CERTAIN PREPARA- TIONS OF OILS FOR AND SOLUTIONS USED WHEN WATERPROOFING, AND FOR THE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS ARTICLES BY THE USE OF SUCH COMPOUNDS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Parkes, of Burry Port, Llanelly, County
of Carmarthen, South Wales, for the Invention of "CERTAIN PREPARA-
TIONS OF OILS FOR AND SOLUTIONS USED WHEN WATERPROOFING, AND FOR THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Parkes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
October 1855.
I, ALEXANDER PARKES, of Burry Port, Llanelly, County of Carmarthen,
South Wales, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "CERTAIN
PREPARATIONS OF OILS FOR AND SOLUTIONS USED WHEN WATERPROOFING, AND FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS ARTICLES BY THE USE OF SUCH COMPOUNDS," to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in the treatment of oils by. the action of chloride
of sulphur, alone or with other substances, so as to produce an elastic, solid, or
adhesive compound; and in the use of gun cotton or other similar compounds
in pyroxylic spirit (wood naptha), or other solvents of such compounds, alone
or compounded with gums, resins, or other substances. The above preparations
and solutions I use for waterproofing and manufacturing various articles having
properties analagous to those made from india-rubber or gutta percha.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Parkes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
PARKES, of Burry Port, Llanelly, County of Carmarthen, South Wales, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria;-by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second. day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alexander Parkes, Her special licence that I, the said Alexander
Parkes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alexander Parkes, 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 "CERTAIN PREPARA-
TIONS OF OILS FOR AND SOLUTIONS USED WHEN "WATERPROOPING, AND FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS ARTICLES BY THE USE OF SUCH COMPOUNDS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Parkes, my execu-
tors 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 per-
formed, 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 Parkes, 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:-
-:
The
Part of my Invention relates to the treatment or preparation of oils,
so as to produce a change in the oil or compound by the use of chloride of
sulphur. The effect of the action of chloride of sulphur on oils is to render
them 'solid, insoluble in mineral naptha, sulphuret of carbon, or other agents
by which oils in their simple state are acted
upon.
The oils so changed have very much the character of vulcanized or converted
india-rubber, and may be used for a variety of purposes; and I find that oils
with india-rubber or gutta percha may be-changed- or converted, as above

page_text: described, by the use of chloride of sulphur, and such compounds are as per-
manent as vulcanized rubber alone. I mention this fact, as, it is well known
that oils have a decomposing effect on india-rubber alone.
.
In carrying out this part of my Invention, I use linseed, rape, castor oil, or
other oils that are acted upon in a similar way by chloride of sulphur; and I
prefer to use them in a well-refined state, alone or combined with 'other
substances.
If I desire to prepare a solid substance, I take 100 lbs. of either of the above
oils or mixtures, and from 50 to 80 lbs. of crystallized chloride of sulphur,
and incorporate them well together by grinding or other means, and place
them in a mould of metal or earthenware, and submit the contents to a heat
of from 200 to 250° Fahrenheit for 3 hours, and if the change is not suffi-
ciently effected I increase the temperature to 270° or 300° until tho desired
change is brought about; this will be known by the oil or compound becoming
solid and elastic, and non-adhesive.
:
If I desire to prepare a solution I proceed as follows:-I take 100 lbs. of oil
or mixture, and from 10 to 15 lbs. of liquid chloride of sulphur, dissolved in
20 to 30 lbs. mineral naptha, benzole, or sulphuret of carbon. I first mix the
chloride of sulphur and naptha or other solvènt; then add the oils, and quickly
agitate. If the mixture is to be used for sheets, 'I' pour it out on to glass
tables or moulds, plain or ornamental; in a short time it will gelatinize or set,
so that it can be removed, when it will be found highly elastic, and if the
mould was an ornamental one 'the impression on the substance will be very
sharp. Should it contain any free chloride of sulphur, I prefer to wash it out,
or neutralize it by an alkaline or other solution. The solution as above
prepared may be spread upon cloth; or worked up with fibrous or other
substances, to produce various effects, according to the use for which it is
required. When I desire to combine india-rubber or gutta percha with the
oils, I take 100 lbs. of the ordinary solution of india-rubber or gutta percha,
or mixtures of them, dissolved in any of the well-known solvents, and I add
from 50 to 100 lbs.. of any of the oils or mixtures, as before explained; 15 to
25 lbs. chloride of sulphur liquid dissolved in 20 to 30 lbs. mineral naptha,
benzole, or sulphuret of carbon. I mix by agitating the india-rubber or gutta
percha with the oils, and then adding the changing agent, viz., the chloride of
sulphur in its solvent, and again agitate as rapidly as possible. This solution
may be poured out, cast, or used as a coating to other substances, or mixed as
above explained; but all the operations must be performed quickly, as the
change takes place with more or less rapidity, according to the quantity of
chloride of sulphur used. The substance thus produced is highly elastic and

page_text: extensible, and will be found useful for a variety of purposes to which india-
rubber and gutta percha are now applied, and it may be ground up with india-
rubber or gutta percha, and vulcanized in the usual manner.
.
The second part of my Invention relates to the use of solutions of gun
cotton or other similar compounds. It is well known that a solution of gun
cotton has been used principally as a photographic agent and in sugical
operations, but my object is to employ collodion or its compounds, for manu-
facturing purposes generally.. The method of dissolving gun cotton being well
known, I do not think it necessary to give proportions, but simply to say that
when I use a thin solution I add more of either of the solvents to the gun
cotton, and if I require a stiff preparation, less of the solvent is to be used.
I dissolve gun cotton or other similar compound in vegetable naptha, alcohol,
methylated or other ethers, or other solvents of gun cotton. For a trans-
parent and colourless substance, I use the solution of gun cotton alone, or
with gums or resins that will set transparent with it, and this is applicable as
a coating to silk, tinsel articles, other textile fabrics, sewing cotton; thread,
worsted, string, felted goods, leather, plaster, or wood, rendering them water-
proof, and from its freedom from colour it does not impair the beauty or
injure the colour or texture of the most delicate fabrics, and I find silks or
other articles thus treated preserve the brightness of their colour for a much
longer time than when not so prepared. I also use colouring agents or
metallic bronzes with solutions of gun cotton for waterproofing and coating
other articles, such as paper, &c., and by the use of such coloured solutions I
obtain many pleasing effects, suitable for a variety of purposes; and I also
use gums, or resins, or stearine in solutions of gun cotton, for the same
purposes. When manufacturing sheets from solutions or preparations of gun
cotton alone, or combined with india-rubber, gutta percha, or other substances,
and whether coloured or not, I prefer to use a thick solution, and with
spreading machinery, similar to that used in the manufacture of india-rubber,
I spread the preparation in the well-known manner until I obtain the desired
thickness. The solvent may be re-covered if required by condensing it as it
passes off while the sheets are drying at a temperature of from 100 to 200
Fahrenheit. These sheets may be transparent and colourless, or they may be
coloured or combined with a variety of, substances to produce different effects
suitable for book-binding, button manufacture, and other applications where a
hard, strong, brilliant material is required; or flexible sheets may be made by
varying the proportions of the substances used. Or I make sheets or other
forms by using as little of the solvent of gun cotton as possible, so as to obtain
stiff plastic compound, which may be coloured or combined with othe

page_text: substances, and this I work up with any suitable machinery until well blended
or incorporated, when it may be rolled or pressed into sheets or other forms;
when dry, it. is very hard and waterproof.. I also manufacture sheets or other
forms of calico, linen, lace, or paper that have been treated with acids in the
manner employed in preparing gun cotton. The sheets or other forms, when
well washed free of acids, are dried, and are then soluble in ether; but
instead of completely dissolving them, I only use such a proportion of solvent
as will penetrate but not disintegrate them; in fact, the sheet can be dipped
into a bath of the solvent, and when sufficiently penetrated and acted on,
taken out and dried at a temperature of 80 to 150° Fahrenheit. These
sheets when prepared from calico or linen will be useful for many purposes,
as they are waterproof, and have a silky shining appearance, and may be
white, or colored by dyeing or other means, and any design may be given
thereto before acted on by the naptha or other solvent; or they may be
dipped in a bath of coloured collodion after they have been partially acted
on by the naptha or other solvent, or a variety of colours may be applied to
the same sheet so as to produce designs which will be permanent and water-
proof; or the sheets may be ornamented by pressure in dies or between
rollers. I also make sheets plain or coloured by pouring the solution on to
glass plates, plain or etched; and, if required, several coats of collodion or
dissimilar substances may be used to strengthen the sheet, such as a solution
of gutta percha purified, as described in my Patent of 25th day of March
1846, one coat being allowed to dry before the other is applied. Other forms
or ornamental surfaces I make by dipping a model into a bath of the
collodion, whether coloured or not, and whether strengthened or not, as above
described; these must be dried with care at a low temperature, or they may
blister; or I cast a solution of gun cotton alone or with other substances
into moulds, and when dry a beautifully sharp impression of the mould will
be obtained. I also manufacture thick sheets of a compound nature by
cementing several sheets together which may be of dissimilar substances,
thus a sheet of collodion, then a sheet of cloth, then another sheet of col-
lodion, &c.; or I saturate felted goods with my preparation of gun cotton. I
also prepare coloured solutions of collodion, and in this state they may be sold
for a variety of purposes.
In conclusion, I wish to remark that I prefer to use with the preparations
of gun cotton substances of a less inflammable nature, to prevent or neutralize
the ready combustibility of that substance. I find a great variety of sub-
stances can be used for this purpose, but I shall only name a few of those I

page_text: have found most useful: phosphate of ammonia and magnesia, iodide of
cadmium, per-iodide of mercury, oxalate of lime, talc, alum.
310
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Parkes, have hereunto set
my hand and seal,. this Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
THO RODERICK,
Pembury, South Wales.
ALEXANDER PARKES. (L.S.)