IMPROVEMENTS IN LADIES' MOURNING BONNET AND HAT FALLS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James White, of Aldersgate Street, in the City of
London, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LADIES'
MOURNING BONNET AND HAT FALLS."
Sealed the 20th October 1864, and dated the 27th April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James White at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
April 1864.
I, JAMES WHITE, of Aldersgate Street, in the City of London, Manufacturer,.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LADIES' MOURNING BONNET AND HAT FALLS," to be as follows:-
Ladies mourning bonnet and hat falls, formed with two or more folds, have
had the fold or folds above the bottom one formed on or applied to the outside
of them only, and the inside or "wrong side" is thereby different from the
outside, and when in use it has been found desirable for the wearer to throw
the fall back over her bonnet or hat, the inside or "wrong side," or that with-
out the series of folds, is that exposed to view, and the appearance of the fall is
then imperfect or defective, showing the "wrong side" of the fall.
The object of my improvements is to form both sides of such falls alike, so
that whatever side thereof is exposed to view the same effect will be manifest.
For this purpose the crape or other material to form the fold or folds above
the bottom fold of the fall, in place of being connected only on the upper edge

page_text: thereof, and on the one side of the fabric forming the body of the fall, is formed
in two parts, one of which is applied on one side of the fabric forming the
body of the fall, and the other on the other side thereof, and so that one part
of each fold may be exactly opposite the other, and these folds or parts thereof
are connected to the net, crape, or other material forming the body of the fall
near their top and bottom edges, by sewing, purling, or otherwise. In sewing
without purling, care should be taken that the stitches take only to the turned
in edges of each fold, when purling the purl of each side of a fold may be
applied simultaneously by sewing through and through, when sewing machinery
is employed for attaching such purling the purl of one side may be fed from
the under side of the table and the other from the top, both being sewn through
at the same time.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James White in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WHITE, of Aldersgate Street, in the City of London, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James White, Her special licence that I, the said James White, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
White, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN LADIES' MOURNING
BONNET AND HAT FALLS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
James White, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James. White, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
Ladies' mourning bonnet and hat falls, formed with two or more folds, have
had the fold or folds above the bottom one formed on or applied to the outside
of them only, and the inside or "wrong side" is thereby different from the
outside, and when in use it has been found desirable for the wearer to throw
the fall back over her bonnet or hat, the inside or "wrong side," or that with-
out the series of folds, is that exposed to view, and the appearance of the fall
is then imperfect or defective, shewing the " wrong side" of the fall.
The object of my improvements is to form both sides of such falls alike, or
to represent right or front sides, so that whatever side thereof is exposed to
view the same effect of right or front side will be manifest. For this purpose
the crape or other material to form the fold or folds above the bottom fold of
the fall, in place of being connected only on the upper edge thereof and on the
one side of the fabric forming the body of the fall, is formed in two parts, one
of which is applied on one side of the fabric forming the body of the fall, and
the other on the other side thereof, and when the breadths of the folds oppo-
site each other on the two sides of the body are equal, one part of each fold
will be exactly opposite the other, and these folds or parts thereof are con-
nected to the net, crape, or other material forming the body of the fall near
their top and bottom edges by sewing, purling, or otherwise.
But that the Invention may be better understood, I will, by the aid of
the accompanying Drawing, proceed more fully to describe means pursued
by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a front view and Figure 2 a section of a portion of a fall
with a fold applied thereto according to my improvements.
a is the body of the fall, which may be of lace or crape, or of other suitable
material; and is the bottom fold, which in carrying out my improvements is
formed in the ordinary way; c is a fold next above the bottom and applied
according to my improvements so as to present the appearance of a right sido
on both sides of the fall. In applying this "fold" two similar strips of
material of which the fold is composed are provided and applied to the body
of the fall with their bottom edges opposite each other, as indicated by the
section, Figure 3, and their edges are then sewn through the parts c', c', and
a, as indicated by the red line d, and when these edges are made secure the

page_text: parts c, c, are turned up over the stitching d, and the upper edges of the parts
c, c, are turned in at c², c², as shown by Figure 4, and they may then be con-
nected to the body a and to each other by. sewing through from between one
of the turned in parts and the part a, so as to secure both parts c³, c², and the
part a together by one sewing, or these two parts c³, &, may be separately sewn
to the body, care being taken not to allow the sewing to appear through the
outside of the folds, when slight pressure applied to the upper and lower edges
of both parts of the fold will give them the desired appearace and hide the
stitches produced in sewing them on.
Figure 5 shows another section with several folds of different widths
similarly applied one above the other, but it will be evident that great variety
in the number, order, or width of the folds may be obtained, as is now adopted
with the folds on one side only, dependent on the taste of the manufacturer or
the wishes of his customers; and if desired the folds on one side may be of a
different width from those on the other side. In sowing without purling, care
should be taken that the stitches take only to the turned in edges of each
fold.
Figure 6 shows a modification in which the upper edge of each part of the
fold in place of being turned in is simply laid against the body a, and there
hidden and held by bands e applied on the outside of them (called "purling"),
and which are then held in position by sewing. When the upper edge of each
part of the fold is thus secured by purling, the purl of each side of a fold may
be applied simultaneously by sewing through and through. When sewing
machinery is employed for attaching such purling the purl of one side may be
fed from the under side of the table and the other from the top, both being
sewn through at the same time.
Having thus described my improvements, and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that what I claim is,
the forming both sides of ladies' mourning bonnet and hat falls by applying
thereto the folds above the bottom fold on each sido thereof, as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said James White, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JAMES WHITE. (L.S.)