IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF PRODUCING ORNAMENTAL SURFACES APPLICABLE TO THE GENERAL PURPOSES OF DECORATION
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Robert Piltz, of Frederick Street, Hampstead
Road, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MODE OF PRODUCING ORNAMENTAL SURFACES APPLICABLE TO THE
GENERAL PURPOSES OF DECORATION."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Robert Piltz at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th May 1863.
I, FRANCIS ROBERT PILTZ, of Frederick Street, Hampstead Road, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF PRODUCING ORNAMENTAL SURFACES APPLICABLE TO
THE GENERAL PURPOSES OF DECORATION," to be as follows (that is to say):-
My Invention has for its object the manufacture and employment of oil
paper for ornamenting furniture, walls, and floors of buildings and other
structures, by which a greater saving in time and labour is effected than by
the process at present in use, and consists in producing upon strong well sized
paper (by printing or otherwise) suitable patterns or devices in oil, vinegar,
and varnish colours, and coating or covering therewith the articles to be
ornamented, the said paper patterns being previously damped or moistened,
and caused to adhere to the said surfaces by means of a boiled solution of glue
and turpentine, the surfaces of the wood being prepared with a mixture of
glue and yellow ocre, a thick paste being employed for walls, in lieu of the
above, prepared with common turpentine..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Francis Robert Piltz in the Great Seal Patent Office, on the
27th November 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
ROBERT PILTZ, of Frederick Street, Hampstead Road, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Francis Robert Piltz, Her special licence that I, the said Francis
Robert Piltz, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Francis Robert Piltz, my executors, administrators, and 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF PRODUCING ORNAMENTAL SURFACES APPLICABLE TO THE
GENERAL PURPOSES OF DECORATION," upon, the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Francis Robert Piltz, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 Francis Robert Piltz, 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
following statement (that is to say) :-
My Invention has reference to the manufacture and employment of oil
paper, by which considerable saving in time and labour is effected than by the
process at present in use, and consists in producing upon strong well-sized
paper (by printing or otherwise) suitable patterns or devices in oil or distemper
colour, and coating or covering therewith the articles to be ornamented, the
said paper patterns being previously damped or moistened, and caused to
adhere to the surface of the wall or otherwise by means of a boiled solution of
glue and turpentine, the surface of the wood being previously prepared with a

page_text: mixture of glue and yellow ochre, and the whole when dry glazed and finished,
a thick paste being employed for walls in lieu of the above, prepared with the
raw or common turpentine.
And in order that my said Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I now proceed to describe in detail the mode of
performing the same (that is to say) :-
To prepare the said oil paper by my improved process I take well-sized
paper of the required strength or size, either in the roll or otherwise, as may
be found desirable, according to the nature and quality of the work required,
and cause the said outer surface thereof to be coated or covered with a water-
proof solution, so as to form upon the same a groundwork or body for the
reception of the required ornamentation, the said solution being composed of
linseed oil, zinc white, or white lead in the proportion of about 17 lbs. of
linseed oil, 12 lbs. of zinc white or white lead, and 2lbs. of the spirits of
turpentine or rock oil naphtha, the whole, when thoroughly mixed, is then to
be laid or spread upon the surface of the said paper by means of suitable
brushes or rollers worked by hand or otherwise, the said paper being placed
upon a flat surface or table for facilitating the operation of coating or applying
the waterproof solution, as aforesaid, which after the space of three or four
days, when sufficiently dry, is then to be ornamented by printing or painting
upon the said prepared surface coloured patterns or devices in imitation of
costly woods, marble, or architectural or other embellishments, either in
oil or distemper colour, as may be found desirable, and may be varnished
and fitted for use. By this process the body of the said paper is rendered
stronger and more durable, and at the same time less subject to crack or peel
off than at present, whilst the said waterproofing enables the same to be washed
or scoured without altering or effecting the appearance or character thereof.
To facilitate the process of coating and preparing the said groundwork, and
render the same thin and readily applied, I mix or stir into the said ingredients
a proportionate quantity of spirits of turpentine suitable to the work that may
be required, so as to enable it to dry or set more quickly.
In applying my said improvements to the ornamentation of walls, floors, or
otherwise, as above, I cause the prepared or ornamented paper, previously cut
or formed to the required shape, to be damped or moistened by any of the well
known methods at present in use, to be laid upon the surface of the wall, floor,
or otherwise, and caused to adhere thereto whilst in its damp or moistened
state by means of a solution of glue and Venice turpentine or flour paste, and
dissolved resin, the said glue being diluted with water, and boiled with the
turpentine, as aforesaid, for the purpose of enabling the same to be more

page_text: thoroughly incorporated therewith, and, adhere to the surface or body of the
paper more closely and effectually than when employing the boiled solution
of glue seperately, the surface of the wood or article being previously pre-
pared by a mixture of glue and yellow ochre or other suitable pigment for
the purpose of uniting with the adhesive substance, so as to enable the same
to bind or hold together more securely, employing in the preparation for the
surface of walls, ceilings, or otherwise, raw or common American turpentine
and stout flour paste, as aforesaid, being desirable (for walls) to use the paste
or cement thicker and stronger than for the surfaces of wood.
Having now described the nature of this my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed and carried into effect, I would have it
clearly understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein-
before set forth and described, as the same may be varied without departing
from the general principle of this my said Invention; nor do I claim as of
my said Invention the exclusive use of the several substances and processes
herein-before mentioned and refered to, except when the same are employed
in and for the purposes of my said Invention, which I hereby declare to
consist,―
Firstly, in the preparation and employment of the said solution forming the
groundwork or body for the reception of the distemper colour or surface
ornamentation.
Secondly, the producing of ornamental patterns (by printing or otherwise,)
upon the prepared surface forming the groundwork or body upon the
paper.
And, thirdly, and lastly, the employment and application of the prepared
ornamented paper as above described for the various purposes of decoration or
embellishment in connexion with the adhesive substances for uniting the same,
in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Robert Piltz, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
FRANCIS ROBERT PILTZ. (L.S.)
Witness,
WILLIAM ROBOTHAM,
Clerk to Messrs. Weatherdon and Co.