IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS."
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, of Hyde Park, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alice Isabel Lucan
Gordon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with her Petition,
on the 29th November 1864.
I, ALICE ISABEL LUCAN GORDON, of Hyde Park, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HATS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in manufacturing hats, such as hunting hats,
policemens' hats, and hats of all kinds, which are worn in cases of danger, or
where the person wearing the hat is liable to be thrown or injured upon the
head, of flexible material, impervious to air and moisture, such as gutta
percha or indian-rubber, or chemically prepared waterproof fabrics, such as that
known by the name of macintosh or felt, having in the upper part a false
crown forming an air-tight chamber composed of the same material as the
hat, or otherwise as may be deemed advisable, the said air-tight chamber by
its elasticity forming a cushion which protects the head in case of a blow or
accident. The aforesaid air-tight chamber may be so constructed as to lie flat
on the top of the hat resting on the false crown, and may be furnished with'
an aperture at any convenient point, through which it may be inflated with
air when required, and securely closed by a screw or other appliance in the

page_text: same manner as an air-tight cushion. To provide for ventilation I have air
holes or other equivalent appliances placed at convenient and suitable points
and distances round the hat below the false crown, so as not to interfere with
the above-named air-tight chamber or cushion.
Hats made according to my Invention may be covered with silk, or felt, or
fur, or other materials, and may not in outward appearance be dissimilar from
those in general use; they may likewise be made of any shape, either to fit
close to the head as a hunting hat, or of the same shape as the ordinary hat
if desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 29th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALICE
ISABEL LUCAN GORDON, of Hyde Park, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, Her special licence that I, the said
Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, 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 HATS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, 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 Inven-
tion, 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 Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: following statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in manufacturing hats, such as bunting bats,
policemen's hats, and hats of all kinds, which are worn in cases of danger (or
where the person wearing the hat is liable to be thrown or injured upon the
head), of a flexible material impervious to air and moisture, such as gutta
percha, or indian-rubber, or chemically prepared waterproof fabrics (such as
that known by the name of macintosh), or of felt, having in the upper part a
false crown forming an air-tight chamber composed of the same material as
the hat or otherwise, as may be deemed advisable, the said air-tight chamber
by its elasticity forming a cushion, which protects the head in case of a blow
or accident. The aforesaid air-tight chamber may be so constructed as to lio
flat on the top of the hat resting on the false crown, and may be furnished
with an aperture at any convenient point, through which it may be inflated
with air when required, and securely closed by a screw or other appliance in
the same manner as an air-tight cushion, or the air-tight chamber may be
divided into several compartments, and may be distributed and arranged over
such parts of the head as may be thought to require protection. To provide
for ventilation I have air holes, or other equivalent appliances, placed at con-
venient and suitable points and distances round the hat below the false crown,
so as not to interfere with the above-named air-tight chamber or cushion.
Hats or caps made according to my Invention may be covered with silk or
felt, or fur, or other materials, and may not in outward appearance be dis-
similar from those in general use; they may likewise be made of any shape,
either to fit close to the head as a hunting hat, or cap of the same shape as the
ordinary hat, if desired.
Policemen's or firemen's helmets, and soldier's or volunteer's shakos may
also be made upon the same principle.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for Improvements
in Hats," I will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which
the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect. And in
order that the same may be distinctly understood, I have annexed a Sheet of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures and
letters of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation
thereof, that is to say :-
The annexed Drawings represent by way of illustration the application of
my Invention to the manufacture of a hunting cap, Figure 1 being an exterior
view, and Figure 2 a vertical section of the same.
The body a, a, and the peak b, b, of the cap may be made in the ordinary

page_text: form and of the usual materials. Inside the crown of the cap is a false
crown c, c, forming an air-tight cup-shaped chamber or cushion d, d, all over
the top of the head. Round the head also is an annular air-tight chamber or
cushion e, e, applied to the exterior of the cap in the form of a fillet. I may
here observe that the form of the air-tight chambers or cushions, together
with the manner of their application, may be varied in numerous ways with-
out departing from the main feature of my Invention, for instance, a series of
fillets e, e, might be applied over the whole crown, or tubes might be used
placed in the direction of the quarterings *, *. These air-tight chambers or
cushions may (as before stated), be made of any suitable air-tight material,
and may be provided, if desirable, with a suitable mouth-piece and valve for
inflating and exhausting the same, and any ordinary means of ventilating the
interior of the cap (such, for instance, as the holes f,f,) may be employed.
It will be evident that the chambers d, d, and e, e, being fully inflated and
hermetically closed will act as cushions or pads, and thus effectually protect
the head of the wearer from injury by any blow or concussion to which it
may be subjected either by accident or otherwise.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
Improvements in Hats," together with the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in
conclusion that I claim as my Invention the manufacture of hats (or other
equivalent coverings for the head) with air-tight chambers or cushions in the
manner and for the purposes above particularly set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alice Isabel Lucan Gordon, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
A. I. L. GORDON. (L.S.)