IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Raphael Hunter Brandon, Engineer & Patent Agent, of
38, Southampton Buildings, London, & 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES." A communication
from Antoine Dumas, of Paris, France.
Sealed the 4th April 1879, and dated the 8th October 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Raphael Hunter Brandon at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th October 1878.
RAPHAEL HUNTER BRANDON, Engineer & Patent Agent, of 38, Southampton
Buildings, London, & 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF BRUSHES.” [A communication from Antoine Dumas, of Paris, France.]
These improvements have reference to the manufacture of brushes for the human
hair as well as for horses and other animals; they consist in the use of tufts of fine
iron wire, the gauge of which may approximate one-tenth of a millimeter, set and
dressed so as to be elastic and yielding, and in intermingling these metallic tufts
with tufts made of bristles in the usual manner with the view of increasing the
efficiency of such brushes and of supporting the external rows of tufts, and for this
purpose the central part of these improved brushes is preferably made exclusively
of metallic tufts, whilst the edges are provided with one or more rows of bristles.
•

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Raphael Hunter Brandon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th April 1879.
RAPHAEL HUNTER BRANDON, Engineer and Patent Agent, of 38, Southampton
Buildings, London, and 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF BRUSHES." A communication from Antoine Dumas, of Paris, France.
My Invention relates to a novel kind of brush which can be used either for toilet
purposes and for cleaning the human hair or for brushing and cleaning horses and
other animals. The improvements which I have made on this class of brushes
consists in manufacturing them partly of extremely fine iron wire, the guage of
which may vary between 10 and 20 hundredths of a centimetre, according to the
different uses for which the brushes may be destined, and partly of ordinary hog's
bristles or any appropriate vegetable substitute for the same, the relative position of
these two materials being so arranged that their peculiar qualities become effective
in the highest degree, and that their combination produces results heretofore unat-
tainable by one single article. The wires employed in the manufacture of these
brushes are so dressed and prepared as to form springs, whereby the elasticity and
softness of ordinary bristles is obtained, and their peculiar nature. permits them to
easily penetrate into the human or animal hairs and to rapidly remove the dust and
scurf, at the same time imparting to the hair a beautiful gloss without in the
slightest degree irritating the skin, as is the case with combs and curry combs.
The tufts consisting of bristles are preferably so placed with relation to the tufts of
dressed wire that they become especially effective on the places with which the
brush is brought into contact after the wire tufts, so that the latter being of a
stronger and more effective nature serve almost exclusively for the purpose of
removing the foreign particles, whilst the former more particularly serve for
perfecting smoothing the hair on the places operated upon. For this purpose, the
wire tufts are preferably set in a central position, with one or more rows of bristlo
tufts set so as to surround or encircle the central part of the brush composed of the
wire tufts; another equally serviceable arrangement consists in constructing
straight across the brush of alternate rows of wire tufts and bristle tufts, care being
taken that the outermost rows consist of bristles.
The accompanying Drawing forms a part of this Specification, and represents a
brush adapted to be used for brushing horses or other animals.
.
Figure 1 is a plan and Figure 2 a longitudinal section of the same. In these
Figures A is the body of the brush made of wood or other suitable material, B is a strap
of leather or strong textile fabric, commonly used on brushes for animals, to insure a
firm grasp of the brush by the hand of the user; C are the tufts made of fine
dressed wire, and D are tufts made of bristles in the ordinary manner. I have here
represented the central part of the brush as made exclusively of metallic tufts with
only one row of bristles passing all around, but this disposition may be varied as
above indicated. The tufts are shown slightly inclined toward the transverse
centre line of the brush in order to support themselves and to give more strength
and useful effect to the brush. This feature however is not essential, and the tufts
can be set diverging or inclined outward from the centre, if desired for any
particular purpose, and especially in the manufacture of brushes for the human
hair.
It is evident that these improved brushes can be made of any desired shape,
oval, square, or round. For certain cases, and especially for toilet purposes, they
can be formed with a handle in the ordinary or in any suitable manner. Many of
these details can be varied in wide limits, the principal feature of the Invention
being solely the employment, on a brush for human hair or for animals, of tufts
composed of fine dressed iron spring wire, possessing in consequence of its prepara-
tion and its fineness the elasticity and softness of bristles, these wire tufts being
combined with ordinary bristle tufts.

page_text: By this disposition, brushes are obtained which give excellent results both when
used for the human hair or for animals.
In order to prevent the inconveniences of oxidation, I employ polished or
galvanized wire, or wire which is otherwise previously treated to resist oxidation.
I claim as my Invention,-
First. A brush for human hair or for animals consisting of bristle tufts, either
animal or vegetable, and of tufts composed of fine dressed iron wires, substantially
as and for the purposes specified.
Second. A brush composed of bristle tufts and of tufts made of fine dressed wires,
and having said tufts set inclined toward the centre of the brush, substantially as
specified, and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Raphael Hunter Brandon, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Witnesses,
P. LIMPRICHT,
H. W. LANGE.
R. H. BRANDON (L.S.)
1, Rue Laffitte, Paris.