An Improved Process for Removing Hairs, Feathers, Down and the like from Skins or Hides and Transferring the said Hairs, Feathers, Down and the like onto Artificial Mounts or Supports.
Year: 1899

page_text: An Improved Process for Removing Hairs, Feathers, Down and the
like from Skins or Hides and Transferring the said Hairs, Feathers,
Down and the like onto Artificial Mounts or Supports.
I, JOSEPH AUGUSTIN MALAISÉ, of 45, Avenue de la République, Paris, in the
Republic of France, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved process for removing hairs, feathers,
down and the like from skins or hides in general without injuring the grain
thereof, and for transferring the said hairs, feathers, down and the like onto all
kinds of artificial mounts or supports.
"
The processes employed heretofore for unhairing skins or hides very often
present the disadvantage of removing the hair in an incomplete manner and of
bringing the depilatory material into direct contact with the "grain of the
skin or hide, with the result that the said grain, which forms the finest part of
the leather, is attacked and loses its fineness.
My process of unhairing completely obviates these disadvantages and con-
sists:-
1. In coating the whole of the hair, feathers, etc., with a solution capable of
forming a solid bed or mass in which all the hair, feathers, etc., remain
imprisoned, this solution can be, for example, a solution of sulphate of soda.
2. When the solid bed is formed, to apply to the skin or hide, on the "flesh"
side, a solution composed of a mixture of quicklime and sulphydrate of sodium.
The sulphydrate of sodium is mixed with the lime which is previously reduced
to powder by the addition of a certain quantity of water. I thus obtain a
mixture of a pasty consistency capable of remaining on the skin and which is
sufficiently active to detach the hair from the skin or hide, but does not exercise
any detrimental action on the grain of the latter.
This pasty solution so applied, passes through the skin or hide, and thus acts
on the roots of the hairs without injuring the grain of this skin or hide, in such
a manner that the mass of hairs, feathers, etc., held together in its cake of sul-
phate of soda, can be very rapidly detached.
The skin or hide thus stripped of its fur or the like, is then capable of receiving
all industrial applications, after having been subjected to the ordinary opera-
tions of tanning. My process of unhairing presents the great advantage of

page_text: removing the whole of the hair (the hair, the down, the mort-poil or dead-hair)
and thus permits the employment of certain skins or hides which heretofore have
not been capable of receiving any industrial application; moreover, by my
process, the unhairing is effected in a much shorter time than by any other
means.
The hairs being thus freed from the skin or hide, there is applied to their roots
one or more coats or layers of caoutchouc solution so as to secure all these hairs
together.
This fur can then be applied directly onto any suitable fabric, such as cloth,
silk, etc., it being only necessary to apply onto the surface of the caoutchouc which
secures together all the hairs, a thin coat of any suitable solvent of caoutchouc,
in such a manner as to obtain perfect adhesion of this caoutchouc onto the part
which is to receive the fur; this part can even be previously impregnated with
a solution of caoutchouc.
When this application of caoutchouc is completed, the caoutchouc is vul-
canised by any suitable means so as to obtain perfect adhesion of the hair.
This vulcanisation can be effected by any suitable process, for example, in
the following manner: The objects are suspended in a hermetically closed
chamber the temperature in the interior of which is raised to about 80 degrees
Centigrade and into which is brought the vapour of chloride of sulphur; this
vapour acts on the caoutchouc producing its complete vulcanisation.
The fur can also be applied to an artificial mount or support formed by any
suitable very flexible material, a tissue of undressed cotton, for example.
The fur is applied to this artificial mount or support by the method which
has just been mentioned above, that is to say, by adhesion or cementing, and
by the vulcanisation of the caoutchouc.
Preferably, the mount or support will be covered equally, on its external face,
with a layer of caoutchouc, in such a manner that, at the end of the operation,
it will be completely covered by or embedded in the caoutchouc.
When the fur is thus fixed, either directly onto the material, or onto an
artificial mount or support, it is only further necessary to dissolve the sulphate
of soda which imprisons the hairs and the operation is then terminated.
The fur thus transferred can afterwards be subjected to all processes of dyeing
and be plunged into a boiling bath or into steam, since the layer of vulcanised
caoutchouc which covers the fabric renders it impermeable and prevents it from
coming off.
My process thus permits hairs to be utilised' which, heretofore, could not be
employed as fur, for example, the hair of calves, and to dye these furs or hairs
in all colours.
Moreover, since the fur thus obtained presents perfect impermeability, it is
capable of receiving numerous applications.
My process can be applied equally to natural furs, or to furs worked by
furrier's processes, the hair of which, for any reason, does not offer any further
resistance, for example, when the mites commence to destroy the roots of the
hair.
In this case, the skin of this fur is previously untanned according to known
processes, afterwards the hair is detached from the skin or hide and transferred
onto an artificial mount or support by the means hereinabove mentioned.
A fur, of any dimensions, composed of a number of pieces joined together, can
thus be transferred onto an artificial mount or support in a single piece and
this new fur thus transferred, has the same appearance and the same arrange-
ment as the primitive natural fur.
I can obtain, by my process, furs of very large dimensions, either by directly
transferring the hair onto a large surface of prepared fabric as above mentioned,
or by uniting into one piece a certain number of furs transferred onto an
artificial mount or support, as has been described above.
My process can be applied not only to the transfer of hair, but also of

page_text: feathers, down, etc., or, speaking in a general way, to the transfer of all dermic
products.
Total th 19th day of liabruary 1800
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
An Improved Process for Removing Hairs, Feathers, Down and the
like from Skins or Hides and Transferring the said Hairs, Feathers,
Down and the like onto Artificial Mounts or Supports.
I, JOSEPH AUGUSTIN MALAISÉ, of 45, Avenue de la République, Paris, in the
Republic of France, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
-
This invention relates to an improved process for removing hairs, feathers,
down and the like from skins or hides in general without injuring the grain
thereof, and for transferring the said hairs, feathers, down and the like onto all
kinds of artificial mounts or supports.
The processes employed heretofore for unhairing skins or hides very often
present the disadvantage of removing the hair in an incomplete manner and of
bringing the depilatory material into direct contact with the "grain" of the
skin or hide, with the result that the said grain which forms the finest part of
the leather, is attacked and loses its fineness.
My process of unhairing completely obviates these disadvantages, and con-
sists:
1. In coating the whole of the hair, feathers, etc., with a solution capable of
forming a solid bed or mass in which all the hair, feathers, etc., remain
imprisoned, this solution can be, for example, a solution of sulphate of soda.
2. When the solid bed is formed, in applying to the skin or hide, on the
"Hesh" side, a solution composed of a mixture of quick-lime and sulphydrate
of sodium.
The sulphydrate of sodium is mixed with the lime which is previously reduced
to powder by the addition of a certain quantity of water; I thus obtain a mixture
of a pasty consistency capable of remaining on the skin or hide and which is
sufficiently active to detach the hair from the skin or hide, but does not exercise
any detrimental action on the grain of the latter.
This pasty solution so applied, passes through the skin or hide, and thus acts
on the roots of the hairs without injuring the grain of this skin or hide, in such
a manner that the mass of hairs, feathers, etc., held together in its cake of sul-
phate of soda, can be very rapidly detached.
The skin or hide thus stripped of its fur, is then capable of receiving
all industrial applications, after having been subjected to the ordinary opera-
tions of tanning.
My process of unhairing presents the great advantage of removing the whole
of the hair (the hair, the down, the mort-poil or dead-hair) and thus permits
the employment of certain skins or hides which heretofore have not been capable

page_text: of receiving any industrial application; moreover, by my process, the unhairing
is effected in a much shorter time than by any other means.
The hairs being thus freed from the skin or hide, there is applied to their roots
one or more coats or layers of caoutchouc solution so as to secure all these hairs
together.
This fur can then be applied directly onto any suitable fabric, such as cloth,
silk, etc., it being only necessary to apply onto the surface of the caoutchouc which
secures together all the hairs, a thin coat of any suitable solvent of caoutchouc,
in such a manner as to obtain perfect adhesion of this caoutchouc onto the part
which is to receive the fur; this part can even be previously impregnated with
a solution of caoutchouc.
When this application of caoutchouc is completed, the caoutchouc is vul-
canised by any suitable means so as to obtain perfect adhesion of the hair.
This vulcanisation can be effected by any suitable process, for example, in
the following manner: The objects are suspended in a hermetically closed
chamber the temperature in the interior of which is raised to about 80 degrees
Centigrade and into which is brought the vapour of chloride of sulphur; this
vapour acts on the caoutchouc producing its complete vulcanisation.
The fur can also be applied to an artificial mount or support formed by any
very flexible material, a tissue of undressed cotton, for example.
The fur is applied to this artificial mount or support by the method which
has just been mentioned above, that is to say, by adhesion or cementing, and
by the vulcanisation of the caoutchouc.
Preferably, the mount or support will be covered equally, on its external face,
with a layer of caoutchouc, in such a manner that, at the end of the operation,
it will be completely covered by or embedded in the caoutchouc.
When the fur is thus fixed, either directly onto the material, or onto its
artificial mount or support, it is only further necessary to dissolve the sulphate
of soda which imprisons the hairs and the operation is then terminated.
The fur thus transferred can afterwards be subjected to all processes of dyeing
and be plunged into a boiling bath or into steam, since the layer of vulcanised
caoutchouc which covers the fabric renders it impermeable and prevents it from
coming off.
My process thus permits hairs to be utilised which, heretofore, could not be
employed as fur, for example, the hair of calves, and to dye these furs or hairs
in all colours.
Moreover, since the fur thus obtained presents perfect impermeability, it is
capable of receiving numerous applications.
My process can be applied equally to natural furs, or to furs worked by
furrier's processes and the hair of which, for any reason, does not offer any
further resistance, for example, when the mites commence to destroy the roots
of the hair.
In this case, the skin or hide of this fur is previously untanned according to
known processes, afterwards the hair is detached from the skin or hide and
transferred onto an artificial mount or support by the means hereinabove
described.
A fur, of any dimensions, composed of a number of pieces joined together, can
thus be transferred onto an artificial mount or support in a single piece and
this new fur thus transferred has the same appearance and the same arrange-
ment as the primitive natural fur.
I can obtain, by my process, furs of very large dimensions, either by directly
transferring the hair onto a large surface of prepared fabric as above mentioned,
or by uniting into one piece a certain number of furs transferred onto an
artificial mount or support, as has been described above.
My process can be applied not only to the transfer of hair, but also of
feathers, down, etc., or speaking in a general way, to the transfer of all dermic
products.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
The improved process for the unhairing of skins or hides and the transfer of
the hairs, feathers, down, etc., onto artificial mounts or supports, characterised
particularly:
1. By the application, on the "flesh" side of the skin or hide, of a solution
composed of a mixture of sulphydrate of sodium and of quicklime, previously
reduced to powder by the addition of a certain quantity of water.
2. By the method of fixing the fur or the like, either directly onto any suit-
able fabric, or onto an artificial mount or support by means of a solution of
caoutchouc which is vulcanised when the fur or the like is cemented, substan-
tially as herein before described, and for the purpose specified.
Date HS QUIL
D YOUNG & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
D YOUNG & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.