IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND DYEING SILK WASTE, FLAX, HEMP
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George William Oldham, of Moll Spring, Honley,
near Huddersfield, in the County of York, Dyer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND DYEING SILK WASTE, FLAX, HEMP,
"
Sealed the 12th May 1868, and dated the 20th November 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George William Oldham
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th November 1862.
I, GEORGE WILLIAM OLDHAM, of Moll Spring, Honley, near Hudders-
field, in the County of York, Dyer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND DYEING SILK WASTE,
FLAX, HEMP, INDIAN OR CHINA GRASS, OR OTHER SIMILAR FIBROUS SUBSTANCES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists principally in a peculiar method of preparing
such fibres for dyeing, whereby I am enabled to dye the said materials
either in black or colors previously to their being dressed or combed,
that is to say, before being made into slivers, or before being mixed with
wool or other fibrous material, such fibres having been hitherto invariably
dyed after such operation. In order to prepare the silk waste, flax, hemp,
Indian grass, or other similar fibrous substance for dyeing, I first steep the

page_text: material for about one hour in a strong soap liquor, and I then boil it in
the same for about three hours, after which it is to be well washed out and
it may then be dyed in the ordinary manner by means of any suitable drug
usually employed for dyeing black or colors.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George William Oldham in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th May 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WILLIAM OLDHAM, of Moll Spring, Honley, near Huddersfield, in the County
of York, Dyer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George William Oldham, Her special licence, that I, the said George
William Oldham, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said George William Oldham, 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 "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND DYEING SILK WASTE, FLAX, HEMP, INDIAN OR
CHINA GRASS, OR OTHER SIMILAR FIBROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition,
amongst others, that I, the said George William Oldham, my executors or
administrators, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George William Oldham, 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 in writing, that is to say:-
This Invention consists principally in a peculiar method of preparing silk
waste, (or "husks and knubs,") flax, hemp, Indian or China grass, or other

page_text: similar fibrous substances for dyeing, whereby I am enabled to dye the said
materials, either in black or colors, and sufficiently even in color, previously
to their being dressed or combed, that is to say, before being made into slivers
or before being mixed with wool or other fibrous material or materials,
such fibrous substances having been hitherto invariably dyed after such
operation.
And, secondly, this Invention consists in dyeing such fibrous substances
so prepared previously to their being dressed or combed, that is to say,
before being made into slivers or before being mixed with wool or other
fibrous materials.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improvements
in Preparing and Dyeing Silk Waste, Flax, Hemp, Indian or China Grass,
or other similar Fibrous Substances," I will now proceed to describe the
manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, which will be readily understood from the following description
of the process, that is to say,-
In order to prepare the silk waste (or "husks and knubs,") flax, hemp,
Indian or China grass, or other similar fibrous substances for dyeing, I procure
a number of small bags or nets, into which I place the fibrous material, putting
about eight ounces thereof into each bag. The bags or nets containing the
fibrous material to be prepared for dyeing, are then steeped for about one
hour (more or less,) in a strong soap liquor or lather, which is placed in a
boiler provided with a suitable fire-place for heating the same. The fibrous
material (in the bags or nets,) is then boiled in the soap liquor for about two
or three hours, or until the same is sufficiently softened to be in a suitable
state for dyeing. It may then be either washed out or not as preferred, and
dyed in the ordinary manner, (still in the bags or nets,) by means of any
suitable drugs usually employed for dyeing black or colors. In making the
soap liquor or lather for steeping and boiling the fibrous substances as above
described, I use about twenty pounds of soap to about one hundred pounds of
fibre.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improvements in Preparing and Dyeing Silk Waste, Flax, Hemp, Indian
or China Grass, or other similar Fibrous Substances," 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, preparing
such fibrous substances for dyeing by steeping and boiling them in strong soap
liquor or lather, and dyeing such substances, so prepared previously to their

page_text: being dressed or combed, that is to say, before being made into slivers, or
before being mixed with wool, or other fibrous material or materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said George William Oldham, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
G. W. OLDHAM. (L.B.)