IMPROVEMENTS IN CASES OR VESSELS FOR HOLDING GUNPOWDER
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Rowand, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CASES OR VESSELS FOR HOLDING GUNPOWDER."
Sealed the 10th March 1857, and dated the 15th September 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Rowand at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th September 1856.
I, ALEXANDER ROWAND, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CASES OR VESSELS FOR HOLDING GUNPOWDER,"
follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the application and use of vessels, bottles, or cases
composed of glass, for holding and containing gunpowder. Instead of the
ordinary tin or metal cases, it is intended, according to the present Invention,
to use suitable glass flasks or bottles, shaped so as to secure great strength and
good packing qualifications.
The general shape preferred for this purpose is that of a comparatively long
bottle, presenting a flat ellipse in transverse section, and formed with a.
neck fitted either with a cork or screw stopper, or other closing apparatus.

page_text: Gunpowder flasks of this kind are economical in cost, whilst they are safe
and strong in use, and the material of which they are composed admits of an
easy and conspicuous maker's name being put thereon. For example, it is
intended in the present instance to form the mould in which the flasks are
made so that when the flasks come out they each bear the words "Kames'
Gunpowder and Co." as a permanent and practical indestructible announcement.
In addition to this announcement or similar ones, notices as to the special
quality of the contained gunpowder may be moulded upon the glass, or the
different qualities may be indicated by using glass of different colours.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Rowand in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th March 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
ROWAND, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alexander Rowand, IIer special license that I, the said Alexander Rowand,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alexander Rowand, my executors, administrators, or 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 Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CASES OR VESSELS FOR HOLDING GUNPOWDER," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alexander Rowand, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Rowand, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following

page_text: statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to the application and use of vessels, bottles, or
cases, composed of glass, for holding and containing gunpowder. Instead of the
ordinary tin or metal cases, it is intended, according to the present Invention,
to use suitable glass flasks or bottles, shaped so as to secure great strength and
good packing qualifications.
The general shape preferred for this purpose is that of a comparatively long
bottle, presenting a flat ellipse in transverse section, and formed with a
neck, fitted either with a cork or screw stopper, or other closing apparatus.
Gunpowder flasks of this kind are economical in cost, whilst they are safe
and strong in use, and the material of which they are composed admits of
an easy and conspicuous maker's name being put thereon. For example, it is
intended in the present instance to form the mould in which the flasks are
made so that when the flasks come out they each bear the words "Kames"
Gunpowder Co." as a permanent and practically indestructible announcement.
In addition to this announcement or similar ones, notices as to the special
quality of the contained gunpowder may be moulded upon the glass, or the
different qualities may be indicated by using glass of different colours.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I sha'l
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended, for the purpose of showing
certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried
out in practice.
Figure 1 on my Sheet of Drawings is a side or front elevation of an
improved vessel, bottle, case, or flask for holding gunpowder, as arranged an
constructed according to one modification of my improvements; Figure 2 is an
edge view of the vessel or case, and Figure 3 is a plan of the same, cor-
responding to Figures 1 and 2. The material I prefer to use for the manu-
facture of these improved cases or vessels for holding gunpowder is glass, as
being strong, and impermeable to damp and atmospheric influences. The
glass case or vessel is moulded in a suitable mould, and according to the
method usually practised in making moulded glass vessels or bottles. Ju
constructing the moulds for the manufacture of these improved glass cases,
vessels, or flasks, due regard must be paid to the form of the vessel, so as
to insure the greatest amount of strength, combined with a compact and
manageable shape. And in carrying out these indispensable and important
points, in the selection of a proper transverse sectional figure for the case or
vessel, I have chosen that of a narrow or flattened ellipse as the most suitable

page_text: for the purpose, that is to say, a figure similar to the outline of the plan view,
Figure 3, of my illustrative Drawings. Cases or vessels for holding gunpowder
made of a flat elliptical form, according to my improvements, combine strength
with compactness and portability. A vessel of this shape is far more
manageable in the hand than the ordinary ill-constructed tin cases in which
gunpowder is usually packed; moreover, these improved glass cases or vessels
may be safely carried in the pocket without the risk of any portion of the
powder escaping, as is so frequently the case with the badly fitting and incon-
venient lids or stoppers of the ordinary tin gunpowder cases. The body A of
my improved case or vessel is made of a somewhat elongated form, and it
has at the upper part a short neck B, the aperture of which is closed by a
suitable stopper.
In the modification of my improvements, shown in the Drawing, the neck
of the vessel is closed by a cork C, the upper end of which is imbedded in a
wooden cap or cover D, which is secured to the cork by means of a suitable
cement.
Another mode of securing the necks of these improved cases or vessels for
holding gunpowder consists in fitting to the neck a cap or cover, made with an
internal screw, to fit an external screw made on the neck of the case or vessel,
or on a suitable collar fitted thereto. Advantage is taken of the plastic nature
of the material of which these improved cases or vessels are made when in a
heated state to cast or mould upon their surfaces in a conspicuous manner the
gunpowder maker's name and places of business, or other suitable inscription.
The letters forming the inscription or device are engraved or otherwise sunk
in the face of the mould, so as to project in relief from the surface of the
manufactured case or vessel. For example, in Figure 1, of my Sheet of
Drawings, the face of the case or vessel has upon it the words " Kames
Gunpowder Company, Patent, London, Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow." These
words and the ornamental border of the device in the centre are formed in
relief on the side of the case or vessel, as shown by the slightly projecting
parts in Figures 2 and 3. An inscription of this kind forms a permanent
announcement of the particular purpose for which the case or vessel is manu-
factured and applied. The space within the border of the device E is intended
to receive a printed label indicating the quality of the gunpowder contained
within the case or vessel, and if necessary the date of manufacture. By
means of these printed labels one pattern or form of case or vessel is appli-
cable to all the different kinds of gunpowder, care being taken to employ
suitable labels for the particular description of gunpowder put up in the case
or vessel.

page_text: Another part of my Invention relates to the manufacturing the improved
cases or vessels for holding gunpowder, of glass of different colours; the
various kinds of gunpowder being put up in cases or vessels, the glass of
which in each instance is made of a particular tint or colour, corresponding to
the particular gunpowder inclosed in the case. By this conventional system
the quality of the powder is at once indicated by the particular colour of the
case or vessel. The manufacturer's trade label may be applied to the back or
plain side of the improved case or vessel, as is usually done with gunpowder
cases of the ordinary kind.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from
the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to
be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the employment and use of glass vessels, bottles, cases, or flasks, for
the purposes herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of glass vessels, bottles, cases, or flasks, of
different colours, for indicating the different kinds or qualities of gunpowder.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Rowand, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
ALEX. ROWAND. (L.8.)