CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE: OR METHOD OF PRODUCING ENGRAVINGS, ETCHINGS, OR RELIEFS ON METALLIC PLATES, FOR PRODUCING IMPRESSIONS THEREFROM, AND IN THE APPARATUS. USED IN THE SAME
Year: 1835

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALPHONSE.
HUMBERT JEAN FRANÇOIS VALOIs, lately residing at No 9, Artillery Place,
Finsbury Square, in the Parish of Saint Luke, Old Street, and County of
Middlesex, but now residing at Lyons; in the Kingdom of France, Gentleman,
send greeting..
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by.
His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date.
at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and.
thirty-five, and in the fifth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois.
Valois, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the.
said. Alphonse Humbert Jean François Valois, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alphonse. Humbert. Jean Francois
Valois, my executors, administrators, 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, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, an
Invention ofA CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE:
OR METHOD OF PRODUCING ENGRAVINGS, ETCHINGS, OR RELIEFS ON METALLIC PLATES,
FOR PRODUCING IMPRESSIONS THEREFROM, AND IN THE APPARATUS. USED IN THE
SAME;" in which said. Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me,
the said. Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois Valois, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
and to cause the same to be. enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Cban.

page_text: cery 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
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois Valois, do hereby declare that the nature
of the said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention of a certain improvement or certain improvements in the
mode or method of producing engravings, etchings, or reliefs on metallic plates,
for producing impressions therefrom, and in the apparatus used in the same, has
for its object the producing or forming of plates or blocks of metal, with
raised patterns, drawings, figures, or designs formed thereon, as in the manner
of woodcuts, or in blocks or metal types or stereotype plates, or with sunken
or depressed designs thereon, as in engravings or etchings, in a more expe-
ditious and economical mode or method than can be done by the manuer
commonly practised, which said plates or blocks are intended to be used for
producing printings or impressions in one or more colors on different fabrics or
articles in the various branches of the manufactures and arts, but more parti-
cularly in the printing of calicos, silks, stuffs, or other fabrics, and paper-
hangings for the walls of rooms, and consists,
First, in producing or forming such metal plates or blocks by casting them
from an original or model carving, engraving, or etching, produced in plaster,
fine clays, or other suitable composition or substance which is susceptible of
being easily cut, scraped, carved, engraved, or etched with any proper tool
or instrument, and which will not require the delicacy of skill, nicety of work-
manship, care, or time required to produce an engraved card or etched original
metallic plate, or wood block, or die, or matrix, by engraving, carving, or
etching by hand on metal or wood, as in common, such metallic blocks or
plates being produced by casting or pouring fluid metal of suitable qualities on
to the said model plaster or composition, engraving, etching, or carving, which
metal castings are afterwards dressed and finished, ready to be used for
producing imprints or impressions on the various fabrics, after the manuer of
calico, block, or plate printing, or other printing or paper staining.
And secondly, in producing duplicates in metal of plates or blocks which
have been produced by the above method, or duplicates of places or blocks
used for printing calico, silk stuffs, or other fabrics, or paper staining, which
have been produced by the ordinary process of forming such blocks or plates

page_text: by hand, by taking impressions from such plates or blocks in plaster, which,
after being dried, form the mould or matrix to produce other metal plates or
blocks by casting, as before stated.
And thirdly, in the instruments or apparatus used in producing the figures,
designs, or patterns on the original plaster or composition model from which
the metallic plates or blocks are to be produced.
And in order that my said improvements may be better understood, I have
hereto annexed Drawings or Diagrams of the third feature of my said improve-
ment, and shall proceed more particularly to describe the several heads of my
Invention:-
First, in producing metal plates or blocks with raised figures or patterns
thereon, by casting them from an original plaster mould or matrix without the
help of an engraved original metal matrix or plate, I pursue the following
mode or method:-I first take a frame of metal or other material of suitable
shape and dimensions, which frame I place upon a perfectly smooth and even
surface, such as a polished piece of plate glass, or on polished metal; into this
frame I pour very fine and properly prepared plaster clay, or such similar
composition, which is allowed to set, and, after being slowly and nearly dried,
the plaster or clay which was next or in contact with the plate glass or metal
surface will have a smooth and even surface, on which is to be drawn, traced,
sketched, transferred, or printed the drawings or patterns intended to be
produced in raised figures on the metal blocks or plates. The producing of
the original mould or matrix is done by cutting, scraping, carving, engraving,
or drilling into the plaster surface with any suitable instrument or apparatus,
one of which is herein-after described, on or over all the lines or tracings of
the design or pattern, such cutting, carving, or drilling into the plaster being
executed to a proper and equal depth over the whole design or pattern,
thereby forming an excavated or engraved or sunken plaster mould or matrix
for producing cast plates with raised figures or patterns thereon. After having
gone over the whole of the lines or tracings of the design, the plaster mould-
is put into an oven or stove and perfectly dried from all moisture; the frame and
plaster mould is then put into a cast iron or other metal box of a proper depth,
and the whole is dipped into a vessel containing fused metal of the proper
qualities (such as lead and antimony) or type-founders' metal used for pro-
ducing stereotype plates). A sufficient quantity of this metal is taken up by
the plaster mould and the box to produce a plate block or casting of the
required thickness, which cast plate or block, after being allowed to set and
cool, is taken out of the box or mould, and the surface of the raised design or
pattern is gently and carefully rubbed upon a stone, having a perfectly even

page_text: surface, with very fine sand strewed over it, for the purpose of smoothing the
surface of the raised figure or pattern and removing any little inequality in
the height of the raised design; and if the pattern should be found imperfect
the parts must be made good with metal and properly dressed with a file,
graver, or other suitable instrument.
Having described the method of producing the cast blocks with raised
designs, figures, or patterns thereon for giving the first printing or figure of
the pattern on to calicoes, stuffs, &c., that is, for producing the plain,
uncolored design on those fabrics, I shall proceed to describe the mode of
obtaining the necessary coloring blocks or plates for putting on the different
colors on various parts of the patterns or designs. It will be understood that
there are various ways of obtaining the different coloring blocks of the proper
forms from moulds made of plaster, clay, or suitable compositions; and I shall
therefore proceed to describe, by way of example, two modes or methods of
producing them which I prefer :-I first prepare the required number of
plaster or clay surfaces or blocks, according to the number of different colors
to be used in the pattern or design, which plaster blocks are to form the
moulds or matrixes for the different cast metal colouring blocks. The cast-
metal plate or block containing the complete outline, figure, or design, is then
dipped into a coloring matter, and laid on to one of the prepared plaster
surfaces, and it will leave an impression thereon of the comple outline of the
pattern. When this is done all those parts of the plaster surface which are
within that part of the pattern or design, and are intended to be covered with
a certain color, are to be removed by cutting, carving, scraping, or drilling
the plaster surface away to an equal and even depth; this will form a second
excavated or sunken plaster matrix or mould, into the excavations of which
melted metal will be poured, as before described, and a coloring block or plate,
with a raised figure of all those parts intended to carry that one color will be
produced. The coloring surfaces are then to be dressed as before described
for completing the coloring, or finishing the design or pattern on the goods.
The same process is performed with the next plaster surface for producing the
next coloring block for another color on another part of the pattern or design,
and so on till the whole of the necessary coloring plates or blocks are formed
to complete the coloring of the pattern or design, the operation being repeated
as many times as there are colors in the design or pattern. Or, these coloring
plates or blocks may be produced by the following method instead of that just
described-First, produce by means of a press, or by weights from the cast
metal plate with the raised outline, design, or pattern, an impression in clay or
argillaceous earth mixed with fine sand, or in any composition of paper pulp

page_text: and clay, or other material which will form a suitable composition capable of
receiving an impression (all the parts of the pattern or design intended to be
colored are sunken or hollow in the cast metal plate, but in this impression
they will be raised), then remove carefully with any sharp instrument all
those parts not intended to carry the color of the first coloring block or plate,
leaving only those parts which are to carry the first color standing up. From
this first moded in clay or composition a second impression or mould is to be
made in plaster, in which the raised parts left in the clay model will be hollow
or sunken, and this second plaster cast or mould is to be placed in the casting
box and used for producing the metal coloring block by casting fluid metal in
it; the same process being repeated for every color, leaving only those parts
standing up in the clay models which are to carry one color each time. It
will be seen by these means or methods of producing the coloring blocks that
the colorings will fit one into the other very perfectly and fill up or complete the
whole of the coloring of the pattern or design.
To produce cast plates or blocks with sunken or depressed figures or
designs thereon, as in the manner of engravings or etchings produced by.
hand by the graver or tracing point and aquafortis, I pursue the following
method:-I first prepare a plate or block of fine plaster, in a suitable.
frame of wood or metal, with a perfectly smooth and even surface, which
surface, when the block is perfectly dry, is to be covered with a composition
of pure wax and hard rosin, mixed in any suitable vessel by heat. The
plaster block, with this composition spread upon its surface, is then to be
subjected to the action of heat until the mixture is absorbed by the plaster,
and this process is to be repeated several times, until the smooth surface.
of the plaster, on being rubbed with a piece of soft linen, will bear a
fine polish and resist the action of the finger nail on scratching it. The
smooth surface of the plaster thus prepared is ready to receive the finest lines
of the design or pattern which may be produced with the etching or tracing
After the
point or graver, or any cutting tools suitable to the purpose.
design, pattern or figure is completed a soft linen rag steeped in oil, to which
is added a small quantity of alcohol, is lightly passed over the whole of the:
smooth surface, the oil and alcohol being allowed to penetrate into all. the
lines of the pattern or design. A second frame is then placed over the first,
and sufficient fine plaster in a fluid state is poured into it upon the plaster...
model or design, by which a plaster cast is taken in relief of the lines of the
pattern or drawing, which plaster cast forms the mould or matrix for producing.
a cast metal plate with a similar sunken design on it. The process of casting: of.
the plate or block is similar to that already described; the only difference;

page_text: consists in substituting a metal of a harder nature or closer grain than required
for the blocks or plates which have raised designs. This metal should
approximate as near as possible to copper. A combination of copper, tin,
antimony, and lead will be found the best, the object being to obtain a mixture
of metals of the greatest hardness when cold, but capable of being fused' at from
about seven hundred to eight hundred degrees of Fahrenheit.
'
In the second part of my improvements, viz', the producing duplicates in
metal. of plates.or blocks which have been formed by the foregoing method, or
duplicates of plates or blocks used for printing calicoes, silks, stuffs, or other
fabrics, or paper staining, which have been obtained by the ordinary process of
producing such plates or blocks by hand, I pursue the following mode or
method: After having lightly rubbed the plates or blocks with oil and alcohol,
so that all parts of the printing or coloring surface are slightly coated with
this mixture, an impression is taken from them, either by pouring on to the
printing or coloring surfaces liquid plaster, or by taking an impression or
plaster cast with any suitable composition made from paper pulp, sifted wood
ashes, gum adraganth (gum dragon) or gum arabic, or with plaster, or argil-
laceous earths mixed with fine sand, to prevent them shrinking in drying. Any
composition which will answer the purpose may be employed, and when dry
these impressions or casts form moulds for casting the duplicate metal blocks
or plates...
The third feature of my improvement viz', in the apparatus or instruments
used in producing the design, pattern, or figure on the original plaster or com-
position model from which the cast metallic plates or blocks are to be produced
consists in the application of a rotatory cutting tracer, drill or piercer furnished
with cutting edges, which cuts or enters into the plaster block or plate to a
certain. depth, and removes those parts intended to be occupied by the raised
figure of the pattern or design, (the depth of the cutting being regulated as
required, thereby forming a sort of grooved or sunken engraving, which pro-
duces by the after process of casting, the relieved or projecting parts forming
the pattern of the printing block or plate. The instrument or apparatus for
holding and actuating the rotatory piercers or drills is shewn in Figures 1 and 2
of the accompanying Drawings. Figure 1 is a plan view, and Figure 2 a side
elevation, it is composed of four bars a, a, a, a, of any suitable metal or
substance which are jointed together at their extremities at A, B, C, D, (some-
what similar to the bars of a pantograph,) so as to form a parallelogram. The
joint at A is formed by the rotatory spindle or shaft 6, (see Figure 2,) upon
which is also mounted the small pulley c. On the upper ends of the pins of:
the joints at C and B are two small pulleys d and e,turning loosely on the

page_text: b
pins as their axes, and the other joint of the bars at D is formed by the spindle
or drill holder f, upon which is mounted the pulley g. Around these four pulleys
is passed a cord or silken thread h, by which any rotatory motion given to the
pulley c. is communicated to all the other pulleys in whatever position the
instrument is placed. The two pullies d and e are merely guides to keep the
cord or thread h, at equal tension at all times. The pulley c, is connected
through the shaft b with another larger pulley i, mounted on the same spindle b.
To this pulley is communicated a rotary motion in the manner herein-after
mentioned, which by means of the cord h gives motion to the pulley g, to
which is connected the cutting or excavating piercer or drill k, this drill being
placed in the hollow spindle f, which forms the joint pin of the bars at D, and
upon which the pulley 9 is mounted; n is a handle to guide the drill as
required. Rotary motion may be given to the spindle 6 by a train of wheel-
work actuated by a coiled spring contained in a box or case placed on the
stand 7, or the same motion may be given to the rigger i by a weight attached
to one end of the cord m, the other end being wound round a drum, or the
spindle may be turned by a winch handle in any suitable manner. It is
evident by these means that any rotatory motion will be communicated to the
cutting drill or piercer k, which penetrates into and cuts out or removes the
plaster or composition in any direction in which it is guided so as to form an
even and smooth excavation of the pattern, design, or figure drawn or sketched
upon the plaster surface. The person operating with this instrument or
apparatus first fixes the stand firmly upon the table on which he works, and
he then moves or passes the drill or cutting tool k over all the lines of the'
pattern, drawing, or design on the plaster surface, and changes the sizes of the
drills or cutting tools to suit lines of different thicknesses, which can be done by
removing them out of the hollow shaft f, and placing others in their. place. I
would here remark that it is not absolutely necessary to use this apparatus.or
instrument, as the parts requiring to be removed may be cut, scraped, carved,
or excavated with any sharp and suitable instrument by hand. In conclusion
I would remark that there will be a great saving of time and hand labor in
producing blocks or plates for calico printing, or paper staining; a plate may by
this improved mode or method be finished in a few hours, which would by the
usual process take many days. Also many duplicates of the same plate may
be obtained without any other expense but that of casting, whereby the same
pattern, or plate, or block, may be trusted to several printers at once, which is a
very important matter when new patterns are issued, so as to get the market
supplied before spurious goods can be produced, and further, the coloring will.
be performed with a neatness and accuracy seldom obtained by the present

page_text: mode of block or plate printing in colors. Also the metal not being, like wood,
effected by the change of temperature, or susceptible of injury by dampness,
the plates will never require to be repaired or put to rights by the workmen,
before being again used, and the metal of old-fashioned plates may be recast
into new ones.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois Valois,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the within-
named Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois
Valois, in the presence of Jean Francois
Morel and Pierre Francois Cabaud, Gen-
tlemen, both residing at Lyons, in the
Kingdom of France, this Fifth day of
November, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-five.
Un pour legalisation de la signature de M Rivet, Préfet du Rhone
apposee ci-dessus, Paris, le 9, Novembre 1835, pour le Ministre Sro d'Etat de 3
l'Interieur, Maitre des Requétes, le Secretaire General.
ཅ

page_text: Le Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres certifie veritable la signature cicontre
Le Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres certifie veritable la signature cicontre
Paris, le 9. 9bro 1835, par autorisation du
werth ch blan
William Smith, Gentleman, of the City of London, residing actually at
Lyons, in the Kingdom of France, maketh oath and saith, that he was present
and did see Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois Valois, of Lyons, in the Kingdom
of France, gentleman, sign, seal, and as his act and deed acknowledge and
deliver a certain deed poll or instrument in writing hereunto annexed, bearing
date the Fifth day of November, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five,
purporting to be a Specification describing and ascertaining the nature of the
said Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois Valois's Invention of "A certain Im-
provement or certain Improvements in the Mode or Method of Producing En-
gravings, Etchings or Reliefs on Metallic Plates, (for Producing Impressions
therefrom,) and in the Apparatus used in the same:" And this deponent further
maketh oath and saith, that the name or character set at the foot of the said
deed poll, as the party executing the same, is of the proper hand writing of the
said Alphonse Humbert Jean Francois Valois, and that the names or characters
Jean Francois Morel, and Pierre Francois indorsed on the said deed poll, as
witnesses to the signing and sealing thereof, are of the respective handswriting
of the said Jean Francois Morel, and Pierre Francois Cabaud Cabaud.
Sworn this Fifth day of November, in the.
year of our Lord 1885, at Lyons, in the
Kingdom of France, before me, Préfet du
Dep. du Rhone, agissant en l'absence de
tout Consul ou Agent accredite du Roy-
TT
D
Wч. SMITH.
Un pour legalisation de la signature de M* Rivet, Préfet du Rhone,
apposce ci-dessus, Paris, le 9, 9bro 1835, pour le Ministre Sro d'Etat de l'Interieur,
Maitre des Reanètes. le Secretaire General.

page_text: Le Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres certifie veritable la signature cicentre
مر السومة
10
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Affidavit of William. Smith!
the instrument aforesaid was inrolled, word for word, as above written. And,
also the instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King
George the Third.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of November, One thousand eight hundred 10
and thirty-five..