Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1899-Accepted, 23rd Sept.,
1899
I, HERBERT HATLEY HAY, of 28, Mulkern Road, Upper Holloway, in the County
of Middlesex, Glass Writer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
This invention relates to etching and although applicable to metals and other
materials I will describe it as applied to glass for which it is particularly suited.
In carrying out the invention I employ any suitable device which I will term
a block bearing upon it in relief or intaglio the pattern or design to be produced
upon the glass. This pattern I then cover with any suitable adhesive com-
position, preferably acid-resisting, and upon this I place a sheet or other form
of material preferably flexible and capable of being destroyed by acid, which
is pressed upon the pattern by any suitable means such as a press, roller or the
like so that it receives into its substance the pattern which preferably appears
on the other side of the material. The raised portions of the pattern are now
covered or rolled up "with acid-resisting material and the sheet removed from
the pattern and applied to the glass upon which it adheres by reason of the adhe-
sive composition, the glass having been previously coated with a protective
material capable of resisting the attack of the acid to which the glass is subse-
quently subjected.
"
.
The portions of the material not protected by the acid-resisting composition
are now removed by a suitable acid, and by means of paraffin, turpentine or other
suitable agent the adhesive material is removed, after which the article to be
decorated is subjected to the attack of an acid particularly adapted to rapidly
eat into it in the case of glass hydrofluoric acid is preferred.
The pattern may be of any desired material, shape and dimensions and any
suitable material may be employed for the sheet or equivalent, tinfoil being
generally suitable for this purpose. The acids may be applied in any desired
manner and removed by rinsing or otherwise as desired.
The invention is applicable for purposes of ornamentation or utility.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: 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 etching and although applicable to metals and other
materials I will describe it as applied to glass for which it is particularly suited.
In carrying out the invention I employ any suitable device which I will term
a block bearing upon it in relief or intaglio the pattern or design to be produced
upon the glass. This pattern I then cover with any suitable adhesive com-
position, preferably acid-resisting, and upon this I place a sheet or other form
of material preferably flexible and capable of being destroyed by acid, which
is pressed upon the pattern by any suitable means such as a press, roller or the
like so that it receives into its substance the pattern which preferably appears
on the other side of the material. The raised portions of the pattern are now
covered or
rolled up" with acid-resisting material and the sheet, hereinafter
called the "pattern-sheet," removed from the block and applied to the glass upon
which it adheres by reason of the adhesive composition, the glass having been
previously coated with a protective material capable of resisting the attack of
the acid to which the glass is subsequently subjected.
The portions of the material not protected by the acid-resisting composition
are now removed by a suitable acid, and by means of paraffin, turpentine or other
suitable agent the adhesive material is removed, after which the article to be
decorated is subjected to the attack of an acid particularly adapted to rapidly
eat into it in the case of glass hydrofluoric acid is preferred.
The pattern may be of any desired material, shape and dimensions and any
suitable material may be employed for the sheet or equivalent, tinfoil being
generally suitable for this purpose. The acids may be applied in any desired
manner and removed by rinsing or otherwise as desired.
The invention is applicable for purposes of ornamentation or utility.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one method of carrying out the
improved etching process according to this invention
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a block used in the preparation of the
"pattern-sheet."
Figure 2 is a perspective view partly in section showing the "pattern-sheet
ready for removal from the block, and
"
"
pattern-
Figures 3, 4 and 5 are views similar to Figure 2 but showing the
sheet" in position upon the object to be etched at various stages of the process.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The thickness of the various layers is exaggerated in the drawings for the
sake of clearness.
A is a block bearing the design which is to be etched in intaglio upon it as
at A¹ for the sake of clearness the design is represented as the surface enclosed
by a circle. A layer of adhesive material B is applied to the surface of the
block A and upon this is placed a sheet of tinfoil C. The block A with its
coatings B and C is then pressed or rolled so that portions of the sheet of tinfoil C
are caused to sink into the design A. The raised parts of the tinfoil sheet C are
then covered with acid-resisting composition D; this may conveniently be done
by "rolling up" the block and its coatings with a mixture of lithographic ink
and red lead. The pattern-sheet-that is the lavers B, C and D upon the
block A is now ready for removal (Figure 2) and this is accomplished by warm-
ing the block A and thus softening the adhesive material B. The " pattern-
sheet" is next transferred to the object to be etched in this case a piece of
glass E-which has been coated with acid resisting material as at F. After the
pattern-sheet" has been affixed to the glass (Figure 3) an acid is applied to it
which eats away the tinfoil C where it is not protected by the acid-resisting
composition D (Figure 4). The adhesive material B and the acid-resisting
composition F are now removed by the use of a convenient solvent, turpentine or
paraffin for instance, thus leaving the glass E exposed at all the points corre-
66

page_text: sponding to the design upon the block A, that is to say, in the present instance
a space is left exposed corresponding to the area A¹ in the block. This stage
of the process is illustrated in Figure 5. The exposed portions of the glass are
etched by the application of say hydrofluoric acid.
Although it is preferred to coat the glass with a layer of acid-resisting com-
position F, yet this may if desired be dispensed with if the adhesive material B
forming the bottom layer of the pattern-sheet" is of an acid-resisting nature.
It is to be understood that this improved etching process is applicable to other
materials than glass, and moreover when applied to glass it is not only available
for use in etching by means of acids, but may be used when the exposed design
upon the glass is treated by a sand-blast. In the latter case the layer of adhesive
material B upon the bottom of the "pattern-sheet" may be similar to that used
in the acid process for convenience in removing the sheet from the block and
attaching it to the glass, but the protective layer F on the glass is preferably
formed of a composition which will resist the action of the sand-blast, a mixture
of glue and glycerine being very suitable. The exposed parts of this coating may
be removed by the use of warm water.
Although this invention does not depend upon the use of any particular acid-
resisting composition it is found in practice that good results are obtained by
the amularment of a material comprising the following ingredients ·——
nitric acids.
This improved process may be used for purposes of ornamentation in a variety
of ways, for instance: -glass may be gilded in the ordinary way on the back,
and a "pattern-sheet" according to this invention applied over the gilding. After
the various layers of the "pattern-sheet" have been removed as hereinbefore
described, the exposed portions of the gilding are taken off in any convenient
way, leaving a pattern in clear glass upon a gold ground. The pattern may,
if desired, be filled in with black or a colour.
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
is prepared substantially
1. An etching process in which a "pattern-sheet
as described upon a block and transferred to the object to be etched.
2. In etching the employment of a
block upon
prepared substantially as described.
"
"
"
which a pattern-sheet" is
3. In etching a pattern-sheet in which a layer of a substance easily attacked
by acid is protected in places by an acid resisting composition substantially as
described.
66
4. In etching a pattern-sheet" formed by pressing or rolling a sheet of material
such as tinfoil upon a block bearing a design and coating the raised portion of
the sheet with acid-resisting material.
5. The complete etching process substantially as described or illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
T.... 1900
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.