IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING MATERIALS TO FACILITATE THE TEACHING OF WRITING
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MOSES
POOLE, of Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventeenth day of September, in the fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Moses Poole, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Moses Poole, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
or such other's as I, the said Moses Poole, 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, vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING MATERIALS TO
FACILITATE THE TEACHING OF WRITING," communicated to me by a certain
Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patents is contained a
proviso that I, the said Moses Poole, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of 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 there-
unto bad, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, T, the said
Moses Poole, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following description thereof (that is to say):-
This process consists in producing printed copies of letters and of hair
strokes, by which children are to be taught to trace, by the application of typo-
graphy and with coloured ink, or with one of a pale tint, of whatever shade it
may be, but capable of being passed over again with writing ink, so that the
child may reproduce the same lines and letters by passing over them with a
pen full of common ink, or any other colored liquid. The impression of these
printed copies may be obtained by means of moveable plates made expressly
for that purpose, and which may be obtained by the ordinary means. By
engraving on steel the purest impression is produced from the plates. Metal
plates are preferable to wooden ones, because they are more lasting and more
perfect. Independant of economy, it is desirable to make use of separate
plates for each line of the copy, because, when many lines present the same
letters, these letters are perfectly alike. The method of producing printed
copies perfectly regular, and of unimpeachable uniformity, is by making use
of the alphabetical type in common use with printers; but the composition of a
similar alphabet presents serious difficulties. It is true that manuscript
(English, American, or any other) may be well printed, but the formation of
these letters does not correspond-with-the principles of calligraphy; they arc
uniformly separated from each other in common type, which renders their for-
mation bad, and makes it impossible to adopt them as copies. The adjoining
of letters in manuscripts, and the formation of the letters, themselves, varies
according to the nature, and especially of the letters which are to be joined
together. In order to make a complete alphabet, by means of which
every word may be formed with perfect regularity, I have employed every
means of joining letters, always observing the principles of calligraphy, and
giving the preference to the shape of the letter which afforded the greatest
regularity in the direction-of the--different_hair strokes, indeed for every hair
stroke that could belong to a letter. I have had a type of the letter cast.
Ordinary printing ink cannot be made use of for these copies; being made with
a varnish, it does not penetrate into the paper, and cannot be passed over as
it ouglit to be with writing-ink. The varnish sticks to the pen, prevents the
ink from flowing, and offers a resistance to the hand of the pupil. The ink
which I use for this purpose is prepared as follows:-There are many ways of
obtaining ink of a deep colour, of a pale colour, or of various hues, which may
passed over with writing or any other coloured liquid. Printing ink for the
purpose is easily obtained by introducing an oil of a moderately drying quality,
say linseed oil, with white lead finely ground. This mixture must be made cold,

page_text: and with unboiled oil, because the ink should not be in the same state as the
varnish. This mixture must be made with the greatest care; and it is
scarcely possible exactly to describe the proportions of the different ingredients,
because they depend on the quality of the article made use of and of the
temperature. Experience alone can tell when the mixture is sufficiently thick
to adhere to the cushions, so that it may print with facility. It is necessary
to remark that as little oil as possible must be used. By introducing a little
black or white lead, an ink is obtained which resembles the marks of a pencil,
and by adding a little Prussian blue the shade becomes a little azure and very
beautiful. The hues may be varied by using other colours; but I observe¨¨
that many must be unsuitable, for example, mineral and hard colours; their
mixture with white lead cannot be effected in a perfect manner; it is
impossible to print well with them. This I have experienced in making use
of mineral and Paris green. The best method of obtaining clear and pure
ink is by dissolving in water the most suitable vegetable or mineral colours;
mineral colours which are indissoluble in water in their original state are
rendered soluble by a process which is generally known. A certain quantity
of this liquid is mixed with white lead until it becomes perfectly coloured, the
mixture is then dried and afterwards made uso of in the composition of ink
by grinding it on a marble slab with oil. Care should be taken to print as
distinctly as possible, and but a small quantity of ink should be ground at
once. Grinding on marble is preferable to grinding on wood; the latter absorbs
the oil and dries up the ink, which always adheres better to the ink when it is
ground on marble. This ink, from its peculiar composition, impregnates itself
into the paper, and as it dries fast, renders the writing easy, and possesses such
a consistency that none of the materials which compose it detach themselves
from the paper so as to impede the motion of the pen in the hand of the pupil.
To arrive at similar results by engraving, by lithography, and by autography,
many attempts have been made; but they all have failed in consequence of the
high price of the impression produced. By the adoption of the typographic
process, and the employment of the suitably prepared ink, as herein described,
enables the Inventor to sell the copies at a price which, by the moderation,
can alone secure its popularity.
In witness whereof, I, the said Moses Poole, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-one.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of March,
in the year of our Lord. 1841, the aforesaid Moses Poole, Esquire,. came
before our said Lady the Queen in. Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was.5
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose..
Inrolled the Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.