THE NEW APPLICATION OF SULPHATE OF LIME TO THE FABRICATION OF THE MOSAICS AND INCRUSTATIONS, AND FOR ANY NEW PROCESSES OF COLORATION OF CERTAIN VARIETIES OF THIS SUBSTANCE
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Barthélemy Auric at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd September 1853.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within the
time prescribed by the Act.)
I, BARTHÉLEMY AURIO, of Grenelle, in the Empire of France, and of
16, Castle Street, Holborn, (City,) London, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "THE NEW APPLICATION OF SULPHATE OF LIME
TO THE FABRICATION OF THE MOSAICS AND INCRUSTATIONS, AND FOR ANY
NEW PROCESSES OF COLORATION OF CERTAIN VARIETIES OF THIS SUBSTANCE,'
to be as follows:-
The material which I employ to obtain mosaics and incrustations is
the common sulphate of lime. I choose generally among the different
varieties of this substance those which exhibit the greatest tenacity, and
the particles of which are most commingled.
I divide blocks of. common sulphate of lime into plates of various
thicknesses by means of saws; I then sub-divide these plates by a fresh
sawing into small pieces of various dimensions; they should be appoŕ-

page_text: tioned according to the mosaic for which they are intended. These
pieces may be parallelopiped or polygonal prisms, so long as they fit
together without leaving any spaces. These divisions are effected by
means of suitable saws, either circular or rectilinear. These pieces are
placed in iron vessels of about one inch and a quarter high, which are
then placed on a furnace heated according to the volume of the stones
to be treated. The degree of calcination may be varied, according to
the thickness of the pieces, between 120 and 200 degrees centigrade.
The sulphate of lime will then be found covered with pores, and if
then the water which the calcination has removed be added, it will take
it up quickly, and acquire an adherence and a compactness very superior
to what it had before. Instead of using in the last operation pure
water, I use saline and colored solutions, which are intended to forni
with the sulphate of lime a crystalline composition, which will include
the principal salts employed in the solution; this composition will
preserve exactly the primitive form of the little piece of sulphate of
lime, and will be colored throughout. The color which the pieces take
will of course vary with the nature of the coloring matters employed.
They may be either vegetable or mineral; it is only necessary that they
be soluble. The pieces may receive a polish superior to that of marble.
The soluble salts which have the most affinity for coloring matter and
which contribute most to the hardening of the sulphate of lime, arc-1st,
alumn; 2nd, the sulphates of iron, lead, copper, & maguesia, and all
other salts having the property of crystallization with the sulphate of
lime calcined, and of rendering it more compact and harder. For violet
colour, logwood decoction, 2 ounces (about) of alum being added, the
stones to be steeped in a bath of this mixture for one hour at 80 degrees
of heat. For yellow, fustic wood and grain of Avignon decoction equally
proportioned, with 24 ounces of alum and 18 ounces (about) of acetate
of lead, p quart. For grey, logwood decoction, with 24 ounces, about,
of sulphate of copper, p quart, and then to steep the stone as for violet.
For olive, fustic wood and grain of Avignon decoction, with 1 ounces
(about) of alum, and 1 ounces (about) of sulphate of iron p quart.
For blue, carmine of indigo, with about 2 ounces of sulphate of copper,
p quart. After the sulphate of lime has been plunged into the bath

page_text: of colouring matter, it is exposed for four or five days to the contact of
the air so as to acquire hardness. The pieces of sulphate of lime thus
colored are then united together so as to form by their variegated
appearance of colors all kinds of designs. The different pieces are kept
together by any suitable means, with gum-lac for instance.
The sulphate of lime thus prepared may be applied to the manufac-
ture of all kinds of incrustations and marks on wood or any other
material. It may also be applied to walls interiorly or exteriorly,
monuments, marbles, chimney pieces, vases, and other ornamental
works.