IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAINING AND IN PRODUCING IMITATIVE ORNAMENTAL SURFACES, AND IN CERTAIN INSTRUMENTS OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Bellamy, of the Lower Road, Islington, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAINING
AND IN PRODUCING IMITATIVE ORNAMENTAL SURFACES, AND IN CERTAIN
INSTRUMENTS OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSES."
Sealed the 22nd April 1856, and dated the 23rd October 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Bellamy at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd October 1855.
I, JOHN BELLAMY, of the Lower Road, Islington, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN GRAINING AND IN PRODUCING IMITATIVE ORNAMENTAL SURFACES, AND IN
CERTAIN INSTRUMENTS OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH PURPOSES," to
be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention consists of an improved mode of graining
on a paper surface with a view to using such grained paper in place of
veneers for furniture, for panels for doors, for styles and mouldings,
for papering rooms, and other decorative purposes. The paper to be
grained is first to be "sized" in the ordinary manner, then dried, and after
that a solution composed of gum dissolved in spirit is to be thinly rubbed
over it. The next process is to grain the prepared paper in the manner
and by the tools or apparatus described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted the 11th day of April 1846, to Edmund Barber, of which
I am the sole assignee. This mode of graining consists chiefly in taking

page_text: out the veins or lights by means of cylinders or rollers, on which is placed
a pattern or design carved in leather in relief. The required figure being
thus given to the paper by means of one of these cylinders, using with it
water or other colours, as is well understood, the paper is next to be
coated or covered with french polish or varnish, which may be applied
by a rubber." When dry it is ready for use for veneering furniture or
other purposes, and when properly prepared, according to this process,
it has a highly ornamental appearance, closely resembling that of the real
wood. When it is to be applied to veneer furniture, the article to be
veneered should be "sized," and the paper coated with thin glue or gum,
which mode will cause perfect adhesion.
My next improvement relates to graining or marbling on glass or slate.
My process for graining or marbling on glass is as follows:-I first brush
a coat of the proper colour on the glass, then I roll one of Barber's
cylinders, herein-before described, over the wet colour, and then paint in
the background. This grained or marbled glass is fit for many useful
decorative purposes. 2ndly, my process for graining or marbling on slate
consists of first preparing the slate surface, as is ordinarily done.for_the
purpose of enamelling slate; it is then to be grained or marbled by
Barber's cylinders, and over-grained if required by hand or cylinders:
The fine grains of marble or the over-graining of wood may be imitated
by means of cylinders covered with a woven fabric having the veins or
graining in relief, or narrow fabrics may be fastened to cylinders of wire
gauze to effect the same object.
My third improvement consists of a peculiar mode of graining on wood
which has not received the three or four coats of oil colour ordinarily
applied before graining is commenced. My process for effecting this
object is as follows:-The surface of deal or other common wood being
planed, I rub in with a rubber a coat of french or other polish; I then
grain with one of Barber's cylinders, and polish or varnish the surface."
By this means I am enabled to preserve the natural vein of the wood, and
to bring it into harmony with that artificially made by the graining tool;
and this mode of graining, dispensing as it does with the numerous coats
of oil colour, is very economical, and at the same time produces a
effective and ornamental appearance.
highly
My next improvement relates to modifications of Barber's patent grain-
ing tools, and consists, 1stly, of the application of an elastic substance
between the tin or other metal or wooden cylinder, described by the
Specification of the said E. Barber, and the leather or other engraved or

page_text: cut surface for graining, the object being to enable the workman to press
the leather or other cut surface into any crevice, opening, or irregularity
which the rigidity of the present cylinder will not allow of being done.
On the tin or other metallic or wooden cylinder I place a surface of
vulcanized india-rubber, gutta percha, or other similar elastic material,
and then to this I attach the leather or other material on which the grain-
ing pattern is cut; or instead of india-rubber or such like elastic medium,.
1 use a composition made chiefly of treacle and glue, which serves in like
manner to give a pliancy to the tool for graining.
And lastly, my Invention consists of an improved graining instrument.
I cut out the pattern or design in leather or other similar material in long
lengths, and roll this round a stick or roller; this being unrolled is to be
pressed against the surface to be grained, and by this means a larger
surface may be grained at one operation than by the cylinder apparatus,
and in some cases it is more portable and convenient for use. I reserve
a right to vary the details of my Invention as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Bellamy in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BELLAMY, of the Lower Road, Islington,.in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Bellamy, Her special licence that I, the said John
Bellamy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Bellamy, 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 GRAINING AND IN PRODUCING IMITATIVE ORNAMENTAL SUR-
FACES, AND IN CERTAIN INSTRUMENTS OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR SUCH
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Bellamy, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing

page_text: 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 John Bellamy, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The Invention consists, firstly, of an improved mode or method of grain-
ing or marbling upon paper or cardboard, that is to say, of giving to the
surface of the paper or cardboard an appearance very closely resembling
the choicest specimens of the more expensive kinds of wood used by
cabinet makers, and also representing upon the surface of paper the
various sorts of marble used for decorative purposes, so that papers pre-
pared as herein-after described may be used for covering doors, for
panellings, and as veneers for articles of furniture made of common
woods; and in the case of marbled papers, they may be applied to
covering walls, ceilings, and other decorative purposes. The following
is the process by which I obtain upon paper the ornamental surfaces above
referred to In the first place the paper is to be "sized," that is, a
quantity of size is melted with water, and the solution spread over one
surface of the paper or cardboard, either by hand or by passing it through
a machine, in which one or more rollers spread or distribute the size over
the surface of the paper. The pieces of paper or cardboard are then hung
up, and the coating of size allowed to dry; the sized surfaces are then to
be rubbed over with a solution of gum sandarack or mastic dissolved in
spirits of wine. This coating of varnish should be thin, and of a color
suitable to the ground color of the wood to be imitated, and may be done
by hand where only a small quantity of paper or cardboard is required.
It will, however, be found in nearly all cases necessary to use machinery
for the purpose, by which the cost of production will be greatly reduced.
The next process is to grain the papered surface of the paper or card-
board, and this is done by the use of certain tools, described in the
Specification of Letters Patent granted to Edmund Barber, of Tring, in
the County of Hertford, Decorative Painter, and bearing date the
Eleventh day of October, of the year Eighteen hundred and forty-six, ot
which said Letters Patent I am the sole assignee. The mode of graining
described in the Specification of the said Letters Patent consists chiefly

page_text: in taking out the viens or "lights," by means of cylinders or rollers covered
with leather or other similar material, in which the veins or "lights" are
carved in relief. For example, if it be desired to imitate mahogany, a
quantity of color, consisting of venetian red and vandyke brown, or
other suitable colors or combination of colors, is mixed with a solution
of size, and this is spread evenly over the surface of the paper or card-
board either by hand or by machine; the paper or cardboard is then
passed under the graining roller, the higher parts of which (or those in
relief) will take off a certain quantity of color, leaving the paper mottled
or viened, according to the pattern cut or carved on the graining roller.
After the color is dry, the paper or cardboard may be "over-grained."
This operation is also done by a roller in which the pattern of the grain
is cut in relief; but in this case the color ought to be placed on the grained
surface of the paper, and not wiped out, as in the case of the lights; the
roller must, therefore, be passed over a surface upon which some of the
over-graining tint has been distributed, or if the rollers be fitted in a
machine it must be supplied with the necessary quantity of color. The
paper or cardboard is finally coated with varnish, or french-polished in
the ordinary manner, and may then be applied for veneering or covering
the surface of furniture, which will then resemble that mode of expensive
wood. The operation of marbling paper or cardboard is very similar to
the foregoing, but in this kind of work most of the colors have to be
laid on, as in the case of "over-graining," before referred to. The colors
to be used in the foregoing processes may be either mixed with water
tempered with size, dextrine, or mucilage.
The next part of my Invention consists of a new process of graining or
marbling upon glass or slate. For this purpose, a coat of the graining
color is first brushed over the glass, the lights are then taken out by
passing one of the graining.cylinders, before described, over the color, by
which a portion of the wet color is removed; when this is dry, a coat of
color, which forms the ground color of the object to be imitated, is laid
on. The process of marbling on glass is similar to the graining, the
veining color being laid on with cylinders suitably prepared for trans-
ferring to the glass the characteristic veining of the marble it is desired to
imitate, and finally backing the veinings with one or more ground colors,
as required. Glass prepared in this manner, either in imitation of wood or
marble, has a highly ornamental appearance, very useful to the decorator,
and may be used for inlaying, panelling, and other wood work, or for
imitative mosaic.

page_text: It must be observed, that in preparing glass according to these im-
provements, that the colors are laid on the glass in an inverse order as
compared with an opaque substance; therefore the over-graining or the
light finishing veins are put on first, and lastly the ground or backing
color. In the process of graining or marbling upon slate, the surface is
prepared by polishing, as in the process of enamelling upon that material;
a ground color is laid on and allowed to dry; the graining or marbling
color is then put on, and mottled or grained by means of the graining or
marbling cylinders, as before described; and finally the grained or marbled
slate may be varnished or polished, according to the nature of the work
to which it is to be applied. This material, prepared and decorated in
the foregoing manner, is very useful for inlaying walls, for chimney pieces,
and for lining baths, &c., having a cool smooth surface similar to marble,
and it is also applicable for ornamental table tops and other decorative
purposes.
The third part of my Invention consists of a peculiar mode of graining
or marbling upon the natural surface of woods, thus saving the three or
four coats of oil color which are usually applied to wood work before the
grainer commences his work. The surface of the wood, which may be
common deal, or other ordinary white wood, is first to be planed and then
rubbed over with a coating of french polish, or other similar solution of
gums in spirit, which has the effect of stopping or partially stopping
suction and absorption of the colors subsequently laid on; the ground is
then laid on with a painter's brush or sash tool, and the graining or vein-
ing cylinders passed over the wet color to take out the "lights," and when
dry the "over-graining" is to be applied by laying on the color with a.
suitable cylinder, as before described in the first part of this Specification.
In those parts of the work where the lights are taken out the natural
vein of the wood will be seen, and a workman of taste will endeavour to
make his over-graining harmonize therewith, by which the appearance of
his work will be greatly enhanced; so also where knots occur, advantage
must be taken of them to increase the beauty of the imitative wood, and
avoid the appearance of blemish or artifice. The graining on unpainted
wood is finished by varnishing or french-polishing the surface. The
ordinary deal wood grained in the foregoing manner, properly varnished
or polished, presents an appearance far superior to the finest specimens
of graining executed upon a painted ground, and closely resembling the
hard woods commonly used by cabinet makers. Altho' articles of
furniture, such as wardrobes, drawers, bedsteads, tables, &c., when made
а

page_text: of deal and grained in the foregoing manner may be varnished, I prefer
to have them french-polished. The coloring matters used in this mode
of graining on unpainted surfaces of wood are similar to those known to
and used by grainers, and may be mixed with beer, as is well known;
care must be taken to combine the coloring matters so as to produce tints
and effects resembling the color of the superior woods, such as rosewoods,
mahogany, maple, walnut, &c. But as every grainer knows the in-
gredients and quantities of such coloring matters, and as their use forms
no part of my Invention, I have only to call attention to the necessity of
a judicious use of color, in order to produce superior imitative grained
surfaces by my process.
The next part of my Invention refers to certain improvements in and
modifications of the graining tools, described in the Specification of the
Letters Patent granted to Edmund Barber, herein-before referred to.
The graining cylinders therein described consist chiefly of cylinders of
wood or metal covered with buff leather, in which the graining pattern
is cut. My first improvement consists in the application of an elastic
substance between the wood or metal and the leather, the object being
to give increased softness or elasticity to the graining surface. The
materials I prefer for this purpose is a thick sheet of vulcanized india-
rubber, gutter percha, or other elastic material. In the Drawing forming
part of this Specification, Figures 1, 2, represent one of these improved
graining tools in side view and plan. a is the metal or wooden cylinder;
b, the vulcanized india-rubber; and c, the surface, of buff leather, upon
which the graining pattern is cut by means of carving tools.
Another modification consists in covering the metal or wooden cylinder
with a thick coating of an elastic composition made of treacle and glue;
this material is admirably adapted for giving a peculiar pliancy and
elasticity to the graining tool, so as to enable the workman to grain
irregular surfaces, such as mouldings or cornices, for example. Figure 3
represents a cylinder made according to this part of my Invention. dis
the layer of elastic composition interposed between the cylinder and the
buff leather surface; a woven fabric may, however, be used instead of the
buff leather covering for some descriptions of graining and marbling.
Another improvement in the graining and moulding tools consists of a
roller, on which is wound a long length of leather or woven fabric, upon
the surface of which the graining pattern has been either cut or woven.
Fig. 4 represents an instrument of this description. e is the roller or axis;
f, the roll of leather or woven fabric. This being unrolled, is to be

page_text: damped and pressed against the wet.color, the workmen rolling it upon
the axis or roller as he proceeds over the surface, may be grained or
marbled with great ease and rapidity.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not
contine myself precisely to the details I have herein-before described, as
the same may be varied without departing from the Invention; neither
do I make any claim to graining upon paper, cardboard, or slate, except
in the manner and by the tools or instruments herein-before described;
but what I claim, and desire to secure under the herein-before recited
Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the several modes of graining and marbling upon paper, card-
board, glass, and slate by and with a cylinder, roller, or tool, having a
pattern, design, or figure cut or carved thereon, as herein-before
described.
Secondly, the mode of graining upon an unpainted surface of wood, as
above described.
Thirdly, the improvements upon Barber's graining tools, as herein-
before described, and shewn by the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bellamy, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
CHARLES BARLOW,
Patent Office, 89, Chancery Lane.
JOHN BELLAMY. (L.S.)