Improvements in Vests or Under Shirts.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vests or Under Shirts.
A communication from PAUL EUGEN WOLF, of Chemnitz, Saxony, in the Empire
of Germany, Manufacturer.
I. ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to an article of underclothing especially intended for
persons suffering from, or predisposed to disorders in the lungs, but which will
prove valuable also for general sanitary purposes, such as protection from colds, etc.
This improved under-shirt or vest should be worn next to the skin, i.e. underneath
the ordinary shirt or other clothes.
The main feature of this vest is that the material of which it is made is double
at the parts covering the back and corresponding to the position of the lungs in
front, the object being to maintain the lungs at a uniformly warm temperature
and to absorb perspiration so as to prevent it, when the material is impregnated
with it, from injuring the health of the wearer or making him feel the disagreeable
sensation of dampness and cold.
In the accompanying drawing:
:-
Figure 1 is a front view, and Figure 2 a back view of a shirt or vest made in
accordance with this invention.
a a are the parts of the article consisting of a single layer of material and b b are
the double parts whose form in front, as shown, practically corresponds to the shape
and extent of the two lungs. The extra sheets or layers of material applied to
these parts are only fixed to the main piece by their edges, while in the remaining
parts the two sheets of material rest loosely upon each other so that between their
respective meshes there forms, as it were, a layer of warm air, exceedingly
beneficial to the chest. Perspiration can only moisten the inner material at first,
instead of both parts at once, which enables it to be absorbed gradually instead of
being rapidly evaporated and thereby not only causing a sensation of cold and
dampness but also bringing about dangerous chills.
This vest will preferably be made of special material, the inner surface of which
is formed of vegetable fibre, and the outer, of animal fibre (for example, cotton and
wool) the threads of both descriptions being closely interwoven. Underclothing
made of such material offers the appreciable advantage of permitting the wearer
to profit by all the valuable properties of animal fibre without submitting him to
the inconvenience of its contact, as it is well known that persons with a very
delicate skin cannot bear for any length of time the sensation of immediate contact
with wool or worsted. Another advantage of the use of such material is that it
enables the clothes to continue capable of absorbing perspiration, even after pro-
tracted wear. My correspondent however, does not limit himself to the use of such
material in the manufacture of the improved under shirt or vest herein described,
which may be made of any suitable fabric or material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is: ...
1. Underclothing such as shirts, vests, or the like, characterized by the arrange-
ment, on the parts corresponding to the back and the chest of the woarer, of extra
sheets or layers of material, for the purpose of keeping the region of the lungs

page_text: uniformly warm and absorbing perspiration without giving the wearer the
sensation of dampness or cold substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
2. The manufacture of underclothing of material the inner surface of which is
formed of vegetable fibre and the outer surface of animal fibre.
Dated this 7th dox of October 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.