AN IMPROVED METHOD OF STENCILLING ON CHINA OR EARTHENWARE.
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Stellanus (Count Holtzendorff)
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th February 1883.
GEORGE STELLANUS (Count HOLTZENDORFF) of No 36 Curzon Street Derby in
the County of Derby Designer "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF STENCILLING ON
CHINA OR EARTHENWARE.'
"
The proposed Improvement consists in a process by which an adhesive stencil
plate of gelatine or other similar substance is formed on the surface of each article
required to be decorated.
Instead of the usual process of traced outlines stencilled out by hand, I propose to
obtain a preliminary stencil plate on an article of the same size and shape as that
required to be decorated in the manner following. I first dip this article into a
thin mixture of gelatine: draw the required design on the thin coat thus obtained:
again dip the article into another mixture consisting of gelatine and Oil of Cloves,
and, the design which is visible through this second coat having been cut out that
which remains of the second coat forms a skeleton to be afterwards used as a
preliminary stencil plate. The article to be decorated is now dipped into a tepid
mixture of gelatine and glycerine
The thin film or coat thus formed having been allowed to dry, the preliminary
stencil plate, described above, is removed from the article on which it was formed
and is stuck on to the article to be decorated by a mixture of gum mastic and
turpentine The said article is then dipped into another solution of gelatine and
glycerine hot enough to dissolve the first thin film where it is not protected by the
preliminary stencil plate laid over it As soon as this Third coat is dry, it will
take with it when removed the thin film forming the First coat where it was not
protected as aforesaid, but leave intact the preliminary stencil plate I then remove
such preliminary stencil plate and the thin coat so protected as aforesaid will be
found closely adhering to the surface of the article under operation and forms the
actual stencil plate. The ground colour is next powdered on as usual and nothing
then remains but to tear off the actual stencil plate This having been done, &
stencilled drawing perfectly true because mechanically obtained will appear on the
surface of the article.
Where the preliminary stencil plate, obtained as above mentioned, is expected to
be used for a very large number of articles it will be advantageously replaced by a

page_text: copper stencil plate; which I obtain by first coating an article of the required shape
with copper by the usual process of galvanic deposit, and then cutting out the
design In some cases it will be found more convenient not to put on the graphite
or plumbago (a substance always used to prepare the surface of the china for the
galvanic deposit) all over the article, but only in the shape of the gelatine stencil
plate, and thus to obtain the copper stencil plate without cutting. Any rough
edges will be easily removed with a file. Whenever designs in raised gold or
raised enamel are required, the process described above is much simplified, since in
such cases the preliminary stencil plate may be moistened and used as the actual
stencil plate.
If a decorating design consists of a number of small repeats (as for example an
heraldic lily) I cut one of them out from a moderately thick lead sheet, and,
covering it with gelatine by means of a brush, I obtain as many impressions
forming small stencil plates as may be required.