IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA- RATUS FOR SUSTAINING BODIES IN THE WATER
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st October 1853.
T, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby
leclare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
RATUS FOR SUSTAINING BODIES IN THE WATER" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction of dress and support-
ing medium to be worn by persons required to enter the water for the
saving of life and property. It consists of a garment composed of any
suitable impermeable material, and encloses the arms, body, and legs of
the wearer; it is tied round the neck and is fitted with gloves and
boots for the hands and feet. The supporting medium consists of a
zone stuffed with carded cotton and covered with any suitable material.

page_text: This zone is worn under the arms, and has the advantage of not losing
its buoyancy although the outer covering may be damaged. This appli-
cation of the buoyancy of cotton may also be applied to horse collars
and other harness, by which means horses and other animals may be
ver rivers & without danger.
crossed over
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st April 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her
special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SUSTAINING BODIES IN THE
WATER," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an instru-
inent in writing under my hand and seal, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction of dress and
supporting medium to be worn by persons requiring to enter the water
for the saving of life or property. It consists of a garment composed
of any suitable impermeable material, and encloses the arms, body, and
legs of the wearer; it is tied round the neck and is fitted with gloves
and boots for the hands and feet. The supporting medium consists
of a zone stuffed with carded cotton and covered with any suitable
material. This zone is worn under the arms, and has the advantage of
not loosing its buoyancy although the outer covering may be damaged.
This application of the buoyancy of cotton may also be applied to
horse collars and other harness, by which means horses and other
animals may be crossed over rivers, &c. without danger.
Figure 1, of the accompanying Drawings represents the apparatus
complete, and properly adjusted on to the swimmer. Figure 2, is a
The
detail of the floating belt, and Figure 3, is a section of the same.
apparatus consists of a pair of bag trousers A, of caoutchouc or any
other suitable impermeable material, made in one piece or with as few
seams as possible, and lined inside. This garment is terminated at the
lower extremities by a pair of boots B, also composed of india-rubber
fitted with leather soles b, b. At the upper portion it is fitted with a
pair of sleeves C, and gloves c, in which are inserted the arms and
hands of the wearer. Below the sleeves is an opening D, which
admits the body of the wearer. When the legs, body, and arms are in
their places, the opening D, is closed by a lace or cord d, round the
neck. The body of the swimmer is now entirely protected from the
O water, his head alone being uncovered by the dress. This dress is
adjusted over the ordinary clothes, care being taken that the hands are
enclosed in gloves in order that there may be no direct contact with the
india-rubber of which the dress is composed. In removing the dress
The body
after use the clothes will be quite dry and the body warm.
5 is surrounded by a cylinder or belt E, of caoutchouc stuffed with

page_text: cotton, shewn in detail in Fig. 2. This belt is attached by means of
buckles e, and straps of leather f, which are fixed to the two extremities.
It is made thinner or more contracted in the middle and at the two
ends, so that when it is fitted on to the body the thin portions may be
adjusted under each arm, thus leaving the motion of the armis free and
unimpeded. The buoyant power of this belt or cylinder is suflicient to
support the weight of a man in the water if it were stuffed to the
extent of from thirty pounds to forty pounds of cotton. The advantage
of this construction of belt is, that although it should be accidentally
pierced or torn, the cotton would still not become saturated and the
Wearer consequently would not be exposed to the danger of sinking for
want of supporting medium. In order to produce motion when in the
water with this apparatus, the arms are moved and extended from back
to front. The back is turned towards the point to be approached, and the
hands and arins are used as oars. To remain at rest in the water, it is
necessary that the wearer should place himself in equilibrium in a
vertical position as in standing, but slightly leaning forward; the upper
portion of the body being slightly bent forward, and the feet assisting,
when necessary, in maintaining an equilibrium. The body may be
turned by the use of the legs and slightly leaning the upper portion
towards that side to which the swimmer desires to turn. The move-
ment of the body may also be directed by one hand, the feet at the
saune tine assisting the movement. It is not necessary to understand
the art of swimming to use this apparatus. In entering the water for
the first time a slight difficulty will be found in keeping the body in
equilibrium, but in a few minutes the necessary movements and position
will be understood. As the weight of the lower extremities will be
greatly superior to that of the upper portion of the body (the buoyancy
of which will be greatly increased by the belt) a vertical position will at
once be attained.
Horses or other animals may be conveyed over
rivers by modifying the apparatus according to the requirements, that is
to say, by using collars or harness stuffed with carded cotton, in the
manner and on the principle herein-before described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or

page_text: carried into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine
or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which 1 have
had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made
therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features of the
said Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original, and there-
fore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of safety-dress, as
herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of carded cotton as a floating or
supporting medium for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whercof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of April, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)