AN IMPROVED METHOD; OF APPLYING PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE ...USE OF ENGRAVERS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS: PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for, Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD; OF APPLYING PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th May 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane;
5 in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF APPLYING PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE
52.2.
...
USE OF ENGRAVERS," to be as follows
ني
'
Efforts have been made to produce photographic pictures upon the surface-
of engravers blocks, but thus far the pictures,produced, for various reasons,
0 have not proved fit to engrave from. When the pictures have been taken.
upon a surface prepared by varnishing the block they have not answered the
purpose, as even a thin pellicle upon the surface of the block is sufficient to
confuse the engraver and spoil his work At other times, a collodion pellicle,
with the picture thereon, has been Hoated off from a surface of glass upon
5 water and taken upon the wooden block. This, however, was a tedious,
uncertain, and unsatisfactory process, and has not been made practically

page_text: The present Invention has for its object to obviate the above inconveniences,
and to produce a photographic picture upon a surface of wood that shall
entirely answer the requirements of the engraver. The Invention consists in
producing a surface upon the block by rubbing into it a volatile varnish made
so limpid as easily to soak into and fill the pores of the wood, and produce a
smooth and polished surface without leaving a pellicle thereon of appreciable
thickness to obstruct the operations of the engraver.
The surface of an ordinary engraver's block is smoothed in the customary
manner to prepare it for the engraver's use; a mixture is then made of
alsphaltum varnish, ether, and lampblack. This mixture is rubbed into the
surface of the block with a piece of buckskin or cloth, two or three thin
coatings being applied so that the pores may be thoroughly filled, but no
pellicle of varnish of appreciable thickness left upon the surface. An even,
smooth, and polished surface is thus obtained, upon which to take the photo-
graphic picture; upon this surface the collodion is poured in the ordinary
manner of taking photographic pictures; the silver bath is then applied.
The block is then exposed in the camera a sufficient length of time to take
the picture, and it is then subjected to the "developing solution." The picture
is then fixed and the block is to be washed in clear water and dried, when it
is fit for the engraver.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th November 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, 'WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
.of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, Her Letters
.Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
.1857, in the twentieth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
,successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her
special license that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors,
.administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, 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

page_text: Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AM IMPROVED METHOD
OF APPLYING PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE USE. OF ENGRAVERS," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):
:-
This Invention consists in an improved method of producing photographic
pictures upon the surface of wooden blocks, to be afterwards engraved. Efforts
have been made to produce photographic pictures upon the surface of
engravers' blocks, but thus far the pictures produced, for various reasons, have
not proved fit to engrave from. Where the pictures have been taken upon a
surface prepared by varnishing the block they have not answered the purpose,
as even a thin pellicle upon the surface of the block is sufficient to confuse the
engraver and spoil his work. At other times a collodion pellicle, with the
picture thereon, has been floated off from a surface of glass upon water, and
taken.
.up on the wooden block. This, however, was a tedious, uncertain,
and unsatisfactory process, and has not been made practically useful.
My Invention has for its object to obviate the above inconveniences, and
to produce a photographic picture upon a surface of wood that shall entirely
answer the requirements of the engraver; and my Invention consists in pro-
ducing a surface upon the block by rubbing into it a volatile varnish made
so limpid as easily to soak into and fill the pores of the wood, and produce a
smooth and polished surface without leaving a pellicle thereon of appréciable
thickness to obstruct the operations of the engraver.
To enable others skilled in the art to understand my Invention, and to put
the same into practice, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have
carried it out.
The surface of an ordinary engraver's block is smoothed in the customary
manner, to prepare it for the engraver's use. A mixture is then made of
1 quart asphaltum varnish, 1 gill ether, lb. lampblack. This mixture is
rubbed into the surface of the block with a piece of buckskin or cloth, two
or three thin coatings being applied, that the pores may be thoroughly
filled, but no pellicle of varnish of appreciable thickness left upon the

page_text: surface. An even, smooth, and polished surface is thus obtained, upon
which to take the photographic picture. Upon this surface the collodion is
poured, as in the ordinary manner of taking photographic pictures. The silver
bath is then applied, 45 grains of nitrate of silver to 1 ounce of distilled
water. The block is now exposed in the camera a sufficient length of time to
take the picture, and it is then subjected to the "developing solution," which
is compounded as follows:-2 oz. sulphate of iron, 2½ oz. acetic acid, 2 quarts
water, 2 oz. best alcohol. The picture is then fixed by the following "fixing
solution, 2 oz. cyanuret of potassium, 1 quart water. The block is now to
be, washed in clear water and dried, when it is fit for the engraver.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above-recited Letters Patent I do not claim the use of asphaltum varnish
and lampblack, or of any other varnish or compound, when used to produce a
pellicle or covering upon surfaces designed for the reception of photographic
pictures, as such varnish or pellicle unfits the block for the engraver's use;
but what I do claim as the Invention I desire to secure by Letters Patent is,
the above described varnish composed of asphaltum varnish, lampblack, and
ether, when the same is applied to the block by rubbing into its pores in the
manner set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)