IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SHEEP SKINS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREFROM OF WOOL VELVET
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Charles Henderson, of 6, Southampton Buildings,
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE TREATMENT OF SHEEP SKINS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREFROM OF
WOOL VELVET." A communication from abroad by Pierre Puech, Manu-
facturer, of Mazamet, in the Department of Tarn, in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Charles Henderson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd February 1880.
ARTHUR CHARLES HENDERSON, of 6, Southampton Buildings, Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SHEEP SKINS
FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREFROM OF WOOL VELVET." A communication from
abroad by Pierre Puech, Manufacturer, of Mazamet, in the Department of Tarn, in the
Republic of France.
This Invention consists in a special treatment of sheep skins for making a new
product or sheep's wool velvet.
This treatment is divided into ten principal operations and consists as follows:-
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th relate to the complete scouring of the skins on the
wool side and cleaning them on the flesh side, and the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th
operations relate to tanning and preparing the skins so that the perfect adherence
of the wool to the skin is insured; and finally by the 10th operation the skin is
submitted to different known or to special machines for preparing the wool like
velvet.
The following are the 10 numerically arranged and successive operations above
referred to as constituting the process.
1st. Prepare an ordinary water bath at a temperature of from 45 to 50 degrees
centigrade to which a scouring substance of some sort is added, such as crystal or
soda salt, soap, and so forth, in which the skins are steeped.
2nd. If dry skins are operated on, such as come from America or other foreign
country, they are steeped 8 to 10 minutes. For fresh or recently slaughtered
skins steep for 3 or 5 minutes, which will suffice. The skins are then passed to a
pressing roller of sufficient power to separate the burrs, yolk, dirty wool, and
other impurities from the wool.

page_text: 3rd. The skins are as quickly as possible and while still warm submitted to a
beating machine of some kind. The object of this operation is to beat the skins
to purify them of all foreign matters, and at the same time to wash them
thoroughtly with cold, tepid, or hot water which is made to fall in abundance
between the drum of the machine and the apron supporting the skin.
4th. Pass the skin on the flesh side to this same beating machine, which cleanses
the skin on this side, renders it supple and disposes it to receive the tanning
matter.
5th. The skins thus prepared are steeped about an hour in tepid water or 4 to 5
hours in cold water, which operations complete the softening.
6th. The skins are then passed to a pressing roller to extract the water and
leave 15 to 20 per cent. of moisture.
7th. Apply on the flesh side either by hand or mechanically one of the known
drugs composed ad hoc constituting the tanning matter. In order that the action
on the leather may be complete the skins are placed in piles for 5 to 10 hours, after
which they are hung up to dry.
8. Moisten the leather with a rag or sponge and replace the skins in piles for
5 to 10 hours to soften the leather and permit of cleaning the flesh side.
9. Stretch the hides, then pass them to the softening iron always on the flesh
side, and the skins are then scoured and tanned.
By the 1, 2, 3, and 4 operations the skins are completely scoured on the wool
side and cleaned on the flesh side, and by the succeeding operations they are
tanned, that is to say, that the wool remains adherent to the skin. There now
remains the velveting operation, which is effected thus:—
10th. By the scouring and beating system the staple of the wool is perfectly
preserved and each fibre is in place. It then suffices to pass the skin to the gig
machine, which replaces all the staples where they had been displaced in the
tanning operation, and cause the skin to part with what little tanning drug it
may contain in the wool.
After this pass the skin to the dressing machine, which commences to dress the
wool, cards it also a little and prepares it for velveting. Gently sprinkle the skin
on the wool side and beat it hard with a rod by hand or mechanically.
This is one of the most essential operations, as the wool being then damp the
rod raises it and advances the preparation of the velvet.
Dry the skin, then shear it with cloth shears or other apparatus having the
same effect.
This skin is then the velvet skin or sheep's wool velvet, the subject of the
present Invention.
If it is desired to colour the velvet it is after the 4th operation that the dyeing
takes place, the other operations then succeed as has been described and as
numerically arranged.
If the colour necessitates boiling or a temperature approaching it which would
be inconvenient to an untanned skin, the operation is performed after the 7th
operation, and this 7th operation is renewed after dyeing, and then followed by
the subsequent operations in the order indicated herein.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Arthur Charles Henderson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd July 1880.
ARTHUR CHARLES HENDERSON, of 6, Southampton Buildings, Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SHEEP SKINS FOR
THE MANUFACTURE THEREFROM OF WOOL VELVET." A communication from
abroad by Pierre Puech, Manufacturer, of Mazamet, in the Department of Tarn, in
the Republic of France.
Up to the present time sheep skins tanned with the wool on have only been
used for mats, for linings of clothes, and so forth, and the wool not having been
subjected to any preparation is always matted or curled; secing that the
innumerable fibres are naturally disposed in a most regular and perfect order,
eminently fit for velveting, the inventor conceived the idea of cleansing the skin
and the wool of all impurities, of preparing and dressing them so that the hairs are
well preserved, not matted or entangled one with the other, and in perfect con-
dition for velveting or forming wool velvet. After long and continuous experiments
success was achieved and velvet made from sheep's wool quite irreproachable even
in texture, strong and of good colour, forming an article of great value, since on
one side is the skin perfectly cleaned and tanned, and on the other the wool
forming rich velvet, which may be applied to an infinity of purposes, such
as cloaks for both sexes, for furniture, carpets, head dresses, boots and shoes,
and so on.
It is for the production and manufacture of this new sheep skin velvet that the
inventor seeks protection by Letters Patent to secure to himself the exclusive right
and property both of the manufactured article and the process by which it is
obtained, the modus operandi of which is as follows:
Description. This Invention consists in a special treatment of sheep skins for
making a new product or sheep's wool velvet. This treatment is divided into ten
principal operations and consists as follows:-
-
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th relate to the complete scouring of the skins on the
wool side and cleansing them on the flesh side; and the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th
operations relate to tanning and preparing the skins so that the perfect adherence
of the wool to the skin is insured; and, finally, by the 10th operation the skin is
submitted to different known or to special machines for preparing the wool like
velvet.
The following are the ten numerically arranged and successive operations abovo
referred to as constituting the process.
1st. Prepare an ordinary water bath at a temperature of from 45 to 50 degrees
centigrade, to which a scouring substance of some sort is added, such as crystal or
soda salt, soap, and so forth, in which the skins are steeped.
2nd. If dry skins are operated on, such as come from America or other foreign
country, they are steeped 8 to 10 minutes. For fresh or recently slaughtered
skins, steep for 3 or 5 minutes, which will suffice. The skins are then passed to a
pressing roller of sufficient power to separate the burrs, yolk, grease, dirty wool, and
other impurities from the wool.
3rd. The skins are as quickly as possible, and while still warm, submitted to a
beating machine of some kind. The object of this operation is to beat the skin to
purify it of all foreign matters, and at the same time to wash it thoroughly with
cold, tepid, or hot water, which is made to fall in abundance between the drum of
the machine and the apron supporting the skin.
4th. Pass the skin on the flesh side to this same beating machine, which cleanses
the skin on this side, renders it supple, and prepares it for receiving the tanning
matter.

page_text: 5th. The skins thus prepared are steeped about 1 hour in tepid water, or 4 to 5
hours in cold water, which operation completes the softening.
6th. The skins are then passed to a pressing roller to extract all the water and
leave 15 to 20 per cent. of inoisture.
7th. Apply on the flesh side either by hand or mechanically one of the known
drugs composed ad hoc constituting the tanning matter.
In order that the action on the leather may be complete the skins are placed in
piles for 5 to 10 hours, after which they are bung up to dry.
8th. Moisten the leather with a rag or sponge and replace the skins in piles for
5 to 10 hours to soften the leather and permit of cleaning the flesh side.
9th. Stretch the hides, then pass them to the softening iron, always on the flesh
side, and the skins are scoured and tanned.
By the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th operations the skins are completely scoured on the
wool side and cleaned on the flesh side, and by the succeeding operations they are
tanned, that is to say, that the wool remains adhered to the skin.
There now remains the velveting operation, which is effected thus,―
10th. Velveting.-By the scouring and beating system the staple of the wool is
perfectly preserved and each fibre is in place. It then suffices to pass the skin on
the wool side to the gig machine which replaces all the staples where they had been
displaced in the tanning operation, and cause the skin to part with what little
tanning drug it may contain in the wool. After this pass the skins to the dressing
machine, which commences to dress the wool, cards it also a little, and prepares
it for velveting. Gently sprinkle the skin on the wool side and beat it hard
with a rod by hand or mechanically. This is one of the most essential operations,
as the wool being then damp the rod raises it and hastens the preparation of the
velvet.
Dry the skin, then shear it with cloth shears or other apparatus having the
same effect.
This skin is then the velvet skin or sheep's wool velvet, the subject of
the present Invention.
If it is desired to colour the velvet, it is after the 4th operation that the dyeing
takes place, the other operations then succeed as has been described and as
numerically arranged. If the colour necessitates boiling or a temperature approaching
it, which would be inconvenient to an untanned skin, the operation is performed
after the 7th operation, and this 7th operation is renewed after dyeing and then
followed by the subsequent operations in the order indicated herein.
What is claimed is the exclusive right to and privilege of the process herein
recited as applied to sheep skins for producing a new product or sheep skin velvet,
the treatment to which the skins are subjected being divided into ten principal
operations, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 completely scouring the skins on the wool side and
cleansing them on the flesh side, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 tanning and working the
skins so as to insure perfect adherance of the wool to the skin, and finally, by the
10th operation, submitting the skins to different machines known or special for
preparing the wool as velvet, as herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Charles Henderson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty second day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.