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[Page 1]

[written by Banks?]

The case of Thomas Chapman of [indecipherable] by New Long Lane Southwark                                                                                                                                             
Mr. Chapman worked as [trunk?] maker & exercisd that trade for some years with reasonable success, in  the course of his business in the year 1795 he observd, as some of the seal skins purchasd by him for the purpose of covering of [trunks?] had under the coarse bristly hair that answered his purpose a silky wool almost as fine as Beaver wool, he learnd by enquiry that those skins were a new article brought home by the Southern Whalers & that the hatters were well aware of the value of the Silky wool, could it be freed from the coarse hairs, but that no person had yet found the means of effecting this very usefull purpose

Mr Chapman immediately began to make experiments with a view of making  of preparetory of rendering this wool from the hair in order to make it a saleable commodity when a meeting with some success, he neglected his original business so entirely, that when he succeeded in 1795 by compleatly seperating the [indecipherable] wool from the hair, he had not money enough to pay the expence of a Patent
He set to work however with diligence in his new vocation & finding abundance of Custom from the hatters, he soon began to make some money, but as he had been obligd to reveal the secret of his process to his work men, he was now advisd that the Privelege of a patent could no longer be legaly defended as the process would not now be considerd as a new one

in 1798 at this time the price of seal skins being not more than 2/- each & no difference being made in the price of the Southern or the northern ones, the 

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