IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND WICKS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BAPTISTE VALLAURI, of Oxenden Street, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Baptiste Vallauri, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John Baptiste Vallauri, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Baptiste Vallauri, my exors, adiñors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND WICKS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John
Baptiste Vallauri, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in
Her, said 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 in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Baptiste Vallauri, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say) -
The Invention has for its object a means of making wicks for lamps, and in
alterations in lamps, for the purpose of rendering lamps suitable for such novel
construction of wicks. The wicks are constructed of clay and subjected to the
action of fire in the ordinary manner of potter's ware, by which the wicks are
not consumed, but will be found to last for a very long time; hence, in trimming
a lamp, it will be seldom necessary to replace the wick, and all that will be
necessary will be to keep a sufficient supply of camphine or other proper spirit
or oil, or other matter in the lamp, and the lamp will go on burning without
attention. The wicks according to the Invention may be of a cylindrical or a
flat or other form, according to the nature of the lamp in which the wicks are
to be used; and in order that the Invention may be fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
In making clay wicks according to my Invention, I cause a woven fabric. to
be made, by using cords of cotton for a warp, the cords being about sixteen or
eighteen in an inch, and I use a fine yarn for the weft,, and throw in about
seven or eight to the inch.
The Drawing, Figure 1, shews a portion of the fabric used by me, a, a,
representing the cords constituting the warp, and b, b, the fine yarn constituting
the weft. This fabric I place smooth on. any suitable surface, and by means
of a brush I coat the same with clay, such as is used by potters in making
pottery ware, which I mix with water, so that it may be readily spread by
means of a brush. I then employ a mandril of the size of the interior of the
intended wick, which mandril I first coat with a thin coating of clay, and I
then roll the fabric so coated with clay on to such mandril, so that I produce
a cylindrical tube of clay having incorporated therein the woven fabric, as
above explained, the warp threads or cords running from end to end of the
cylinder; and such cylinder consists of twelve to fourteen or more layers of the
fabric so coated with clay; and having made the external surface smooth, I
draw off the cylinder thus formed from, the mandril, and I suspend the cylinder
(on a thread or loop incorporated at one end in the cylinder), to dry, and when
nearly dry, I, by means of a brush, coat the external and internal surface with
a thin coat of clay, and then again suspend it till. completely dry, when I cause
it to be placed in a kiln and subject it to fire, in like manner to pottery ware;

page_text: the
but before doing so I prefer to make the upper and lower end of the wick,
even before introducing it into the kiln, and this I do by first causing, the end
to be made red hot, so as to burn the fabric at the ends; then I, by, a rasp, or
by grinding the ends on the surface of a rough stone, or otherwise, cause t
ends to be rubbed or ground down even; and then it is to be placed in a kiln;
and it will be found that the heat of the kiln will cause the fibrous material, of
which the fabric was composed, to be burned out of the wick, leaving the wick
with numerous fine passages running from end to end thereof, where the warp
of the fabric had previously been, and such will be the case, to some extent, in
a horizontal direction around the cylinder where the fine weft had previously
been. The external surface and internal surface of the cylinder may be glazed,
as is well understood in glazing pottery ware; but I have not found that there
is any advantage in so doing.
Figure 2 shews an external view, a plan, and a section of one of the wicks,
the upper end of which will be found to be made somewhat thinner than the
lower part, which is the manner I have usually made them. In making a flat
or other solid wick, it will be evident that no mandril will be necessary;
wicks will consist simply of several layers or folds of fabric coated with clay.
I have employed cotton in making the fabric, as herein described, but other.
fibrous material may be employed in place thereof. This description of wick
will be found particularly applicable for vesta, camphine, and other spirit
lamps, and they will be found to last for a very great length of time, and in
the event of their becoming clogged, they may be cleansed from time to time
by heating them to a bright red heat, and when using the wicks for oil lamps
the level of oil in the lamp should be to the top of the wick; and I would state
that in consuming oils these wicks occasionally become quickly clogged or
choked, so as to require cleansing by burning.
It will be evident that by using these wicks in lamps, that the ordinary
means of raising and lowering the wicks of lamps will not be suitable for clay
wicks; I therefore alter lamps in such manner as to be enabled to raise or
lower the wicks, to adjust them correctly in the lamp.
Figure 3 shews sufficient of an argand lamp, together with a clay wick, to
enable me to explain the improvements in lamps, in order that they may
be rendered suitable for employing such description of wicks. The wick in a
lamp is raised by means of a rack and pinion similar to what have before been
used in lamps; but in the arrangement shewn the rack c has a spring d affixed
thereto, which partly embraces the wick, as is shewn, and by such means the
wick is securely held by the rack and will move up and down therewith.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means of

page_text: performing the same with which I am acquainted, I would remark that I do
not confine myself to the details described, so long as the peculiar character of
my Invention be retained; but what I claim is, first, the manufacture of wicks,
such as are herein described, for lamps.
And, secondly, I claim the improvements in lamps herein described."
In witness whereof, I, the said John Baptiste Vallauri, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five..
Enrolled the Twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.