IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DECORATIVE BRICKS, TILES, TABLETS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES TO BE USED IN THE ERECTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF BUILDINGS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Arthur Cundall, of Leeds, in the County of York,
"
for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DECORATIVE
BRICKS, TILES, TABLETS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES TO BE USED IN THE
ERECTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF BUILDINGS."
Sealed the 19th July 1878, and dated the 3rd May 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Arthur Cundall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd May 1878.
JAMES ARTHUR CUNDALL, of Leeds, in the County of York.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DECORATIVE BRICKS, TILES, TABLETS, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES TO BE USED IN THE ERECTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF
BUILDINGS."
The object of this Invention is to cheapen the manufacture of decorative bricks,
tiles, tablets, and other similar articles to be used in the erection and ornamentation
of buildings to a very considerable degree, by dispensing with much of the labor
hitherto employed and necessary in the manipulation of the comparatively rare,
expensive, and specially prepared clays which alone have hitherto been used in the
manufacture of such articles, and by the employment of an improved method or
process of manufacture, by which much less expensive clays, and those most easily
obtainable for ordinary building purposes, and such as are used in ordinary red-
brick yards, can be utilized, allowing of the manufacture of the above-named
articles being considerably extended, lowered in cost, and brought within the range
of small makers, and consequently of such articles being more generally used in the
erection and decoration of buildings than they are at present.
White or colored glazed bricks, embossed tablets or tiles, or other similar deco-
rative articles, the improved manufacture of which is comprised within the present
Invention, have hitherto been manufactured only of very fine fire-clays, or clays
specially prepared by washing or other treatment, and these clays are found but in
a very few districts, and consequently the manufacture of such articles is at present
Price Adı

page_text: to a great extent monopolized by a few manufacturers, which tends to keep the
price of the finished articles above the reach of many builders and others, who
would otherwise avail themselves of such means of decorating and enhancing the
value of the buildings they erect A serious item in the cost also arises from the
expense of the carriage of such articles from the manufactorý to the building in
which they are to be used, and which would in most cases be considerably lessened
were the manufacture more generally extended, and manufactories established, as
they would now be possible to be nearer the building centres. Other items which
tend to enhance the cost of such articles as at present made arise from the labor
connected with the washing or other preparation which is necessary to manipulate
the clays used into a condition fit and proper for their intended use.
My Invention consists in and has special reference to the facing and glazing of
common hand pressed red or other bricks, tablets, tiles, and other articles, such as
are moulded or made in any ordinary brick yard, and used for ordinary building
purposes, with either white or colored compounds or glazes, and the bricks or other
articles obtained by my improved manufacture, after they are burnt in a small brick
kiln, or in a small "muffle" (which is a kiln covered in so as to exclude the smoke,
dirt, and gases from the bricks when burning), look equally as well, and are for all
intents and purposes as good and useful as those at present made of specially pre-
pared clays or fire-clay, no matter of what kind or variety they are made, and
whether they are bricks, tiles, or other articles colored by printing, as at tile and
brick works or at the potteries, or such as are now produced in expensive clays,
with an even color of any shade. All such can be produced according to my process
of manufacture in common red or other clay, enabling red brickmakers to make
white or fancy colored bricks, which they could not heretofore do on account of not
being able to get the required clays, and this would be of material advantage to
them and the public generally.
Any design could be adapted in red clay, either on bricks formed in a press, or
the design may be made in a mould, as commonly used in brickyards, and any parts
of the embossed design can be white, glazed, or colored, and the other parts left in
red, and as the glaze is burnt at the same time as the moulded or embossed article
much expense and labor is saved, and a new ornamental article introduced in the
building trade.
Should white glazed bricks be required with a pattern burnt on the surface, as
on ordinary tiles, I prefer to burn the bricks first, as herein-after described, and
when the bricks are dipped in glaze the design is transferred or painted on in
ceramic color (as used in the potteries for the finer qualities of articles), and then
burnt again to make the glazed or glossed surface and to fasten the colors. But
where plain white glaze is wanted, or where an even color is required, such as is
put on to the more expensive clays, once burning is sufficient, that is, where a brick
is required with a color on the surface different to a white glaze and also to the
body of the brick, the said color being of an even quality and covering up the
surface of the brick, and intended to be sold as a colored glazed brick.
Any clays, such as common shale, or clay, or any earthy substance that will form
a hard body when exposed to heat, can be white or color glazed by my Invention.
According to my Invention I take the bricks or articles to be treated as they are
made in common red or other clay just as they come from the ordinary brick press;
or, if they are ornamented by moulds, just as they come from the moulds, and I dip
those portions of them intended to be glazed, and gently shake them about in the
composition herein-after referred to; but when only a portion of the pattern is to
be glazed, I apply the composition by means of a soft brush to the parts wanted,
leaving the red or other ground in its original state, while the embossed or other
parts can either be white or color glazed.
The above-referred to composition, which I term "slip," is compounded of an
intimate and cream-like mixture of well-ground china clay and Cornish stone with
water. After the article has been dipped or painted with a brush it is placed with
its slip covered face upwards on to a shelf until perfectly dry, and then put into an

page_text: ordinary brick kiln or muffle kiln, where it is fired until burnt as hard as an
ordinary brick or tablet, after which the kiln is allowed to cool gradually, and when
cold the bricks are re-dipped in glaze, which is also mixed to a cream-like con-
sistency, but is composed of an intimate mixture of well ground and sieved lead,
glass, felspar, Cornish stone, and blue clay, with water.
When the brick or article has been dipped into the glaze, and a colored design is
to be transferred thereon, I cover the glaze with a thin solution of tallow, after
which the design can be transferred thereonto by the ordinary printing processes
used in various potteries and brick and tile works. The article is then put care-
fully into the kiln, and again fired until the glazing is perfect and the colors made
fast to the glaze, after which the article is ready for sale. Or the bricks or articles
can be burnt at one firing by putting the glaze on when the slip and the clay of
which the article is made are perfectly dry, the burning being conducted as pre-
viously until the glaze appears properly; the kiln is then allowed to cool very slowly
until quite cold.
When colored bricks or embossed tablets are required of an even shade of color,
that is, for the face of the article to be completely and evenly covered with color
different from the body of the article, the ordinary ceramic colors used in the
potteries are mixed either with the slip or with the glaze, and mixed in the ordinary
way, as at present practised in the potteries, and then burnt.
The above-described improved method or process of manufacture produces bricks
and other such articles as are above referred to in common inexpensive red or other
clay, in any color and any shade, ready for sale, and in appearance and durability
equal to those manufactured, as at present, of the best and costliest clays.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Arthur Cundall in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
November 1878.
JAMES ARTHUR CUNDALL, of Leeds, in the County of York.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DECORATIVE BRICKS, TILES, TABLETS, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES TO BE USED IN THE ERECTION AND ORNAMENTATION OF
BUILDINGS."
The object of this Invention is to cheapen the manufacture of decorative bricks,
tiles, tablets, and other similar articles to be used in the erection and ornamentation
of buildings to a very considerable degree, by dispensing with much of the labor
hitherto employed and necessary in the manipulation of the comparatively rare,
expensive, and specially prepared clays which alone have hitherto been used in the
manufacture of such articles, and by the employment of an improved method or
process of manufacture, by which much less expensive clays, and those most easily
obtainable for ordinary building purposes, and such as are used in ordinary brick
yards, can be utilized, allowing of the manufacture of the above referred to articles
being considerably extended, lowered in cost, and brought within the range of
small makers, and consequently of such articles being more generally used in the
erection and decoration of buildings than they are at present.
White or colored glazed bricks, embossed tablets or tiles, or other similar decorative
articles, the improved manufacture of which is comprised within the present Invention,
have hitherto been manufactured only of very fine fire-clays, or clays specially prepared
by washing or other treatment, and these clays are found but in a very few districts,
aud consequently the manufacture of such articles is at present to a great extent
monopolized by a few manufacturers, which tends to keep the price of the finished
articles above the reach of many builders and others who would otherwise avail
themselves of such means of decorating and enhancing the value of the buildings
they erect. A serious item in the cost also arises from the expense of the carriage of
such articles from the manufactory to the building in which they are to be used, and
which would in most cases be considerably lessened were the manufacture more
generally extended, and manufactories established, as they would now be possible to
be nearer the building centres. Other items which tend to enhance the cost of
such articles as at present made arise from the labor connected with the washing or
other preparation which is necessary to manipulate the clays used into a condition
fit and proper for their intended use.
My Invention consists in and has special reference to the facing and glazing of
common hand or machine pressed bricks, tablets, tiles, and other articles such as are
moulded or made in any ordinary brick yard, and used for ordinary building
purposes, with either white or coloured compounds and glazes, and the bricks or
other articles obtained by my improved manufacture, after they are burnt in a small
brick kiln or in a small "niuffle" (which is a kiln covered in so as to exclude the smoke,
dirt, and gases from the bricks when burning), look equally as well, and are for all
intents and purposes as good and useful as those at present made of specially prepared
clays or fire-clays, no matter of what kind or variety they are made, and whether they
are bricks, tiles, or other articles colored by printing as at tile and brick works, or at
the potterics, or such as are now produced in expensive clays with an even color of
any shade; all such can be produced, according to my process of manufacture, in
common clays, enabling ordinary brick makers to make white or fancy colored bricks,
which they could not heretofore do on account of not being able to get the
required clays, and this would be of material advantage to them and the public
generally.
Any design could be adapted either on bricks formed in a press, or the design may
be made in a mould as commonly used in brick yards, and any parts of the embossed
design can be white, glazed, or colored, and the other parts left in the ordinary clay,
and as the glaze is burnt at the same time as the moulded or embossed article

page_text: much expense and favor is saved, and a new ornamental article introduced in the
building trade.
Should white glazed bricks be required with a pattern burnt on the surface as on
ordinary tiles, I prefer to burn the bricks first as herein-after described, and when
the bricks are dipped in glaze the design is transferred or painted on in ceramic
color (as used in the potteries for the finer qualities of articles), and then burnt
again to make the glazed or glossed surface and to fasten the colors. But where
plain white glaze is wanted, or where an even color is required such as is put on to
the more expensive clays, once burning is sufficient, that is, where a brick is required
with a color on the surface different to a white glaze, and also to the body of the
brick, the said color being of an even quality and covering up the surface of the
brick, and intended to be sold as a colored glazed brick.
Any clays, such as common shale or clay, or any earthy substance that will
form a hard body when exposed to heat can be white or color glazed by my
Invention.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention I will now proceed to
describe moro in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed
or carried into practical effect, and the above-mentioned advantages attained.
According to my Invention I take the bricks, or articles to be treated, as they
are made in common clay just as they come from the ordinary brick press, or brick
pressing machine, or if they are ornamented by moulds just as they come from the
moulds, and I dip those portions of them intended to be glazed, and gently shake
them about in the composition herein-after referred to; but when only a portion of
the pattern is to be glazed I apply the composition by means of a soft brush to the
parts wanted, leaving the ground in its original state while the embossed or other
parts can either be white or color glazed.
The above referred to composition, which I term "slip," is compounded of an
intimate and cream-like mixture of well ground blue ball clay, china clay, Cornish
stone, and flint, with water. After the article has been dipped or painted with a
brush it is placed with its slip covered face upwards on to a shelf until perfectly dry,
and then put into an ordinary brick kiln or muffle kiln, where it is fired until burnt
as hard as an ordinary brick or tablet, after which the kiln is allowed to cool gradu-
ally, and when cold the bricks are re-dipped in glaze which is also mixed to a cream-
like consistency, but is composed of an intimate mixture of well-ground and sieved
lead, glass, felspar, Cornish stone, and blue clay, with water.
When the brick or article has been dipped into the glaze and a colored design is
to be transferred thereon, I cover the glaze with a thin solution of tallow after which
the design can be transferred thereonto by the ordinary printing process used in
various potteries and brick and tile works. The article is then put carefully into
the kiln and again fired until the glazing is perfect and the colors made fast to the
glaze, after which the article is ready for sale. Or the bricks or articles can be
burnt at one firing by putting the glaze on when the slip and the clay of which the
article is made are perfectly dry, the burning being conducted as previously until
the glaze appears as is desired, the kiln is then allowed to cool very slowly until
quite cold.
When colored bricks or embossed tablets are required of an even shade of color,
that is, the face of the article being completely and evenly covered with color
different from the body of the article, the ordinary prepared ceramic colors are
mixed either with the slip or with the glaze and mixed in the ordinary way as at
present practised in the potteries, and then burnt.
The above-described improved method or process of manufacture produces bricks
and other such articles as are above referred to, in common inexpensive clays in any
color and any shade, ready for sale, and in appearance and durability equal to those
manufactured as at present of the best and costliest clays.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention, together
with the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as my Invention, the

page_text: above-described improvements in the manufacture of decorative bricks, tiles, tablets,
and other similar articles used in the erection and ornamentation of buildings,
whereby the manufacture thereof is cheapened to a very considerable degree,
much of the labor hitherto necessary being dispensed with, and the process of
manufacture is improved in such a manner that much less expensive clays and those
most easily obtainable are substituted for the comparatively rare, expensive, and
specially prepared clays, which alone have hitherto been used in the manufacture of
such articles, and thus rendering such manufacture capable of being considerably
extended and brought within the range of small makers, and whereby the use of
such articles will be more generally extended in the erection and ornamentation of
buildings than at present.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Arthur Cundall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
JAMES ARTHUR CUNDALL. (L.S.)