IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLOVES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
NALDER, of Cheapside, in the County of London, Glove Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of October,
in the tenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Francis Nalder, my exors, admors, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that' I,
the said Francis Nalder, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others n's I,
the said Francis Nalder, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the terim
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exércise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLOVES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Francis Nalder, shail.
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under mý
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of 'Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Francis Nalder, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to
say :--
My Invention consists,―
First, of applying india rubber (caoutchouc) which has been rendered
permanently elastic to the wrists of gloves.
Secondly, my Invention consists in preparing elastic bands suitable for the
wrists of gloves, by employing india rubber (caoutchouc) rendered permanently
elastic; and in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
I would, however, in the first place state, that in applying india rubber to
the wrists of gloves, and when making braids or woven bands containing india
rubber for gloves, it has been usual to employ india rubber in the natural
state, which on being cut (into thin strips) and stretched, and then held
distended for some length of time, becomes set, and no longer elastic, and in
such non-elastic state it has been introduced into the fabrics suitable for
making gloves, in the progress of their being made, and such non-elastic india
rubber has also been woven and also braided with cotton, silk, or other yarn
into bands suitable for the wrists of gloves, the non-elastic state of the thread
facilitating the use of such material in the various processes of making fabrics
for gloves, and in making bands to be applied to gloves in the process of their
manufacture, or after they have been made, the india rubber being subjected
to heat to obtain back the elasticity of that material; and it is well known
that india rubber in its natural state becomes hard and set at low temperatures,
and injuriously acted on by moderately high temperatures, and liable also to
injury by hot water and grease. It has been discovered that india-rubber
may be rendered permanently elastic, and patents have be secured by
Mr. Thomas Hancock and by Mr. Alexander Parkes, for processes of treating
india rubber so as to render the same permanently elastic, and such patents
are now worked by Messieurs Macintosh and Company, of Manchester; and
I mention these facts in order to state that I do not claim the use of india
rubber generally, for giving elasticity to the wrists of gloves, nor do I claim
the preparing india rubber so as to render the same permanently elastic, the
Invention being confined to the use and application of india rubber rendered
permanently elastic to the wrists of gloves, and when preparing elastic bands
suitable for the wrists of gloves; and although I do not confine myself to the
manner in which such manufactures of india rubber are applied, I will
describe the best means I am acquainted with for performing the same.
When it is desired to apply india rubber rendered permanently elastic to kid

page_text: or other leather gloves, I prefer to use a ring or rings of the manufactured
india rubber, and I apply such ring or rings either by sewing or cementing
the ring or rings to the wrists of the gloves, either on the inside or outside of
the gloves. This may be done by folding the upper part of the glove over a
ring or rings of the india rubber, and then sewing the folded portion of the
leather to the other surface of the leather, thus enclosing the ring or rings of
india rubber, the ring or rings used being of the diameter to which it is
desired to contract the opening into the glove; or the ordinary welt of the
glove may be made as heretofore, and the ring or rings of india rubber intro-
duced further into or on the top of the glove, and covered over with a strip of
leather or other material sewed at both edges to the glove, enclosing the ring
or rings of india rubber between the glove and the covering material, the ring
or rings being kept on the stretch when at work, in order that the covering
strip of leather or other material may be equal in length to the circumference of
the wrist of the glove. In like manner a ring or rings of permanently elastic
india rubber may be applied to gloves made of other material than leather;
and leather and other gloves may have such description of india rubber applied
thereto by using the india rubber strips, of such length as desired, fastened at
either end, and either covered as in the case of the ring or rings, or run into
the gloves through holes at intervals, as has heretofore been done when using
india rubber in the natural state. When making fabrics to be cut up into
gloves, the strand or strands or narrow strips of the permanently elastic india
rubber may be introduced when the fabric is being woven, whether in the
shuttle loom or warp machine, or in the knitting frame, or to lace machines,
as strands of india rubber in the natural state have heretofore been introduced,
but with this difference, the india rubber formerly used has been rendered
non-elastic, and so used in weaving, therefore, as the india rubber to be used
according to my invention is permanently elastic, it is to be kept distended
when being introduced; and I have found that it may safely be distended to eight
times its length. Thus, supposing it is to be introduced as weft at intervals, so
as to come at those parts of the fabric which are to produce the wrists of the
gloves, as has heretofore been done when using ordinary india rubber; but as
the india rubber is to be in the elastic state, I cause a length or strip thereof
to be cut of a length of somewhat more than one eighth the width of the
fabric, and make a knot at each end, and by means of a wire or other instru-
ment with a fork or a hook at the end, into which I place the knot at one
end of the strand, and then stretch it to the required length, and by such
means I introduce or I draw it into the shed of the warp, and then close the
shed, and shut in the strand of the elastic india rubber, and then go ou

page_text: weaving, introducing the elastic india rubber at such intervals as may be
desired. And when introducing elastic india rubber into warp fabrics as they
are made, a workman is to keep the india rubber distended (to about eight
times its ordinary length) from selvage to selvage of the fabric, as it is
being introduced into the work, the introduction being otherwise performed
in the same manner as other india rubber has heretofore been introduced in
the making warp fabrics; or in making warp fabrics the loops may be made
suitably at the desired places to allow of the elastic strand or strands of india
rubber being drawn in afterwards, and this may be done either with or
without the introduction of wire or other suitable material, as has heretofore
been done when for receiving india rubber in the natural state. And when
making fabrics for gloves in knitting frames, the elastic india rubber I intro-
duce by preference by making a row or rows of long stitches where the elastic
india rubber is to be introduced, and running in the elastic india rubber strand
or strands after the fabric comes out of the knitting frame. And it should be
stated, that when warp fabrics and knit fabrics are woven suitable for
receiving a.strand or strands. of. the elastic india rubber,. it is better to cut up
such fabrics into gloves before running in the india rubber, and a length of
india rubber is to be run in of a length equal to the contracted circumference
of the finished glove.
•
In carrying out. the second part of my Invention, which consists of making
suitable elastic bands, using permanently elastic india rubber, to be applied in
the manufacture of gloves, or to gloves after they are made, in weaving
suitable bands for such purposes in warp and shuttle looms, the strands of
permanently elastic india rubber are to be used as the warp or part of the
warp, and when the warp is to be wholly of india rubber, then such india
rubber I prefer should be covered as strands of natural india rubber have
heretofore been covered; but when undergoing the process of covering, the
same is to be kept stretched to about eight times its original length, the
delivery of the warp if would thereon in the unstreatched state being at about
one eighth of the speed of the take-up, and such is the case when covering
the elastic india rubber, and the warp thus produced is to be kept distended to
about eight times its length, when being delivered and worked up, so that the
fabric made will be about eight times the length of the original warp, and the
same will contract when released, and such is to be the case when a part only
of the warp is of elastic india rubber. covered by the act of weaving by using
a warp of cotton, silk, or other yarn, with the warp of elastic india rubber, in
which case I prefer to cause the india rubber to be wound on to a separate beam
or roller in the unstretched state, and to cause it to be unwound at about one

page_text: eighth the speed of the cotton or other warp used therewith, so that the india
rubber will be kept stretched to about eight times its length in being woven;
and this may readily be done by causing each strand of india rubber in passing
from its warp beam or bobbins to pass first around one roller and then around
a second roller, the second-roller delivering at the speed the work is taken up.
and at about eight times the speed at which the first roller delivers to the
second roller.
In making braids with permanently elastic strands introduced therein
longitudinally, I introduce them in the same manner as strands of india rubber
in the natural state have been heretofore introduced into braids; but as
they are elastic I cause the india rubber to be kept on the stretch to about
eight times its length as it is being introduced into a braid; and this may be
conveniently done by causing each thread or strand of elastic india rubber
as it passes from the bobbin or bobbins on which the strands are wound
in the unstretched state, to pass first around one and then around a second
roller covered with woollen cloth or plush, the second roller having a surface
speed given thereto equal to eight times that of the first roller which receives
the elastic india rubber first from the bobbin or bobbins on which the same is
wound, the work being taken up at about the speed of the second roller. In
other respects the braiding is to be conducted as heretofore, the fabrics pro-
duced being, however, in an elastic state when taken from the machine, in
place of being in a non-elastic state, as heretofore, and when making such
narrow bands suitable for gloves in twist lace machines the india rubber being
permanently elastic is to be delivering in an extended state, as described in
respect to the other modes of weaving; in other respects the fabrics are to be
produced in like manner to what has before been done when india rubber in
the non-elastic state has been used. These bands, owing to the greater
elasticity of these manufactures of india rubber over natural india rubber, I
prefer should not contain, whether woven or braided, more than from one-half
to two thirds as much india rubber as what has heretofore been used. The
bands thus made are to be used and applied to gloves in like manner to what
other elastic bands have been used, that is to say, by placing them on the
needles of knitting frames, and having glove fabrics produced thereon, which
are then to be made into gloves, as is well understood; or such bands are to
be fixed to the wrists of gloves by sewing or otherwise, as heretofore practised.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best manner I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that
what I claim is,―

page_text: First, the application of india rubber rendered permanently elastic, such as
herein mentioned, to the wrists of gloves. And,
Secondly, I claim the manufacture of woven or braided bands suitable to be
used for the tops or wrists of gloves, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Nalder, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.