AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRAMES FOR MIRRORS, PICTURES, AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Welch, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRAMES FOR MIRRORS, PICTURES,
AND OTHER ARTICLES."
Sealed the 20th December 1859, and dated the 21st July 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Welch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
July 1859.
I, GEORGE WELCH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IM-
PROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRAMES FOR MIRRORS,
PICTURES, AND OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists of the methods, herein-after explained, of
manufacturing frames for mirrors, pictures, drawings, engravings, and such
other articles as are or may be set or mounted in frames.
I make the said frames either of papier mâché, or of sheet iron or other
sheet metal or alloy, which is of low price, and which can be raised or fashioned
in dies. The said frames, whether made of papier mâché, or iron, or other
metal or alloy are finished by japanning.

page_text: When I manufacture the frames of papier mâché, I mould the papier
mâché or pulp in moulds, as ordinarily practised in the manufacture of papier
mâché wares, and when I employ sheet iron, or other sheet metal or alloy, I
form the frames therefrom by means of dies operated upon by a stamp or
press. When the frames made of sheet iron or other metal or alloy are of
small size, I make them in one piece, but when the said frames are of a size
larger than can be conveniently made in one piece, I make them in two or
more pieces, and join the said pieces together by soldering or otherwise.
I do not think it necessary to describe the process of japanning by which
the frames, whether made of papier mâché, sheet iron, or other metal or
alloy, are finished, as the said process of japanning is well known, and
commonly practised.
By papier mâché I mean either softened paper or paper pulp, or any
mixture or composition which is or may be used as a substitute for papier
mâché.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Welch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WELCH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send
reeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Welch, Her special licence that I, the said George Welch,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Welch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A Ix-
PROVIMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRAMES FOR MIRRORS,
PICTURES, AND OTHER ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said George Welch, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly

page_text: 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 immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Welch, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists of the methods herein-after explained, and illus-
trated in the accompanying Drawing, of manufacturing frames for mirrors,
pictures, drawings, engravings, and such other articles as are or may be set or
mounted in frames, and also of the methods, herein-after explained and illus-
trated in the accompanying Drawing, of supporting the frames of mirrors.
I make the said frames either of papier mâché, or of sheet iron, zinc, or
other sheet metal or alloy which is of low price, and which can be raised or
fashioned in dies. The said frames, whether made of papier mâché, or iron
or other metal or alloy, are finished by japanning or gilding.
When I manufacture the frames of papier mâché, I mould the said papier
mâché in dies, and press it therein by means of stamps or presses, as is
practised in the manufacture of trays of papier mâché. I lay no claim to
the manufacture of frames of papier mâché when hand made. By papier
mâché I mean either softened paper or paper pulp, or any mixture or
composition which is or may be used as a substitute for papier mâché.
When I manufacture the said frames of sheet iron or other sheet metal or
alloy, such as brass, I form the said frames therefrom by means of dies
operated upon by a stamp or press, which method of shaping sheet metals is
well understood. When the frames made of sheet iron, or other metal or
alloy are of small size, I make them in one piece, but when the said frames
are of a size larger than can be conveniently made in one piece, I make them
in two or more pieces, and join the said pieces together by soldering or
otherwise.
I do not think it necessary to describe the processes of japanning and
gilding by which the frames, whether made of papier mâché, sheet iron, or
other metal or alloy are finished, as the said processes of japanning and gilding
are well known, and commonly practised. I prefer to finish the metallic
frames by electro-gilding.
In making small frames of sheet metal for mirrors according to my
Invention, I stamp the said frames in a manner similar to that in which
metal trays are stamped, that is to say, the frame constitutes a border round

page_text: the sheet metal which has been subjected to the action of the stamp, I join,
by soldering or otherwise, two of the said stamped pieces together, back to
back, as ropresented in section in Figure 1 of the Drawing; before doing
which, I cut out the central metal from both sheets, that constituting the
front being cut smaller than that constituting the back, so that the glass
can be inserted from the back, and the said back be replaced, and screwed
to pummels in the front frame; the glass is thereby securely held in its
place.
Figure 2 is a back elevation of the frame shown in section in Figure 1, and
constructed according to this part of my Invention. I prefer to raise a pattern
on the back plate, in order to give it strength, as shown in Figure 2. When
the frames have straight sides I stamp the pieces from which they are made in
travelling dies, or draw them through-a-draw-plate-on-a-mandril.-In_large.
frames I sometimes make the back in three pieces, as represented in Figure 3,
where the two flat halves of the back are marked respectively a and b, and are
fixed in their places by the central. raised band c, the said. halves a, b, and
band c being fixed to the frame at its back by screws, as indicated in the
Drawing. In supporting the frames of mirrors so that they may be inclined
at any required' angle, I connect the said mirrors with their stands in the
following manner :-I sometimes attach to the back of the glass, by soldering
or rivetting, two brackets marked 'd and e respectively in Figure 4, which said
Figure represents this part of my Invention in section. The brackets & and e
are connected together by a rod f, which said rod is situated in the tube g; h
is a coiled spring in the interior of the tube 9 fixed to the said tube at its
middle, both ends of the said spring pressing against the sides of the brackets
d, e. In moving the mirror the spring h, which is compressed, presses against
the sides of the brackets with so inuch friction as to preserve the mirror at
any required position. I sometimes modify this part of my Invention by
dividing the tube g transversely at the middle, and placing two discs at the
said division, the said discs being pressed together by the springs contained in
the tubes; Figure 5 is a side elevation of a glass or mirror supported by the
support, Figure 4. I sometimes support the glass by a ball-and-socket joint
as represented in vertical section in Figure 6. i is a ball pressed upwards
against the socket k by a cup 1, the said cup being raised by the coiled spring m.
I sometimes use a shorter spring than that represented in Figure 6, as illus-
trated in Figure 7, where the ball n is pressed up against the socket o, by the
coiled spring p, contained in the lower half of the said socket o. I sometimes
construct the joint for supporting mirrors in the manner represented in section
in Figure 8. The said joint, Figure 8, consists of two cupped discs 7, »,

page_text: connected by a central axis s, and capable of turning upon one another on the
said axis s. A coiled or other spring t is situated between the discs q, r, the
ends of the said spring pressing against the sides of the discs. By its expansion:
the ends of the said spring press with so much friction on the discs q, r, as to
cause them to turn with great friction, and support the mirror carried by the
arm u in any position in which it may be placed. The joint, Figure 8, may
either be used as a central joint that is fixed to the back of the mirror, as
represented in Figure 9, or as a bottom joint that is fixed to the bottom of the
mirror, as illustrated in Figure 10. Or two of the said joints may be used as
side joints, as illustrated in Figure 11. Or two of the said joints may be used
as side and bottom joints, as illustrated in Figure 12.
I sometimes construct a side joint for mirrors in the manner illustrated in
front and side elevation in Figures 18 and 14. The said joint, Figures 13 and 14
consists of a spring arm v, having the form represented, the said arm being fixed
to the top or side of the pillar of the mirror. At w in the spring arm v is a
recess in which the axis c, upon which the mirror turns, is held by the elasticity
of the said spring arm v. The pressure of the arm v against the axis x, causes
the said axis to be held with such friction that the glass is maintained in any
position in which it may be placed. A joint of the kind shown at Figures
13 and 14 is employed at either end of the axis of the glass, the said joints
being situated on the top or side of the pillars supporting the said axis.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details berein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but [
claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, the improvement in the manufacture of frames for mirrors, pictures,
and other articles herein-before described, that is to say, making the said
frames of papier mâché raised or fashioned in dies by means of stamps or
presses.
Secondly, the improvement in the manufacture of frames for pictures,
mirrors, and other articles herein-before described and illustrated in the ac-
companying Drawing, that is to say, making the said frames of sheet iron,
brass, zinc, or other metal or alloy that can be drawn in a draw plate, or shaped
or raised in dies by stamps or presses, and finishing the said frames by
japanning or gilding.
Thirdly, the method of constructing and fixing the backs of metallic frames
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accom-
panying Drawing.

page_text: Fourthly, the several methods of constructing joints for supporting the
frames of mirrors herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, of the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Welch, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
GEORGE WELCH. (L.B.)