then level with the face of
the die, and the embossing is effected. When the "force" or counterpart of
the press rises again, the centres B, B, are pushed up by the spring into the
position shown in the Drawing. The centres are then inked on the surface
by passing an inking roller over them, and the paper is laid upon them, and is
printed and embossed by the descent of the counterpart or "force." When
the "force" ascends again the centres are frequently drawn up by the adhesion
of the paper to them and to the "force," and they are sometimes drawn out
of their holes and fall upon the die. In this case, if the descent of the force
is not prevented, the die is liable to be injured or entirely spoiled by the steel
centre being struck into its face. The centres of these dies are only "inked " on
the surface, so as to produce "cameo printing." Each die being fitted with
the spring and disc, their cost is considerable.
Figure 3 is a plan, and Figure 4 is a section, of a die constructed according
to my Invention. F is a, loose die or "collar," on which the design is engraved,
and which is fitted into a separate block G, in which it is secured by two
small screws a, a; C is the disc, resting on the spring D in a hollow in the
plug or piece E, which is screwed into the block G, as before. The centres B
are made with a heel or flange or projection at the lower end, which prevents
them from being drawn out of the collar F.
"
Figure 5 is a plan, and Figure 6 is an elevation, of one of the "centres
or plugs B. The centres B may be inked by a roller, as before described; but
when it is required to ink them by filling the design with ink, and wiping off
the ink from the surface, so as to produce "relief printing," it is effected by
taking the whole die out of the press, and inking the centres by a stroke of
a brush full of ink on each, and then turning the whole die face downwards,
and rubbing the centres on a piece of paper or other suitable material, so as

page_text: screws a, a, are un-
The new centres are
to remove the ink from the surface. The die is then replaced in the press,
and the embossing and printing is performed by bringing down the "force" upon
the paper or other article which is laid upon the die. The "centres" are pressed
down into the position shewn in Figure 7, so as to be level with the rest of
the die when the full pressure comes upon it; the disc C then rests upon
the plug E. In this way the "centres " remain in the die, and there is no
danger of the face of the die being injured by the centres being drawn out
by the action of the press, as in using the ordinary dies. When it is required
to change the centres and substitute others, the two
screwed, and the "collar" F and centres Bare removed.
inserted in the collar, which is then replaced and fixed by the screws a, a.
Other collars may be substituted for the collar F in a similar manner. By
this means one block G and disc C, spring D, and plug E, serve for a
number of different dies or "collars" and centres. The disc C and spring D
are prevented from escaping when the collar is removed by means of a small
flange or projection c, which may be formed on the block G, or may consist
of a ring or washer fixed in the block. When the whole of the die is to be
inked, the plug E may be unscrewed and the spring D is removed. The
disc C then rests upon the plug E, as shewn in Figure 7, and the die may
then be used as though it were a plain or solid die; the number of centres
may of course be varied. These dies are very suitable for embossing and
printing envelopes with initial letters or other devices in colours. Each
centre may be inked with a different colour or with the same colour at
pleasure. By means of these dies I can print the centres in "cameo" or in
"relief," while the remainder of the design is plain embossing; or I can ink
the collar F by a brush, and wipe its surface on a piece of paper or other
suitable material by pressing the die down upon it with sufficient force to
drive in the centre to the level of the collar. The centre may. be left without
ink, or may be inked at the same time or afterwards with the same or a
different ink or colour, and its surface (after being wiped, if previously inked)
may then be inked by a roller with another colour. A great variety of
effects may thus be produced from the same die.
."
The same construction of die is also applicable to the manufacture of
"lace or perforated embossed paper with printed devices. Thus, the design
on the collar, or some portion of it, may be made with cutting edges, like an
ordinary die for making lace paper. The centres are then inked, and the
paper is laid on the die and printed and embossed by the descent of the
"force," as herein-before described; and when a number of papers have been
so treated, the centres are removed from the die, or the spring is removed so

page_text: as to allow the centres to stand level with the die. Each embossed printed
paper is then placed in the die in its proper position, and a plate of iron or
steel or other suitable metal is pressed down upon it by the press, and the
cutting edges of the die are thus caused to cut the paper and produce the
required perforations.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what
I claim is,
Firstly, constructing embossing and printing dies with a loose or moveable
"centre" or "centres" or plugs provided with flanges or heels, or a pro-
jection or projections, or other equivalent means, which prevent the centre or
centres from falling out when the die is inverted, but which allow them to be
protruded or projected by the action of a spring or springs to a sufficient
distance to admit of their being inked, as herein-before described.
Secondly, constructing embossing and printing dies with a loose or separate
collar and a loose or separate centre or centres, such collar being secured
by screws or otherwise in or upon a block containing a spring or springs
for protruding the centre or centres, as herein-before described. I also
claim constructing such dies with a projection or flange in the interior of the
block, or other equivalent means of preventing the escape of the disc or plate
which rests upon the spring, as herein-before described.
Thirdly, constructing embossing and printing dies with a loose or separate
collar in combination with a loose or separate centre or centres, made
with a heel or projection or projections, or other equivalent means of pre-
venting the centre or centres from falling out when the die is inverted, but
which will allow it or them to be protruded or projected, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Bell, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of February, in the year of our Lord One.
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
CHARLES COWper,
20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, London.
G. BELL. (L.S.)