Improvements relating to the Lettering and Ornamenting of Windows, Walls, Signs, and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 8th Oct., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Lettering and Ornamenting of
Windows, Walls, Signs, and the like.
I, THEOPHIL PFISTER, of 5, 6 & 7, Lensden Place, Golden Lane, in the County
of London, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to the lettering and ornamenting of windows, walls,
signs, and the like, and applies to hollow as well as to solid letters, ornaments,
facias and the like. The chief feature of my invention relates to the lining
or facing of the letters or ornaments with pieces of broken glass or prisms or
pieces of ornamental materials held in place by a suitable adhesive substance
which may also be employed for fastening the letter or ornament to the backing.
The pieces of broken materials may be plain, silvered, gilded or coloured, and
preferably they are small round particles of glass resembling beads without holes,
and known as blind beads. As applied-to signs and the like where the letters are
cut in a wooden or other backing which is then covered by a glass sheet, the
letters are lined according to my invention with pieces of broken glass or prefer-
ably blind beads lining the hollow letters and caused to adhere by a suitable
adhesive substance.
By my invention, ornamental and artistic letters in great variety can be pro-
duced, as well as vines, scrolls, leaves and other designs, and the ornamental
effects as well as the colours employed are largely under the control of the artist,
so that the desired effects can be readily produced in great varieties from
similar or standard letters or ornaments.
In the accompanying drawing which illustrates (Fig. 1 in plan, and Fig. 2 in
section) my invention as applied to hollow work, A is a glass plate or other
sheet to which a letter B and two ornaments C and D are shown affixed. Each
letter or ornament consists of a hollow or concave case or shell lined with broken
materials or blind beads or the like held in place by an adhesive substance. The
edges of the hollow articles are made to coincide with the surface of the glass or
other backing to which they are to be attached, such edges being flat when
the backing is flat, and curved when the backing is curved. I do not limit myself
as to the manner in which the hollow articles are to be produced, as they will
usually be of glass and may be moulded, blown, pressed or otherwise formed in
any well known manner. The broken ornamented materials may be of any desired
colour and character, such for example as pieces of broken coloured glass, blind
beads, ornamental pieces of mineral substances or pieces of material gilded
or silvered, and if desired foil or leaf metal may be applied to the inner surface of
the letter or other article previous to the introduction of the lining material. A
suitable adhesive substance such as liquid gelatine glue, silicate of soda or varnish
or any mixture of such substances is used to cause the particles or pieces to
adhere to the hollow article, and to cause the article to adhere to the glass plate

page_text: or other backing to which it is to be affixed, care being taken to allow the cement-
ing materials to dry or set sufficiently before the article is attached to the plate.
While this improvement is especially available with letters or other devices
attached to a window or other transparent plate, it is also available when the
letter or ornament is transparent, for receiving the ornamental materials to be
seen through it and in this case the letters or ornaments may be applied to a wall
or other opaque backing.
According to a modification of my invention, the letters or ornaments are made
of glass with a number of hollows or depressions following the general shape of
the letter or ornament, and these depressions are lined with the blind beads or
other granular particles which are caused to adhere by cement as above described.
The back of the letters or ornaments are then gilded silvered or similarly orna-
mented except at the parts immediately behind the hollows. These letters answer
their purpose when seen either by transmitted light or by reflected light, and pro-
duce a brilliant and novel lettering or ornamentation.
The mineral articles may be applied to the faces of solid letters or ornaments
and be held in place by an adhesive cement, or in lieu of cement the following
method may be adapted, that is to say, a prepared mould having its surface pro-
tected by a coating of plaster of Paris is lined with a layer of blind beads or
other ornamental particles, and then semi-molten glass is pressed into the mould.
When the glass has set it is removed from the mould, and the granular particles
will be found to have adhered to its surface,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A letter or ornament of transparent or opaque material lined or faced with
pieces of glass such as blind beads or other ornamental materials held in place by
an adhesive substance, substantially as described.
2. The hereindescribed letters or ornaments made of glass having a number
of hollows or depressions therein which are lined with blind beads or other orna-
mental particles held in place by adhesive cement, the backs of the letters or
ornaments being gilded or silvered or otherwise ornamented except at the parts
immediately behind the hollows substantially as, and for the purposes, specified.
3. The modification of my invention as applied to signs or facias and the like
having hollow letters cut out of the backing, which consists in lining the letters
with blind beads or other ornamental particles held in place by adhesive cement,
substantially as described.
4. The hereindescribed hot process or method of forming letters or ornaments
faced with small granular particles of glass or other mineral substance.
5. The methods of lettering or ornamenting glass panes and other plates, sub-
stantially as described, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 9th day of August 1898.
GEORGE HARRISON,
35, Therapia Road, Honor Oak, London, Agent for the Applicant.