AN IMPROVED MODE OF COLOURING INDIA-RUBBER AND OTHER LIKE WATERPROOF FABRICS OR MATERIALS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Ford, of Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF COLOURING INDIA-RUBBER AND OTHER LIKE WATERPROOF
FABRICS OR MATERIALS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Ford at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the .
20th October 1870.
I, ALFRED FORD, of Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF COLOURING INDIA-RUBBER AND OTHER LIKE
WATERPROOF FABRICS OR MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is to extend the use of waterproof
tissues and fabrics by improving their appearance in adding brilliancy of
colour to their natural lustre.
The surfaces of the waterproof fabrics to which my Invention applies
are formed either of india-rubber, gutta percha, oxidized oil or resins, or

page_text: their combinations. In the course of experiments I have found that
these substances one and all have under certain circumstances an affinity
for aniline and kindred dyes, and it is the use of such dyes, in place of
the opaque pigments heretofore used to give colour to this class of
fabrics, which enables me to give a novel character to this description
of manufactures. I immerse the articles I design to dye in an aqueous
solution of aniline or kindred dye at a temperature of 150 degrees, more
or less, and retain them in the fluid or continue to pass them through
the same until the desired tint is obtained. In the case of india-rubber
or gutta percha it is desirable to prepare the articles for the dyeing
process by immersing them for some hours in water. By this means
they will absorb a certain quantity of moisture, and they will thus be
the more ready to take up the colour. In some cases I find it necessary
to assist the introduction of the dye into india-rubber or gutta percha
by rubbing it in by the aid of naptha, methylated spirit, or some other
known solvent of the articles I design to treat; or I may apply the dye
in this manner to surfaces of the other waterproofing agents before
referred to, where I desire to produce certain colours without having
recourse to dipping the material, but the colours so produced are not so
indelible as those obtained by dipping.
In order to economize the use of the dye I propose, when dyeing cloths
coated with india-rubber or gutta percha, or varnished cloths or fabrics
of the character of American leather cloth, or oiled or waxed cloth, to'
place two fabrics back to back, and to cement their edges, and thereby
to protect the backs and prevent them, when the fabrics are immersed
in the dye vat, from uselessly absorbing the colour.
By my Invention I am enabled to produce transparent colours of
various hues, and to give the fabrics a brilliancy equal to satins when
dyed with aniline colours.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Alfred Ford, Her special licence that I, the said
Alfred Ford, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Alfred Ford, 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 "AN IMPROVED MODE OF COLOURING INDIA-RUBBER AND OTHER LIKE WATER-
PROOF FABRICS OR MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Alfred Ford, 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.
KNOW NOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Ford, 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) :-
The chief object of this Invention is to extend the use of waterproof
tissues and fabrics by improving their appearance in adding brilliancy of
colour to their natural lustre.
The Invention also relates to the coloring of varnishes when applied
to goods of various kinds.
The surfaces to which my Invention applies are formed either of
india-rubber, gutta percha, oxidized oil or resins, or their combinations.
In the course of experiments I have found that these substances one
and all have, under certain circumstances, an affinity for certain aniline
dyes, and it is the use of such dyes, in place of the opaque pigments
heretofore used to give colour to waterproof fabrics, which enables me to
give a novel character to this description of manufacture. The water-
proof articles I design to dye will be manufactured of a drab or light
colour, and finished in the usual manner. The articles I immerse in an
aqueous solution of aniline at a temperature, say, of one hundred and
.

page_text: fifty degrees (more or less), and I retain them in the dye or continue to
pass them through the same until the desired tint is obtained. The
colour thus imparted to the goods will, I find, be indelible. When
treating india-rubber or gutta percha goods it is desirable to prepare
those articles for the dyeing process by steeping them for some hours
in cold water. By this means. they will absorb a certain quantity of
moisture, and they will thus be the more ready to take up the color.
In some cases I may find it desirable to assist the introduction of the
dye into india-rubber or gutta percha goods by applying to their sur-
faces naphtha or other known solvent or partial solvent of india-rubber
and gutta percha. This treatment will soften the surfaces and facilitate
the penetration of the dye.
When dyeing the varnished surfaces of articles that will not con-
veniently admit of being immersed in the heated bath, as, for example,
furniture made of light wood, as pine or maple, I apply the dye liquor
by means of hot sponges to the varnished surfaces, and thus obtain a
brilliant colour; but in dyeing smaller articles, such, for example, as
croquet balls, they when finished with varnish may be immersed in the
hot dye liquor.
In order to economize the use of the dye I propose, when dyeing cloths
coated with india-rubber or gutta percha, or varnished cloths or fabrics
of the character of American leather cloth, or oiled or waxed cloth, to
place two fabrics back to back, and to cement their edges, and thereby
to protect the backs and prevent them, when the fabrics are immersed
in the dye vat, from uselessly absorbing the colour.
My experiments have shewn me that certain kinds of aniline dyes
cannot be used in the form of an aqueous solution, and that although
these may be employed when the colour is dissolved in methylated spirit
yet no indelible colour will result. Thus I have found that yellow,
orange, and green, in their various shades, are inapplicable to the pur-
poses of my Invention, but that all red, mauve, violet, and purple aniline
dyes prepared as an aqueous solution may be used as above explained.
I would further remark that by my Invention I am enabled to produce
transparent permanent colours of various hues on fabrics of the character
above indicated, the brilliancy of the hues being equal to that obtained
on satins when dyed with aniline colours.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of an improved
mode of colouring india-rubber and other like waterproof fabrics or

page_text: materials, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood, that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, the use of the above-named aqueous solutions of the
aniline colours in the dyeing or coloring of india-rubber and other like
waterproof fabrics or materials, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Ford, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
ALFRED FORD. (L.S.)