US1846630A - Imitation leather - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 23, 1932,

F. C. CLOSE IMI TATION LEATHER Filed Feb. 10, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 1 I 11 1 z g 1171? I)! 21727 n 1 12 11 p11 a d/ a I II .71 I]: I II II II A fl' g ET 171? in! 1711 1 ZFZE II 11 1! INVENTOR 72rd C. (7056 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES- PATENT, OFFICE FORD c. CLOSE, on NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNQR "r EOO ATIVE'DEVELOPMENT, me, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE IMITATION LEATHER Application filed February 10, 1931. Serial No. 514,771.

The subject of this invention is a new article of manufacture, constituting an imi- I leather.

ticularly In order thoroughly to understand the present invention, and in order fairly to appreciate the scope thereof, it is advisable first to define accurately certain expressions as employed herein.- When the term leather is used, there is meant any reptile skin or the skin of any air, land, water (e. g., goldfish), amphibious Or other creature of'the animal world, in the condition commonly employed in industry for any purpose, as a tanned or otherwise dressed skin even a pelt. When the term skin is employed, there is meant the corresponding skin of any creature of the animal world, before such skin is tanned or otherwise dressed. By the term reptile, is meant not only truereptiles but any creature of the animal world the skin or leather of which carries distinctive markings thereon other than the grain or pore markings or superficial irregularities on the face thereof opposite to the flesh side.

The practical importance of the present invention will be somewhat appreciated when certain practical. considerations are here, at the outset, pointed out. In the first place, reptile and other characteristically marked leathers are in most if not in all cases either comparatively expensive per given unit of area, or lacking in strength or other desirable qualities in certain and arin marginal portions. T ese leathers. are often, for instance, covered with the most favored decorative markings in more or less limited zones, and/or provided with their markings in distinctly dissimilar subdivisions accompanied by a relatively sharp, transition from one such subdivision to another, these changes of design being at times so abrupt or so interrupted by markingslacking finer detail as to interfere seriously with the most economical cutting up of the leather to adapt the pieces out there from for their intended uses. Again, these reptile leathers in practically all cases have to be cut up into fairly small pieces (as to provide vam and strap elements or other decorative a juncts in the ladies shoe art, and in the handbag, wallet and other trades), and hence with considerable wastage; arelatively serious cost item where genuine reptile leathers are utilized. Further, as to genuine reptile leathers, these, in a great many if not all cases, as where the skin is that obtained from a comparatively elongate or attenuated creature such as a snake or from a creature of comparatively small dimensions as a lizard (to mention two types of reptile leathers carrying the most striking natural markings), are too small to permit of their practicable employment in the wall covering, upholstery and allied arts.

It is one important object of the present invention to provide a new article of manufacture as hereinabove mentioned, to consti-- tute an imitation leather which, while preferably of considerably less cost to produce than the actual reptile leather imitated, will have substantially the same strength and durability. as the actual leather imitated, will at the same time have decorative aspects substantially equivalent to if not more pleasing than the actual leather, and will further, and perhaps most important, exist in a larger leather sheet than the original to facilitate subsequent cutting up of the imitation with less wastage due to trailing oif of the markings or other undesirable qualities of such original at the marginal or other portions thereof than would be required were the original to be so cut up, and also to open up for the first time a field of utilization for what is apparently a true reptile skin (in the uise of the new imitation-itself actually a s eet of genuine leather) where large leather sheets are required, for example in the wallcovering, upholstery and allied arts aforesaid.

It is another important object of the pres- Ill cut invention to provide a novel and valuable method of producing a new imitation leather; such method involving the selecting of a polygonal area of a natural or original reptile leather; providing by an suitable method, but preferably photo-lit iography, a reproduction of such area; utilizing such reproduction or, rather, a plurality of such reproductions, while providing and/or disposing the same so'that certain thereof are replicas of said area and certain others thereof are reversals of such replicas, to make an all over pattern by arranging the replicas and reversals in edge to edge relation with the replicas and reversals alternating in a selected direction to provide sets of symmetrical markings recurring at intervals in a certain direction acrossthe pattern, each such set being partially made up of marking components adjacent an edge portion of a replica and partially made up of corresponding but reversely arranged marking components adjacent an edge portion of a contiguous reversal; and transferring said pattern or a reproduction thereof by any suitable means onto the surface of a. genuine leather sheet, as calfskin, larger than the original, such transfer being preferably either by the aid of lithography (or other printing orduplicating method), or by the aid of such method and decalcomania.

By the term replica as usedherein is not necessarily meant a true replica, that is, one of perfect fidelity as to outline, color, shading and the like of the individual markings to the original all over said area, as, for instance, obtainable by fine lithography. Since the invention may conceivably be carried out by utilizing what may be termed a quasireplica, that is, one differing more or less, deliberately or accidentally, in such outline and/or color and/or shading quality, from the original,-incidental, for instance, to employing the hand and eye of an artist rather than aphotomechanical method to make a picturization of said area,the term replica, as used herein, is embrasive not only of a true replica but also of such a quasi-replica. -By the term reversal as used herein, is meant a true reproduction or a substantial reproduction of a repl ca as just defined, but with the markings of the replica reversed in order or arrangement, in one case, in one direction over the reversal, and, in another case, in both of two rectangularly or perpendicularly related directions thereover. A reversal according to the first case, hereinafter called an edge-swing reversal, involves such a reversing of the order and arrangement of the markings as would correspond, for instance,

to swinging the area about an edge thereof,

out of and then back into its own plane, to cause the area to face a mirror, and then viewing said area as reflected in the mirror. A reversal according to the second case, hereinafter called a rotational reversal, involves such a reversing of the order and arrangement of the markings as would correspond, for instance, to viewing said area after the same has been rotated in its own plane through 180 degrees to redispose the area from its original or upright position to an unside down position. However, it is to be understood that by the term reversal is not necessarily meant such an absolutely faithful reverse-reproduction of a replica as would actually be given by a mirror; as a reversal may differ from a replica, just as has been above explained such replica may differ from the area pictured thereby. In other words, a reversal may be a quasi-reversal of a replica, and still be embraced by the term reversal as used herein. By the term similitude as used herein, is meant e ther a replica (including as above a quasi-replica) or a reversal (including as above a quasi-reversal), whether the latter be, asabove, an edge-swing reversal or a rotational reversal.

It will be appreciated that the polygonal area selected may be well chosen with an eye single to the most striking or otherwise most beautiful natural markings of the entire original reptileileather; the expense involved being only that required to have at hand a single such original. Also, it will be understood that with the selected area polygonal, e. g., square, rectangularly oblong, triangular or hexagonal, a plurality of reproductions or substantial reproductions, that is, similitudes, of said area, may be arranged over a given surface, plane or non-uniplanar, without giving rise to the necessity for any clear or non-marking-carrying surface portions, simply by arranging such similitudes in one or more rows and with all the similitudes in edge to edge relation with similitudes contiguous thereto; which absence of clear surface portions is an object of the invention as the latter is preferably carried out.

The invention will be more clearly understood, and the foregoing and various other objects and advantages thereof will be more fully appreciated, from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating, solely by way-of example however, the new article as now preferred to be made, and also illustrating, likewise solely by example however, certain steps of the new method as now preferred to be practised.

In these drawings,

Fig. 1 indicates, by outline representation, say a photolithographic reproduction of a typical reptile leather as made from the skin of a lizard; a selected area thereof being here shown, in broken lines, as marked off into a rectangular oblong, for employment as a repeat unit of the intended pattern.

Fig. 2 is a composite view, showing in the upper part thereof the oblong just referred to,

ISO

- marked off in broken lines in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the oblong in the upper part thereof corresponding to the oblong indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3, and the oblong in the lower part thereof constituting-a rotational reversal thereof.

Fig. 5 illustrates a part of a pattern developed from employing the four oblongs of Figs. 2 and 4 as cooperating repeat units, according to a preferred order of alternation.

Fig. 6 shows, fragmentarily, a leather sheet for carrying a pattern pursuant to the invention, thereby to provide an imitation reptile leather pursuant to the invention, in this view, for purposes of contrast of dimensions, there being shown against said sheet-the original reptile skin, outlined in dot and dash lines,

and the different repeat units of the pattern, the latter being indicated as rectangular oblongs and in broken lines.

Fig. 7 is an attem t to illustrate, more or less exactly, in blac and white only, such markings as might be shown within such an oblong as is outlined in Fig. 1 partially in broken lines and partially in dotted lines, where the original skin is that of a rajah lizard.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, any genuine reptile leather, say that of a rajah lizard. is procured,- and the same or a desired part of the same is reproduced or substantially reproduced, in any desired manner, as by the hand of an artist, or by a photomechanical or other mechanical or partially mechanical method. In the present case, and in accordance with present preference, such reproduction may be assumed to be attained with the aid of photolithography, and the genuine reptile leather may be assumed to be thus reproduced in its entirety as indicated by the outline-representation 10 of said leather shown in Fig. 1. Desirably, but not necessarily,,such reproduction or substantial reproduction is made to the same scale as the original; and also desirably, but not necessarily, it is made tofaithfully reproduce the natural colorings and shadings lithography is employed). By a substantial reproduction, is meant a reproduction of the characteristic markings of the original in such wise that the same are reproduced with absolute fidelity to the originahfor example by photography or a photomechanical process, or a reproduction of such markings in the sense that certain typical ones thereof are more or less faithfully reproduced and others are arbitrarily interpolated or otherwise added, or a reproduction of such markings in the sense that they are conventionalized to provide really a novel design as contradistinguished from one copied from nature but always preferably in such manner that the reproduction or substantial reproduction is. suggestive at least, of a particular natural leather 'of costly or rare type.

Assume, further, that the oblong marked off in broken .lines in Fig. 1, and given the reference numeral 11, is the particular selected, polygonal area which is to form a repeat unit of the pattern desired. Then the aforesaid reproduction or substantial reproduction need not necessarily, as indicated in Fig. 1,"be coextensive or'substantially coextensive with the entire original, and, instead, may be merely coextenslve or substantially coextensive with the polygonal area slelleeted for said repeat unit, asthe oblong A suitable number of duplicates or substantial duplicates (or replicas, as this last word has hereinabove been defined) of suchpolygonal area 11, are produced, many. desired or convenient manner; preferably. by some mechanical or photomechanical method, for instance, photolithography', electrotyping, photogravure, heliotyping, etching,

autotypy, lithography, rotogravure, Woodcut or other printing. A mechanical method is preferred, for economy; and a photomechanic'al method is preferred, the better for marking-matchings when later establishing the repeat pattern, in cases where such matchings are desired to be particularly precise.

According to present preference, photolithography is employed, and substantially as follows, where technique which so far as been found by me to be ideal is followed: The actual original reptile skinor leather 10, first suitably positioned to lie flat as by being spread out on a board or other support, is photographed in its entirety (since these leathers are generally of comparatively small sizes), once, or a number of times through different color filters, thus to provide one or a number of glass-plate negatives. accord ing as the similitudes (as this word has hereinabove been defined) of the selected polygonal area, is desired to be obtained in a. single color or'in multi-color. This or these glass-plate negatives are thenemployed in coaction with light and chemistry, that is, with one or more different light-sensitiveemulsion-coated lithographic stones or lithcorresponding to the broken lines 11 of Fig.

1, to define the selected polygonal area of each printing. By the aid of these indicia, the printings are cut in any suitable Way, to provide the desired plurality of similitudes of said area, so that. when the pattern is to.

be generated, certain of said similtitudes may be utilized as replicas and certain others thereof as reversals of said replicas.

In Fig. 2, one of such replicas is indicated at A, and a rotational reversal thereof is indi cated at a; as will be seen by comparing the corner numerals I, II, III, and IV,it being pointed out that the criss-cross markings here delineated are merely arbitrary and are prlmarily shown to exhibit exaggeratedly d1iierent markings at each of the four corners I, II, III and IV of a replica or reversal.

A suitable number of swing-over reversals (as this term has hereinabove been defined) of replica A, are also provided in any desired or convenient manner,-for instance, Where photolithography is being made use of to carry out the invention, as described in the second preceding paragraph. \rVhere photolithography is not being employed for this part of the method, it is at any rate preferred, for purposes of economy, to employ some mechanical or photom'echanical process, for instance, one of those mentioned in the third preceding paragraph.

Where glass-plate or other equivalently transparent negatives are provided, or a single such plate or equivalent is provided, to assist in producing the desired number of similitudes A and a as aforesaid, the swingover reversals mentioned in the paragraph immediately preceding,one of which is indicated at A in Fig. 4,may conveniently be obtained by utilizing said negative or negatives, but in swing-over reversal, relative to another, or another set of, emulsion-coated lithographic stones or lithographic plates, so that when this or these stone or stones, or plate or plates, aresemployed in a press, a swing-over reversal of the original reptile leather may be reproduced in its entirety as indicated by the outline-representation 10' of Fig. 8, including a swing-over reversal of the selected polygonal area of such leather, as indicated by the oblong marked oii' in broken lines in Fig. 3 and given the reference numeral 11'. When the required number of printings have been run ofi the press, to provide the desired plurality of swing-over reversals of the original leather as indicated at 10' in Fig. 3, they may each be marked with corner points or bounding lines corresponding to the broken lines 11 to define the selected polygonal area on each printing. By theaid of these indicia, the printings may be cut to provide the desired pluralities of similitudes of said area, so that, when the pattern is to be generated, certain of said similitudes may be employed as replicas of the area indicated at 11 in Fig. 3 and certain others as rotational reversals of said replicas.

One of the replicas last-mentioned (itself, it will be recalled, a swing-over reversal oi the replica A of Fig. 2) is, as aforesaid, indicated at A in Fig. 4, and in the lower part of Fig. 4 a rotational reversal of the replica A is'indicated at a; as will be seen by comparing the corner numerals I, II, III and IV.

A typical portion of the pattern preferably generated by the employment in regular alternation of the similitudes A, A, a and a, is indicated in Fig. 5; it being noted that ac cording to this preferred way of generating such pattern, due to each fdur similitudes which anywhere meet on the pattern having their four interfitting corners all bear the same numeral I, II, III or IV, an all-over pattern may be provided having no clear or non-marking-carrying spaces anywhere, and a pattern, moreover, wherein all similitudes exhibiting replicas of the selected polygonal area are alternated over the pattern with similitudes exhibiting reversals of such rcplicas, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals over the pattern, each set being partially made up of marking components adjacent an edge portion of say a replica A and partially made up of corresponding but reversely arranged marking components adjacent an edge portion of a contiguous reversal A or a or (diagonally) a.

This pattern, assuming it to be the one selected, is made up by placing the various similitudes A, A, a and (1, preferably in nicely adjusted edge and corner matching relation, against a suitable support, as a fiat wooden backing, and anchoring them securely in such relation, as by the use of glue, brads or the like.

The pattern-is generated to an area enough greater than that of the original reptile leather, to provide such a continuous expanse of the selected markings regularly repeated there over that such expanse, assuming it to be the facing of a genuine leather sheet of suitable character for cutting-up use, could be thus cut up with less wastage due to trailing off of markings on, or other undesirable qualities of, the original reptile leather, at the marginal or other portions of said original,-than would be required were the original to be so cut up. The ossibilities in this regard are indicated stri ingly in Fig. 6, -where the genuine leather sheet to which the reptile-leather pattern is imparted, is only fragmentarily shown, at 12; and where the pattern repeat units are marked Aa. One of these units is "specially marked A"; this corresponding say to the replica A of Fig.2 and hence being that area of the original reptile leather of Fig. 1 indicated at '11 in Fig. 1; and, consequently, said reptile leather of Fig. 1 appears in dot anddash lines at 10 in Fig. 6. It will be appreciated that this pattern, when transferred to the face of a genuine leather sheet of .a different kind and hence of a larger area than the original reptile leather, which larger leather sheet may often be less expensive or stronger than the original reptile leather, will provide a new article of manufacture of extreme importance and practical value, not only in the footwear and other cutting-up trades but also in the wall-covering'and upholstery and.al-'

lied arts, and in various other possible fields of usefulness. In this connection, further, it will be appreciated that the new leather. article of the present invention will often be provided as an imitation or coriventionalization of, or an otherwise apparently natural variant from, some of the most beautiful or valuable reptile leathers, to wit, those having more or less regularly recurring subdivisions characterized respectively by rather distinctlydifferent markings and sometimes even having fairly fine and minute markings alternated with comparatively large and otherwise dissimilar markings; yet' also inall these cases, indeed particularly in all these cases, the new and larger actual-leather sheet of the present invention will typically alternate thereover different groups of markings in such manner as to have the new leather article constitute, really to all intents and pur poses, an actual and genuine reptile leather, which, while of extraordinary size, will have all the enduring beauty, flexibility, strength and longevity of the original.

What has just been said cannot perhaps be better emphasized than by reference, for example, to Fig. 7 which, it has been pointed out, represents a typical portion of a selected area 11 of the reptile leather of. Fig. 1 where such leather is made from the skin of the rajah lizard. It will be noted that said portion, marked 14 in Fig. 1 and .14 in Fig. 3, has comparatively large markings at its right-hand side. smaller markings at its lefthand side, still smaller and finer markings at its left-center zone, and markings so fine as to be almost dottings at its right-center zone.

It follows, therefore, that an area 11 (representative of a polygonal area of any shape or size) may with ordinary care and skill be selected from any original reptile skin, what ever be the markings thereon, and that, by the aid of said area and pursuant to the invention, a pattern may be generated and then transferred to and over a single sheet of some true leather obtainable in a larger size than the original reptile skin; thus finally to fabricate an imitation leather which, even to a leather expert, may be suggestive of nothing more than a true reptile leather made from the skin of an abnormally over-sized'reptile. Especially will this be so, where as is often the case the true reptile leather is characterized on its face opposite to the flesh side thereof with markings which are other than mere surface colorations and/or shadings, that is, which are linear or other depressions or elevations having certain relations to said colorations or shadings; and where, in accordance with well-known methods of the embossing art, such depressions and elevations are reproduced over the new leather article; which embossing operation is recommended in con nection with a use of the present invention where the same isworked to imitate a true reptile leather itself embossed by nature.

The embossing of the new leather article, h0wever,whe n deemed desirable,-is believed most practicably applied, after the pattern has been transferred'to the larger leather sheet, that is, as the final step in fabricating. the new article of manufacture; this to facilitate transfer of the pattern to said leather'sheet, as hereinafter explained, when said leather sheet is in as fiat a condition as possible and hence not yet embossed. In operating according to this preference in the case of embossed leathers, care must be taken, on the other hand, to have the pattern which is transferred to the larger leather sheet adhere thereto all over with a high degree of tenacity, to insure that the subsequent embossing step will not distort, crack, locally loosen or otherwise disturb the com-, plete and permanent cling of the pattern to the larger leather sheet. There will hereinafter he explained a preferredniode of applying the pattern to the larger leather sheet, which, in actual, practice, has been found to give the tenacious adherence necessary 'to meet the requirements just noted. 7

The pattern, generated as aforesaid to an area of great enough expanse to correspond with the area of the larger leather sheet to receive. such pattern (for instance, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6 and as hereinabove de scribed), is transferred to said larger leather sheet, by any available and practicable meth- 0d of transfer, but preferably by the aid of a printing or duplicating process. It will, in most cases, of course be intended to fabricate a plurality and possibly avery great plurality of the new leather sheets of the invention. from a single pattern. Therefore, preferably, the printing or duplicating process just above mentioned, will be employed. Also according to present preference, this printing or duplicating process is a photomechanical one, say one of the photomechanical processes mentioned hereinabove by way of example in connection with the descri tion of a preferred method of producing uplicates or substantial duplicates of the area 11 of Fig. 1.

Desirably, according to present preferonce, as an instrumentality to assist in making such transfer, photolithography may be employed; and in substantially the same ways, for example, as hereinabove explained in connection with the description of the preparation of stone or stonesg or plate or plates, by photolithography, and their use in a lithographic press to produce said duplicates or substantial duplicates.

I have discovered that ordinary calfskin is an excellent leather for employment as the leather sheet larger than the original reptile leather and onto which the pattern of the invention is transferred; and calfskin is therefore recommended.

()ne satisfactory manner of making the transfer, that is, of reproducing the pattern on the desired side of the calfskin or other leather sheet being utilized to receive said pattern pursuant to the invention, is to print from a stone or plate of the kind last-mentioned, or from any other printing surface provided in cases where some other duplicating method than lithography or photolithography is deemed advisable, directly onto said leather sheet, or onto a film or the like previously laid over the face of said sheet which is to receive the pattern; this film of a suitable material having the properties of high flexibility, high tenacity to the leather sheet, and high clingability to the pattern received thereby. Such a film has been found desirable because of the porous or comparative spongy nature of a true leather sheet. I have found that exceedingly satisfactory results are obtained when the teaching of U. S. Patent No. 1,609,500 to Terlinden is followed by applying such film as a film or layer of a celluloid or nitrocellulose lacquer.

Another satisfactory method of making the transfer to said leather sheet, particularly where photolithography is employed for the transfer to the leather, is to print from the aforesaid stone, plate or other printing surface (intaglio or cameo), not directly onto the leather sheet or onto a special film or other coating thereon as just described, but to provide a decalcomania or transfer picture, and then, either immediately or later, to transfer such decalcomania to the leather sheet. -According to this working of the present invention, I have found also that exceedingly satisfactory results are obtained when that side of the calfskin or other leather sheet which is to receive the transfer picture has been previously coated with a tion, as to materials, dimensions, capacities,

utilities and preferences, may have been herein indulged in, but it will be understood that these statements are not in any way to be taken as definitive or limitative of the invention. That is to say, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language contained in the following claims is intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

In other words, the scope of protection contemplated is to be taken solely from the appended claims, interpreted, in accordance with the definitions hereinabo've expressly or impliedly incorporated, as broadly as is consistent with the prior art.

I claim:

1. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly chara teristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins,--which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; employing photography to obtain a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging such similtitudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern wherein a similitude exhibiting a replica of said area is alternated with a similitude exhibiting a reversal of said replica, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern at meeting edges 'of contiguous replicas; and employing photolithography to reproduce said pattern on a different leather than the original and over an area of said different leather greater than the original.

2. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves pro viding an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; employing photography to obtain a plurality of similitudesof said area; arranging such similitudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern wherein a similitude exhibiting a replica of said area is alternated with a sir'nilitude exhibiting a reversal of said replica, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern at meeting. edges of contiguous replicas; and employing lithographyto reproduce said pattern on a different leather than the original and over an area of said different leather greater in both of two rectangularly related directions than the area of the original.

3. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathersobtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; photographing said area and the markings thereon to provide a negative thereof; employing said negative to provide photolithographically a pair of positives one constituting a replica of said area and the other constituting a swingover reversal of said replica; producing a plurality of each of such replicas and reversals; arranging said positives in edge to edge relation with replicas and reversals alternating to provide an all over pattern having sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a 5.6- lected direction across the same at meeting edges of contiguous replicas; and employing photolithography to reproduce said pattern on a different leather than the original and over an area of said diflerent leather greater than the area of the original.

4. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providin an original; selecting a polygonal area fiiereof carrying the desired markings; employing photolithography to obtain a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging such sim-ilitudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern wherein a similitude exhibiting a replica of said area is alternated with a similitude exhibiting a reversal of said replica, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern at meeting edges of contiguous replicas; and reproducing said pattern on a different leather than the original and over an area of said different leather greater in area than the area of the original. 5. The method of producing imitations o leathers made ofreptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providingan original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying. the desired markings;

employing photolithography to obtain a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging 'such similitudes in edge to edge relation to leathers made of reptile skins and similarly v characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; employing photolithography to obtain a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging said simili tudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern wherein a similitude exhibiting a replica of said area is alternated with a similitude exhibiting a reversal of said replica, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern at meeting edges of contiguous replicas; forming on a suitable support a printing surface carrying said pattern; and employing said support as an instrument-ality to assist in transferring said pattern onto a different leather than the original and one greater in area than the original.

7. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; employing photolithography to obtain a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging such similitudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern wherein a similitude exhibiting a replica of said area is alternated with a similitude exhibiting a reversal of said area, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern at meeting edges of contiguous replicas; and transferring a reproduction of said pattern in toto and substantially simultaneously as to all pattern parts, onto a difi'erent leather than th original and one greater in area than the original.

8. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable'in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; utilizing said original as a guide to produce a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging such similitudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern while a similitude exhibiting a replica of saidarea is alternated with a similitude exhibiting a reversal of said replica, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern at meeting edges of contiguous replicas; forming on a suitable support a printing surface carrying said pattern; and employing said support as an instrumentality to assist in transferring said pattern onto a different leather than the original and one greater in area than the original.

9. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which Involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; utilizing said original as a guide to produce a plurality of similitudes of said area; arranging such similitudes in edge to edge relation to provide an all over pattern wherein a similitude exhibiting a replica of said area is alternated with a similitude exhibiting a reversal of said replica, thereby to have sets of symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a selected direction across the pattern at meeting edges of contiguous replicas; and transferring a similitude of said pattern onto a different leather than the original and one greater in area than the original, including the step of employing chemistry and light as agents for recording characteristic elements of said selected markings as repeated over said pattern.

10. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; providing a first plurality of replicas of said area and the markings thereof and a second plurality of reversals of said replicas; arranging such replicas and reversals in edge to edge relation with replicas and reversals alternating to provide an all over pattern having symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern; pro viding a lithographic stone of larger area than said original; and transferring said pattern to said stone to provide a printing surface thereon which carries said pattern and is of larger area than said original.

11. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; providing a first plurality of replicas of said area and the markings thereof and a second plurality of reversals of said replicas; arranging such replicas and reversals in edge to edge relation with replicas and reversals alternating to provide an all overpattern having symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern; providing a lithographic plate of larger area than said original; transferring said pattern to said plate to provide a. printing surface thereon which carries said pattern and is of larger area than said original; and utilizing said plate as an instrumentality for assisting in the reproduction of said pattern on a differentleather than the original and over an area of said different leather greater than the area of the original.

12. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a polygonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; utilizing such area with the aid of photolithography to produce a first plurality of replicas of said area and the markings thereof and a second plurality of reversals of said replicas; arranging such replicas and reversals in edge to edge relation with replicas and reversals alternating to provide an all over pattern having symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across the pattern; providing a printing plate of larger area than said original; and transferring said pattern to said plate to provide a printing surfacethereon which carries said pattern and is of larger area than said original.

13. As a new article of manufacture, an imitation of the leather produced from an original skin, such leather having characteristic markings identifying the leather as a leather of said skin by resemblance of such markings to the natural markings of said skin; comprising a leather sheet of larger area than merely thatpart of said skin commonly now available for shoe coverings and for other cutting up purposes, said sheet carrying on one face thereof markings forming a pattern including a plurality of polygonal repeat units arranged in edge to edge relation to present a substantially continuous series of markings across said face, each of such units carrying markings characteristic of the natural markings of a selected polygonal area of said skin.

14. The new article of manufacture defined in claim 13, wherein certain of said units are replicas of said area and certain others of said units are reversals of said replicas, and said pattern is established by arranging said replicas and reversals in alternation in a selected direction across said pattern to provlde at intervals in a selected direction across the pattern sets of symmetrical markings each such set being partially made up 0 marking components adjacent an edge portion of a replica and partially made up of corresponding but reversely arranged marking components adjacent an edge portion of a contiguous reversal.

15. The method of producing imitations of leathers made of reptile skins and similarly characteristically marked leathers from other leathers obtainable in sheets larger than said reptile skins, which involves providing an original; selecting a pol gonal area thereof carrying the desired markings; providing a first plurality of replicas of said area and themarkings thereon and a second a plurality of reversals of said replicas; arranging such replicas and reversals in edge to edge relation with replicas and reversals alternating to provide an all over pattern having symmetrical markings arranged at intervals in a certain direction across said pattern; providing a metal plate of larger area than said original; transferring said pattern to said plate'to provide a printing surface thereon which carries said pattern and is of larger area than said original; and

utilizing said plate as an instrumentality for assisting in the reproduction of said pattern on a difierent leather than the original and over an area of said difi'erent leather greater than the area of the original.

16. The method of making imitation tanned reptilian skin which consists in printing a photograviire upon one side of a relatively large piece of sheet material throughout the area thereof, said photogravure being a composite lithographic copy of a selected portion of the design of natural reptile skin.

17. The method of making tanned imitation reptile skin which consists in printing upon one side of a complete tanned calfskin throughout the area thereof a photogravure that is a composite lithogra hic copy of the design of natural reptile skin, said printing being effected by means of an intaglio stone photographically engravedby means of a composite picture of natural reptile skin.

18. As a new article of manufacture a tanned calfskin having printed upon one side thereof throughout its area a photogravure copy of the esign of natural reptile skin, said calfskin being embossed to simulate the con'figurationof said natural reptile skin. Y Si ed at Brookl in the county of Kin and g t ate of New ork, this 9th day of Fe Mary, A. D. 1931..

FORD C. CLOSE.

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