A NEW OR IMPROVED DRESS FASTENING, WHICH SAID FASTENING IS ALSO APPLICABLE BELTS BANDS, AND TO OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Law, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Accountant Clerk, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED
DRESS FASTENING, WHICH SAID FASTENING IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE
Sealed the 25th November 1864, and dated the 25th May 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Law at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th May
1864.
I, WILLIAM LAW, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Accountant.
Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED DRESS FASTENING, WHICH SAID FASTENING IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE
FASTENING OF BELTS AND BANDS, AND TO OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists of a fastening made of wire for fastening dresses,
bands, and belts, and for fastening other articles, the said fastening being
constructed in the manner herein-after explained.
I will describe my Invention as constructed for fastening dresses. The
said new or improved
improved fastening, consists of two parts, which I will call the
hook and the eye, the said parts being respectively sewn to the two parts of
the dress to be fastened together. The eye part of the fastening consists of a
piece of wire bent at its middle into a loop or tongue, having a nearly circular
igure. The wire on either side the said loop or tongue is bent back or

page_text: towards the loop or tongue, and the ends of the wire are curved into eyes,
by which this part of the fastening is attached to the dress. The general
figure of this part of the fastening is a heart shape, the loop or tongue being
at the small end and the eyes at the broad end, the said loop or tongue and
eyes being within the heart shape. All the parts described are in the same
plane. The other or hook part of the fastening is also of a heart shape, the
ends of the wire being at the small end of the said heart shape. The middle
of the wire is bent so as to make a large loop within the larger end of this
part of the fastening, the spaces between the said loop and the sides
forming eyes for attaching it to the dress. The ends of the wire are
turned at right angles to the plane in which the other part is situated, and
the said ends have heads made on them similar to the heads of ordinary dress
pins. By the configuration thus given to the hook its free ends are made
highly elastic. The distance between the free ends of the hook part is some-
what greater than the width of the narrow end or neck of the loop or tongue
in the eye part. In securing the two parts of the fastening together the
small end of the hook part is passed over the small end of the eye part, and
the free and elastic ends of the hook part introduced into the eye part imme-
diately behind the wide end of the loop or tongue of the said eye part. By
now drawing the hook with some force towards the small end of the eye its
elastic ends open outwards and pass over the wide part of the loop or tongue
of the eye to the narrow end or neck, when the elastic ends spring or close upon
the said neck and securely fasten the two parts together. To separate the
hook from the eye, the hook is pressed towards the broad end of the eye, the
elastic ends are thereby opened and made to travel over the loop or tongue of
the eye; after escaping from the said loop or tongue the elastic ends close
to their normal size, and the hook can be withdrawn from the eye.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Law in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
November 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LAW, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Accountant Clerk, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
Qne thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Law, Her special license that I, the said William Law, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said William
Law, 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 Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
DRESS FASTENING, WHICH SAID FASTENING IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE FASTENING
OF BELTS AND BANDS, AND TO OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Law, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and
seal of one of them, 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 William Law, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My Invention consists of a fastening made of wire for fastening dresses,
bands, and belts, and for fastening other articles, the said fastening being
constructed in the manner herein-after explained.
.
I will describe my Invention as constructed for fastening dresses. The said
new or improved fastening consists of two parts, which I will call the hook
and the eye, the said parts being respectively sewn to the two parts of the
dress to be fastened together. The eye part of the fastening consists of a
piece of wire bent at its middle into a loop or tongue having a nearly circular
figure. The wire on either side the said loop or tongue is bent back or
towards the loop or tongue, and the ends of the wire are curved into eyes, by
which this part of the fastening is or may be attached to the dress. The
general figure of this part of the fastening is a heart shape, the loop or tongue
being at the small end and the eyes at the broad end, the said loop or tongue
and eyes being within the heart shape. All the parts described are in the
same plane. The other or hook part of of the fastening is also of a heart shape,
the ends of the wire being at the small end of the said heart shape. The
middle of the wire is bent so as to make a large loop within the larger end of
this part of the fastening, the spaces between the said loop and the sides

page_text: forming eyes for attaching it to the dress. The ends of the wire are turned at
right angles to the plane in which the other part is situated; and the said
ends have heads made on them similar to the heads of ordinary dress pins or
otherwise. By the configuration thus given to the hook its free ends are
made highly elastic. The distance between the free ends of the hook part is
somewhat greater than the width of the narrow end or neck of the loop or
tongue in the eye part. In securing the two parts of the fastening together
the small end of the hook part is passed over the small end of the eye part,
and the free and elastic ends of the hook part introduced into the eye part
immediately behind the wide end of the loop or tongue of the said eye part.
By now drawing the hook with some force towards the small end of the eye
its elastic ends open outwards and pass over the wide part of the loop or
tongue of the eye to the narrow end or neck, when the elastic ends spring or
close upon the said neck, and attach or fasten the two parts together. To
separate the hook from the eye, the hook is pressed towards the broad end of
the eye, the elastic ends are thereby opened and made to travel over the loop
or tongue of the eye; after escaping from the said loop or tongue the elastic
ends close to their normal size, and the hook can be withdrawn from
the eye.
In some instances instead of terminating the ends of the hook with beads
as before described, the two ends may be bent at right angles with the plane
of the hook and then at right angles transversely, their union or meeting
being in the centre, thus forming a bar for engaging with the tongue of
the eye.
But in order that I may be well understood as to the nature and character
of my Invention, and the manner in which the same may be carried into
effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Fig. 1 represents a flat and edge view of my improved eye, and Fig. 2 &
flat and edge view of my improved hook, the ends of which terminate with
large heads, as at a, b; the sides in connection with these heads form springs
to expand when being attached to the eye, and contract to the position as here
shown after the connection or attachment is made, to effect which I apply the
heads of the hook in the open space of the eye, indicated by the small dotted
circles marked c and d, Figure 1, and by slightly pulling the hook and eye in
contrary directions the sides e and f of the hook will expand, allowing the
heads a and b to pass on right and left of the tongue g, until the angular
parts with the heads a and b are stayed in the contraction of the eye marked h
and i, when the fastening will be complete, and in this form they are repre-
sented in flat, and edge views at Fig. 3. It is not essential that the centre

page_text: loop or tongue in the middle of the hook marked k, k, in Figures 2 or 3,
should be of the shape shown, as it may be so formed as to economise this
wire without interfering in any way with the utility of the fastener, and this I
have exhibited in a modification at Fig. 4, in which, instead of allowing the
ends to terminate with heads as at Figure 2, I have formed them into a bar
bent at right angles to the plane, and divided in the middle, as at m, n,
for engaging with the tongue l of the eye, Fig. 5, and which eye is slightly
modified in its form to that of Figure 1 to the extent of bending the wire
outward to form loops for attachment instead of inwards as there exhibited.
This form of hook and eye made according to my improvements is exhibited
attached or connected in a flat and edge view at Fig. 6, in which it will be
seen that the neck of the tongue / lies in the angular part of the hook marked o,
and in forming the attachment the sides of the hook marked p and q spring
open to allow the bar to pass over the enlarged part of the tongue, to collapse
again by the contracting force of the sides p and q to assume its normal
condition which is in close contact; and this mode of attachment I have
represented at R, Fig. 7, in connection with a brace buckle, the lower part of
which marked s and t, with the tongue u, may be of wire planished down into
this form or otherwise; and the same form of hook, as at R in this Figure, I
have exhibited at V, Fig. 8, in connection with a belt clasp, the tongue in
which it engages being marked w, and in this case cut out of sheet metal to
form the centre of a clasp, which may be ornamented or otherwise on the
front as desired, or the tongue part may be made of wire, as at Figure 5, with
the loops for attachment altered into the form, as at x, for the convenience of
receiving a belt; and Fig. 9 represents a little fastener with a book marked y,
made according to my improvements, as exhibited at R and V, Figures 7 and 8,
partly covered over by the part to which it is engaged by the tongue z. This
modification is arranged for fastening garters and such like small bands, but it
will be evident that by decreasing its size and otherwise fashioning the loops it
would be suitable for fastening the backs of dresses, gloves, and other like
articles, if preferred; and it will be further seen that if the hook were made
as at Figure 2, viz., the ends of the wire terminating with heads, as at a
and 6, the same mode would be as applicable in this case, as also at Figures 7
and 8, as the bar here shown as described separately at Figure 4, which said
Figure, as also Figures 1, 2, 5, and 6, are drawn to a somewhat larger scale
or size than would be usually required for the purposes herein-before stated,
in order that its principle or mode of attachment should be clearly defined.
My improved hooks and eyes may be rapidly manufactured by machinery,
such as is usually adopted for the manufacturing of ordinary hooks and eyes

page_text: with the necessary alterations or modifications to produce the shapes here
given or their equivalents.
Having now given a full description of my Invention, and the manner of
giving effect to the same, I wish it understood that what I claim as of my
Invention and wish protected by these my in part recited Letters Patent
(without confining myself to exact shape and size) is, the description of dress
fastening herein described and set forth in the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say, the parts a, b, e, f, of Figure 2, g, h, i, of Figure 1, p, q, Figure 6,
as also the bar o in the same Figure, and m, n, in Figure 4, which are equi-
valents to a and b in Figures 2 and 3, and these several parts as they occur
in the other modifications.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Law, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
CHARLES JOHNSTONE,
Clerk to James S. Cockings,
Patent Agent,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM LAW. (L.S.)