An Improved Process for Making Glass Signs, Plates or Tablets and for Decorating Glass or Porcelain generally.
Year: 1898

page_text: 2
Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 29th Oct., 1898
An Improved Process for Making Glass Signs, Plates or Tablets and
for Decorating Glass or Porcelain generally.
A communication by WILHELM SCHELL, JUNIOR, of the Offenburg Glass Tablet
and Sign Works, Offenberg, Baden, in the Empire of Germany, Glass Sign
Maker...
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I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for Foreign
Patent. Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, & 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, & 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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:-
The manufacture of glass sign plates or tablets for the names of firms, advertise-
ments and general glassware decorations has hitherto been carried out by first
conveying the metal, such as gold, silver or the like, in the form of leaf or
deposited metal, or metal deposited by chemical means, on to the glass and then
painting the writing or design reversed on this metal or reproducing it thereon
by pressure or by another reproducing process. After being dried, the surplus
metal particles are removed by brushing or friction, so that when seen from the
front of the glass the type or design appears in bright metal on transparent glass.
If the core or centre of the writing is to appear dull and roughened or granular
and only the contour or a shadow to be smooth or blank, the places which are not
to appear blank or plain are previously etched or painted with a colour which,
after the deposition of the metal, will give these places a dull appearance. The
ground or foundation can then be formed either by simply laying on a colour
behind it, or the ground may be painted and decorated, or the painted ground be
decorated with a picture, flowers or a transfer picture. These processes are incon-
venient, time-consuming and costly.
By means of the process hereinafter described a quite sharp writing or drawing
is obtained and by means of this a sign plate or tablet may be finished or completed
in a very short time.
The process consists essentially in the writing or design of the sign, plate, or
tablet (which may be as elaborate as possible) and the body colour or the design
forming the background being first imprinted on prepared paper, the places which
are to be represented by metal being left free so that this picture can then be trans-
ferred on to the glass. By then simply drawing, the whold picture off the glass
a representation of the entire tablet together with the background is shown thereon,
with only the places which are to appear metallic remaining transparent. After
the drying of the picture these places are then coated at the back with sheet metal,
i.e., goldleaf or the like or tinfoil. If on the other hand it be desired to obtain in
bright metal only the outline of the writing or drawing whilst the core or centre
of the same is to remain dull, a suitable pressure is applied to the places to be

page_text: rendered dull before the metal is deposited, or these places are dulled or granulated
by etching before drawing off the transfer picture.
In transferring the picture to the glass care must therefore be taken that those
places which are to remain open for the purpose of being coated with metal are
not covered with transfer lacquer or varnish, therefore the latter is not applied
by hand but by means of a plate on which the open places are cut out which is
then pressed on the picture and drawn off, whereby there is obtained for those;
places on which the metal is to come a completely blank glass surface. This
impressing of the transfer varnish may also be employed for the
old process of making tablets or signs according to which only the writing is first
completely finished on the glass and then the background further decorated by
means of a transfer picture.
In such operation it can hardly be avoided that the background becomes coated
or smeared with varnish, which on the drawing off of the transfer infringes on the
outside edges of the picture if the transfer picture be not cut out or coated by hand
with a transfer lacquer or varnish very exactly corresponding to the outer edge
of the picture.
In this improved process on the contrary it is only necessary to make an impres-
sion with transfer varnish on the picture by means of a plate which corresponds
to the outer edge of the picture. The picture therefore alone comes exactly on
the glass without smearing the glass in the slightest. In the case of drawings or
designs which gradually diminish to the background it is more particularly of
great importance, as any cleaning of the ground after the drawing off of the
transfer picture can only be done by means of turpentine oil whereby the writing
previously applied to the glass is injured.
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This improved method of picture transfer may also be employed in porcelain
manufacture, using ceramic transfer pictures, as thereby the defect is avoided of
the colours which are dusted on the pictures and which generally form a slight mist
or haze all round the picture, being drawn off with the object in question, which
cannot be avoided when applying transfer varnish by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
:―
1. A process for making glass signs, plates, or tablets for firm names, advertise-
ments and the like and in general for decorations on glass, characterized by a
transfer picture containing all the designs and the ground colour in which the
places which are to be shown in metal are left open or blank being transferred
to the glass and said open or blank places, after the picture has dried on, being
backed with sheet metal or tinfoil, and if dull places are to be left in the writing
or design, said places being provided with a dull impression before the backing,
substantially as herein before described.
2. A modification of the herein before described process for making glass signs,
plates, or tablets, for enabling the open or blank places to be kept clear during the
transfer of the picture, consisting in the liquid serving for the transfer being
imprinted on the picture from a coated plate formed to correspond with the outer-
most edge of the picture or design and the transfer picture and transfer varnish
or lacquer being then transferred to the glass or porcelain substantially as herein-
before described.