IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Eugene Perré Chevalier, of Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, at present residing in Paris, Gentleman, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS."
Sealed the 27th January 1857, and dated the 1st August 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Eugene Perré Chevalier
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st August 1856.
I, EUGENE PERRÉ CHEVALIER, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, at
present residing in Paris, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in manufacturing leaf tobacco into cigars in moulds.
A quantity of leaf tobacco is rolled up and placed in a hinged mould of the
form of the intended cigar. After pressure, the mould is opened, more tobacco
is added by means of a small tool or apparatus, and the mould is again closed.
After being subjected to pressure for a given time, the tobacco is withdrawn,
and the excess of leaf which overhung the mould at the ends of the cigar is
rolled round in the ordinary manner. After being again returned into and
pressed in the mould, the cigar may be withdrawn in a finished state.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Eugene Perré Chevalier in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EUGENE
PERRÉ CHEVALIER, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, at present residing
in Paris, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, 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 Eugene
Perré Chevalier, Her special licence that I, the said Eugene Perré Chevalier,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Eugene
Perré Chevalier, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Eugene Perré Chevalier, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Eugene Perré Chevalier, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
The Invention consists in manufacturing leaf tobacco into cigars in certain
moulds and presses, the latter of which I term presse cigares.
The mould for the manufacture of the interior of the cigar is made of com-
position plaster, or of any other absorbent substance, or of metal. It is formed
in two pieces, each representing the hollow of a semicircle, and of the shape of
the cigar; the two sides of the hollow are chamfered, and the mould is kept
closed when necessary by a spring clasp or clamp.
In the accompanying Drawings the two sides of the mould are alike. A

page_text: is the mould when closed; B represents the two halves of the mould when
open; C represents the clasp or clamp; D shows the mould shut with the
clamp applied; E represents the mould, in which, when open, the tobacco of
which the cigar is made is placed, and which may be left in it for any period.
The inside of the cigar is made in the usual manner, but with less tobacco.
The mould being closed, it is held in the left hand, for the purpose of pushing
in with the right hand, by means of the instrument F, the tobacco which
projects from the crevices of the mould; when this surplus tobacco is pushed
in the clamp is applied. F represents this instrument, or, as I term it, "intro-
ducteur." It is made of iron or any other metal, with a blade of the thickness
of the back of an ordinary table knife; it has no edge on either side. G re-
presents the mould open, in which is seen the material of which the cigar is
made, and which exactly assumes the form of the mould. After taking out
the material from the mould, I cut off what projects from and exceeds the size
of the mould; the material is then rolled in the ordinary manner, and the
cigar, cut according to the required length, is immediately enclosed in the
cigar press marked H, which I term " 'presse cigares." I represents the cigar
press; it is composed of any metal, fastened together by screws, marked in the
Drawing 1, 2, 3, 4. The Figure shews the press with four moulds, (but it can
be made with any number). It opens in two parts upon a hinge or joint 5,
which holds them together, and it closes with a spring 6. The semicircles of
the top part have sharp edges, and are held together at the end by a band of
metal, having a metal stop or projection 7 and 8, (the use of which stop is to
prevent the sharp edges of the press from going too far.) 9 is a button which
acts as a handle for opening and shutting the press. The bottom part of the
mould is cylindrical, with sides or edges higher than those of the top part, and
the surface flat instead of sharp. In shutting the press, the two stops rest
upon the bottom part, so that the moulds may always preserve the same
diameter or bore. The cigars being pressed for an instant in the cigar press
or "presse cigares," are ready for use, and can be taken out. I, represents the
cigar press or "presse cigares" open. This mode of manufacture may be
applied to all qualities of tobacco without any preliminary preparation and
without waste. There is a great saving in the raw material employed and
also in the labour; much leaf is saved, and not so much drying is necessary.
The cigars manufactured are regular and of a perfect finish; they smoke
even and draw well. The Figures in the Drawing are of full working size for
ordinary cigars, but the size can be altered according to the form of the cigar
which is to be manufactured.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is, the manufacture
of leaf tobacco into cigars by means of moulds and cigar presses, as herein-
before discribed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Eugene Perré Chevalier, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven.
PERRÉ CHEVALIER. (L.S.)