IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN TOE TIPS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Tertius Rowlett, of No. 34, Newark
Street, in the Town of Leicester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN TOE TIPS FOR THE SAME.”
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Tertius
Rowlett at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 7th May 1873.
I, WILLIAM TERTIUS ROWLETT, of No. 34, Newark Street, in the
Town of Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN TOE TIPS
FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
boots and shoes, and in toe tips for the same..
It is now common to make boots and shoes, particularly those for
childrens' wear, with toe tips of metal to render them more durable;
such toe tips are however very unsightly. Sometimes the metal has been
japanned with a view to remove this objection, but the japan wears off
in a very short time..
:

page_text: According to my Invention I use toe tips made of india-rubber
prepared with sulphur, or substances containing sulphur, and cured in
such manner that the edge through which the fastenings pass which
attach the toe cap to the boot or shoe remains flexible and tough whilst
the portion of the toe cap which is exposed to wear becomes hard and 5
rigid, indeed is converted into the substance well known as vulcanite.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Tertius Rowlett in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 1
TERTIUS ROWLETT, of No. 34, Newark Street, in the Town of Leicester,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth 1
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and.
grant unto me, the said William Tertius Rowlett, Her special license that
I, the said William Tertius Rowlett, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Tertius Rowlett, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and 2
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 "IMPROVEMENTS * IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN TOE TIPS FOR THE SAME," upon 2
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Tertius Rowlett,
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 a
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 Tertius Rowlett, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what mannär
'

page_text: the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
boots and shoes, and in toe tips for the same.
It is now common to make boots and shoes, particularly those for
childrens' wear, with toe tips of metal to render them more durable, such
toe tips are however very unsightly. Sometimes the metal has been
japanned with a view to remove this objection, but the japan wears off
in a very short time.
According to my Invention I use toe tips made of india-rubber
prepared with sulphur or substances containing sulphur, and cured in
such manner that the edge through which the fastenings pass which
attach the toe cap to the boot or shoe remains flexible and tough whilst
the portion of the toe cap which is exposed to wear becomes hard and
rigid, indeed is converted into the substance well known as vulcanite.
The annexed Drawing shews a toe tip constructed according to my
Invention. The part a which is the part exposed to wear is of vulcanite
or hard rubber, and the part 6 by which it is fastened to the boot or
shoe is of flexible or tough vulcanised india-rubber. These qualities are
obtained in the manufacture by the employment of different proportions
of sulphur as will be well understood by workers in india-rubber. The
toe tip is formed in a mould and cured by heat. The portion b is sewn
or otherwise fastened between the sole and the upper, and the part a is
so held just in front of the upper at the toe of the boot or shoe where it
is most exposed to wear.
What I claim is the manufacture of india-rubber toe tips and the
application of such toe tips in the construction of boots and shoes, sub-
stantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Tertius Rowlett, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-