CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IMITATION MARBLES, GRANITE, AND ALL SORTS OF STONES
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ELLISON, of No. 6, Queen's Row, Pentonville, in the County of Middlesex,
Painter, Plumber, and Glazier, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of March, in the
fifteenth year of Her reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Ellison, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Ellison, my exors, adiñors, or
assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Ellison, my exors, adñors, or
assigns, should at any time agree and no more, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend my Invention of " CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF IMITATION MARBLES, GRANITE, AND ALL SORTS OF STONES,"
within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also
in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her
said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, during the term of fourteen
years thence next ensuing; in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso requiring that I, the said Thomas Ellison, shall particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what mauner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and
cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Ellison, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by this present Specification or Instrument in writing, as
follows (that is to say):-
My said Invention consists of a mode or modes of making Imitation
Marbles, Granites, and other Stones, in mould or upon surfaces made of a
smooth transparent material, so that the face of the article made shall have a
smooth face given to it, and the workman or artist be enabled to see the effect
of his work during the process of making his imitations.
The only material which I am acquainted with as proper to be used
for moulds or surfaces for the purposes of my Invention is glass, and I
prefer well polished plate glass, because it is stronger and more rigid, and
larger pieces of it can be obtained with smooth, even surfaces than of glass
of any other description. The piece or pieces of glass intended to form
the mould or surface must be made of such dimensions, and fashioned in
such a manner, as to give the article to be made the required form. Thus,
if a flat square slab of imitation marble be intended to be made, the
piece of glass must also be flat, and of the same shape and size as the intended
slab, and the edges of the piece of glass should in such a case be ground so as
to fit accurately into a frame, which should be as much thicker than the piece
of glass as may be necessary to make the intended slab of the required
thickness. And upon inserting the piece of glass into the frame (before
backing the slab as herein-after mentioned) it should be placed even with the
lower side of the frame, and thus the frame will be made to project above the
upper surface of the glass to the extent requisite for making the slab of the
intended thickness. Before commencing to lay on the materials for imitating
marble, granite, or other stone, the surface of the piece of glass upon which the
slab is to be made must be freed from all dirt, and polished so as to be
perfectly smooth and bright. The following is the manner in which I proceed
in making a flat slab :-I take as much cement or plaster (preferring Keene's
cement) as will be sufficient to make the face of the intended slab or slabs of
about one eighth of an inch in thickness, and I mix it with sufficient water to
make it of the consistence usually employed by plasterers. The cement or
plaster being thus mixed, I color sufficient quantities of the cement or plaster
with the colors necessary to enable me to produce all the intended tints or
appearances upon the face or faces of the slab or slabs. By means of these
colored materials I then put upon the surface of the glass the various veins
or marks required according to the style of marble, granite, or other stone I
may intend to imitate, and which colors I lay on with a bone or ivory knife; I
then take the cement or plaster (colored or uncolored) which is intended to

page_text: form the ground, and throw a sufficient quantity upon the whole surface of
the glass to form a covering of from about one eighth to a quarter of an inch.
in thickness. I throw it on in this manner for the purpose of getting rid of the
air amongst it as much as possible, and in so doing I cover all parts of the
surface of the glass as much as conveniently may be. I then place the plate of
glass upon a skeleton frame, so that I can see the whole of the under side of
it, and if the slab is intended to have much figure, I lay a piece of sheet zinc
(or other metal) perforated with numerous holes (the number and sizes of
which I vary according to the description of work to be done) upon the
material which is to form the face of the slab. I then press the metal plate
down evenly all over the surface of the glass, beating it gently so as to drive
out all the air which may remain upon the surface of the glass, and make the
face of the slab free from blemishes. This also has the effect of causing the
colors first laid on to be blended with the ground, and this may be done more
in one part than another, by beating the metal plate, as above mentioned,
more in that part than in the other parts, and the workman can see the effect
of his operation as it proceeds, by looking through the glass beneath.
The metal plate being then taken off, the workman may make any further
alteration in any figure or veining of the slab which he may desire, by
moving it upon the surface of the glass. I then cover the whole of the
facing put upon the surface of the glass, as already described, with thin pieces
of slate perforated with small holes, the holes being intended to permit the
cement to pass through and form ties or keys. These plates of slate being
soaked in water and then dipped in cement are to be placed upon the facing
and pressed down, so as to exclude the air and force a little of the cement
through the holes. The plate of glass, being now placed in the frame firstly
herein-before mentioned, is to be set aside for about twenty-four hours, after
which the back of the slab is to be formed by placing the requisite quantity of
cement or plaster (which may be of a coarser description than the facing)
properly mixed with sharp washed sand and water to a proper consistence
upon the slates, so as to make the slab of the required thickness. The back
of the slab is then made level by drawing a straight edge or guage over it so
as to make the whole of it level with the frame surrounding it. The slab
thus made in its mould or form is to be set aside for about twenty-four hours,
at the end of which time it will have shrunk, and sometimes unevenly, and
therefore it is to have its back again filled up with a further quantity of
cement or plaster and sand to make it of one uniform thickness. When the
last portion of cement or plaster and sand thus added has become sufficiently
hard the slab and glass are to be taken out of the frame and the slab removed

page_text: from the glass. I then give the face of the slab two coats of linseed oil for
When
the purpose of fastening the colors and preserving the face of the slab.
the oil has sufficiently dried I polish the face of the slab by rubbing it with
a soft cloth. If the imitation slab or article be made in a glass mould
or shape of any other form, the mode of proceeding will be substantially the
same, the facing being first put upon the surface of the glass in the manner I
have before mentioned, and then a backing of slate and also of coarser ma-
terials being added to it for the purpose of strengthening it. And in some
cases I make two or more slabs or pieces of imitation marble, granite, or
stone, and join them together at their edges before they become dry, and whilst
they remain in contact with the glass upon which they are made. For this
purpose I make the facing of each slab and back it with slate in the manner
I have already described. I then bring the edges of the pieces together in the
positions in which they are to be united, and put the backing of cement or
plaster and sand upon the pieces to be united in such a manner as to hold
them all firmly together. I prefer to give the surface of my imitation marble,
granite, or stone, two coats of linseed oil, as already mentioned, but any other
oil of a similar description may be used.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I hereby declare that I claim as of my said Invention
the mode or modes of making imitation marbles, granites, and other stones
upon surfaces of glass, in manuer herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Ellison, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord