IMPROVEMENTS IN TANNING AND IN APPARATUS USED THEREFORE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Constant Herveux, of Liverpool Road, Islington,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Constant Herveux at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th May 1872.
I, CONSTANT HERVEUX, of Liverpool Road, Islington, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TANNING AND IN APPARATUS USED THEREFORE,'
to be as
follows:-
"
This Invention consists in an improved method of and apparatus for
tanning hides and skins whereby the process is greatly accelerated
without the use of any acid foreign to bark.
The following is an example of the means by which this Invention
may be effected :-I form a rectangular frame of wood or other suitable

page_text: material and open at the back, along the top of which and near the outer
edge I insert a thin piece of brass in such a way that the edge thereof
shall project above the surface of the said frame. I then form another
frame similar to the one above mentioned, but instead of having the
aforesaid piece of brass along the top a groove is formed underneath
for the said piece of brass to fit into. When this frame is fixed over
the aforesaid frame, as hereafter described, I also fit moveable laths
across the said frames. In these laths I cut channels, or they may be
perforated.
To operate with an apparatus thus constructed I proceed as follows:-
I take a hide (for example) which has been previously prepared in the
usual way ready for tanning, and after having doubled it over in half,
stretch it on the first-mentioned frame with the doubled part at the
open part or back of the frame. I then put the second frame on the
top in such a way that the piece of brass aforesaid will force that part
of the hide which is over it into the groove aforesaid, and after having
screwed the two frames tightly together cut off any of the hide that
protrudes beyond the said frames. The pieces cut off being thin may
be tanned in the usual way. A pipe is then connected to one side
of the frame, and the other end of this pipe has branches connected
with elevated reservoirs containing the tan liquor, which is simply oak
bark and water of different strengths, and these branches have taps to
enable me to supply first the weakest liquor and then the stronger
liquors by degrees to the hides. The said liquor passes through the
aforesaid main pipe fixed to the frame and thence in between the hide,
the hydrostatic pressure causing it to filter slowly through the pores
thereof. The spent tan liquor passes off by means of the channels or
perforations in the aforesaid laths into a vessel placed to receive it. The
said laths keep the hide in proper form and cause it to be tanned
equally all over, and being made moveable I am enabled to alter their
position during the process to prevent the hide being marked by the
aforesaid channels or perforations. When the hide is tanned I unscrew
the frames and remove it therefrom, and after having cut off the edge
which was nipped by the aforesaid piece of brass it is dried and prepared
for the market in the usual way.
The time required for tanning by the above method will vary, say, from
1:
L
Janniter of the hid

page_text: when done will be equal in quality to hides or skins tanned by the
original tedious process of from 10 to 12 months.
I am aware of several attempts having been made to effect the objects
of this Invention, but they have I believe failed in practise on account
of the hides or skins not being equally tanned all over, or of there
having been great waste, and also for other reasons, all of which may be
obviated by the present Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Constant Herveux in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CONSTANT
HERVEUX, of Liverpool Road, Islington, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Constant Herveux, Her special licence
that I, the said Constant Herveux, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Constant Herveux, 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 TANNING AND IN APPARATUS USED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Constant Herveux, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Constant Herveux, 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, that is to say :—
This Invention consists in an improved method of and apparatus
for tanning hides and skins whereby the process is greatly accelerated
without the use of any acid except that of bark, commonly called
tannic acid.
In carrying out this Invention I form two rectangular frames of wood
or other suitable material of the same size so as to lie one upon the
other. On the inner sides or faces of one of these frames and near the
outer edge thereof a thin piece of metal is inserted in such a way that
the edge thereof shall project above the surface of the said frame, and on
the inner side of the other frame a groove is formed in such a manner
as that the said piece of metal may fit into the groove when the two
frames are placed over each other, as hereafter described. Moveable
laths are fitted across the said frames, in these laths are cut channels or
perforations to facilitate the passage of the liquid in contact with their
under sides. Between two frames so formed I place a hide previously
prepared in the usual way and ready for tanning doubled over in half.
In two frames being brought together by screws at the corner and
other suitable parts of the frames, the pieces of metal in the three sides
of one frame will force that part of the hide which is over them into
the grooves in the other frame. The two frames with the doubled hide
betwixt them having been thus screwed tightly together any of the
hide that protrudes beyond the said frames is cut off and may be tanned.
in the usual way or otherwise used. The doubled hide so held between
the two frames forms a fluid-tight bag, into which by a pipe or pipes
inserted between the two surfaces of the hide between the frames the
tan liquor (which is simply oak bark and water of different strengths)
may be introduced and will pass in between the folded parts of the hide
under any required pressure or head. The hydrostatic pressure causing
the liquor to filter slowly through the pores of the hide the spent tan
liquor will pass off in the outer surfaces of the folded hide into a vessel
placed to receive it.
The said laths keep the hide in proper form and
cause it to be tanned equally all over, and being moveable their position
may be altered during the process to prevent the hide being marked by
the channels or perforations in the laths. When the hide is tanned I

page_text: сибо и щеп
ppy the proOS OF
the hide thus tanned is dried and prepared for the market in the usual
way.
Such being the nature of my said Invention, I will now proceed
to describe the apparatus employed, reference being had to the
illustrative Sheet of Drawings accompanying these Presents, and to the
numeral figures and letters of references marked thereon respectively as
follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents an inside view of my improved apparatus ;
Figure 2 an outside view as it would appear when in use; Figure 3,
is a vertical section through the line A, B, in Figure 2, and Figure 4
a horizontal section through the line C, D, in Figure 2; Figure 5
represents a hide, the dotted lines shewing how it should be cut for
tanning by my improved apparatus. In each of the above-mentioned
Figures I employ similar letters of reference to denote corresponding
parts.
A, A', represent strong frames made of wood or other suitable
material, but I prefer oak, to these frames I adapt moveable pieces or
laths B in which are cut small grooves or channels denoted by the cross
lines at Figure 1 to allow the tan liquor employed to escape after
filtering through the hide, these pieces B also serve to retain the hide
in proper form and cause it to be tanned equally all over; C is a pipe
ó or pipes for the tan liquor to pass through from an elevated or pressure
reservoir; a represents pieces for connecting the two frames A, A', tightly
together, which may be effected by means of bolts and nuts at x, the
pieces a also serve to prevent the laths B from breaking by the pressure
between the folded parts of the hide. In Figures 3 and 46 marks a
o flange or projecting piece of metal which takes into a corresponding
groove formed on three sides of the other frame A, as at c, Figure 1, so
that when the hide is stretched over and the aforesaid frames are
screwed together the hide will be firmly gripped and forced into the
groove on the three sides marked 1, 2, 3, thereby excluding air and
5 preventing the tan liquor escaping otherwise than through the hide,
the fourth side marked 4 is kept tight by reason of the hide being

page_text: doubled over; d are lugs for screwing the frames A, A', together by
means of bolts and nuts at the holes e.
MODE OF OPERATING.
:-
To tan a hide according to my said Invention I proceed as follows:-
I take a hide which has been previously prepared for tanning by the
well known method, and after having cut it in the direction denoted by
dotted lines at Figure 5 I double the said hide over in half, I then
place it over the aforesaid frame A, and then place the other frame A¹
similarly constructed over it and screw the two frames tightly together
by means of bolts and nuts at d, e, and x, Figures 1 and 2, after which
I admit the tan liquor through the pipes C, passing through the flange
or projecting piece of metal in between the folded or doubled parts of
the hide from an elevated or pressure cistern, and then fill the space
between such folded parts of the hide with the tan liquor. The hydro-
static pressure causes the tan liquor to percolate slowly through the
pores of the hide and the laths or moveable pieces B cause the hide to
be equally tanned all over. The pieces B should be moved slightly
from time to time by means of a screw or otherwise in order that the
grooves, or channels, or perforations in the said pieces may not always
remain on the same part of the hide. The tan liquor is supplied in
different strengths during the process.
It will be found desirable during the process of tanning to turn the
hides occasionally. When the hide is tanned the frame can then be
unscrewed and the hide removed and finished in the usual way. By the
above method and apparatus a hide may be tanned in about three weeks
with oak bark and water only, instead of requiring from eight to twelve
months as is now the case in tanning hides with oak bark and water.
A pipe h is fixed above the pipe C for the escape of air.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention for "Improve-
ments in Tanning and in Apparatus used therefor," and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
claim the several processes or parts of the apparatus herein-before
described and referred to except when the same are employed in and
for the purposes of my said Invention, and I hereby declare that I
claim as my Invention,-
First. Tanning hides or skins by fluid applied under pressure between
the surfaces of the hide, as herein described.

page_text: Secondly. I claim the construction and use of apparatus described
with reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which the
moveable pieces marked B are arranged in combination with the frames
A, A', for the purposes above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Constant Herveux, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
C. HERVEUX. (L.S.)