Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1884-12-02
SERIAL SHIRT FRONTS.
An Amazing Invention Lately Patented By
PennsyIvanian Who Knows the Weak
nesses of Mankind.
philadelphia Inquirer.l

IPhiladelphia lnquirer.I
''If anybody thinks that the inventive
genius of the American people is ON the
wane he's hopelessly left, that's ALL" re-
marked one of the leading patent lawyers
of Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, as he
sat with his feet on the Office table and
smoked patent Connecticut cigar war
ranted to deceive the most expert Judge of
Havana tobacco. James," he continued,
addressing the office boy, "bring me that
package that came from Washington yes
terday."
The lad produced large paper parcel,
from which the lawyer took what was to
all appearances an ordinary colored shirt,
being apparently of white linen, with a
small design in the form of horseshoe and
jockey cap stamped all over the bosom and
cuffs.
81 have just taken out patent on this
for man in Lackawanna County, who
calls it the Excelsior patent paper shirt
and novelette," Here the speaker inserted
his thumb nail at the bottom of the shirt
bosom and proceeded to tear off a
layer of the paper of which the
shirt was made. He then tore off an
other layer, and then another and another,
until six separate sheets in the shape of the
bosom lay on the table, and he still held
what looked like the original shirt in his
hand. "You SIZE it's a really remarkable
idea. Here is this shirt, made of very
tough paper, that won't tear without a
great deal of pressure, and the bosom is
made up of seven layers, one for each day
in the week, if man chooses to be lavish
with his linen, or, If he like to be an out
and-out swell, he can change half dozen
times a day. Now, ON this sample all the
fronts are the same, but they will be made
in all sorts of styles, so that fellow can
wear this horseshoe figure IL he wants to
go to Coney Island to the races, or a
crossed base ball bat design IL he is going
out to see the Philadelphias play the Ath-
letics, or neat little design in dots or
bars, or something of that sort, il he is
going off with his girl TO Atlantic City
or the matinee. That'll be all fixed by
giving a card with each shirt telling the
pattern on each of the seven fronts, which
will be numbered from one to seven.
Enough collars and cuffs will go with each
shirt for the seven fronts, and the whole
outfit will be sold for the small sum of fifty
cents for the assorted patterns and
thirty-five cents for the all white. Why,
it's the biggest thing that has been struck
since the telephone was patented"
"But what about the novelette, part of
the schemeS~
"Ah. had forgotten TO show you; see
this" and the lawyer handed over one OF
the torn Off shirt fronts, on the back of
which was printed in fine type one chap
ter of a story entitled: 'sThe Phantom
Jockey; Romance OF Sheepshead Bay"
'There you are, chapter I, OF a sporting
novelette,, and it's continued and finished
on the other six fronts. OF course, some
times you viii run across the same yarn
twice ON two shirts, but some thousands of
different stories win be printed, and the
lots made up SO as TO give each city and
town as few duplicates "a possible. Any
how, the card wiz tell yon whss story is
on the shirt. aud you can Be careful not 20
buy the same one twice. Some men win
get 50 Interested in the story when they
rip otf Mondays front that they sill tear
che whole week or. 50 as 60 learn The hero's
fate. but that wiz be al the better, and %.
indeed, part Of the scheme in printing
them ali. On, tell you this invention \
going % be great 40, and, aside from its
other virtues, viii do more toward driving
the Chinese laundrynen hack 30 their na-
tive land than al the political howls that
ever were heard"