AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
1
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, fór
the Invention, of " AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOOTS AND
SHOES." A communication from abroad by Joseph Lacy Joyce and
Edward Heaton, both of the City and County of Newhaven, in the State
of Connecticut, in the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th September 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane.
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOOTS AND
SHOES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention of an improvement in the construction of boots
and shoes is to economize the stock or material used in the manufacture of
boots and shoes by dispensing with a great portion of the "out sole;" that is
to say, the external portion of the sole hitherto used which extends from the'
front of the sole just behind the ball of the foot to the heel. The Invention
also dispenses with all the "shank leather," and gives greater ease to the foot

page_text: in walking, and relieves the "upper leather" of much of the strain to which it
is ordinarily subjected, and facilitates the manufacture of boots and shoes as
well as the repairing of the same when necessary. The Invention consists in
the employment or use of a shank constructed of metal or other suitable
material of sufficient rigidity, and attached directly to the "in sole," without
the intervention of an "out sole," as hitherto.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing late tho Ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Nowton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT. IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOOTS AND SHOES," being a com-
munication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, by an instrument, in writing under my band and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed; and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said. William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):-

page_text: The object of this Invention of " An Improvement in the Construction of
Boots and Shoes is to economize the stock or material used in the manufacture
of boots and shoes by dispensing with a great portion of the "out sole;" that is
to say, the external portion of the sole hitherto used, and which extends from
the front of the sole just behind the ball of the foot to the heel. The-Inven-
tion also dispenses with all the "shank leather," and gives greater ease to the
foot in walking, and relieves the "upper leather" of much of the strain to
which it is ordinarily subjected, and facilitates the manufacture of boots and
shoes as well as the repairing of the same when necessary. The Invention!
consists in the employment or use of a shank: constructed of metal or other
suitable material of sufficient rigidity, and attached directly to the "in sole,"
without the intervention of an "out sole," as hitherto.
". 2
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a
boot made according to the present Invention; the section is taken in the
line x, x, of Fig. 3; Fig. 2, a transverse vertical section of the same taken in'
the line y,y, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a bottom view or inverted plan of the sole.
A represents the upper part of a shoe, which is cut and arranged in the
usual way. The heel B, as well as the front part of the sole C, are attached
to the upper in the ordinary manner; D represents a shank or waist piece,
which may be of metal, thin sheet steel would answer the purpose, although
other metal or rigid material may be used. This shank or waist piece, D is
curved to correspond with the arch of the foot and the desired width of the
shoe between the heel B and the back end of the front part C of the sole, as
shewn in Figures 1 and 3. The back end of the shank D is inserted in the
upper part of the heel B, and the front part of the shank is inserted under the
back end of the front part C of the sole, and is secured by nails a passing
through the front and back ends of the shank, as shown clearly in Fig. 1; the
shank D, at its sides, is secured by nails 6 directly to the edges of the upper A,
lining E, and insole F, the nails being clinched inside the shoe by being driven
against a metal last, or one having a metal surface. The shank or waist
piece D thus attached to the upper is not provided with any "out sole," and
hence the " filling" or "shank leather" hitherto employed is dispensed with,
and consequently the labor attending the applying of the same to the shoe or
boot is avoided. The labor of attaching the shank D to the shoe or boot is
quite trifling, and the shank has a tendency to render the shoe much more
durable than hitherto, as it is constructed so as to be somewhat elastic, and
therefore allowed to yield or give to the movement of the foot and at the same
time preserve the arch or hollow of the shoe, preventing it from sinking or
sagging under the pressure of the foot, a contingency which occurs to a greater

page_text: or less extent; with ordinary leather shoes and boots, and which greatly-strains
them, and frequently causes the uppers and soles to separate or rupture at
their junction.
In case a shoe or boot constructed according to this Invention requires to
bo half-soled it will be seen that the work can bo readily done, as the sole.C
does not, as hitherto, require to bo detached or cut from a leather shank or
waist pieco, filling, and " out sole."
The Invention gives the shoe or boot a much'neater appearance than those
manufactured in the usual way."
Having now described this Invention of "An Improvement in the Construc-
tion of Boots and Shoes," and having explained the manner of carrying tho
same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid, constructing shoes or boots with shanks or waist pieces of metal or
other suitable rigid material applied directly, or without the intervention of an
out sole, to the upper of the shoe or boot, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)