IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, SILK, AND OTHER ANIMAL TEXTILE MATERIALS IN A MANUFACTURED STATE
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, SILK, AND OTHER ANIMAL
TEXTILE MATERIALS IN A MANUFACTURED STATE."-A communication
from abroad by Jean Baptiste Frezon, the elder, of Paris, in the
Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th December 1873.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, SILK, AND
OTHER ANIMAL TEXTILE MATERIALS IN A MANUFACTURED STATE," a communi-
cation to me from abroad by Jean Baptiste Frezon, the elder, of Paris,
in the Republic of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements on the process
described in the Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent

page_text: were granted to me on behalf of the said Jean Baptiste Frezon, No.
861, A.D. 1867, and consists essentially as follows :—
First. In the extension of the limits of saturation, and of the tem-
perature of the acid baths employed in treating woven fabrics.
Second. In the dispensing in most cases with the baths previously
employed for preserving the woolen fabrics from the action of the
chemicals used in destroying the vegetable matters, it having been
discovered that the wool itself generally contains sufficient fatty matter
to preserve it from contact with the action of the acids employed in
destroying the vegetable matters mixed therewith.
were granted to me on behalf of the said Jean Baptiste Frezon, No.
861, A.D. 1867, and consists essentially as follows:-
First. In the extension of the limits of saturation, and of the tem-
perature of the acid baths employed in treating woven fabrics.
Second. In the dispensing in most cases with the baths previously
employed for preserving the woolen fabrics from the action of the
chemicals used in destroying the vegetable matters, it having been
discovered that the wool itself generally contains sufficient fatty matter
to preserve it from contact with the action of the acids employed in
destroying the vegetable matters mixed therewith.
Third. In the special application to silk fabrics of the improved
process.
And, Lastly. Of a process for destroying the vegetable matters, and
simultaneously mordanting the fabrics or materials to be dyed or
bleached:
In preparing the baths for effecting the destruction of the vegetable
matters in the animal textile fabrics to be treated, which process, for
the sake of brevity, I shall herein-after term the "destructive process,"
it is proposed to employ sulphuric acid and water, the degree of con-
centration of the said bath ranging from 2 degrees to 10 degrees
Beaumé, the operation being carried on with hot or cold baths, according
to the temperature of the external atmosphere; but it is well that the
temperature of the water should not exceed from 86 degrees to 104
degrees Fahrenheit; the period of immersion in this bath is about 30
minutes, but varies with the strength and temperature of the bath. The a
fabrics should afterwards be dried at an elevated temperature.
In treating woolen fabrics the preservative baths before referred to
may be dispensed with under the present Invention for the reason
given above.
.
In treating silk fabrics they are steeped in a bath of any dilute 3
acid, but by preference of sulphuric acid, the strength of which will
vary according to the texture of the fabric, and the quantity to be
treated, care being taken that a uniform steeping is obtained. The
fabric is subsequently thoroughly dried at an elevated temperature.
In effecting the before-mentioned
"destructive process simul-
taneously with the mordanting of fabrics intended to be dyed or
"

page_text: bleached, it is proposed in the case of deep tints to add to the sulphuric
acid bath of a strength of 1 degree Beaumé about 3 per cent. of
the weight of the fabrics of chromate of potash, alum as a preservative
of the animal matter, and mordant to the extent of about 2 per cent.
of the weight of the fabrics. The fabrics are immersed in this bath
at a temperature of about 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and are constantly
stirred therein for about 1½ hours, after which the whole is gently
boiled. The fabrics are then completely dried with hot air at a tem-
perature not exceeding 262 degrees Fahrenheit, after which they are
thoroughly washed and placed in a bath of fuller's earth to which
an alkali, such as urine or carbonate of soda is added, and after the
fabrics have been finally well rinced they are ready to receive the dye,
such as black, deep blue, and deep maroon.
To obtain a more decided black there may be added to the above-
described acidulated bath about 6 per cent. of the weight of the fabrics
of the liquid mordant known as the "Frezon" mordant, the elements of
which are sulphate of soda, oxalic acid, and muriatic acid.
For madder colors there is added to the acidulated bath before
described about 15 per cent. of the weight of woolen fabrics to be
treated of pure alum, 1 to 2 per cent. of oxalic acid, and 4 per cent.
of tartrate of potash. The woolen fabric is steeped and gently boiled
therein for about 2 hours, after which it is dried at an elevated tem-
perature. The fabric is then well washed and the dyeing effected in the
usual manner.
For yellow tints there is added to the said acidulated bath 10 per
cent. about of the weight of the woolen fabric of the well-known
"Frezon tin mordant," 12 per cent. of pure alum, 6 to 7 per cent.
of curcumine, according to the tint required. The woolen fabric is
subjected to this bath for a period of about 1½ hours, afterwards dried
at an elevated temperature, and finally well washed.
For fabrics intended to remain white the strength of the acidulated
bath should be about equal to 5 degrees Beaumé, and of a temperature
not exceeding 86 degrees Fahrenheit, to this is added a small proportion
of oxalic acid, and the fabrics are stirred therein for about 1½ hours,
and then dried at an elevated temperature.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her
special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, SILK, AND OTHER ANIMAL TEXTILE
MATERIALS IN A MANUFACTURED STATE," a communication to me from
abroad by Jean Baptiste Frezon, the elder, of Paris, in the Republic
of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 Henry Johnson, 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, that is to say :-
In the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me (No. 861/07,)
on behalf of the communicator of the present Invention, I described
a chemical process for the burring or cleaning of textile fabrics com-
posed of wool or other animal substance from their vegetable im-

page_text: purities, whereby the vegetable matters contained thereon or therein
are destroyed without the fabrics being deteriorated or being in any
way unfitted for the various operations to which such fabrics are to be
subsequently subjected.
The Inventor has effected certain modifications of those processes
which he has now extended to woven silk fabrics, &c., to silk, and
also to waste silk.
It has been discovered that the preservative baths employed for
woollen fabrics, as stated in the Specification before referred to, may
be dispensed with, as such fabrics usually contain a quantity of fatty
matter sufficient to protect them.
The improvements also consist in so treating woven fabrics which
are to be dyed or bleached as to perform simultaneously and in a
single operation the chemical burring or cleaning from vegetable im-
purities and the preparatory operation, so as to render them suitable
for dying and bleaching, by which means the number of operations
to which the fabrics are to be submitted are deduced, whilst at the
same time such fabrics are less injured by the treatment to which
they are subjected.
With respect to the chemical agents employed to effect the burring
or cleaning of woven fabrics from vegetable impurities the sulphuric
acid diluted with water is by preference employed in order to form
the destructive bath; the degree of concentration of this bath may
vary from 2° to 10° Beaume, and its temperature may be either at
the ordinary temperature, or at an elevated temperature; it is desirable
that the water employed for this purpose should be soft, and that the
bath should not exceed a temperature of from 86° to 104° Fahrenheit.
The period of immersion in the bath, which will be found in practice
to be about thirty minutes, may also be varied according to the degree
of concentration of the bath, and the temperature of the same.
It will be found requisite that the fabric after immersion should
be exposed to an elevated temperature in order that the action of the
acid may effect the disentregration of the vegetable matters. This
drying is to be effected after the excess of moisture has been driven
off in a hydro-extractor by means of a current of hot air, the degree
of temperature of which will vary inversely as the strength of the

page_text: bath, the temperature however should never exceed 230° Fahrenheit
in order to prevent injury to the wool or other animal matter of which
the fabrics are composed.
In treating woollen fabrics the preservative baths described in the
said former Specification are dispensed with, as it is found that such &
fabrics contain a sufficient quantity of fatty matter to protect them
from the action of the chemical agents employed for the purpose of
destroying the vegetable impurities which are mixed with the fabrics.
It has been ascertained that the fifteen per cent. of oil or fatty matter
which is added to the wool (which operation is termed "oiling") in 1
order to facilitate the manufacture of cloth or other similar fabrics is
sufficient to preserve the materials from the destructive chemical agents
employed.
In the case of silk fabrics, handkerchiefs, and the like, the process
is the same as for woollen fabrics, and consists in steeping the same 1
in a bath acidulated with any suitable acid, but by preference with
sulphuric acid, the proportion of which, and the temperature of the
bath, will depend upon the texture of the fabric, and the quantity
of materials to be treated, especial care must however be taken that
a uniform steeping is obtained. The fabrics thus impregnated after 2
the excess of the adhering bath has been extracted are then subjected
to an elevated temperature, the degree of which will vary in the
inverse ratio of the degree of concentration of the acid bath. It will
be moreover understood that the duration of the fabrics in the drying
stove should be limited, and that such duration should be in relation
to the elevation of the temperature employed.
The simultaneous chemical burring or cleaning from vegetable im-
purities, and mordanting of woven fabrics, whether fulled or not,
intended for dying is carried out in the following manner, videlicit :-
To a bath acidulated to about 1° Beaume with sulphuric acid there a
are to be added chromate of potash in the proportion of about three per
cent. of the weight of the fabrics and alum as a preservative for the
animal matter and mordant in the proportion of about two per cent.
of the weight of the fabrics. The fabrics are then immersed in such
bath which is heated to about 212° Fahrenheit, and constantly agitated a
therein for one and a half hours, the whole is then gently boiled. The
fabrics after having had the moisture thoroughly extracted are then

page_text: exposed in hot-air drying stoves to a temperature not exceeding 230°
Fahrenheit in order to effect the carbonization of the vegetable matter;
the fabrics are then washed several times in water, and passed into a
bath of fuller's earth to which an alkali, such for examble as urine
or a little carbonate of soda, is added. The fabrics are then finally
rinsed and are ready to receive the dye, such for example as black,
dark blue, dark marroon, and the like. In this process the chemical
burring or cleaning requires a less proportion of sulphuric acid than
in the processes previously described as the operation is carried out
at a temperature at or about the boiling point in order to effect the
mordanting.
In order to obtain a more perfect black it may be desirable to add
a quantity equal to about six per cent. of the weight of the fabrics of
the liquid mordant known in commerce as the "Frezon mordant,"
the elements of which are sulphate of soda, oxalic acid, and muriatic
acid.
In the case of madder colors the bath is as before composed of
water acidulated to 1° Beaumé by means of sulphuric acid to which
there are added alum in the proportion of about fifteen per cent. of the
weight of the fabrics, oxalic acid in the proportion of from one to two
per cent. of the weight of the fabric, and tartrate of potash in the
proportion of about four per cent. of the weight of the fabrics; the
fabrics are then steeped therein and boiled gently for two hours, the
moisture is afterwards extracted and the fabrics dried at an elevated
temperature, such as before described. The fabrics are finally well
washed and the red dye may be applied in the ordinary manner.
For yellow colors the bath being at about 1° Beaumé with sulphuric
acid there is introduced therein a quantity of tin mordant, by preference
Frezon's, equal to about ten per cent. of the weight of the fabrics, alum ·
in the proportion of about twelve per cent. of the weight of the fabrics,
and curcumine in the proportion of from about six to seven per cent. of
the weight of the fabrics, according to the tint required; the fabrics are
immersed therein and gently boiled for one and a half hours; the
moisture is then thoroughly extracted and the fabrics are then dried
at an elevated temperature and subsequently thoroughly washed.
In the case of fabrics which are not to be submitted to a dyeing
process the bath is acidulated to 5° Beaumé with sulphuric acid, and

page_text: the temperature should not exceed about 86° Fahrenheit; to the bath
there is to be added oxalic acid or bi-sulphite of soda in the proportion
of about one pound per one hundred gallons of water, and the fabrics
.are agitated for about half an hour therein, the moisture is then to
be extracted and the fabrics are then dried at an elevated temperature. 5
Having now described the improved chemical system of destroying
the vegetable matters contained in textile fabrics composed of wool,
silk, or other animal substance, I would observe in conclusion that
I do not confine myself to the various degrees of temperature and
density of the baths, nor to the proportions of the several agents 1
employed as mordants, as herein-before mentioned, as they may be
and are necessarily varied according to the texture of the fabrics
operated upon, and the result it is desired to obtain%; but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Inven-
tion secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent 1
is,-
1st. Effecting the destruction of the vegetable matters contained in
woven fabrics by means of sulphuric acid or other so-called destructive
chemical agents in the manner herein-before described.
2nd. Effecting simultaneously the destruction of the vegetable matters 2
contained in woven fabrics, and the mordanting of the same by the
employment of sulphuric acid or other so-called destructive chemical
agents, in conjunction with mordants, in the manner herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this 2