Personal Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Caoutchouc or India-Rubber Manufacture in England by Thomas Hancock 1st Published 1857

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Personal Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Caoutchouc or India-Rubber Manufacture in England

by Thomas Hancock

PREFACE

In writing a personal narrative, it is impossible to escape the very disagreeable necessity of frequently repeating the pronoun I, - my readers must excuse this unavoidable egotism.

This humble relation is in no respect to be considered a treatise on Caoutchouc; it is simply an account of my own progress in the manufacture - feeling conscious that no one had preceded me in this path, or I should not have assumed as much in the Title-page.

This claim is not of recent date, as my Patents will show, and the notices of my manufactures from time to time in the "Mechanic's Magazine," established in 1823 by the late Mr. Robertson, who many years ago honoured me in that periodical with the title of "Father of this important and wonderfully increasing branch of the Arts."

Although duly appreciating the impermeability of Caoutchouc, it is its elastic property that is so valuable, - a property which no other substance possesses in the same degree or kind, and hitherto nothing has been discovered which would even be a substitute for it; and yet, though so unique in its character, it is not unfrequently applied to purposes where neither its impermeability nor elasticity are required. There are exceptions to every rule, and for some purposes rubber vulcanized to the hard horny state may be advantageously employed; but the article should be used in this form only for special purposes. There are other materials of a non-elastic nature in abundance, the comparative cheapness of which is the best safeguard against the perversion of so valuable a substance as rubber from its legitimate use, and which will secure it to the manufacturer at moderate cost for the uses for which, from its peculiar properties, it is so admirably adapted.

In Public discussions, the word Caoutchouc has been objected to, as being difficult to pronounce, and for that reason it should be called "Rubber." I have also adopted this name, which is, indeed, its ordinary one. I have inserted all the authentic statistical Tables I have been able to procure.

I have also subjoined a list of most of the articles we at present commonly manufacture, and a few engravings to illustrate some of them. I do so for the information of such of my readers who might not know the extent to which this manufacture has been carried, and also as a record of what has been done in our time for the amusement of those who are to succeed us.

In this place, as an act of justice to my late partner Mr. Macintosh, I may quote a passage from a memoir (printed for private circulation) by his son and successor in the firm - the late Mr. George Macintosh - as it furnishes a detail of the circumstances which led to his Invention of the Waterproof Double Textures, that made his name celebrated throughout the world :-

" Upon the introduction of coal gas in Britain for the purposes of lighting apartments, and the streets of towns and cities, the manufacturers of the article found that the tar and other liquid products resulting from the process accumulated upon their hands, in the shape of a most disagreeable and inconvenient nuisance. Mr. Macintosh, chiefly with the view to the production of ammonia to be employed in the manufacture of Cudbear, entered, in 1819, into a contract with the proprietors of the Glasgow gas works, to receive for a term of years the tar and ammoniacal water produced at their works. After the separation of the ammonia in the conversion of the tar into pitch, to suit the purposes of consumers, the essential oil termed naphtha is produced; and the thought occurred to him of its being possible to render this also useful, from its powers as a solvent of caoutchouc, or india rubber. By exposure to the action of the volatile oil termed naphtha, obtained from the coal tar, he converted this substance into a waterproof varnish, the thickness and consistency of which he could vary according to the quantity of naphtha which he employed in the process. Mr. Macintosh obtained a patent for this process in 1823, and established a manufactory of waterproof articles, which was, in the first instance, carried on at Glasgow; but eventually he formed a partnership concern with Messrs. Birley and other friends in Manchester, where operations on a very extensive scale were entered upon, and the business carried on under the firm of Charles Macintosh and Co."

I have taken considerable pains whilst writing my narrative to be correct in its facts, and to this end I have ransacked letters, papers, and books, and have also had recourse to old samples kept from time to time as memorials of my progress and success in the pursuit to which I have devoted myself. This search has brought to my remembrance much of the minutiae which occurred on different occasions, and under the varied circumstances, wherein I have been called on to act. After the lapse of thirty years, these had in many cases escaped my memory.

Although the task has been somewhat laborious, I do not regret having undertaken it; and if my reader is young, it may serve to stimulate and encourage him to find that, with very slender means and small beginnings, by care and industry, with the blessing of God, he may eventually hope to reap the reward of his exertions. To those who need no such encouragement, my narrative may prove interesting, as divulging the origin and progress of a new and useful manufacture. Such as it is, I present it to the public, hoping that, being the production of one little versed or skilled in an undertaking of this kind, the utmost indulgence will be extended to the author.

I wish to observe, that although there have been many new applications of Rubber and improvements in those which I have not thought it necessary to particularise, yet I believe there is no really new mode of manufacturing the substance itself beside those I have mentioned. If any such exists, it has not come under my notice.

THOMAS HANCOCK.

Stoke Newington,

21st November, 1856.

ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE INDIA- RUBBER MANUFACTURE IN ENGLAND

During the space of thirty six years in which I have been engaged in the manufacture of Caoutchouc or India-rubber, I have frequently had inquiries made both as to the motive which prompted me to commence my first experiments on this substance, and also the manner in which, during my progress, the valuable properties it possesses were developed and applied to so great a variety of purposes. These inquiries have by no means ceased, and I know of no way in which I can more readily reply to them than by carrying into execution a design I have long had in my mind of writing a simple narrative of things as they have occurred, as far as the failing memory of seventy years and the memoranda I may muster will permit me.

I have no very clear recollection when I first began to notice the peculiar qualities of India-

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rubber, but well remember that the more I thought about it and tested its properties, the more I became surprised that a substance possessing such peculiar qualities should have remained so long neglected, and that the only use of it should be that of rubbing out pencil marks. I had spent my earlier days in mechanical pursuits, and was well acquainted with the materials generally employed therein, and also with the use of tools, so far as to enable me to make with my own hands almost any kind of machinery required to carry out my views; but of chemical knowledge I had almost none. I premise this because it will be seen in the course of my narrative, that, although the substance I was contemplating apparently required to be treated chemically, I owe my success principally 'to the practical knowledge and the degree of skill I had acquired in mechanical manipulation, which proved eventually to be the best preparation I could have had for operating upon rubber; and it is a singular fact that, although this substance had attracted the notice of chemists from the earliest date of its importation into Europe, and some of the ablest had employed themselves upon it, they failed to discover any means of manufacturing it into solid masses or to facilitate its solution. I was at first imbued with the notion that, to make it useful, I must find a good solvent; and I think my first experiments were directed to some attempts to dissolve it in oil of turpentine, but I found I could only make very thin solutions, and these dried so badly, or rather not at all, that they were

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useless. The oil of turpentine then procurable was no doubt of inferior quality; when pure, it dries perfectly. This was about the year 1819. Failing in making useful solutions, I began to think it might be applied as an elastic to various purposes particularly to articles of wearing apparel. I knew that, although perfectly flexible and extremely elastic when warm, it became rigid when exposed to a low temperature, but still that the warmth of the body was sufficient; consequently, when in use, it retained its elasticity. After various trials, I entertained no doubt that I could adapt it to many uses where elasticity was desirable.

My first patent was dated the 29th April, 1820, "For an improvement in the application of a certain material to various articles of dress and other articles, that the same may be rendered more elastic." The specification of this patent was settled by Mr Bolland, then at the bar, afterwards Baron Bolland, and will be found in the Appendix. I will therefore only mention here some of the purposes enumerated therein: to the wrists of gloves, to waistcoat backs and wristbands; to

pockets, to prevent their being picked; to trouser and gaiter straps, to braces, to stockings and garters, to riding-belts, to stays; to boots, shoes, clogs, and pattens, when the object is to put them on and off without lacing or tying; to the soles of shoes and boots, &c. &c.

When I began to carry my inventions into practice I found some unexpected difficulties. The

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India rubber springs must of course be attached in some way to the article to be elasticated, and women were set to work to sew them in with needle and thread; but after they had been a short time in use I found the holes made by the needle so many tearing-places, and also that if a needle was passed through any part of the rubber It endangered a fracture. To remedy this in some measure, I made the ends of the springs much thicker and wider than the central parts, so that the weaker part yielded its elasticity sufficiently without bringing much strain upon the thick ends, where the punctures of the needle were made. But the necessity for this form of spring brought other difficulties: instead of cutting in straight lines, each spring had to be hollowed out, tapering on both sides and both edges, and contrivances had to be adopted for this purpose. The needle-holes did not then tear out. I soon found that the knives and cutting tools required to be kept wet with water. These springs, however, had not long been in use before they were returned in numbers broken. By pulling out new springs smartly and allowing them to return quickly, I observed, after a time, that the angles became finely serrated like a saw, and each nick increased in size as I followed up the operation, until the spring snapped in two. This appeared to be a very formidable obstacle to success as regarded springs, but was soon overcome, for I observed that some of the new springs were, and some were not, affected in this way; and on tracing back the steps that had been taken

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with the two kinds, I found that those springs on which I had used boiling water, after they were cut, did not crack on the edges; and I had no farther trouble on this score, always taking care in all future cases, when edges were freshly cut, to give them a hot bath.

This discovery was of great value to me, as furnishing the fact, at this early period, of the great importance of employing heat in treating this substance, as will be seen throughout the progress of its future manufacture. At the period of which I am speaking, there was brought into this country a certain proportion of small thin bottles of rubber; these I selected, and cut them into rings. The rings, requiring no sewing, were used chiefly for the wrists of gloves; they had the hot bath, and were then passed on to the glove, and a strip of thin leather sewed over them, so that they were in a kind of pipe. Springs were put into stockings in the same way; both the stocking or glove and spring being kept to their utmost tension, whilst the leather slip, or tape, or ribbon, was stitched on, and the rubber, when set at liberty and warmed, gathered up the whole by its resilient action. It will be seen by referring to the specification the extent to which this patent has been applied; and although there have been great improvements made since in these applications (as will be seen hereafter), yet the principle is the same - that is, the acquiring of any degree of elasticity by means of a soft flexible substance in articles of dress,

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which before was only to be acquired by means of hard springs of steel or wire.

I also applied rubber to the soles of shoes and boots both externally and internally, which rendered them both elastic and waterproof; but this was done at first with only such rubber as I found thin enough amongst the raw material, and this I flattened by heat and pressure.

It was not long before the waste cuttings of the rubber began to accumulate fast; and with the then scanty supply in the market, particularly of the kind fit for my use, I foresaw that I should soon be at a loss for suitable material, unless I could find some means of working up the waste, and I at length resolved upon attempting it. I remember that, in my experiments about this time, I employed a Papin's digester, such as is used for culinary purposes, but the only result that I recollect was the production of a thick fluid of the appearance of treacle: I could, however, make little or no use of it.

I had observed that when pieces with fresh-cut edges had been long in the hot bath, and then dried, they would perfectly unite; but the outer surfaces, which had been exposed, would not unite, however clean, or however heated or pressed. This was the more perplexing, as the rubber came to this country in irregular shapes and forms, rendering almost impossible, at any reasonable cost, the paring of the surfaces. However, I resolved to make a beginning (for the want of which beginning we often fail of things within our reach). My

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first step was to procure a hollow punch one inch square; with this I punched out squares of rubber. I chose this small size that I might waste the less in facing them. In the meantime I got an iron mould made of the size of the squares: into this mould, ,which was perfectly true inside, I had a plunger fitted at each end, and, putting the surfaced squares into the mould and then the plungers, I submitted them to severe pressure in boiling water. On withdrawing my charge, I discovered that air had got between some of the surfaces and prevented a perfect union, but others were quite perfect. I now found that I could thus obtain solid blocks, four or five inches long. and one inch square, and true in form. This was a grand move, as it enabled me to make another step in advance, namely, to cut from the surface of the end of the blocks sheets of any thickness. This I did by means of a circular knife in a lathe, the block being confined in a trough, having a screw at the end which would by a turn bring up the block to the knife in succession as the sheets were cut off, the trough and block being carried past the knife by a slide motion: the knife working in water, and having a keen edge, I cut off sheets exceedingly thin and smooth, well suited to some of my purposes. I have a good part of one of these blocks now before me.

Although I had thus advanced one step in forming solid blocks, still this could only be done with the thickest and best of the bottle-rubber; and did

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not aid me at all in using up my waste cuttings. Finding that fresh-cut surfaces united so perfectly, I began to consider how I could improve upon this knowledge in uniting smaller pieces; and it occurred to me that, if minced up very small, the amount of fresh-cut surface would be greatly increased, and by heat and pressure might possibly unite sufficiently for some purposes. I accordingly put this plan into operation; but although I spent much time and took great pains to bring about a good result, I could not succeed to any useful extent. The uncut surfaces, however small, would not unite either to each other, or to a cut surface, so that the mass easily separated, and I was obliged to abandon this mode.

These discouragements were for a time very vexatious, as my means were but slender. Although I was making way, I could perceive that unless some mode could be found to unite not only the waste cuttings, but also a large proportion of the material as imported (which was so uncouth in form, and irregular in surface and size, that it could at present be turned to no useful account), my object would not be attained. My mind being solely directed to this subject, I saw the prospect of new applications to an enormous extent of a substance with the properties of which I was daily becoming more and more conversant. I did not give up the pursuit: the object I had in view seemed within my reach by what I had already done, but the object itself I could not yet grasp. Revolving in my mind the readiness with which

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newly cut surfaces , would unite, I thought that a tearing action might do better than simply cutting. This could only be done by a machine, and I accordingly constructed a small experimental one, such as I thought most likely to effect the tearing of the rubber into small shreds. I can best describe this by a sectional sketch. (It is given in perspective, with the large masticator.)

A A, two pieces of wood bolted together.

B, a hollow cylinder cut out of A A, and studded with teeth.

C, a cylinder of wood studded with teeth, and having a spindle passed through it.

D, space between the two cylinders B and C.

E, an opening with a cover.

F F, two pieces of wood bolted on both sides of A A, and enclosing the space D, and cylinder C.

G, a winch.

The darkened spot in space D represents the charge of rubber.

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At the top of the hollow cylinder is an opening, into which was put some hot rubber: when closed, the cylinder C was put in motion by the winch G. The rubber being now dragged in, and the motion continued, the teeth began to operate, and it soon became evident that some action was going on inside that I had not reckoned upon as much greater power became necessary to turn the winch. After turning some time, the hole at the top of the hollow cylinder was opened, and presently, to my great surprise, came out a round solid ball. This ball, when cut open, presented a marbled or grained appearance; the union of the pieces was complete; the graining exhibited the pieces curiously joined together, the exterior surface of them having been acted upon so as apparently to alter their condition, whilst the interior portion of the pieces seemed to be in the same condition as when put in. The ball was replaced and the action was continued for a long time, and when taken out again it had become very hot; and on cutting it open all the graining had disappeared; the whole had become a solid homogeneous mass. This operation was repeated until my experimental machine, constructed chiefly of wood, would no longer hold together, and I lost no time in applying to Messrs. Hague and Topham, the engineers, to make a proper working apparatus upon the same principle. With my experimental machine I could not operate on more than about two ounces of rubber for a charge, and I found this quantity required nearly

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the power of one man to work it. I therefore calculated the capacity of my new machine for one pound, and, in order to enable one man still to act upon it, I had the speed reduced by one-half by spur-wheel gearing. I had it made very strong, as I found the charge might be increased to any amount that the space between the cylinders would admit, provided sufficient power was applied to give motion to the cylinder. Experience taught me afterwards that, with a smaller charge and increased speed, I could produce the same effect; in other words the result depended entirely upon the amount of motive power employed, and whether fast or slow.

Whilst this machine was being made, I reflected on the effect produced on the rubber by this singular operation. I observed that if the rubber ,was put into the machine hot and dry, the effect was only thereby hastened a little; for, if put in cold, it soon became heated: nor was it of much importance whether the pieces of  rubber were larger or smaller, so that they were dry. The pieces soon began to unite; and presently all were worked up into a rough uncouth shape; but by continuing the action, the roughness and deformity gradually disappeared, until at length the mass assumed a regular spherical form, the exterior merely showing the indentations made by the teeth.

I deduced from these facts that the union and consolidation of scraps, cuttings, bottles, shoes, or lumps of rubber, promiscuously thrown into this

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machine, was due to the combined action of heat and motion under severe pressure: when a heavy charge is operated on, the heat it acquires is very surprising. I have since found, on cutting a heavy charge open and closing it upon the bulb of a thermometer, that the temperature reached 280° Fahr., and this heat could only be due to the motion of the machine and the action of the rubber upon itself during the transition state, as the same resulting temperature was attained when the rubber was put in cold and the machine also cold.

My new machine was at length delivered, and I found my calculation correct; a man could just manage to keep up the action of the cylinder with a pound charge of rubber in it. The machine wrougnt the charge into a cylindrical form, which it assumed in a very short time, and then evidently revolved upon its own axis around the solid cylinder: the charge came out, I think, about seven inches long, and one inch and a quarter in diameter. I had now at command the means of reducing all kinds of rubber, whatever size or form the original pieces might be, to a solid mass, without any foreign admixture, or the use of any solvent, or having recourse to any chemical process, the effect being produced solely by a mechanical action on the rubber itself disturbing the original structure of. the substance and recomposing it, without materially altering its peculiar qualities, or unfitting it for any of the purposes

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to which it could be applied in its naturally constituted state.

I wish here to remark that the discovery of this process was unquestionably the origin and com-mencement of the india-rubber manufacture, properly so called: nothing that had been done before had amounted to a manufacture of this substance, but cons:isted merely in experimental attempts to dissolve it; and even this had never yet been effected for any useful purposes. These experiments and the results produced occurred during the summer of 1820.

The manufacturing of promiscuous forms of the raw material into solid masses and combinations without the use of solvents, now called masticating, has been from time to time adopted by others, and even introduced into specifications without the least acknowledgment, and not unfrequently quoted from these into scientific works, as if originated by the parties who had taken this liberty and adopted it as if it were their own.

I have mentioned that the new machine produced the rubber in a cylindrical form; but this form did not suit me, and I then had recourse to an iron mould, which would exactly contain one charge of the machine; and as the charge immediately on removal was in a semi-plastic state, pressure quickly applied caused it to conform to the shape and size of the mould. I have preserved one of these first small blocks as a curiosity; it is now lying before me; it was the produce of a

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very small charge, and measures six inches long, one and a half inch wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick. Although I could cut some of my elastics and other things from these small blocks, yet I soon found it necessary to increase their size; and whilst a larger machine was being constructed I had moulds made of sufficient capacity to contain four of the largest charges the present machine would produce, and, putting them together into the mould whilst hot, they united perfectly, and gave me a block four times larger.

I remember at that time, when exhibiting a piece of my solid rubber to an old gentleman, he examined it, and on returning it made this remark (which bids fair to be realised): " The child is yet unborn 'who will see the end of that."

In the place I then occupied I could only employ manual labour; my second new machine was calculated for the power of two men, and by uniting four charges' of this machine I obtained blocks of considerable size; but the demand increasing, I found it necessary in the following year, 1821, to move into larger premises in Goswell Mews, Goswell Road, London. Here I had a horse-mill put up, and connected the power not, only to larger machines, but also to iron rollers, which I now found very useful; as, by passing the raw rubber through them several times when hot, it formed itself into a kind of rough corrugated sheet, which not only brought it into a good state of preparation for the machine, but greatly facilitated the drying.

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- a process which became more and more necessary, as I made purchases of newly imported rubber, and therefore frequently in a moist state.

I think my blocks now amounted to fourteen or fifteen pounds each, and all the operations could be carried through with certainty and despatch. I must not omit to state here that, all through these operations, heat was indispensable; and, when it became necessary (as it soon did) to hasten the production, it was found of great advantage to expose the rubber before it entered the machine to as high a temperature as could be safely adopted. To carry this work out, I had a brick oven built, and employed a regular baker to attend it. The rubber was placed in earthern pans, and he was directed to keep his oven at such a heat as would make the rubber as hot as possible without melting it: and this he did with tolerable accuracy, judging of the temperature by modes at that time used by bakers, to which he adhered; but as he did not use a thermometer, I cannot now give the degree of heat.

I have no doubt it was sometimes as high as 300°. This mode of heating was followed until, in 1822, I began to heat the rubber in metal vessels surrounded by high-pressure steam. During the process of mastication I sometimes introduced colouring matters : they combined perfectly with the rubber: the colours were not very good, as the dark colour of the rubber injured them.

As I took no patent for my process, it was of course an object with me to keep it secret. I

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pledged my men to this, and treated them well; and they in return kept faith with me, and, in order to disguise the matter as much as possible, the machine was called "a pickle," and retained that name long after the secret became public: it has since been called a masticator or masticating machine. this name having now become common, I shall hereafter use that designation. Whilst on this subject, I may just mention that I kept this process perfectly secret for twelve or thirteen years, that is till about the year 1832.

I believe I may now dismiss the description of the masticator with this remark, that no alteration has been made in the principle of its construction or use, except the omission of teeth in the hollow cylinder, as it was soon found that the mass would revolve without them. Of course the dimensions have, step by step, undergone great changes. The first charge ever produced did not exceed two ounces; and the masticators now in use at our works in Manchester are charged with from 180 to 200 pounds each; and the blocks resulting, without joining, are six feet long, twelve or thirteen inches wide, and about seven inches thick.

At first, in 1820, some of the blocks were cut into springs, and used for other purposes of my patent, but very soon after into square pieces, and sold by stationers for rubbing out pencil marks, much of the present form and size. In a short time it became obvious that the blocks might easily be cut into sheets and used for a variety of purposes; and

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to effect this object, a simple machine was constructed. It consisted of a wooden box of the size of the largest blocks I then could make, probably about eight inches long, four wide, and three thick. This box had a movable bottom, which was raised or depressed by four long screws, acting in the fixed bottom of the box; the upper ends of the screws, having a shoulder, were made to act in metal holes, on the lower side of the movable bottom; on the upper edge of the sides of the box, smooth steel plates were attached. When the machine was to be brought into operation, the screws were drawn quite down, followed by the movable bottom, and the block of rubber with its sides well soaped, was put into the box and pressed down upon it; the screws, having cross handles at the lower end, were then equally turned until the block of rubber rose a little above the steel plates on the upper edges of the box; a strong, straight knife with a keen edge, kept wet by water dripping upon it, was then inserted at the right-hand end, and by a steady cutting and thrusting motion passed through the block to the other end. This first cut took off the rough surface, and this was continued until a smooth, solid surface was obtained; then followed the cutting of sheets by giving each of the screws as many turns as were necessary to raise the block above the surface of the steel plates to the thickness of the sheet required; and then repeating the operation with the knife, a beautiful clear sheet of rubber was

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produced, and could by this machine be cut so thin as to be semi-transparent. The sheets when warm could be joined edge to edge with great facility; and large sheets were made in that way.

During the early part of 1822, a person who had a patent for uniting two pieces of young cork together, with the intention of producing an article more free from the perforations in ordinary cork, applied to me to cover with rubber so much of the cork as projected above the neck of the bottle, to preserve the cement with which they were united from the effects of mildew.  I mention this as one of the first applications of the cut sheet rubber, and as having been the cause of turning my attention again to discover some practical mode of producing a useful solution of rubber to effect the capping of these corks; and I was agreeably surprised to find that my manufactured sheet rubber yielded to good oil of turpentine with the greatest facility. I found, however, on applying it to the corks, that, although the solution dried perfectly, the corks, when covered with it, and afterwards brought in contact, would unite together: this adhesive character of the solution ,when dry afterwards became of great value, not only for these corks, but in a great variety of ways, and continues so to this day. I ultimately applied the cut sheet rubber to the capping of the corks; and as this was done in a novel manner, I wish to show how gradually the qualities and uses of rubber became developed,

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and the step-by-step progress that was first made in adapting it to practical purposes. A great number of boys were employed about this work, but I will proceed to describe it in the person of one. He had a small kind of lathe, with multiplying gear, turned by his left hand; there was a taper hollow chuck to the lathe, of the size to receive corks of the varying diameters; he had also a small rest for his hand, and a small pot of rubber solution (now called varnish); he put the cork into the chuck, and slightly adjusted it; and then, dipping his brush in the rubber-varnish, he laid it on the cork at the proper distance onwards from the end, and turning the lathe, the intended portion of the side of the cork, and its end was covered. When dry, it was ready for the sheet capping, which was effected in the following manner: - The pieces of sheet rubber employed were about an inch square, and something less than one sixteenth of an inch thick; these were laid on a flat tin vessel heated by steam; the boy had a contrivance, fixed to his bench, which held the cork with the varnished end upwards; the whole turning on a pivot, so that the cork could be turned round. The cork being so placed, the boy took the square of rubber hot from the tin vessel, and dexterously and quickly extending it in all directions with his fingers, until he more than doubled its dimensions, clapped it in an instant on the top of the cork, and pulling it down over the sides of the cork, at the same

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moment twirling it round between his hands, the cap was secured to the cork as far as he had before laid on the varnish; then passing a knife sharply round, the superfluous sheet flew off, leaving the cork beautifully covered with a neat rubber cap.

I have mentioned that I had found solutions of rubber of considerable consistence could be made with the manufactured rubber with great facility; this I attribute to its having undergone a previous disintegration in the masticator, whereby it is also somewhat softened, admitting a more ready penetration (if I may use that expression) by the solvent; at all events, it is a fact that masticated rubber dissolves freely.

Finding that pitch and tar could be readily combined with rubber, in the course of 1823 I obtained a patent for these compounds. I at first mixed the tar with stiff solutions of rubber, and the pitch likewise, by melting the latter, and treating the compound with heat, both during the mixing and when using it ; and these are the modes stated in my specification of that patent inserted in the Appendix. I afterwards found in practice that pitch would combine readily with rubber in the masticator, and thus save the cost of solvent. This compound was made of different proportions of the materials; the two most useful being equal weights of each, or one of rubber to two of pitch. It was necessary to use water in the masticator to prevent adhesion to the cylinder. The facility with which these substances

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combine, and the prodigious increase in bulk whilst hot, were surprising.

These compounds were spread by means of hot iron rollers, and a wet cloth passed with the compound rubber between the rollers. I thus obtained a smooth sheet of equal substance throughout, and of any required thickness. Mr. Cassell of Poplar, who supplied me with coal naphtha, was at this time applying coal tar asphalte of different degrees of hardness to road-making and other purposes; and I obtained from him samples of this material, which I combined with the rubber in the masticator, as I had done the vegetable Stockholm pitch, but I found the latter to combine more readily, and generally preferred it. Claims have recently been made to these compounds of rubber, pitch, and asphalte, but they are not only included in this patent, but also in my patent of 1843.

Sheets of this compound were applied extensively to the sheathing of ships' bottoms, under the copper, as a protection against the destructive ravages of worms, which do immense damage to the timbers in some waters; and for which sheets of tarred felt had hitherto been used.  I remember that in some instances sulphur, cow's-hair, and other things, were mixed with the compounds of rubber and pitch used for this purpose, as substances likely to repel the worms; these compound sheets were submitted to pressure between hot plates. The first vessel sheathed with the sheets was the yacht of the first Sir W. Curtis, and the second was the Kinnersley

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Castle. The specification of this patent was settled in consultation by Sir John Copley, the present Lord Lyndhurst, and duly enrolled. I subsequently parted with this patent to my late brother Walter Hancock, and others, who, after making great improvements in the mode of expediting the production, and sheathing a great number of ships, got into litigation amongst themselves, and the business ceased.

In the year 1823, one of my late partners, Mr. Charles Macintosh of Glasgow, obtained a patent for rendering two fabrics waterproof, uniting them with a solution of rubber; hence they were called "waterproof double textures," and afterwards came to be universally known by the name of "Macintoshes."

Early in the year 1825, I obtained a license from Mr. Macintosh for the use of his patent; he had also entered into engagements with parties in Manchester to carry out his plans, and a large building, with machinery, was erected there for the purpose.  Mr. Macintosh manufactured the varnish at Glasgow, where he also manufactured the coal naphtha which he used as the solvent of the rubber. I had from the commencement some advantage over the firm at Manchester; inasmuch as my concern was not only already in operation, but was also on a more limited scale, and therefore could be pushed on with greater despatch. At length, however, the two concerns were moving, each in its sphere. Mr. Macintosh's solutions were very thin

23

and therefore penetrated more into the textures; and consequently the odour of the naphtha was not only very prevalent when they left the works, but they also retained this strong odour for a very long time. In this respect I had a decided advantage. I employed for my solvent equal parts of naphtha, and very pure oil of turpentine, which greatly mitigated the smell of the goods. But I had another and still greater advantage, inasmuch as my solutions were made with masticated rubber, and consequently with less than one half the proportion of solvent which Mr. Macintosh found it necessary to employ in the process by which his solutions were made. Knowing this to be the case, I wrote to Mr. Macintosh, and offered to supply Messrs. Macintosh and Co. with my solution; but this offer was at that time declined. In the meantime these fabrics were quietly becoming known to the public, and the goods were taken up nearly as fast as we could respectively produce them.

The late lamented Captain John Franklin (after-wards Sir John Franklin), in a letter to Mr. Macintosh dated 30th April, 1824, after acknowledging the receipt of a large quantity of waterproof canvas for covering boats, &c., says, "Will you also make up four life preservers of a size for stout men, and eighteen bags about six feet long, and three broad, fitted with corks for filling with air for the party to sleep on, and four for pillows of the size of the one you gave me." I insert this

24

extract to show how early these waterproof double textures were appreciated, and the application of the material to air-beds, pillows, and life-preservers.

With the view of keeping up something like a chronological order in my narrative, I will for the present leave the double textures, and resume the subject of the progress made with my first patent of 1820.  It will be remembered that, in applying the rubber springs, considerable difficulty was experienced in attaching them securely to the articles to which they were otherwise so well adapted. This difficulty was now entirely removed. The facility with which solutions could be made of a consistence suitable to the purposes of a cement suggested a new mode of making elastics, which has continued in use to the present time. In order to illustrate this new mode, I will take the instance of a glove. The glove was turned inside out, and a plate of tin thrust into the top of it, of such a size as to stretch the glove to its greatest width; a coat of solution was then laid either on one side of the glove or all round it, but generally on one side only, about half an inch wide, and then laid aside to dry. As soon as a sufficient number were done to admit of the first glove becoming dry, it was then ready for the next operation. A small light wooden frame was prepared about a foot long, having a piece of tin attached to each end; these pieces had very narrow slits cut in them, about an eighth of an inch apart; the rubber spring, now called rubber thread, cut to a proper size and length, and taken

25

from a hot plate, was stretched the whole length of the frame, and the ends entered into the slits; for gloves there were generally three threads used. Three or four gloves in the position before described ,were laid side by side, and the extended threads in the frame placed on the prepared part of the glove, and pressed down upon them: a slip of kid leather or silk cut diagonally (to admit of its more ready contraction) coated with solution was then placed over the threads, and rubbed down. The threads were then cut off at each end, when the tins being taken out of the gloves, the resilient action of the rubber immediately contracted the glove to nearly its original size, neatly corrugating the leather. This was a great improvement, as no sewing whatever was necessary, and the top of the glove rendered perfectly elastic, so as to admit the hand with ease, and then contract to the size of the wrist. An immense quantity of gloves were thus elasticated until another improvement was introduced some years after, of which more anon. By this mode a great number of articles were rendered elastic: such as garters, braces, trouser- straps, shoe gussets, waist-bands, knee-caps, bands, and for a variety of surgical and other purposes. This was the origin of what has since been called "shurred" or corrugated goods; some of the manufacturers following precisely this mode, others have introduced machinery, but all their goods are made on the same principle.

The application of the thick solution enabled me

26

to render the leather used for the soles of shoes and boots perfectly waterproof. This was done by coating the leather first with solution, and applying when warm a thin sheet of the rubber, cut from the masticated blocks. Upper leathers of shoes and boots were also rendered waterproof by a novel mode of operation. I have before mentioned that these solutions continued adhesive after they were perfectly dry. Adhesiveness of the surface was in this case objectionable, and it was remedied thus. The leather was coated with solution, and laid aside to dry; a piece of the sheet rubber cut from blocks, and about four or five inches square, was laid on a hot plate; a piece of tin of the required size, say nine or ten inches square, with the edges turned down all round and serrated, was fastened to a block of wood about one inch smaller all round than the tin; the sheet rubber was then taken from the hot plate and stretched out skilfully with the hand, and brought over the serrated edge of one side of the tin, and then carefully stretched over the other three sides, the serrated part holding the sheet in its extended state, whilst the leather, coated with solution, was laid on and well rubbed down; the edges of the rubber were then cut round, liberating the leather, covered with a beautiful, thin, smooth, unadhesive film of undissolved rubber. Both upper leathers, quarters, and soles were thus done in considerable quantities.

Drawing masters and others using black-lead pencils approved highly of the neat square blocks

27

cut from the masticated rubber, and the quantities in demand for this purpose constantly increased; they are still supplied to a large extent. Pieces, blocks, and forms of much larger dimensions, began to be inquired for, and made for purposes with which I was not made acquainted. The edges of wheels and the surfaces of rollers and cylinders were also covered with rubber of various thicknesses for machinists. The billiard-table makers also applied for long, evenly cut pieces to form the cushions of their tables, which were successfully applied, and have continued to be used for that purpose (with modifications) ever since, to the exclusion of all others. In the early part of 1822, I began to make tubing of the cut sheet rubber, and afterwards with alternate plies of cloth coated with solution; some also were covered with leather, velvet, &c. I had forgotten many of these things till I had recourse to my books and memoranda; many of which, on making search, I have unexpectedly found, with specimens made at the time, also preserved.

In the course of my early progress, I found that some of the rubber I employed was very quickly decomposed when exposed to the sun. As the heat was never more than about 90°, and rubber when exposed to artificial heat of a much higher temperature was not injured by it, I suspected that light had some effect in producing this mischief. To ascertain this I cut two squares from a piece of white rubber; one of these I coloured black, and

28

exposed the two to the sun's rays; in a short time the piece that had been left white wasted away, and the sharp angles disappeared, and it assumed the shape of a piece of soap that has been some time in use; the blackened piece was not at all altered or affected. The lesson taught me by this experiment was of great value ever after.

The following extract will show how early the masticated cut sheet rubber came under the notice of scientific persons. The sheets were supplied to Professor Faraday.

THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, LITERATURE,

AND THE FINE ARTS. Edited at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, vol. xvii. Lond. 1824: p. 364. No. XXXIV.:-

" Mr. T. Hancock has succeeded, by some process the results of long investigation, but which he has not published, in working caoutchouc with great facility and readiness. It is cast, as we understand, into large ingots or cakes, and being cut with a wet knife into leaves or sheets about one-eighth or one-tenth of an inch in thickness, can be applied to almost any purpose for which the properties of the material render it fit. The caoutchouc thus prepared is more flexible and adhesive than that which is generally found in the shops, and is worked with singular facility. Recent sections, made with a sharp knife or scissors, when brought together and prepared, adhere so firmly as to resist rupture as strongly as any other part, so that if two sheets be laid together and cut round,

29

the mere act of cutting joins the edges, and a little pressure on them makes a perfect bag of one piece of substance. The adhesion of the substance in those parts where it is not required is entirely prevented by rubbing them with a little flour or other substance in fine powder. In this way flexible tubes, catheters, &c. are prepared; the tubes, being intended for experiments on gases, and where occasion might require they should sustain considerable internal pressure, are made double, and have a piece of twine twisted spirally round between the two. This, therefore, is imbedded in the caoutchouc, and at the same time that it allows of any extension in the length of the tube, prevents it expanding laterally.

"The caoutchouc is, in this state, exceedingly elastic. Bags made of it, as before described, have been expanded by having air forced into them, until the caoutchouc was quite transparent, and when expanded by hydrogen they were so light as to form balloons with considerable ascending power, but the hydrogen gradually escaped, perhaps through the pores of this thin film of caoutchouc. On expanding the bags in this way, the junctions yielded like the other parts, and ultimately almost disappeared.

" When cut thin or when extended, this substance forms excellent washers or collars for stop-cocks; very little pressure being sufficient to render them perfectly tight. Leather has also been coated on one surface with the caoutchouc, and, without being

30

at all adhesive, or having any particular odour, is perfectly watertight.

"Before caoutchouc was thus worked it was often observed how many uses it might in such a case be applied to; now that it is so worked, it is surprising how few the cases are in which persons are induced to use it. Even for bougies and catheters it does not come into use, although one would suppose that the material was eminently fitted for the construction of those instruments."

I must now enter upon quite a new era in the manufacture of rubber. In the month of May, 1824, I received from Central America (I believe Guatamala) a considerable quantity of this substance in the pure liquid state as drawn from the trees; it came in vessels formed of two or three joints of the larger kind of cane, four or five inches in diameter, with a small hole at the end securely stopped. This liquid was of the consistence of thick cream, and of exactly the same colour, so that in appearance it might have been taken to be cream. I found that when the moisture was evaporated from it by exposure to the atmosphere, the residue was pure rubber of the finest quality, but it had lost more than one half its weight, when in the liquid state. I made many experiments with it, and found little difficulty in applying it to various useful purposes, and obtained a patent for one of these objects, which was sealed on the 29th Nov., 1824. I was assisted in writing this specifi-

31

cation by the late Mr. Bryan Donkin, C.E., and it was afterwards settled in consultation by Mr. Frederick Pollock, the present Lord Chief Baron, and duly enrolled, and will be found in the Appendix.

The principal feature in this patent is the manufacture of a kind of artificial leather, which was produced by saturating felt, carded cotton wool, and hair, and in combining other fibrous sub- stances, such as hemp and flax, with the liquid rubber, and when dry submitting the whole to pressure: by these means a very strong, tough, and useful material could be made, very much of the appearance of real leather, and of various degrees of quality, some suitable for rough purposes, such as soles of shoes, hose-pipes, straps, harness, &c., and others very thin, soft, and flexible, and of every variety of colour, all of them having this advantage over real leather, in being more or less waterproof according to the quantity of liquid rubber employed in more closely or loosely uniting the fibres. The surface when exposed to the atmosphere lost its adhesiveness; and as colouring matters could be freely mixed with the liquid, the external surface of the articles could be treated, with such coloured liquid so as to cover the fibres, and leave a smooth face of any required colour. The liquid when dry became of a dark colour, but when necessary the colouring matter could be removed by repeated washings in clear water: the colouring matter subsided with the water, when

32

the clear liquid floating on the top could be drawn off: this washing could be carried on until the resulting clear liquid rubber, when dried, was colourless, and rendered fit to receive any delicate tint.

Some authors have stated that the natives, when making articles from this liquid, suspend them over the smoke of some particular vegetable for the purpose of drying them, and that this smoking produces the dark colour. From such experience as I have had, I am inclined to doubt whether the colour is so acquired. I found that the liquid when used in its unwashed and primitive state always became gradually of a dark colour whilst drying, and that by exposure to the sun and atmosphere the surface acquired that beautiful soft feel peculiar to a well-finished native article. I have always considered the dark colouring matter it contains to be a kind of natural protection against the effects of light, as I found when deprived of this colouring matter by washing that it speedily became decomposed by the ordinary light of my room. When the first coating has become dry I have found that a succeeding coat would not very readily spread itself equally on the previous surface (as if it were greasy), and I am inclined to think that the smoking alluded to is employed to dry the liquid, and partly to promote a more ready and equal flowing and adhesion of the succeeding coat.

In the following year, 1825, I obtained a patent

33

for other modes of manufacturing artificial leather, in which I employed a solution of rubber instead of the liquid of the former patent, for combining fibrous substances in their manufactured or unmanufactured state, such as, wool, silk, cotton, hemp, flax, or hair, carded, hackled, or felted.

A fleece of carded cotton was brought from the carding engine upon a piece of cotton-cloth previously coated with rubber solution before it was quite dry, and then another cloth similarly coated was laid upon the fleece of cotton; the whole was then submitted to pressure so as to force the carded cotton through the solution, which united the fibres into a sheet. The cloth, if previously sized, could be stripped off, and the compound passed between heated rollers, producing a thin paper-like material. Any number could be united into one sheet, of any thickness or length. This principle of uniting fibrous substances by means of a solution of rubber has served as the groundwork of several patents wherein the invention is claimed as new; but they contain only modifications and mechanical contrivances; the principle is the same. I also united as many plies of cotton, linen, or woollen cloth together as would make up the thickness I required. I also introduced into the solution, for some of the most common purposes, black resin, size, glue, ochre, powdered pumice, whiting, &c. That made of a number of plies of cloth was used during this year, 1825, for the backs of cards in carding machines, instead of

34

leather, and has been found to answer the purpose so satisfactorily that it is now very extensively employed in preference to leather: the advantage being that, as great lengths are required, this material can be made of any length without joining, whereas leather can only be had of the length of the skin or hide. Uniformity of thickness is also essential, and leather requires skilful manipulation and great labour to accomplish this: nor is uniformity of texture and elasticity of less importance. All these conditions are met in this artificial leather. This article is also used extensively as printer's blankets in calico-printing. I also made in this manner very strong straps for driving machinery, and furnished one of the first to the late Sir Isambert Brunel, for his engine, when sinking the shaft for the Thames Tunnel. Such straps have continued ever since, and are still, much used. It was also during this year that I began to make deckle straps for paper-machines, suggested by Mr. Bryan Donkin, C. E.; and these also continue to be em- ployed for that purpose.

In this same year, 1825, I took out another patent for employing the liquid rubber in the manufacture of ropes and cordage, and other similar articles, with the view of rendering them waterproof. I proposed to use the liquid rubber in the same manner as is commonly practised with tar.

I insert another extract from the Journal of Science, for the purpose of giving to my readers the analysis of pure caoutchouc.

35

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, Vol. XXI. pp. 130, 131.

Proceedings of the Royal Institution, London,

February 3rd, 1826.

"The members held their first weekly meeting at half-past eight o'clock. In the lecture-room were exhibited a great variety of specimens of caoutchouc or elastic gum in all its states, from the uncoagulated crude sap of the tree to that of perfect purity and aggregation, and also as united to various fabrics, producing a variety of strong, flexible, and perfectly water-tight materials, some being of extreme delicacy, and others of great thickness and strength. These were furnished for the occasion by Mr. Thomas Hancock, who has had peculiar opportunities of manipulating with this substance, and possesses the knowledge of a process by which it can be rendered fluid, and yet retain the power of hardening and assuming its elastic state again. Mr. Faraday explained the nature of caoutchouc, and gave the results of an analysis of the unchanged sap. The various specimens of cotton, silk, linen, felt, woollen, &c., which were upon the table, had been rendered water-tight by the intervention of a layer of caoutchouc between two layers of the fabric, - as for instance, cotton or silk, - and the adhesion was so perfect that the substance seemed but as one web. The perfect retention of water by these substances was shown by a calico bag, into which a quart of water had been introduced, and the opening closed

36

up: not a drop or particle of moisture could be perceived on the exterior, though the bag was much handled and pressed.

"When several folds of calico, linen, or canvas, were cemented together by this substance, a material was produced answering many of the purposes of leather, and surpassing it in value in numerous applications. Its use in the construction of connecting bands for machinery and card-fillets for carding engines has been tried and approved of. In consequence of the manner in which the caoutchouc is applied, no limit occurs as to the form, or size, or delicacy, or strength of the water-vessels or things which may be made: it is equally applicable to the cloak and the caravan cover, to the most ornamented flower-vase, and the strongest water-bucket.

ON PURE CAOUTCHOUC.

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. Vol. XXI. No. XLI. London: J. Murray, 1826.

" On Pure Caoutchouc and the Substances by which it is accompanied in the state of Sap, or Juice. By M. FARADAY, F.R.S., Corresp. Memb. lnst. France.

[Communicated by the Author.]

" I have had an opportunity latterly, through the kindness of Mr. Thomas Hancock, of examining the chemical properties of caoutchouc in its pure form, as well as of ascertaining the nature and propor-

37

tions of the other substances with which it is mixed, when it exudes as sap or juice from the tree. At present much importance attaches to this substance, in consequence of its many peculiar and excellent qualities, and its increasing application to useful purposes. I have thought, therefore, that a correct account of its chemical nature would possess some interest.

" The extensive uses, both domestic and scientific, to which Mr. Hancock has applied common caoutchouc, in consequence of his peculiar mode of liquefying it, are well known. Hence he was fully alive to the importance of its applications when in its original state of division. When he gave me the substance, he communicated many of his observations upon it, which, with others of my own, form the present paper.

"The fluid, I understood, had been obtained from the southern part of Mexico, and was very nearly,in the state in which it came from the tree; it had been altered simply by the formation of a slight film of solid caoutchouc on the surface of the cork which closed the bottle. The caoutchouc thus removed was not a five-hundredth part of the whole. The fluid was a pale yellow, thick, creamy-looking substance, of uniform consistency. It had a disagreeable acescent odour, something resembling that of putrescent milk; its specific gravity was 1011.74. When exposed to the air in thin films it soon dried, losing weight, and leaving caoutchouc of the usual appearance and colour,

38

and very tough and elastic: 202.4 grains of the liquid dried in a Wedgewood basin 100° Fahr, became in a few days 94.4 grains, and the solid piece formed being then removed from the capsule, and exposed on all sides to the air until quite dry, became 91 grains; hence 100 parts of sap left nearly 45 of solid matter.

" Heat caused immediate coagulation of the sap, the caoutchouc separating in the solid form, and leaving an aqueous solution of the other substances existing with it in its first state.

"Alcohol poured into the sap in a sufficient quantity, caused a coagulum and a precipitate, both of which were caoutchouc of considerable purity. The alcohol retained in solution the

extraneous matters, which, possessing peculiar properties, will be hereafter described.

"Solution of alkali added to the sap evolved a very fetid odour, but did not appear to exert any particular action on the caoutchouc.

" The sap, left to itself for several days, gradually separated into two parts: - the opaque portion contracted upwards, leaving beneath a deep brown, but transparent, solution, evidently containing substances very different in their nature from caoutchouc itself, and which, considering the specific gravity of the sap and of pure caoutchouc (the 1atter being lighter than water), were probably present in considerable quantity.

"It was found that, by mixing the sap with water, no other change took place than mere dilution. The mixture was uniform, and had all the pro-

39

perties of a weak or thin sap. Heat, evaporation, acids, and alkalies [sic] produced the same effects, generally, as before.

"When the diluted sap was suffered to remain at rest, a separation soon took place, similar to that which occurred with the native juice, but to a greater extent; a creamy portion rose to the top, whilst a clear aqueous solution remained beneath. Hence it was found easy to wash the caoutchouc, and remove from it other principles which had been generally involved in it to a greater or smaller extent during its coagulation. For this purpose a portion of the sap was mixed with about four volumes of water, and the mixture put into a funnel, stopped below by a cork: in the course of eighteen or twenty-four hours, when the caoutchouc had risen to the top, and occupied about its original volume, the aperture at the bottom of the funnel was opened, and the solution drawn off; more water was then added to, and mixed with, the caoutchouc, and the operation repeated; and this was done four or five times, until the water came away nearly pure. During the latter washings, the caoutchouc required a longer time to rise to the surface, in consequence of the decreasing specific gravity of the solution in which it was suspended. This was obviated at times, according to the experiments for which the caoutchouc was required, by performing the first washings with solutions of common salt, muriatic acid, &c., and ultimately finishing with pure water.

40

"In this way the caoutchouc was purified, without any alteration of its original state. It now appeared in its state of mixture with water, perfectly white: portions of it left for a twelvemonth over water underwent no change in that time, except coagulation and a slight film upon the surface; the rest was as miscible with the water as at first, and, when coagulated, equally elastic. The sap, or the washed caoutchouc, is much more easily preserved in the diluted than in the concentrated state.

"It produced no particular appearance with the solutions of iron or other metals.

"When evaporated, either on paper, or in a capsule, or otherwise, the caoutchouc was left in its elastic state, and perfectly unaltered, except with respect to purity. When put on to absorbent surfaces, as bibulous paper, chalk, or plaster of Paris, the water was rapidly abstracted, and the caoutchouc almost immediately united into a mass, retaining the form of the thing on which it was cast. Mr. Hancock in this way has made beautiful medallions with the sap. Poured on to a filter, the water passes through, and the caoutchouc coagulates.

"When aggregated in any of these ways, the caoutchouc appears at first as a soft white solid, almost like curd, which by pressure exudes much water, contracts, becomes more compact, has acquired elasticity, but is still soft, white, and opaque. The opacity belonging to it is not an essential property of the body, but due to water enclosed

41

within its mass; further exposure to air allows of the gradual dissipation of this water, and then the caoutchouc appears in its pure and dry state, as a perfectly transparent, colourless, and elastic body, except it be in thick masses, when a trace of colour is perceived. The change from first to last is best seen by pouring enough of the pure mixture into a Wedgewood or glass basin to form ultimately a plate of one-tenth or one-twelfth of an inch in thickness, and leaving it exposed to air at common temperatures undisturbed.

"No appearance of texture can be observed in the pure transparent caoutchouc; it resembles exactly a piece of clear strong jelly. All the phenomena dependent upon its elasticity, which are known to belong to common caoutchouc, are well exhibited by it. When very much extended, it assumes a beautiful pearly or fibrous appearance, probably belonging to the effects which Dr. Brewster has observed elastic bodies to produce, when in a state of tension, upon light. When it has been extended and doubled several times, until further extension in the same direction is difficult, it is found to possess very great strength. Its specific gravity is 0.925, and no reduplication and pressure of it in a Bramah's press was found permanently to alter it. It is evidently pervious to water in a slight degree, or otherwise the interior of a piece of caoutchouc coagulated from the sap would always remain opaque. It is equally evident that water passes but very slowly from the time it takes to

42

evaporate that which lies in the middle of a thin cake. It is a non-conductor of electricity.

"The pure caoutchouc has a very adhesive surface, which it retains after many months' exposure to air. Its fresh-cut surfaces pressed together also adhere, with a force equal to that of any other part of the piece.

"A strip of it boiled in solution of potash, so strong as to be solid ,when cold, was not at all affected by it, except that its surface assumed a pearly or tendinous appearance; no swelling or softening, above what would have been produced by water, occurred.

"The combustibility of caoutchouc is well known. When the pure substance is heated in a tube, it is resolved into substances more or less volatile, with the deposition of only a small trace of charcoal; at a higher temperature it is resolved into charcoal and compounds of carbon and hydrogen; it yields no ammonia by destructive distillation, nor any compounds of oxygen, and my experiments agree with those of Dr. Ure, in indicating carbon and hydrogen as its only elements. I have not, however, been able to verify his proportions, which are 90 carbon, 9-11 hydrogen, or by theory nearly 3 proportionals of carbon to 2 of hydrogen, and have never obtained quite so much as 7 carbon to 1 of hydrogen by weight. The mean of my experiments gives

43

"No means, which have yet been discovered seem competent, when the caoutchouc has once been aggregated, to restore it to its pristine state. Previous to its aggregation it may be either scented or coloured. A solution of camphor in alcohol was added to water, so as to precipitate the camphor in a flocculent state; a little of this was added to the pure caoutchouc in water, well agitated, and then coagulation caused by heat or absorption: the caoutchouc obtained was highly odorous.

"In the trials made to give it colour, the body-colours were found to answer best: - indigo, cinnabar, chrome-yellow, carmine, lake, &c., were rubbed very fine with water, then mixed well with the pure caoutchouc, in a somewhat diluted state, and coagulation induced either upon an absorbent surface, or otherwise. Perfectly coloured specimens were thus obtained.

"The liquid obtained either by letting the sap stand for some time, or by the first and second washing, was of a brown colour, bitter, acid to litmus, in consequence of the presence of acetic acid, due apparently to spontaneous changes in the substances present. It was difficult to filter. Being boiled, acid vapours rose, a precipitate fell to the bottom, and now the solution became clear, either by standing or filtration, and could be separated from the solid matter.

"The precipitate or substance thus obtained was dark brown, glossy, and brittle, much heavier than

44

water, not soluble in alcohol, ether, water, essential or fixed oils. Weak solution of alkali dissolves it, forming a deep brown solution, precipitable by dilute muriatic acid. It burns upon platina-foil, like animal matter, with flame, leaving a bulky charcoal. When heated on a tube, it chars, yielding much ammonia. It resembles albumen more than any other substance, and is the source of the nitrogen or ammonia obtained by the distillation of common caoutchouc.

"The brown aqueous solution becomes frothy on agitation; alkali rendered it of a deep yellow colour, and produced a putrescent odour, similar to that evolved by alkali, or quick lime, from white of egg, or blood. It was remarkably distinguished by the deep green colour it produced with per-salts of iron, especially ,when a little alkali was present, and the dense yellow precipitates it formed with muriate of zinc and nitrate of lead; indeed, precipitates were produced in solutions of most of the metals by it. The colour produced with iron does not seem to be a precipitate.

"With the hope of obtaining something peculiar from this solution, a quantity of it was precipitated by nitrate of lead; a colourless solution and a yellowish green precipitate were obtained. The latter, being well washed, was next diffused through water, and sulphuretted hydrogen passed through it; by filtration a deep brown solid was obtained, and a yellowish solution. The precipitate when washed and dried was brittle and hard; on platina-

45

foil it at first burnt ,with flame, swelling much, and giving out odour of ammonia like animal matter; after that, sulphurous acid burnt off, and ultimately lead and oxide of lead remained; hence it was a combination of sulphuret of lead and a highly azoted substance. Heated in a tube, it gave out much ammonia; digested in alcohol, scarcely a trace of matter was removed.

" The sulphuretted hydrogen solution being boiled and evaporated, left a yellow varnish-like substance not deliquescent, soluble in water, acid to taste and to litmus, the acid not being sulphuric; it rendered per-sulphate of iron green, precipitated nitrate of lead, and gave no ammonia by heat.

"The concentrated solution acted upon by alcohol had an insoluble matter thrown down, which, being separated and well washed with alcohol, was afterwards treated with water; a deep brown aqueous solution was obtained, and a small insoluble portion left; this was almost black when dried, tasteless, brittle, burning with difficulty, and when heated in a tube giving much ammonia.

"The solution was almost tasteless, and when dried left a green, shining, brittle substance, resoluble in water, and of course precipitable by alcohol. It colours solution of per-sulphate of iron green; but if its strong aqueous solution be treated with muriatic acid, a reddish brown precipitate is formed, ,which, when separated, dissolves in water, does not colour per-salts of iron, and , when evapo-

46

rated yields a pulverulent substance, burning, but not with facility, and producing a little ammonia when heated in a tube.

" The alcoholic solution from which these matters had been separated contained the particular principle which colours per-salts of iron green. When evaporated, it left a brown, brittle, transparent, substance, becoming soft by exposure to moist air. It is very bitter, soluble in water, &c., slightly acid. When heated on platina-foil it does not burn easily, but runs out into a bulky charcoal much like animal matter; at the same time it does not yield ammonia when heated in a tube per se, though the smell is very animal.

"Ether warmed with it dissolved a small portion of matter, and the solution, upon evaporation, left globules, which in all their characters corresponded with wax: its quantity was but small.

"Nine hundred and eighty-one grains of the original sap were washed in water several times. The washed caoutchouc, being coagulated by heat and perfectly dried, weighed 311 grains. The aqueous solutions, upon being boiled, yielded sufficient of the heavy precipitate to equal, when dried, 18.6 grains. The clear solution was now evaporated to dryness, and digested in alcohol; 28.5 grains of insoluble matter were left, and the solution, upon evaporation, afforded 70 grains of dry matter. Hence the following are the contents of nearly 1000 parts of the original sap.

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" Thinking it probable that whilst in its natural state of division the caoutchouc would combine more intimately or readily with fixed and volatile oils than when aggregated, as it generally is in commerce, an experiment or two were made in consequence. A portion of well-washed milky caoutchouc being added to olive-oil, and the two beaten well together, a singularly adhesive stringy substance was produced, which, holding the water diffused through it, assumed a very pearly aspect, stiffened, and was almost solid; upon being heated so as to drive off the water, it became oily, fIuid, and clear, and was then a solution of caoutchouc in the fixed oil. On adding water and stirring considerably, it again became adhesive as before. Thus introduced, caoutchouc would probably be a useful element in varnishes.

"Oil of turpentine being added to a mixture of one volume of sap and one volume of water, and ,well agitated with it, was found to be only imperfectly miscible: after standing twenty-four hours, three portions were formed; the lower, the usual aqueous solution; the upper, oil of turpentine,

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holding little caoutchouc in solution; the intervening part, a clot or tenacious mass, soft and adhesive, like bird-lime, consisting of caoutchouc, with some oil of turpentine. It was very difficult to dry, and al\vays remained adhesive at the surface; but experiments of this kind were not pursued, for want, at that time, of further quantities of the original sap.

" Such is a general view of the nature of the sap from which the substance is obtained, and of the substance itself. I have not endeavoured to give an accurate account of the properties or quantities of the other substances present, because there is reason to believe that both vary in different specimens, probably according to the age of the tree, the time of the year, or the manner in which the sap is drawn; nor have I dwelt upon the inaccuracies of former accounts, inasmuch as they are evidently referable to the impurity of the substance examined."

I will now return to the double textures. I have said little yet of a somewhat important part of these manufactures known as pneumatic articles. I think I began with making beds capable of being inflated, and sufficiently strong and air-tight to sustain the necessary weight: or, the first may have been a pillow, cushion, or life preserver; for all these were made about the same time, and on similar principles. I will first take a bed: this was made in only one compartment, so that, when inflated, it assumed a pin-cushion shape, and its

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rotundity was such that to place yourself upon it and remain there was impossible; try as you might to balance yourself, in a moment you lost your equilibrium and came rolling on to the floor; each bystander thought he could do it, but the airbed set him tumbling about, and all at length acknowledged a defeat, and declared that air-beds "would never answer." .A portion of the air was let out, but the same kind of objection remained; and although this was repeated until nearly the whole of the air was exhausted, this principle of construction was still evidently defective. The same inconvenience was found to attend an aircushion: - you could not sit still a minute; make but the least alteration in your position, and you commenced a rolling motion, to which there seemed to be no end as long as you sat there. This was a defeat, and, if I remember right, the first attempt to remedy it was a really good one, as it fully answered the purpose, and possessed many advantages, although it has not been much in use. It consisted in preparing a case of ordinary bed ticking divided into seven or eight compartments; an air-proof cylindrical chamber of a proper length and diam:eter was made for each of these compartments, and inflated to any desired degree. This was an obvious improvement, and the air-bed thus constructed, whilst it yielded sufficiently to the form of the body, supplied at the same time a more elastic resting-place than ever the human form had before reclined upon. There was another advan-

50

tage in this mode: if any accident, allowing the air to escape, happened to one or two of the cylinders, they could be placed under the feet, where they would be subject to less pressure: a defective cylinder could be sent for repair, and the bed still be tolerably effective. This old mode of construction has since been applied to nautical contrivances, and is apparently supposed to be a new idea!

Cushions were soon made on the same principle with equal success. This mode, however, did not last long; it was said that one of the main advantages derived from the employment of air for these purposes was lost; in other words, they were not so portable in this form as they might be; the outer case was simply an encumbrance. This objection gave rise to another contrivance: - the framework (if I may so term it) intended for the interior was made of the form and size of the intended cushion; which was divided into small compartments, by sewing in partitions that were to limit the thickness of the cushion. These partitions were all laid down flat, and the whole stretched by tacks upon a board, and then paid over with a coating or two of solution; when dry, it was turned over and treated in the same way on the other side: when again dry, this frame of the cushion was laid upon a piece of jeanet, previously rendered air-proof, which projected all round half an inch beyond the frame; the cushion was turned over, and a similar piece of air-proof cloth laid on that side: the whole was then well rubbed down,

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and the projecting edges of the air-proof cloth carefully united. This cushion, when inflated, formed nearly a fiat surface on each side, excepting that where the partitions occurred there was a slight indentation, bringing the surface into a kind of reeded form; and hence such cushions were ever after called "reeded cusbions." Nothing apparently could be better than this, and these cushions in general seemed to give satisfaction. Other forms of surface for cushions were adopted, but this form and one other, which was depressed in the centre, with radiating partitions, took the lead. There was, however, yet one great improvement in the economy of their manufacture, which consisted in dispensing entirely with the sewing, and employing solution as a cement universally in its stead.

Pillows were generally preferred, with partitions; but a kind of collar-cushion for the neck had no partition. Life-preservers were at first made of a cylindrica.l form, but afterwards flat in the reeded form; as were beds also.

Pillows, cushions, beds, and life-preservers, were externally made of cambric or jeanet in general; but pillows and cushions had sometimes an external covering of silk, or kid and morocco leather, some of which latter were used by George IV. in his last illness. At first the aperture for admitting the air was simply a stop-cock; but, after a variety of methods had been tried to supersede it, the screw-valve at present in use was adopted, and is universally preferred.

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For an easier method of inflating beds and other articles of large capacity, a kind of cylindrical bellows was made of air-proof cloth.

Late in the year 1825 it was proposed that Messrs. Macintosh and Co. and myself should come to some arrangement by which articles made under Mr. Macintosh's patent should emanate from the establishment of the firm; and, during this correspondence, I stated in some detail to Messrs, Macintosh and Co. the large extent to which I contemplated carrying out my views in regard to the applications of rubber, and the patents I had taken out to secure them, and that it would be necessary for me to engage with capitalists ready and willing to cooperate with me. This correspondence resulted in an arrangement in February, 1826, by which I engaged to manufacture for Messrs. Macintosh and Co. the articles covered by Mr. Macintosh's patent, providing that a partnership should be avoided (to which I ever had a dislike), that my name should be stamped on all the goods I made for them, and that no other goods but those made by me should be sold within the limits of the bills of mortality. This arrangement did not interfere with my business in other respects; for the present our relations extended no further.

I should mention here that neither the firm nor myself ever intended to have any retail shops; and we desired by all means to avoid the making of garments, and wished to sell our goods only in a warehouse; but we were compelled to do all three,

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or lose our business. Some - most - of the tailors set their faces against the use of our material; others made it up so badly that tbe garments were not waterproof: at every seam the cloth, being necessarily punctured by the needle, allowed the water to pass. Our advice was to make no close garments, and as few seams as possible; and to enable them to do this, we furnished the cloths wide enough to make the length of cloaks and capes: but they persisted in making garments to sit close, and were greatly offended when told that they could not sew a water-tight seam, aud that it was necessary to send their garments to us to have the seams lined to make them proof. Some of them persisted, and actually made a double row of stitches to make sure work of it! We tired of all this, and opened retail sbops, and employed our own tailors, aud proofed our seams; and, even then, so accustomed were these men to pin their work, that we very frequently found pin and needle holes in the body of the cloth. This business of securing stitched seams against the entrance of rain proved extremely difficult for a long time, even to ourselves: constant complaints were made of the water coming through, even in those cases where the seams had been treated by our most earnest and careful workpeople. It must be understood that in double textures the seam-proofing was done inside; we at length, however, discovered, after repeated observation, research, and much attention to the subject, that although the direct

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entrance of the water was stopped by the means adopted, yet that the thread of the tailor, taking up the moisture, became the medium of conveyance to the threads of the inner cloth of the double texture, and that the water so introduced was carried by capillary attraction along the warp or weft of the cloth, and so spread over an extent of surface depending upon the length of time for which the garment was exposed to the rain, and the absorbing capacity of the tissue for taking it up, which not unfrequently would allow of the water spreading over nearly the whole surface: no doubt in many cases the insensible perspiration of the wearer met the rain half way, and increased the evil. Complaints arising from this source long annoyed us, and exposed us to no end of abuse, whilst we were using our utmost efforts to furnish to the public garments which should be a certain protection from a wet skin. I mention this as one, only one, of countless difficulties that for a long time attended us in the first years of our progress; and, as we proceeded, other difficulties, losses, and. vexations followed us up, of which I could give a long list, but it would only tire the reader.

We were most fortunate in obtaining a superintendent in London of first rate ability, not only as a man of business and integrity, but uniting firmness of character with conciliatory manners; and knowing well the aim and intentions of his employers, he conducted our affairs with the greatest prudence and discretion, and indeed the nature of the new kind of business he had to con-

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duct required the ability of such a man, and I feel pleasure whilst I write in bearing my testimony to the value of the long and tried services of Mr. S. Matthews.

I may here mention that a waterproof military cloak of blue cloth, lined with crimson silk, had been made for the Duke of York, and the officers of the Guards began to wear light drab cambric capes on their way to field exercise,' and other young men as usual following their example, our material (especially of this drab colour) began to take with the public generally, and more and more as the value of it, and its really waterproof quality, became known.

Before I close this part of my narrative I may mention that which occasioned us much trouble and annoyance, - the persistence of the public for a long time in having garments made to fit too close, which brought the material into some degree of disrepute from the want of free escape of insensible perspiration when taking active exercise. Time only demonstrated the absolute necessity for wearing them large and loose, as now universally practised.

As we progressed with our manufactures, great improvements were introduced into air-proof articles. These were first appreciated by invalids, not only as ordinary beds, pillows and cushions, but in a variety of forms to be used by bed-ridden patients, and in the hospitals, and in lieu of splints, pads, bandages, &c. by surgeons, who also began

56

to recommend their use in carriages; so that at length this branch of our business became a very important one, and served at the same time to bring the knowledge of the peculiar qualities of our manufactures before the public.

Although so far successful in the main, yet further experience brought new difficulties and vexations to light: - we frequently had garments returned defective in the waterproof qualities of the cloth itself: the cause of these defects was not easily discoverable; great pains were taken to trace back the defective articles to the pieces from which they had been cut, and then to the mill-books, to ascertain if possible if any deviation from the usual course could be discovered. At length an accidental circumstance enabled us to trace the source of one cause of evil, which I will explain. In order to expedite the work, it had become the practice to unite a number of pieces of cloth together at the ends, so as to form them into one length; and in this way the whole passed through the machine together. It so happened that a case occurred where one or more of these pieces turned out defective by decomposition, whilst the rest remained sound; and it was ultimately proved that the defective pieces, being worsted goods, had not been properly scoured, but retained in the body of the cloth remains of greasy matter.

We had become well aware that grease acted injuriously on rubber, particularly on thin films: we had therefore given special directions to our manufacturers, and repeatedly cautioned them to be most

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particular in attending to this matter, foreseeing the mischief any carelessness would occasion. On examining our stock we found the rubber on 900l [ie £900] worth of goods in a state of incipient decomposition.This serious matter was referred to arbitration, and we recovered that sum, and destroyed most of the goods. We had many cases of this sort, and the reputation of our goods suffered from this cause, besides occasioning us great annoyance, trouble, and expense; as we met every reasonable case by exchanging the article. Another cause of decomposition was the use of chemical processes in the preparation of some of the colouring matters used by the dyers of our cotton goods. These hod to be searched out until we ascertained what colours we could safely use. The goods so rendered defective were destroyed.

The injurious effect of the sun's rays upon thin films of rubber we discovered and provided against before much damage accrued. All these things are now cheaply known to those who have followed us by men leaving our employ, and the specifications of our patents; but they had all to be undergone in our early progress at an enormous cost, as well as of trouble and vexation: and none but those who have passed through the ordeal can conceive the mortification experienced during those years; for whilst we were, regardless of cost, making every possible exertion to introduce an article confessedly much wanted and long sought for, and operating upon a new material, hitherto

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comparatively little known in the arts, and surrounded with unforeseen difficulties, an impatient public gave us little credit for our exertions, and persisted in attributing that which was our misfortune in any occasional failure to any cause but the true one; being nothing less forsooth than an imposition upon their complacent and confiding good nature!

In the year 1826 bags began to be made for containing gas for temporary illuminating purposes, and we have continued making them up to this day, for various experimental purposes, and also for the popular exhibition of the oxyhydrogen microscope; but the first was made in May 1826, at the suggestion and for the use of the late Lieutenant Drummond, during his trigonometrical survey.

These were made of very strong materials, not only to enable them to sustain the internal pressure of the gas, but the rough usage they were likely to be exposed to in such a service. The airproof lining was of thin cut sheet-rubber, and the exterior of fustian. I had the curiosity at the time to make a bag of this material, which I filled with water and sealed hermetically. I did this for the purpose of discovering whether rubber is or is not absolutely impervious to water. I suspected it was not. This bag is now before me, and I will copy from the record written upon it of its original weight when filled, and the periodical decrease of the water contained.

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I have just now, 1856, cut it open; it is quite dry, and weighs three ounces twelve drachms, proving that rubber is not absolutely impermeable to water, but admits of a slow and gradual absorp­tion of moisture through its substance; and in this case the whole of the contents of the bag escaped, or rather more than twelve ounces, in the long course of twenty-five years! Bags made of air-proof cloth, that is, with only a thin coating of rubber, soon evaporated sufficiently to moisten the cloth, when the bags were piled upon each other, and produced mildew. This slow evaporation does not interfere with its efficiency for ordinary purposes.

Captain Parry, in the Narrative of his Attempt to reach the North Pole, in His Majesty's ship "Hecla" in the year 1827, thus speaks of this invention, p. 72:­-

" Just before halting at 6. A. M. on the 5th July, 1827, the ice at the margin of the floe broke while the men were handing the provisions out of the boats; and we narrowly escaped the loss of a bag of cocoa, which fell overboard, but fortunately rested on a tongue. This bag, being made of Macintosh's waterproof canvas, did not suffer the slightest

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injury. Of this invaluable manufacture, which consists, I believe, in applying a solution of elastic gum or caoutchouc between two parts of canvas, it is impossible to speak too highly. I know of no material which with an equal weight is equally durable and water-tight -- in the latter quality, indeed, it is altogether perfect, so long as the material lasts."-Narrative of an Attempt to reach the North Pole in Boats attatched to His Majesty's Ship "Hecla" in the year 1827, by Captain Parry, R.N. F.R.S. London: 1828.

About the year 1825 tubes made of rubber came into some demand for surgical and other purposes. About this time a popular toy was introduced: it was made by inserting a condensing syringe into the mouth of a bottle of ordinary rubber; the bottle was kept ordinarily warm whilst the injection of the air proceeded, until at length it became so much extended as to form a tolerably strong semi- transparent sphere, and made a good nursery play­ball for children. Some were made of a large size to be attached to the blow-pipe of the chemists: they were in fact made of all sizes, and afterwards, when the supply of bottles fell short, means were found to use flat pieces for the purpose. They were sometimes ornamented by painting and by covering them with fanciful network. This toy had a prodigious run for some years, and the trade in them has been several times revived: they still continue to be made.

The cut sheet rubber began about this time,

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1825, to be used for a number of surgical purposes, as before mentioned. All these kinds of articles were taken up by my late brother, John Hancock, and manufactured by him from materials supplied by me. Those for surgical purposes need not be enumerated here, although some of these applications were important and still continue to be made. He also devoted a great deal of his attention to the manufacture of tubing, made sometimes solely of sheet-rubber, and also by uniting plies of cloth. This gradually led to the introduction of rubber hose-pipe, which met with a vast amount of opposition from the leather-hose makers, and amongst brewers and distillers, -particularly the men, who were in league with the old makers. It appears that the leather-hose used in breweries could not be made so perfect as to prevent a great loss of liquor. It was stated to one of the great firms (Messrs. Barclay and Co.) that rubber-hose would not admit of any escape; and one of the firm insisted upon its being tried: it was found effectual, but imparted a bad flavour to the liquor. This was for a time a great obstruction to its use; but it was found that, by allowing waste liquor to run through the hose for a while, it became sweetened, and ultimately (if I mistake not) about 1800 feet was constantly in use in that brewery alone. Others followed, and rubber hose and tubing became a staple manufacture, and continues so to this day. The hose-pipe was composed of two, three, or more plies of cloth, coated on both sides ,vith solu-

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tion, and then rolled up on mandrels. They were generally lined with sheet- rubber; suction­hose had spiral wire inside to prevent it from collapsing.

Shoes began to be made of the cut sheet-rubber, I think as early as 1825 or 1826, but not in considerable quantities till 1828 and 1830.They

were made by folding the sheet, cut to the form of an "upper," over to the bottom of a wooden last, and held there by a few stitches across from edge to edge; and then the sole, cut to its proper size and form, was cemented on with solution. These shoes were generally lined with cloth and leather. The soles were sometimes made of ordinary sole­leather and cemented on with solution. Several

parties soon began to make these shoes, bnt in a rather clumsy manner: there were exceptions, however, and some of very tolerable form. Mr. Sparkes Hall soon took the lead, and maintained it. He has told me that he began in 1830, and made twelve pairs a day with his own hands. All these parties took their cut sheet-rubber of me: indeed there was yet no other manufacturer of this article, the sale of which was become rather large; and for this and the other branches of my rubber business I now constantly employed four horses.

About this time I supplied the Board of Ordnance with some waterproof calico, which I understood was applied to large and small cartridges, to prove whether the powder would be kept dry by using this material. I expected some good orders from

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these experiments but I do not remember ever hearing anything more about it. The only articles with which we at first supplied the Government were " saddle water-decks," for covering the saddle, &c., when the soldier was dismounted; and we have supplied these articles at various periods ever since. We also used air-proof cloth about this time for making the well-known diving dresses, and sheet- rubber tubings for keeping up the supply of air to the diver, and to enable him to communicate with the people in the vessels above.

The manufacture of rubber goods had not yet reached the Continent, and in 1828 proposals were made to me by parties who were desirous of establishing it in Paris. Terms were soon agreed on, and I immediately put such machinery in hand as the nature of the arrangements required. I was to supply the solution from England, so that I did not impart to them my secret mode of masticating the rubber, nor of making the solution. I engaged a sufficient number of men, and instructed them at my own works in the modes of applying the solution, and doubling the cloths, and also in the manufacture of air-proof beds, cushions, &c.

In the summer of 1828 I took out to Paris Mr. Christopher Nickells and Mr. Edward Woodcock, Jun., and several other subordinate work-people, and the machinery I had prepared, but found it immensely difficult to pass the machinery through the Custom House; and I was obliged to wait at Calais whilst communications passed between the

64

officers there and the superior authorities in Paris. At length, after unpacking the whole, and explaining the parts to an engineer who, I believe, understood nothing of my explanations, the whole was allowed to pass. We had similar difficulty with the solution: they opened the casks, put in a stick, and stirred it to the bottom; and, on withdrawing it

covered with the solution, they smelt its disagreeable perfume, turned up their noses, exclaimed "Chimie," and let it pass.

I met with a most cordial reception at Paris, as well as my men; and after fixing the machinery, and seeing all in operation, and the men well to their work, I came horne, having spent, I think, about three weeks in Paris, participating in the hospitality of my new friends, Messrs. Rattier and Guibal, whose attentions and politeness I shall never forget.

The manufacture commenced at St. Denis, near Paris, in the beginning of July of the same year, and the first piece of cloth was waterproofed by Mr. E. Woodcock. The shop for the sale of goods was opened in the Rue de Fosses Montmartre in October. Mr. Woodcock (except during a short interval) continued in the employ of the firm until its dissolution, and remains the superintendent of the successors of the business to the present day; being an ingenious man and skilful mechanician, he has contributed perhaps more than any other person to the introduction of useful applications of the rubber manufactures in that country.

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Mr. Nickells remained also in the service of Messrs. Rattier and Guibal some years, and has since, with some others in this country, pursued the elastic web and other manufactures with great success.

I continued to supply the solution for some considerable time, and at length furnished the means for making the solution in France. The difficulty of procuring very pure oil of turpentine caused some loss and disappointment; but this was ultimately overcome, and very excellent goods were manufactured. The sale of waterproof cloths and pneumatic articles did not, however, make much progress at first; but the adaptations of the material to some surgical purposes were eminently successful.

In 1830 I took out another patent for 'the application of the pure liquid rubber as drawn from the trees to a number of useful purposes, as described in the specification of this date in the Appendix. This specification was settled by Mr. Serjt. Bompas. I was induced to take this patent from "the persuasion that this article, having once been brought over in the liquid state, could be brought again, if proper steps were taken to procure it. On the recommendation of a friend, I employed a person in Tampico to conduct this business, and sent him instructions for collecting it according to the best information I had been able to obtain. A large quantity was collected and sent over in good sound barrels, well stopped; but, on

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opening, I found in the majority of them a solid mass of good rubber and a brown fluid. On inspection it was evident that the solid part of the rubber had separated from a dark-coloured watery fluid, and had taken the form of the end of the barrel, where it waa found deposited. In some of the barrels, however, the separation had only partially taken place, and I obtained some rubber in the creamy state. Another lot arrived much in the same condition; and such were the expenses incurred and the loss sustained, that I gave up the attempt, and all my patents for the application of the liquid expired before I could obtain it in any sufficient quantity. Nevertheless, I am persuaded that its importation is practicable, as I have in my possession a small quantity which I treated in a particular way many years ago: and it remains a fluid to this day. I may also mention that several barrels were afterwards sent to this country, which had undergone some treatment in the country where it had been produced, by which it was preserved in a kind of semi-fluid state, and was in the market here, and purchased by several persons. Samples have recently been brought here and proved satiafactory: these last had been treated with an admixture of ammonia.

Although rubber in this state would be very useful, and many things could be done with it which are hardly practicable with the solutions; yet the loss of weight by evaporation being nearly two­thirds of the whole, the expense of vessels, and the

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freight of so much worthless matter, will probably prevent its ever being used extensively. Before the difficulty of dissolving ordinary rubber was overcome, it was thought that the liquid, if it could be obtained, would be invaluable; but now, all things considered, the dry material, for nearly all the purposes of manufacture, is the cheapest and most easily applied; although, to persons unacquainted with practical detai1s, this may appear enigmatical. I have made very sharp and clean casts with this liquid, and as it is susceptible of tinting with delicate colours, it might, for ornamental purposes, be rendered very beautiful.

I have before observed that my mode of introducing rubber elastics into articles of dress and wearing apparel became ultimately superseded by an improved mode of applying it. I have understood, that a German whose name I am not acquainted with, conceived the idea of introducing a thread of rubber into a woven web or fabric, so as to form the warp, and, by keeping it confined in an extended state during the operation of weaving, and then releasing it, the fabric would be gathered up and elasticated.

It appears that he was at a loss how to cut the thread, which proved a difficulty which he could not overcome; and to obtain assistance, he went to Paris, and, I believe, communicated to my friends there his invention, and his difficulty. Experiments were commenced at their works, and the person I took out with me and left to superintend

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the waterproof manufacture succeeded in producing a thread of rubber. I think, if I am rightly informed, the little sample originally produced by the German had been covered with a thread of cotton or silk: at all events it was thought necessary then, and for some time after, that the thread of rubber should be covered in some way, and the braiding machine was put in requisition for the purpose.

Soon after this elastic web appeared in this country, I had some made, the cutting of the thread not being very difficult to me. A very pretty article was soon produced: the only obstacle to success lay in the weaving, an art with which I had very little acquaintance; and when a practical weaver was found, who could weave it well, she was greatly perplexed to keep all the threads, or elastic warps, to an equal tension. The consequence was that the web, when taken out of the loom, ran up into a crooked serpentine form, caused by the threads which were more extended than the rest during the weaving contracting more when set at liberty. All this was matter of detail, and a more fitting business for a ribbon or tape manufacturer. I accordingly entered into a mutually beneficial arrangement with an eminent house of Manchester in that line, supplying them with the rubber thread (then called gut), which they soon manufactured into beautiful webs of different widths and different degrees of elasticity and strength. This arrangement subsisted for some

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time; but having now a great deal to attend to, I agreed upon terms to relinquish the whole business in their favour, furnishing them with my modes of preparing and cutting the thread, and two of my men to carry it on. Their practical knowledge in braiding and weaving enabled them to perfect the manufacture.

In order to show, as I before observed, the step­by-step progress of new manufactures, I will devote a few lines to the subject of cutting rubber­thread, which may produce a little feeling of complacency in those who now get this material furnished to them in so perfect a condition without
trouble.

My manufactured sheet-rubber was too inferior in elastic power, when cut into such minute dimensions, to produce a good result; and although web has since been made of masticated rubber, it did not add to the reputation of the article in its elastic qualities, whatever it may have done in regard to an even surface and a neat appearance.

I began, therefore, to cut the thread from the rubber as imported, choosing the best quality and the largest and thickest of the bottle kind. After trying various modes, the following was practised for some time. I must premise that these bottles were very irregular in form, and of different sizes and thicknesses. After softening them in
hot water, they were cut through the middle length wise, and placed between plates, and submitted to pressure to flatten them, and remained

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until cold. They were then cemented to a board, and ready for the cutting machine, which was a kind of lathe carrying a circular knife, the edge of which just came in contact with the surface of the board, on which the flattened halves of a number of bottles were cemented: a slide movement carried the board and rubber past the knife, which, having a suitable motion communicated to it and water dropping on it, made a clean cut through the rubber, near to its edge: a screw motion now pushed the board and rubber as far beyond the knife as would produce the thread of the intended thickness to be cut. The rubber was then pushed past the knife as before, and so on, until the whole breadth of the rubber was filled with these cuts (which were in general about one-six­teenth of an inch apart). The next operation was to put the board and rubber into a machine exactly similar to that for cutting sheets; after a few cuts to level the surface, the screws were made to raise the rubber, say one-sixteenth of an inch above the steel-plates, and then passing the knife through the rubber as in cutting sheets. The threads then came off in a square form, of the intended size. These threads averaged about five inches in length, and when hot might be extended to about a yard. Now
these threads, being intended for warps, were required of great length, and, to obtain them, the short lengths had to be united; this operation was done very neatly and quickly by girls; with a pair of sharp scissors they cut each end of the

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thread wedge-shaped, and, when warm, they were brought into juxtaposition splice-fashion; and then, giving them a rub, they were perfectly joined to any length.

A great improvement was afterwards made by putting the rubber bottle on a mandrel in a lathe, and by means of a circular knife and a screw and slide motion a tape-like long slip was obtained; and this was again cut into square threads in another machine, and then united as before, but with fewer joinings, and consequently less labour and cost. Some time before I gave up this manufacture I had a cylinder made of masticated rubber of such a size as would be most convenient for this purpose, and sent it to Para as a pattern for the natives; and great numbers of such cylinders were soon after in the market, and were well made, and of the best quality of rubber, as desired, and called tubes. Such cylinders are still imported. Before I quit this web business, I will mention a peculiar property in rubber, which was taken advantage of, and was of great importance at that time. The threads, during the weaving, had to be kept equally stretched, which was a difficult matter. This was obviated thus: - the thread was immersed in hot water and stretched out to its utmost tension, and kept in that position on frames. After standing by for some days, it became "set" (that is, it remained so extended by the action of cold) and was transferred to the loom. When the web was taken out, a hot iron was passed over it, when the restored resi-

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liency of the threads contracted the web to its proper length.

In 1830 Messrs. Macintosh and Co. made trial of my solution at Manchester, which resulted in a proposal to me to manufacture the solution there: the terms proposed were liberal; and, as we had now become well acquainted with each other, and had always gone on cordially together, the arrangement was soon made - but still avoiding a partnership. It was resolved for the present not to carry on the masticating there, and for some time the masticated rubber for making the solution was furnished by me. In pursuance of this arrangement I now visited Manchester for the first time; and after surveying the works there, and suggesting the necessary alterations, I returned, and put the machinery in hand for making and straining the solution, and for spreading it on the cloth; and, as it was necessary still to continue operations in London, took on fresh hands, who were practised for sometime at my works in making and straining the solution, and in the use of the machines employed in spreading it on the cloths and doubling them, in rendering the seams waterproof, and making boots, diving dresses, and other similar articles, and air-beds, cushions, pillows, life-jackets, life-preservers, hot-water bags, &c. As soon as the works were ready at Manchester, I accompanied the men thither, and soon brought the whole into successful operation. I met with a great improvement here in drying with despatch

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the solution after it had been spread on the cloth, by passing it over large cylinders heated by steam. Mr. Macintosh had an apparatus applied to these machines with the view of condensing the vapour and recovering the naphtha, but found it could not be done with any useful or economical result.

Although I had so far associated myself in business with Messrs. Macintosh and Co. in carrying out Mr. Macintosh's patent, I still for some years continued to conduct my own business quite distinct from theirs.

In the year 1833, my late brother John Hancock, who had established the hose business, left London, and sold his interest in the business to Messrs. Macintosh & Co., and it was then carried on chiefly at my works, where I continued to make nearly all the air-proof goods and other similar things sold in London, as well as water-proofing the seams of garments, &c.

On the 11th of April, 1834, as some of my men

were working by candle-light, they by some means set fire to a whole piece of cloth they were proofing; the flames communicated immediately with other pieces and with a quantity of solution they were using, bringing the whole room suddenly into a blaze. The men, whilst making their endeavours to arrest the mischief, were enveloped in a thick smoke, and, being unable to find the stairs, were nearly suffocated, and one of them was much burnt. The fire-engines were soon on the spot; but, from the combustible nature of the stock, and a

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considerable part of the buildings being constructed of weatherboard and plaster, nearly the whole was speedily reduced to ashes. The premises and stock being insured, my loss was not very great. In laying out my plans for the new works, I took care to have the buildings detached, with a considerable space between each of the three, and without windows or doors on opposite sides. These precautions and some others enabled me to get them insured again.

In the new buildings no provision was made for manufacturing either rubber or solution, which was now supplied from Manchester; this alteration afforded me much greater space for spreading machines for water-proofing and air-proofing cloth, and for the manufacture of air-proof articles, proofing the seams of garments, and a variety of other things, the whole business having now greatly increased in magnitude.

I should mention that I had now carried on the manufacture of rubber shoes to some considerable extent; they were lined with cloth, velvet, leather, &c.; some were made with leather soles, and others entirely of rubber. Several things, however, made me indifferent about shoes: first of all, it was not a business to my taste; then shoemakers, who would

have been thought the most likely persons to have made them well, were in practice amongst the worst; they could not be reconciled to abandon their awl and waxed thread, although they were not called upon to give up their "last." I must confess also that others made them neater than we

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did; and as all the makers took their material from us, I relinquished this trade early in the year 1834 without much reluctance.

As it now became necessary to employ steam power, it was determined that such parts of the business as required the employment of it should be done at Manchester. Accordingly, I was now busily engaged in preparing the masticating and other machinery for the works there. The demand for cut-sheets and stationers' rubber was constantly increasing, and required of itself a large amount of power to drive the capacious masticators and the larger rollers now found necessary for this branch of manufacture; and as the waterproof business also kept steadily advancing, we required a large supply of masticated rubber to be used in our own works,

for making solution, besides its application to other purposes, such as solid rubber-tubing, the lining of hose-pipe, &c. Sheet rubber was also brought into requisition for lining hot-water bags, which required an extra thickness of rubber. These bags were made of all sizes, and at the breaking out of the cholera and during its prevalence were in great esteem, and have ever since been more or less in use, and sometimes large enough for beds; they were, and are, used also for cold water by the doctors in particular cases.

Although there was already one steam-engine at the works, another was speedily laid down, together with a train of heavy shafting and gearing

to drive the new masticators and rollers; and steam was also laid on to steam-pans for heating the

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rubber, and to stoves for drying it. When all these means came into operation we soon found them insufficient to meet the still increasing demand; and more power was added and the works extended. I think we were now frequently using from two to three tons of rubber weekly.

The shameful adulteration of the raw material in various ways, and the admi