A CERTAIN METHOD OF IMPROVING EVERY KIND OF LACE OR NET, OR ANY DESCRIPTION OF MANUFACTURED GOODS WHOSE FABRIC IS COMPOSED OF HOLES OR INTERSTICES MADE FROM THREAD OR YARN, AS USUALLY MANUFACTURED, OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, WHETHER FABRICATED FROM FLAX, COTTON,. WOOL, SILK, OR ANY OTHER VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, OR OTHER SUBSTANCE WHATSOEVER
Year: 1817

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENT SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
HALL, of Basford, Nottinghamshire, Cotton Spinner, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did by my petition humbly represent to His present Majesty
King George the Third that I had invented "A CERTAIN METHOD OF IMPROVING
EVERY KIND OF LACE OR NET, OR ANY DESCRIPTION OF MANUFACTURED GOODS WHOSE
FABRIC IS COMPOSED OF HOLES OR INTERSTICES MADE FROM THREAD OR YARN, AS USUALLY
MANUFACTURED, OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, WHETHER FABRICATED FROM FLAX, COTTON,.
WOOL, SILK, OR ANY OTHER VEGETABLE, ANIMAL, OR OTHER SUBSTANCE WHATSOEVER,"
His Majesty was pleased to issue His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of
Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Third day of November,
in the fifty-eighth of His reign, which Letters Patent do give and grant unto
me, the said Samuel Hall, and to my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
to my and their servants or agents, His said Majesty's especial licence to make,
use, exercise, and vend my said Invention within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and to have and enjoy the whole profit and advantage
arising by reason of the said Invention during the terin of fourteen years from
the date of the said Letters Patent, by which His Majesty also requires and
strictly commands all His subjects whatever within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, that during the continuance of the said term of fourteen
years, they shall not, either directly or indirectly, make, use, or put in practice my
said Invention, or any part of it, or in any ways counterfeit, imitate, or resemble

page_text: the same; the said Letters Patent also contain a proviso, obliging me, the
said Samuel Hall, to particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner, the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and, seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in fulfillment of the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Hall, have exccuted this instrument, by which I do declare that my
method of improving every kind of lace or net, or any description of mana-
factured goods whose fabric is composed of holes or interstices made from
thread or yarn, as usually manufactured, of every description, whether
fabricated from flax, cotton, wool, silk, or any other vegetable, animal,
or other substance whatsoever, is described and ascertained in the manner
following:-
The object of my Invention is to remove from every kind of lace or net,
or other goods of the description above mentioned, all superfluous and loose
fibres or ends of fibres, which are not so bound and twisted into the thread or
yarn, of which the lace or net or such other goods is composed. as to form a
part of the solid body thereof. These superfluous fibres do not contribute to
the strength of the thread, or of the lace or net, or such other goods as
aforesaid, but form a kind of fur or wool around the threads, which make
them appear thicker than they really are, and also fills.up the.meshes, holes, or
interstices of the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, and makes
them appear indistinct and woolly.
My method of improving lace or net, or such other goods. as; aforesaid, is
by passing them through or at a very small distance over a body, of flame.or
fire produced by the combustion of inflammable, gass, while the said flame or
the intense heat thereof is urged upwards, so as to pass through the holes
or meshes of the lace or net, or such other goods. as aforesaid, by means of a
current of air, which is produced by:a chimney,fixed over the flame imme-
diately above the lace or net, or such other goods, as aforesaid. The action
of the flame is to burn, singe, and destroy. as much of the .said superfluous
fibres or fur as may be removed without injury to the :lace or net, or such
other goods as aforesaid. A long piece of lace or.net, or such other, goods, as
aforesaid, or several pieces united together so as to form.a large sheet, is made
to pass between two rollers, mounted one over' the other, like the rollers, of a
flatting mill, and the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, are.further
.to be extended over other rollers, so as to spread part of the lace or,net, or
such other goods as aforesaid, in, an horizontal position. Beneath this part the

page_text: flame is applied, and the rollers being turned round will cause the lace or
net, or such other goods as aforesaid, to pass through or at a very small dis-
tance above the flame, so that every part of the piece shall in succession be
subjected to the action thereof, and the velocity of the movement must be so
regulated that the superfluous fibres of the lace or net, or other goods as afore-
said, will be acted upon in its passage through or over the flame, without having
time to injure the lace itself. It must be obvious that the rapidity of the
motion must depend upon the nature of the lace or net, or such other goods
as aforesaid, and the intensity of the flame. It is of course impossible to give
any general description of the motion that will be applicable to different cases.
A slight trial, however, will be sufficient in each instance to ascertain and
regulate the velocity. A regular and uniform motion will of course be most
convenient and advantageous. The operation may be repeated as often as is
found necessary to effect the required improvement of the lace or net, or such
other goods as aforesaid, and the operation will be most readily effected if the
two ends of the piece are united together so as to form an endless band, which
being extended over a system of rollers, will circulate about the said rollers
when they are turned round, and so every part of the said endless band will
pass and repass continually through or over the flame. The apparatus for the
production of the inflammable gas may be the same which is well known and
in use for the purpose of illumination. The gass is to be conducted in pipes
to the machine, and to enter into a tube; which is placed horizontally beneath
the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid. When the lace or not, or
such other goods as aforesaid, have been sufficiently operated upon by. the.
flame acting on one side, the piece is reversed, and the other side is subjected
to the action of the flame.
The Drawing hereunto, annexed represents a system of rollers to operate
upon lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, by the flame of inflammable
gas. A, D, are the two rollers, which may be covered with felt or other similar
substance, and between which the lace passes. One of these rollers is put in
motion by some mechanical force, or by a handle, with a fly wheel to render
the motion uniform. C is a roller to sustain the lace or net, or such other
goods as aforesaid; E is a tube, which conducts the gas; g, 9, are little
branches, to conduct the gas to another smaller tube f,f, which extends hori-
zontally beneath the piece of lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, and
in the upper side is a row of small holes, to allow the gas to escape and form
the flame; the holes are such distances asunder as to produce a continued
flame, of a length rather greater than the breadth of the piece of lace or net,
or such other goods as aforesaid. In a wide machine the small tube ff, should

page_text: be divided into any convenient number of lengths, leaving as much space
between each length as will allow for the expansion of the metal when the
tube becomes heated. The upright branches g, g, may be provided with cocks
if required, and by means of which the supply of gas to any one of the said
portions of the tube f, f, may be intercepted, if a narrow piece of lace is to be
operated upon. is the chimney to produce a current of air; F, F, are two
rollers to extend the piece of lace or net, or other goods as aforesaid. These
rollers are mounted in frames of wood, placed on the ground, and made of
sufficient weight to preserve the positions which are given to them. By this
means the two rollers can be placed at such a distance from the rollers A, D,
as to extend the piece of lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, be the
same longer or shorter. G is another roller, to support the piece of lace or net,
or other goods as aforesaid, when it is very long. If the piece is short, the
two rollers F, F, are not used, but the lace or net, or such other goods as
aforesaid, is passed beneath the roller G, which is poised on centres in the
supports B. These are attached to the uprights of the frame by bolts passing
through slits, so that by regulating these the roller G can be placed in the
most favorable position for extending the piece of lace or net, or such other
goods as aforesaid. All the rollers must be made so that they can readily be
moved from their bearings, in order to introduce the piece of lace or net, or
such other goods as aforesaid, into the machine after the ends thereof are
joined together. The tube E is fixed to the frame at one of its ends, and the
other end is supported by a piece of iron K, which is attached to the frame by
a centre pin, and terminated with an eye or ring to receive the end of the tube.
The iron K can be turned aside, as is shewn by the dotted lines, in order to
detach it from the end of the tube when the lace is to be introduced or taken
off, and then the tube will remain supported by one end only. The rollers are
longer than the breadth of the piece of lace or net, or such other goods as
aforesaid, or than the row of holes where the gas issues, and by this means
the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, can be put on the rollers, and
they are put in motion before the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid,
is brought over the flame; but when it is in full motion, it is moved sideways
on the rollers, so as to come over the flame. A cock must be applied to the
pipe E to regulate the gas, and whilst the lace or net, or such other goods as
aforesaid, is put upon the rollers, this cock must be so far closed as to diminish
the flame as much as possible without extinguishing the same, and when the
lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, is put in motion, and fully
extended over the flame, the cock is to be opened, and the flame will light up,
so as to act upon the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid. During

page_text: the operation of this machine it is necessary to extend the edges of the piece
of lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, before it passes upon the
rollers C, to prevent folds or creases in the lace or net, or such other goods as
aforesaid, which would interrupt the proper action of the flame. It will be
proper to attach coarse lace or tape to the edges of the lace to keep them
smooth and even. The edges are extended by one or two persons, who stand
between the roller F and the frame of the rollers A and D, and hold out the
edges of the lace or net, or such other goods as aforesaid, with their fingers,
without interrupting its motion. As the lace or net, or such other goods as
aforesaid, will be somewhat discoloured by the operation, it my afterwards be
bleached by any of the processes in common use. The operation is generally
performed once before the goods are bleached; they are then half bleached,
and the operation repeated; the bleaching is afterwards finished.
The above apparatus or combination of machinery is conveniently adapted
for the purposes of the said Invention; but I do not claim the exclusive use
of any apparatus or combination of machinery, except in connection with and
in aid of the application of the flame of inflammable gas, to the purposes
above described in this Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Hall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
SAMUEL (L.S.) HALL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twentieth day of April,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Samuel Hall came before
5 our Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor
of the Statute in that case made and provided.