AN IMPROVED METALLIC EYELET
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Neville Burton, of 12, High Street,
Reading, Berks, Boot and Shoe Maker, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED METALLIC EYELET."
Sealed the 25th May 1869, and dated the 28th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Neville Burton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th November 1868.
I, ALFRED NEVILLE BURTON, of 12, High Street, Reading, Berks,
Boot and Shoe Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED METALLIC EYELET," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to eyelets for boots and shoes, stays, and other
articles ordinarily secured by laces or cords, which eyelets when con-
structed of suitable size and strength may also be conveniently applied
to rick cloths, tents, sails, and other like articles requiring to be held
or secured by cords or ropes. The hole or tube of the said eyelets,
through which the cord or lace is passed is curved, so that the said cord
or lace may pass easily through a series of the eyelets; from this curved
portion extends a shank or stem, whereby the eyelet is secured. In

page_text: applying these eyelets to boots and other articles of dress I place them
opposite each other flatwise on the surface of the two sides to be united,
the curved tubes of each pair of eyelets when drawn together forming
a complete circle. The lace is then run through the entire series of
eyelets and may be tightened by pulling its loose end.
In manufacturing my improved eyelets I first cut or stamp from a
sheet of thin brass, copper, or other suitable metal a blank or flat pieco
of suitable size and shape. The portion to form the tube of the eyelet
is in the centre of the blank with the parts to form the shank or stem
projecting therefrom. The said blank is then placed in suitable dies and
bent or doubled over a mandrel into the required form. The shank may
be T shaped or otherwise formed with projections which are inserted
through a slit or aperture in the material, and then turned and clinched
over the same, or the said shank may be rivetted or otherwise secured.
The shank may also be provided with claws or points which are forced
into the material and assist in securing the shank.
For rick cloths, tents, and other purposes where fastenings of greater
strength are required I prefer to construct the eyelet of wrought iron.
The blank may be stamped or cut from sheet iron of suitable thickness,
or forged into the proper form and then bent by the aid of dies or other
apparatus which give the desired curvature to the tube. The form of
the shank may be varied, and also the method of securing the same in
the canvass or other material.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Neville Burton in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 27th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
NEVILLE BURTON, of 12, High Street, Reading, Berks, Boot and Shoe
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her a
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Neville Burton, Her
special licence that I, the said Alfred Neville Burton, my executors, a

page_text: administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Neville
Burton, 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 IMPROVED METALLIC EYELET," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alfred Neville Burton, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, 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 Alfred Neville Burton, 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 accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
My Invention relates to eyelets for boots and shoes, stays or corsets,
and other articles ordinarily secured by laces or cords, which eyelets
when constructed of suitable size and strength, may also be conveniently
applied to rick cloths, tents, ships' sails, and other like articles requiring
to be held or secured by cords or ropes.
My improved eyelets are constructed in an entirely different manner
to any heretofore used. The article commonly known as the metallic
eyelet is a short tube, which is passed through the material to which it
is to be attached and secured by riveting or closing down the ends of
the tube. When these eyelets are used for the laces of shoes and other
articles the lace lies partly without and partly within the same, and is
both inconvenient and uncomfortable to the wearer.
My improved eyelets are so formed that when used upon a shoc or
The
other article the lace or cord is kept entirely outside the same.
tube of the said eyelet through which the cord or lace is passed is not
inserted through the material but lies on its surface; the said tube is
curved, so that the cord or lace may run easily through series of the
eyelets, and from this curved portion extends a shank or stem whereby
the eyelet is secured.

page_text: In applying these eyelets to boots, shoes, and other articles of dress
they are usually placed opposite each other flatwise on the surface of the
two sides to be united, the curved tubes of each pair of eyelets when the
two sides of the boot or shoe are drawn together lying opposite to each
other, but when one lace is used the eyelets should be arranged
alternately on either side. The lace is then run through the entire
series of eyelets, and may be tightened by pulling its loose end or ends.
In some cases the tube may be so short as to form simply a ring for the
lace to pass through.
The accompanying Drawing shows one of my improved eyelets as I
prefer to construct the same for a boot, shoe, or other article of dress;
and in order that my Invention may be clearly understood, I have
shewn in the said Drawing one of the eyelet blanks, a finished eyelet,
and the arrangement of the same upon the front of a boot.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is the "blank" from which the said eyelet is formed;
Figure 2 is a front view of a finished eyelet; Figure 3 is a section on the
line x, x, Figure 2; Figure 4 is a view of part of a boot provided
with my improved eyelets; Figure 5 is a view of part of a boot with my
improved eyelets as arranged for the use of a single lace. Like letters
indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
In manufacturing this eyelet I first cut or stamp from a sheet of thin
brass, copper, or other suitable metal a "blank" or flat piece a, Figure 1,
of suitable size and shape. The portion 6 to form the tube of the eyelet
is in this case in the centre of the blank a, with the parts which are
to form the shank or stem c projecting on opposite sides therefrom, but
if desired the shank may be formed by a piece projecting from only one
side of the tube. When the said "blank" is thus formed it is placed
in suitable dies and bent or doubled over a mandrel, or by other
convenient means into the required ultimate form, as shewn in Figure 2.
The shank c may be shaped as shewn in the Drawing, or may be formed
with T-shaped projections which are inserted through a slit or aperture
in the material, and then turned and clinched over the same. The
shank may also be provided with claws or points which are forced into
the material and assist in securing the shank, or may be secured by an
ordinary eyelet; but I prefer to secure the eyelet by means of a rivet
or rivets passed through the shank and the leather or other material, and

page_text: for this purpose I employ a pair of shoe pliers provided with a flat
punch to form the slit for the insertion of the shank, and a round punch
for forming the rivet hole. The said pliers should also be provided
with adjustable gauges for regulating the distance of the holes from
the edge of the shoe, and for determining the distance between the
holes.
I do not, however, attach any great importance to the particular
implement or means employed in securing my improved eyelets on
the boot, shoe, or other article, as the said eyelets are so simple and so
readily applied that any suitable implement may be used therefor. I
also wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the precise form
shown either of the blank or of the finished eyelet, or to the method
herein described of manufacturing the eyelets.
For rick cloths, tents, and in other cases where fastenings of great
strength are required I prefer to construct the eyelet of wrought iron.
The "blank" may be stamped or cut from sheet iron of suitable
thickness, or forged into the proper form and then bent by the aid of
dies or other apparatus which will give the desired curvature to the
tube. The form of the shank may be varied and also the method of
securing the same in the canvass or other material. The said eyelets
may also be constructed of cast iron, malleable cast iron, or other
suitable material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, I claim an eyelet consisting of a curved tube b and
shank c, which tube when the eyelet is properly attached to a shoe
or other article lies upon the surface of the same, so that a lace or
cord passed through a series of such eyelets will be entirely outside the
said shoe or other article, and may be readily tightened or slackened
without withdrawing or removing the lace, all substantially as herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Neville Burton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
ALFRED NEVILLE BURTON. (L.S.)