IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING MOHAIR CLOTH
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Firth, of the firm of Edwin Firth and Sons,
of Flush Mills, Heckmondwike, near Leeds, in the County of York, for
the Invention of 66 TaDHIWA MATAID CLAY
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Firth at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th August
1856.
I, EDWIN FIRTя, of the firm of Edwin Firth and Sons, of Flush Mills,
Heckmondwike, near Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING MOHAIR CLOTH,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the method of producing a new style or effect of
finish upon ordinary mohair cloths, so as to give the effect or appearance of
bear, seal, or other skin or fur, in contradistinction to the straight, wavy, whirl-
pool, and plush finishes, as hitherto produced upon such cloths.
The method or process of finishing employed is as follows:-The pile having
been raised by the gig mill, or other ordinary apparatus, in a longitudinal and
transverse direction, is then to be slightly raised, or turned in a reverse direction,
or backwards. The face of the pile is then shoru or cut by means of any of
the ordinary apparatus employed for shearing or cutting pile or cloth. The
pile is then again fully raised by the usual process, and afterwards raised or
brushed slightly backwards, so as to cause the pile to stand out from the cloth,
in a similar manner to the fur upon a seal or other skin, and then cut and
finished to the desired length of nap, the varieties of effect being merely
produced by varying the colors or length of the pile.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edwin Firth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th February 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
FIRTII, of the firm of Edwin Firth and Sons, of Flush Mills, Heckmondwike,
near Leeds; in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Edwin Firth, Her special licence, that I, the said Edwin Firth, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin Firth, 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 FINISHING MOHAIR CLOTH,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Firth, my exccu-
tors or administrators, by an instrument in writing 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 Edwin Firth, 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
in writing, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the method of producing a new style or effect of
finish upon ordinary mohair cloths, made of mohair, camels' hair, goats' wool,
alpaca, vicuna, or Cashmere wool, or of these materials mixed, or in com-
bination with other kinds of wool, hair, cotton, or other fibre, and with warps
made of wool, wool and cotton, cotton, linen, or other fibre, separate or combined.
The effects are to resemble bear, deer, hare, seal, or other skins or furs, in
contradistinction to the straight, wavy, and whirlpool finishes hitherto produced
upon such cloths, and to produce a finished plush of similar appearance or effect
to the worsted-woven plush.
The method or process of finishing employed to produce the desired effect is
as follows: The pile of the cloth is raised on the gig mill, or other apparatus

page_text: ordinarily used for the purpose of raising the pile of cloth in a straight or
longitudinal direction, with frequent reversing of the wool or pile, and the pile
is then raised by hand in a transverse or lateral direction, or across the piece
towards the lists. The pile, thus raised, is then cut down by the ordinary
apparatus, known as Lewis's cutting machine, or by the perpetual cutting
machine, or by any other suitable apparatus, and then the raising process is
again renewed alternately in a straight, reverse, and transverse direction, and
when sufficiently raised the pile is cut down to the required length. The cloth
is then put through a process of boiling or steaming to give it the required lustre,
and to fix the finish; it is then dyed if not previously wool dyed. The piece is
then tentered in the usual way, and whilst stretched on the tenters it is carded
across, and to and fro, and batted with rods or sticks on the back and on the
face of the cloth, to cause the pile or wool on the face of the cloth to stand out
from the cloth, so as to represent the appearance of skins or furs. When
taken from the tenters the pile is again cut, so as to make the nap or pile on
the face of the cloth of the required length, and thus the desired finish is
obtained, the varieties of effect being produced by the length of pile and the
varieties of color.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said Invention of
Improvements in Finishing Mohair Cloth," together with the manner of
carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I
wish it to be distinctly understood that I claim as my Invention the production
upon such cloths of a finish in imitation of furs or skins, in contradistinction to
the straight, wavy, or whirpool finishes hitherto produced upon such cloths, and
the production of a finished plush of similar appearance or effect to the worsted-
woven plush, in the manner and by the means or processes above described, or
by any other similar or analogous means or processes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Firth, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
EDWIN FIRTH. (L.S.)