IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERPROOFING LEATHER, WOVEN FABRICS, FIBROUS & OTHER MATERIALS, AND ALSO OF RENDERING THEM FIREPROOF OR PARTIALLY FIREPROOF."
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Henson Henson & William
Frederick
Heuson, both of 38, Parliament Street in the City of Westminster, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERPROOFING LEATHER, WOVEN
FABRICS, FIBROUS & OTHER MATERIALS, AND ALSO OF RENDERING THEM
FIREPROOF OR PARTIALLY FIREPROOF."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Henson Henson
and William Frederick Henson at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th September 1858.
We, HENRY HENBON HENSON & WILLIAM FREDERICK HENSON, both or
38, Parliament Street, in the City of Westminster, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERPROOFING LEATHER,
WOVEN FABRICS, FIBROUS & OTHER MATERIALS, AND ALSO OF RENDERING THEM
FIREPROOF OR PARTIALLY FIREPROOF," to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to give to leather, woven fabrics (whether
manufactured of cotton, linen, woollen, silk, or other materials), fibrous and
other materials, such as yarn before it is manufactured into a fabric, thread,
felt, &c., the power of repelling water or resisting the action of damp or
moisture, whilst at the same time the particular ventilating property of each
Pain R

page_text: of the materials is preserved. We also make the materials operated upon
capable of resisting or partially resisting the action of fire, which we accom-
plish by passing the fabrics or materials through a solution of chloride of zinc
and then through a mixture of solutions of hydrated protoxide of lead, and
sulphate or acetate of alumina, or both if found desirable; or we use any
soluble salt of alumina, or a mixture of a solution of silicate ofsoda, or silicate
of potash and hydrated oxide of lead.
We also use a mixture of solutions of nitrate of lead, acetate of lead, and
sulphate of alumina, or in place of those, or in conjunction with them, we use
soda alum, or manganese alum, or any of the double sulphates.
Into any of these mixtures or combinations thereof, the fabrics or materials,
are saturated and then dried, when they will be waterproof and fireproof or
partially so, and at the same time permeable by air, gaseous matter, and
vapours; in some cases we tan the materials previous to the final process.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Henson Henson and William, Frederick Henson in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
HENSON HNSON and WILLIAM FREDERICK HENSON, both of 38, Parliament
Street, in the City of Westminster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, 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
us, the said Henry Henson Henson and William Frederick Henson, Her
special licence that we, the said Henry Henson Henson and William
Frederick Henson, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Henry Henson Henson and William Frederick Henson, our
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 WATERPROOFING
LEATHER, WOVEN FABRICS, FIBROUS AND OTHER MATERIALS, AND ALSO OF RENDERING
THEM FIREPROOF OR PARTIALLY FIREPROOF," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Henry Henson Henson and William Frederick Henson, our

page_text: exec.tors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their'
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what mauner 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 we, the said Henry Henson Henson and William
Frederick Henson, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
To give leather, woven fabrics, fibrous and other materials, such as yarn,
thread, felt, &c., the power of repelling water, or resisting the action of damp
or moisture, and at the same time preserving the particular ventilating
property of each of the respective materials operated upon, without injury to
the durability of the materials, and also to render them capable of resisting
or partially resisting the action of fire, we pass the fabrics or materials
through a solution of chloride of zinc, and then through a mixture of solutions
of hydrated protoxide of lead, and sulphate or acetate of alumina, or both, if
found desirable; or we use any soluble salt of alumina, or a mixture of a
solution of silicate of soda, or silicate of potash, and hydrated oxide of lead.
We also use a mixture of solutions of nitrate of lead, acetate of lead, and
sulphate of alumina; or, instead of the said mixtures, or in conjunction with
them, we use soda alum or manganese alum, or any of the double sulphates.
The proportions of any of the said mixtures or solutions may be varied accord-
ing to the strength or quality of the goods or materials to be operated upon;
but in most cases equal parts of any of the solutions may be used. The
mixture or solution having been well stirred or mixed, and then allowed to
remain at rest for a short time to become clear, will be ready for use. The
fabrics or materials are then put into the said solution or solutions, and
immersed until the fluid has penetrated every fibre of the material operated
upon; but much time and expense may be saved by immersing the materials
in the mixture or solutions by means of pressure or an exhausting process.
For some purposes we tan the materials previous to subjecting them to the
aforesaid process, by which they are preserved as well as protected from
capillary attraction. When the goods or materials are taken out of the said
mixture or solutions and allowed to dry, they will be found perfectly repellent,
waterproof, and partially fireproof, preserving at the same time their respective
ventilating properties.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly
understood, that we do not confine ourselves to any particular proportions of
the chemical products herein named, as such may be varied without departing
from the principle thereof; but we claim as our Invention, and which to the
best of our knowledge and belief has not been hitherto used within the
realm,―
Firstly, the use of solutions of chloride of zinc, a mixture of solutions of
hydrated protoxide of lead, and sulphate or acetate of alumina, or both, any
soluble salt of alumina, or mixture of a solution of silicate of soda, or silicate
of potash and hydrated oxide of lead, or a mixture of solutions of nitrate of
lead, acetate of lead, and sulphate of alumina or soda alum, manganese alum,
or any of the double sulphates, for the purpose of rendering leather, woven
fabrics, fibrous and other materials, waterproof and partially fireproof,
preserving at the same time their respective ventilating properties, and im-
mersing the materials or fabrics prepared as aforesaid in the mixtures as
before described, by ordinary pressure or exhaustion.
And, secondly, tanning the materials before waterproofing, when desirable.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Henson Henson and William
Frederick Henson, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-
first day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named Henry Henson Henson and William
Frederick Henson, in the presence of
EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
H. H. HENSON. (L.s.)
W. F. HENSON. (L.S.)
123, Chancery Lane, London.