IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES OF HARD INDIA-RUBBER OR GUTTA PERCHA, OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF. AND IN COATING OR COVERING ARTICLES WITH THE LIKE MATERIALS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47. Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES OF
HARD INDIA-RUBBER OR GUTTA PERCHA, OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF. AND IN COATING
OR COVERING ARTICLES WITH THE LIKE MATERIALS, "A communication from
abroad.
Sealed the 15th October 1855, and dated the 19th April 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th April 1855.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES
OF HARD INDIA-RUBBER OR GUTTA PERCHA, OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF, AND IN COATING
OR COVERING ARTICLES WITH THE LIKE MATERIALS," a communication from abroad,
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of certain articles herein-after
enumerated of india-rubber, gutta percha, or compounds thereof while in a
plastic or soft state, after the method described by Thomas Hancock in the
Specification of his Patent bearing date the 21st of Nov. 1843, for an
[Price

page_text: "
improvementorimprovements in the preparation or manufacture of caoutchouc
in combination with other substances, which preparation or manufacture is
suitable for rendering leather, cloth, and other fabrics waterproof, & to
various other purposes for which caoutchouc is employed." And it is proposed
to adopt the system or mode of moulding described by the said Thomas Han-
cock in the Specification of his Patent, bearing date the 18th of March 1846,
for improvements in the manufacturing and treating of articles made of
caoutchouc, either alone or in combination with other substances, and in the
means used or employed in their manufacture." And also the system or mode
described by William Johnson in the Specification of his Patent, bearing date
the 18th of August 1854, "for improvements in moulding or shaping articles
of vulcanized caoutchouc." Also the system or mode described in the Pro-
visional Specification accompanying my Petition for Letters Patent, for
improvements in machinery or apppratus for moulding and casting fusible or
plastic materials, and in covering or coating articles with such materials,
deposited in the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th of April
1855. The articles having been moulded are submitted to heat, to be hardened
in the manner described by the said Thomas Hancock in the Specification of
his Patent on the 21st of Nov. 1843, herein-before referred to. The articles
which it is proposed to mould according to one or all of the systems herein-
before referred to are, handles for brushes, knives, razors and swords, caues
and umbrellas, snuff boxes, nécessaires for ladies' work, combs, bottles, book
covers, small rollers and wheels used in spinning and weaving, cones for
shuttles and shuttles themselves,tubing of all kinds, opera and spying glasses,
spectacles and eye glasses, flutes and other musical instruments, clocks, ships'
pulleys, horse-shoes, ornaments for furniture, statues & statuettes, taps and
fawcettes, button, sword and bayonet sheaths and viziers, candlesticks and
clamps, bobbins, compasses, haversacks, knapsacks, coffins, letters for signs,
pistol holsters, rollers or caistors for furniture to run upon, inkstands,
rockades, penholders and pens, picture and other frames, knobs for doors and
furniture, powder pouches, cartouch boxes, trunks, and portmanteaus, wash
basins, and water and other pots, tobacco pipes, type and stereotype, vases of
every form, whips, fans, dominoes, and chess and draughtmen, jewellry, such
as rings, chains, brooches &c., buckets for water, acids, and other corrosive
liquids, and toys.
This Invention therefore consists in the manufacture of the herein-before
enumerated articles by first moulding them while in a soft state, & then sub-
mitting them to a high degree of heat in steam heaters, or to the action of a
sulphur bath. The moulds may sometimes be composed of plaster, but it is

page_text: preferred to make them of porcelain, glass, metal, or gutta percha. In some
cases it is proposed to form the article of the compound in a plastic state, and
then submit it to the action of heat after being removed from the mould; or
the articles may be submitted to the heating process while still in the mould.
During the process of vulcanizing, the article may be imbedded in English
magnesia, which is preferrable to soapstone or plaster, since these materials
bleach the articles during the process of vulcanization, whilst the magnesia
allows them to come out of the moulds quite black.
The caoutchouc or gutta percha may either be incorporated with sulphur
before moulding, or the pure gums may be dissolved in spirits or carbonate of
sulphur, and the moulds filled with the solution; or pure gums may be used
and submitted while in the mould to the sulphur bath, as described generally
in the Specifications of Thomas Hancock's Patents of Nov. 21st, 1843, &
March 18th, 1846, and in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me ou
the 7th of March 1855. In other cases the material may be vulcanized in
sheets or other forms, or the refuse dust of such material may be treated as
described in the Specification of William Johnson's Patent of the 18th of
August 1854. The articles may be colored or variegated by spreading the
dust of hard india-rubber which contains coloring matter in the moulds
before adding the scraps or parings, described by the said William Johnson in
his Specification last referred to. For the above purposes, guita percha may
be employed alone or combined with caoutchouc, as described in the specifica-
tion of Charles Hancock's Patent, bearing date the 12th of January 1946, and
also in the Specification of William Brockdon & Thomas Hancock's Patent,
bearing date the 19th of Nov. 1846, the same system or mode of moulding
being employed as for caoutchouc alone. Imitation whalebone may be also
manufactured by mixing two pounds of caoutchouc or gutta percha, or both
combined, with one pound of sulphur, and proceeding in the manner described
in the herein-before referred to Specification of Thomas Hancock's Patent of
the 21st November 1843, for the purpose of hardening the compound, having
previously made a sheet of such compound and placed it on a sheet of tinned
iron, or other material having a similar polish or finish. By this means the
sheets of imitation whalebone will have a polish on one or both sides. Sheath-
ing for ships, veneers for furniture, and thin sheets for any other purpose, may
be made upon this principle. Hard india-rubber or gutta percha rollers, or
cylinders for printing purposes, for which Letters Patent were granted to me
on the First day of April 1854, may be manufactured by the aid of moulds,
heat, and pressure, as described in the Specification of William Johnson's
Patent, herein-before referred to, dated the 18th of August 1854; or by the

page_text: process herein-before described, sheets of vulcanized hard india-rubber or
gutta percha may be made into tea trays, scales & balances, ornaments, book
covers, and other articles, by pressing the material, similar to the process of
embossing leather; weaver's reeds may also be constructed by taking a piece of
hard vulcanized india-rubber of the length, width, and thickness required, and
forming the reed dents therein by means of circular saws or cutters; cards for
cloth pressing, & for printing or pressing printed sheets, in lieu of the ordi-
nary paper ones, may also be made of hard vulcanized india-rubber sheets.
This material may also be used for cards in the jacquard loom. It is proposed
to cover with pure india-rubber or gutta percha, metals, wire, or iron tubing,
whether for telegraphic purposes or for harness or carriage ware, and for the
lining of reservoirs, and for any other purpose where it is desired to protect
the object from rust or from the action of acids, the material being submitted
to the process of hard vulcanization in a sulphur bath, or the articles may be
plunged into a solution of india-rubber or gutta percha, formed by the car-
bonate of sulphur or any other solution of india-rubber or gutta percha, and
then vulcanized hard, as herein-before described. Solutions of these gums are
found particularly applicable to the moulding or casting of articles, as they
enter the moulds with facility, and readily take the form of such mould,
whilst the saving of material over the system of using a sheet or compound is
very considerable.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
shouid at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all

page_text: 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES OF HARD INDIA-RUBBER OR GUTTA
PERCHA, OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF. AND IN COATING OR COVERING ARTICLES WITH THE
LIKE MATERIAL," (a communication) upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my band
and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The said Invention relates to the manufacture of certain articles herein-after
enumerated of india-rubber, gutta percha, or compounds thereof, while in a
plastic or soft state, after the method described by Thomas Hancock in the
Specification of his Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first of November, One
thousand eight hnndred and forty-three, for an "improvementor improvements
in the preparation or manufacture of caoutchouc in combination with other
substances, which preparation or manufacture is suitable for rendering leather,
cloth, and other fabrics waterproof, and to various other purposes for which
caoutchouc is employed;" and it is proposed to adopt the system or mode of
moulding described by the said Thomas Hancock in the Specification of his
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth of March, One thousand eight hundred
and forty six, for improvements in the manufacturing and treating of articles
made of caoutchouc,cither alone or in combination with other substances, and
in the means used or employed in their manufacture." And also the system or
node described by William Johnson in the Specification of his Patent,bearing
date the Eighteenth of August, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four,for
"improvements in moulding or shaping articles of vulcanized caoutchouc."
Also the systemormode described in the Provisional Specification accompany-
ing my petition for Letters Patent for improvements in machineryor apparatus
for moulding and casting fusible or plastic materials, and in coveringorcoating
articles with such materials, deposited in the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents on the Eighteenth of April. One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
The articles having been moulded, are submitted to heat, to be hardened in
the manner described by the said Thomas Hancock in the Specification of his

page_text: Patent, of the Twenty-first of November, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-three, herein-before referred to. The articles which it is proposed to
mould according to one or all of the systems herein-before referred to are,
handles for brushes, knives, razors, swords, canes, and umbrellas, snuff boxes,
necessaries for ladies' work, combs, bottles, book covers, small rollers and
wheels used in spinning and weaving, cones for shuttles and shuttles them-
selves, tubing of all kinds, opera and spying glasses, spectacles and eyeglasses,
flutes and other musical instruments, clocks, ships' pullies, horse-shoes, orna-
ments for furniture, statues and statuette, taps and fawcettes, buttons, sword
and bayonet sheaths and vizors, candlesticks and clamps, bobbins, compasses,
haversacks, knapsacks,coffins, letters for signs,pistol holders, rollers or castors
for furniture to run upon, inkstands, cockades, penholders and pens, picture
and other frames, knobs for doors and furniture, powder pouches, cartouch
boxes, trunks and portmanteaus, wash basins, and water and other pots,
tobacco pipes, type and stereotype, vases of every form, whips, fans, dominoes,
and chess and draughtsmen, jewellery, such as rings, chains, brooches, &c.,
buckets for water, acids, and other corrosive liquids, and toys.
This Invention therefore consists in the manufacture of the herein-before
enumerated articles by first moulding them while in a soft state, and then
submitting them to a high degree of heat in steam heaters, or to the action of
a sulphur bath. The moulds may sometimes be composed of plaster, but it is
preferred to make them of porcelain, glass metal, or gutta percha. In some
cases it is proposed to form the article of the compound in a plastic state, and
then submit it to the action of heat after being removed from the mould, or
the article may be submitted to the heating process while still in the mould.
During the process of vulcanizing, the article may be imbedded in magnesia
which is preferable to soapstone or plaster, since these materials bleach the
articles during the process of vulcanization, whilst the magnesia allows them
to come out of the mould quite black.
The caoutchouc or guita percha may either be incorporated with sulphur
before moulding, or the pure gums may be dissolved in spirits or carburet of
sulphur, and the moulds filled with the solution, or pure gums may be used
and submitted while in the mould to the sulphur bath, as described generally
in the Specifications of Thomas Hancock's Patents, of the Twenty-first
November, One thousand eight hundred and forty-three, and the Eighteenth
March, One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, and in the Specification of
Letters Patent granted to me on the Seventh of March, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five. In other cases the material may be vulcanized in
sheet or other forms, or the refuse dust of such material may be treated as

page_text: described in the Specification of William Johnson's Patent of the Eighteenth
of August, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. The articles may be
colored or variegated by spreading the dust of hard india-rubber which con-
tains coloring matter in the moulds before adding the scraps or parings
described by the said William Johnson in his Specification last referred to.
For the above purposes, gutta percha may be employed alone, or combined
with caoutchouc, as described in the Specification of Charles Hancock's
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-six, and also in the Specification of William Brockedon and Thomas
Hancock's Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth of November, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-six, the same system or mode of moulding being
employed as for caoutchouc alone. Imitation whalebone may be also mani-
factured by mixing two pounds of caoutchouc, or gutta percha, or both com-
bined, with one pound of sulphur, and proceeding in the manner described in
the herein-before referred to Specification of Thomas Hancock's Patent of the
Twenty-first November, One thousand eight hundred and forty-three, for the
purpose of hardening the compound, having previously made a sheet of such
compound, and placed it on a sheet of tinned iron, or other material having a
similar polish or finish. By this means the sheets of initation whalebone will
have a polish on one or both sides. Sheathing for ships, vencers for furniture.
and thin sheets for any other purpose, may be made upon this principle.
Hard india-rubber or gutta percha rollers or cylinders for printing purposes
for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the First day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, may be manufactured by aid of
moulds, heat, and pressure, as described in the Specification of William John-
son's Patent, herein-before referred to, dated the Eighteenth of August, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four; or by the process herein-before
described, sheets of vulcanised hard india-rubber or gutta percha may be made
into tea trays, scales and balances, ornaments, book covers, and other articles
of pressing the material, similar to the process of imbossing leather. Weavera'
reeds may also be constructed by taking a piece of hard vulcanized india-
rubber of the length, width, and thickness required, and forming the reed dents
therein by means of circular saws or cutters. Cards for cloth pressing, and for
printing or pressing printed sheets, in lieu of the ordinary paper ones, may also
be made of hard vulcanized india-rubber sheets. This material may also be
used for cards in the jacquard loom. It is proposed to cover with pure india-
rubber or gutta percha metals, wire, or iron tubing, whether for telegraphic
purposes or for harness or carriage ware, and for the lining of reservoirs, and
any other purpose where it is desired to protect the object from rust, or
for

page_text: from the action of acids, the material being submitted to the process of hard
vulcanization in a sulphur bath; or the articles may be plunged into a solution
of india-rubber or gutta percha formed by the carburet of sulphur, or into any
other solution of india-rubber or gutta percha, and then vulcanised hard, as
herein-before described. Solutions of these gums are found particularly appli-
cable to the moulding or casting of articles, as they enter the moulds with
facility, and readily take the form of such mould, whilst the saving of material
over the system of using a sheet or compound is very considerable.
I claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before recited Letters
Patent,―
First, the systems or modes of manufacturing and treating the herein-before
enumerated articles composed of hard india-rubber and gutta percha,or com-
pounds thereof, as herein-before described, whether such articles be hardened
whilst in the moulds or after their removal therefrom.
Second, the coating or covering of metallic or other surfaces with india-
rubber or gutta percha, or compounds thereof, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of October, Oue thousand
eight hundred and fifty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. L.S.)