IMPROVEMENTS IN CASES OR BOXES, AND IN CASINGS, HAMPERS, BASKETS, AND WRAPPERS FOR HOLDING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1859

page_text: LEITERS PATENT to Anton Bruno Seithen, of 6, Alpha Place, Caledonian
Road, London, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CASES OR BOXES, AND IN CASINGS, HAMPERS, BASKETS, AND
WRAPPERS FOR HOLDING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER ARTICLES."
Sealed the 27th January 1860, and dated the 30th July 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Anton Bruno Seithen at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th July 1859.
I. ANTON BRUNO SEITHEN. of 6, Alpha Place, Caledonian Road, London,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CASES OR BOXES, AND IN CASINGS, HAMPERS,
BASKETS, AND WRAPPERS FOR HOLDING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER ARTICLES,"
to be as follows:
My improvements consist, firstly, in making casings, cases, and boxes for pack-
ing and other purposes, entire or in part of cork, also in making the bottoms of
and the divisions in baskets or hampers of cork, instead of basket or wicker-
work or other material; and also in covering or partly covering bottles, jars,
pots, and other articles of glass or earthenware, with cork. The pieces of cork
used for such purposes as above stated are joined together and to the articles

page_text: of which they have to form part by means of cement insoluble in water. In
making a hamper or basket, the cork bottom is first made of the desired size
and shape, and then the switches or sticks for forming the uprights are dipped
in cement, and stuck into holes made round the edge of the cork bottom, after
which the basket itself is formed or plaited in the usual manner. Such
bottoms of cork are stronger and wear better than basket or wickerwork.
Boxes or cases made entirely of cork I use for various purposes; for instance,
instead of wooden boxes or tubs, for flowers or plants, and for beehives, they
are lighter and less liable to rot or decay from moisture.
My improvements relate, secondly, to wrappers, casings, or envelopes for
bottles, jars, and such like, made of rushes, straw, or other suitable vegetable
substance or fibre tied or secured with string, reed, or other material, in such
a manner that the rushes or bundles of rushes or straw or other material
form a matting over the bottle or jar, so as in packing effectually to protect
it from contact with adjoining other bottles or other objects. I have various
modes of forming such wrappers. The rushes or other material can be
arranged together longitudinally from the top to the bottom of the bottle,
tied or secured laterally in one or more places, and closed or open over the
top of the bottle; or the material can be wound on in a spiral, and secured in
a similar way; or the wrapper may be formed so as to have two or more
rushes or strands of material round the larger diameter of the bottle to each
piece of rush or strand for covering the neck of bottle or jar according to the
size of body and neck of bottle; or I connect the rushes or strands by passing
string, or reed, or cane through them with a needle. I prefer to make my
wrappers over forms of the shape and size of the bottles for which they are
intended, or on a board provided with pins, or otherwise suitably arranged,
according to the description of wrapper required.
Wrappers or envelopes for bottles, and make of rushes or straw, have been
invented by me, and the apparatus for making them patented by my son John
Seithen, Patent No. 1892, 1854, and since then a mode of weaving rushes
together has been patented by John Barsham, No. 438, 1856, but my present
Invention consists partly in the peculiar and novel mode of ticing or securing
the rushes or strands in such a manner that they shall not be able to shift or
move from their respective places, and thereby expose portions of the bottles
or jars, and partly in the manner of forming and arranging the rushes or
strands to suit the shape of bottle or jar.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Anton Bruno Seithen in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANTON
BRUNO SEITHEN, of 6, Alpha Place, Caledonian Road, London, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Anton Bruno Seithen, Her special licence that I, the said
Anton Bruno Seithen, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Anton Bruno Seithen, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN CASES OR BOXES, AND IN CASINGS,
HAMPERS, BASKETS, AND WRAPPERS FOR HOLDING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER
ARTIOLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Anton Bruno
Seithen, 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 Anton Bruno Seithen, 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:-
My improvements consist, firstly, in making casings, cases, and boxes for
packing or other purposes, entire or in part of cork; also in making the
bottoms of and the divisions in baskets or hampers of cork, instead of basket
or wickerwork or other material; and also in covering or partly covering
The
bottles, jars, pots, and other articles of glass or earthenware with cork.
pieces of cork used for such purposes as above stated are joined together
and to the articles of which they have to form part by means of a cement or
other suitable adhesive preparation insoluble in water. Single pieces of cork

page_text: being generally too small for forming a side or bottom of a box or case, or
the bottom of a basket or hamper, two or more pieces are used for forming
such portions of a box or hamper. These pieces of cork are cut straight, and
perfectly even on the edges, which are then covered with cement, and joined
together. When the cement has set, these pieces are cut to the required
size and shape. The corners of such cases and other joints are formed in a
similar manner.
Boxes or cases made entirely of cork, I intend to be used
for various purposes, and more especially in place of wooden boxes or tubs for
plants and for bechives, and I can make such boxes of any desired shape or
form.
They are lighter, and less liable to rot or decay from damp or
moisture. Cork being also a bad conductor of heat is well suited for beehives.
Of the various modes for making hampers or baskets with cork bottoms, I
prefer the following:-I first cut the cork bottom to the required shape and
size, and then take the switches or sticks for forming the uprights, and dip
the ends into or otherwise cover them with cement, and then stick them into
holes made round the edge of the cork bottom at the required distances from
each other. When the cement has set, the basket itself is plaited or formed
on the uprights, and finished in the usual manner. Such bottoms are stronger
and wear better than basket or wicker work. I intend to use such baskets
more particularly for packing and conveying glass, earthenware, and similar
goods. Jars, pots, and other articles of glass and earthenware may be
entirely or partially covered with thin cork or cork veneer, but I intend
generally only to line such parts or portions thereof which in packing are
liable to come in contact with each other or with other hard objects. This
cork veneer is fixed to such jars or pots with cement.
My improvements relate, secondly, to wrappers, covers, casings, and
envelopes made of rushes, straw, or other suitable vegetable substance or
fibre for packing bottles, jars, pots, and such like articles, and the said
improvements consist partly in the peculiar manner of tying, binding, or
otherwise securing with twine, string, reed, or other material such rushes or
bundles, or strands of rushes, straw, or other substance, that they shall not
shift or move from their places, but form a matting over such bottles so as
effectually to cover and protect them in packing from contact with other
bottles or other objects. These improvements also consist in arranging
rushes, or strands of rushes or other material, so as not to require the same
quantity of material for covering smaller parts, such as the neck of a bottle,
as are necessary for covering the larger part or body of a bottle. I prefer to
make the various covers either over forms corresponding with the size and
shape of the bottles for which they are intended, or I arrange and secure them

page_text: together on a board or table fitted with pins or studs for holding the twine or
string.
In the accompanying Sheet of Drawings I have represented the various
modes I employ for making the covers.
Fig. 1 represents one of the wooden forms a, over which the cover is made.
The string b, which is tied round the form in two places, serves as foundation
to which the rushes c, c, are secured. A sufficient number of rushes are
then arranged round the form, and tied or secured by passing the string d
either over one or more of the rushes according to their size, and then passing
the string d under the foundation string b, and again over one or more of the
rushes till the form a is completely covered. If the cover is to be closed at
the top, the continuation of the string d is taken up to the top, and the rushes
securely tied. If prefered, the rushes may first be tied together at the top,
and then placed over the form, and tied to the foundation string. Fig. 2 is
a section through line 1-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents rushes spread out
on a table or board a. These boards may be made of various sizes, suitable
for forming matting for one, two, or more bottle covers in one piece, which
matting is then cut into proper sizes for the covers. There are three
different modes shown in this Figure for securing the rushes; at the
foundation string b is stretched over pins e, and the rushes or strands are
arranged upon it, and secured in the same manner as described with reference
to Fig. 1; at y only one string b is shown, which is passed with a needle
through the rushes, which are in this manner strung together into a mat;
at z the string b is shown as passing through the rushes in the same way, in
addition to which they are tied to it with the string d, as shown at z. Fig. 4
represents the forming of covers of strands of twisted straw in such a manner
that the number of strands used for the neck part of the cover is only half
or more or less than half of that used for the body, part. 'This board or
table a is fitted with pins f, 1, over which the strands or rope of straw c is
wound; the foundation string b is stretched over pins e, e, and the strands are
secured to it by the string d, d, as above described. Fig. 5 represents a
cover of the same description as in the preceding Figure, but formed of rushes
over a form, as in Fig. 1; Figs. 6 and 7 represent a mode of securing the
rushes without the use of string. The material for holding the rushes together
is made of an inferior kind of woven fabric, canvass, or wrapping g, mounted
on paper, see Fig. 5; or instead of the fabric being woven, the threads may
only go in one direction parallel to each other, see Fig. 6.
This paper-
mounted canvass may be made in large sheets, which are then cut into stripes
of the required width and length. I prefer the use of that material in which

page_text: the threads go only in one direction, because it can easily be torn lengthways
into stripes. The rushes c are attached to this fabric in the following
manner: The stripes are extended or spread on a board or table, and
coated with paste or other suitable adhesive substance, and the rushes c which
have previously been flattened by being passed through a pair of rollers, are
then placed edgeways, more or less close, across the stripes, upon the adhesive
substance to which they adhere. As in the covers described in reference to
Figs. 3 and 4 in the form of mats, the lengths or width of the mats are made
such as to completely pass round the bottles for which they are intended. The
mats made with string, when complete, have the two ends brought together,
which are then secured with the ends of string, and the mats made with the
paper-coated fabric are brought together in the same way, and the ends or
overlaps of the fabric projecting beyond the mats are pressed or smoothed
down over the other ends. I also form covers or casings partly tied with
string, and partly secured with the said stripes, and I also intend to use these
stripes for closing up and holding together the rushes, straw, or other material
round or over the necks of bottles. Ordinary bottles, as well as large jars or
pots may be covered by having strands of suitable material wound round them
in the form of a spiral, and I secure such coverings with string in the above-
described manner.
Covers or envelopes made of rushes or other material, and the apparatus
for manufacturing them, have been invented by me, and the said apparatus
patented by my son John Seithen, in his Patent, No. 1892, in the year 1854,
and a mode of weaving together straw or other material for forming covers
for bottles has been patented by John Barsham in his Patent, No. 488, in
the year 1856; but the manner of forming envelopes or covers as above
described, as shown in the annexed Sheet of Drawings, is new, and has
decided advantages over the covers described in the Specifications of the
Patents of the above-named John Seithen and John Barsham.
Having now described the nature of my said improvements, I wish it to
be understood that what I claim as of my Invention, to be secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the making or forming of cork cases or boxes, or parts of cases or
boxes, and bottoms for hampers and baskets, and also the lining or covering,
or partly lining or covering pots, jars, and other articles with cork, in the
manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
And, secondly, the manner of making boxes or envelopes for bottles, and
of binding, tying, and otherwise holding together and securing rushes, straw,
and other material used for making such covers in the manner herein-before

page_text: described, as shown in the Figs. 1 to 7 in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Anton Bruno Seithen, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
ANTON BRUNO SEITHEN. (L.S.)