IMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING, STIFFENING, OR FINISHING AND PRINTING TEXTILE MATERIALS AND FABRICS AND Paper
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Strang, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
DRESSING, STIFFENING, OR FINISHING AND PRINTING TEXTILE MATERIALS AND
FABRICS AND Paper.”
Scaled the 30th August 1870, and dated the 5th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Strang at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th March 1870.
I, JAMES STRANG, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN. DRESSING, STIFFENING, OR FINISHING AND PRINTING TEXTILE
MATERIALS AND FABRICS AND PAPER," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the obtaining of improved effects
combined with economy in the material used in the various processes of
dressing, stiffening, or finishing and printing textile materials and
fabrics and paper, and consists in using gum manjok instead of starch,
British or other gum hitherto used or dextrine as a dressing, stiffening,
or finishing material, and as a thickener to combine with colors or

page_text: mordants in printing. Or the gum manjok may be mixed or combined
in various proportions with other materials in use for the same purposes.
Gum manjok is a substance obtained from the meal or flour of the root
of the janipha manihot (sometimes also called jatropha manihot) by the
process which is commonly employed for converting ordinary starch
into British gum; but a less heat than that used for British gum
produces the desired effect on the new material, and the product is much
Iess strongly colored, which constitutes an important advantage. The
heat may be applied in various ways and various temperatures may be
used, the duration of the treatment being inversely proportioned to the
temperature. The adjustment of the temperature and duration is in
practice obtained by testing the thickening power of the product when
dissolved in water, such thickening power when the gum manjok is well
made being about double that of British gum. The granulated
preparation from the same root and known as tapioca may also be 1
converted into gum manjok; or the meal or flour may be used for the
same purposes without being converted, but not quite so economically or
advantageously.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Strang in the Great Seal Patent Office on 2
the 3rd September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
STRANG, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 2
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Strang, Her special licence, that I,
the said James Strang, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or 3
such others as I, the said James Strang, 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, g
and Isle of Man, an Invention for “ ĮMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING, STIFFENING,
"

page_text: OR FINISHING AND PRINTING TEXTILE MATERIALS AND FABRICS AND PAPER,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Strang,
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 sanic
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 James Strang, do hereby declaro
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 in writing, that is to say :-
My said Invention has for its object the obtaining of improved effects
combined with economy in the material used in the various processes
of dressing, stiffening, or finishing, and printing textile materials and
fabrics and paper, and consists in using gum manjok instead of starch,
British or other gum hitherto used, or dextrine, as a dressing, stiffening,
or finishing material and as a thickener to combine with colors or
mordants in printing. Or the gum manjok may be mixed or combined
in various proportions with other materials in use for the same purposes.
Gum manjok is a substance obtained from the meal or flour of the root
of the janipha manihot (sometimes also called jatropha manihot) by the
process which is commonly employed for converting ordinary starch into
British gum, but a less heat than that used for British gum produces
the desired effect on the new material, and the product is much less
strongly colored, which constitutes an important advantage. The heat
may be applied in various ways, and various temperatures may be used,
the duration of the treatment being inversely proportioned to the tem-
perature. The adjustment of the temperature and duration is in practice
obtained by testing the thickening power of the product when dissolved
in water, such thickening power when the gum manjok is well made
being about double that of British gum. The meal or flour may be used
for the same purposes or some of them without being converted, but not
quite so economically or advantageously.
In applying the gum manjok in dressing, stiffening, or finishing
textile materials and fabrics it is used in the manner ordinarily practised
with British gum or starch, a less quantity of it however being required
for any particular strength.

page_text: In applying the gum manjok as a thickener in color printing allow-
ance must generally be made for its yielding a deeper shade, which is
also purer than with ordinary gums. In printing with catechu browns
and drabs, both less nitrate of copper and less catechu must be used
than ordinarily to obtain a particular depth of tint, and this is an
advantage as the less the proportion of nitrate of copper the less. is the
injury to the printing rollers.
The gum manjok works well with colors that are combined with
albumen, mixing freely and evenly, and producing effects much superior
to those obtained with ordinary gums. In the case of steam greens it 1
gives a deeper and bluer shade, so that the proportion of prussiate of
potash to the yellow should be slightly reduced. In all cases the color
printer will have no difficulty in ascertaining by trials what modifi-
cations, if any, are required to obtain particular shades of color when
working with the new thickening material.
1
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I have to state that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
applying of gum manjok or the meal or flour of the janipha manihot in 2
dressing, stiffening, or finishing, and printing textile materials and
fabrics and paper.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Strang, have hereunto
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