CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES
Year: 1840

page_text: WAKEFIELD AND ASHTON'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS' SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ASHTON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Hat Manufacturer, for
myself and for JOHN WAKEFIELD, of Salford, also in the County of Lancaster,
Hat Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS we, the said John Wakefield and John Ashton, did by Petition
humbly represent unto Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
that after considerable application and expence we had invented "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES," and Her said Majesty being
willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which may be for the
public good was graciously pleased by Her Royal Letters Patent under the
Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of November, One thousand eight
hundred and forty, in the fourth year of Her reign, for Herself, Ier heirs
and successors, to give and grant unto us, the said John Wakefield and
John Ashton, our exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that we, or they, by ourselves or themselves, or
by our or their deputies, servants or agents, or such others as we or they should
agree with (and no others), during the term of fourteen years from the date
of the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, our said Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's dominions
called England, Her dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,..
in such manner as to us, our exors, admors, and assigns, shall seem meet, and
as that we or they shall enjoy the whole profit and advantage, arising by
reason of the said Invention during the said term of fourteen years, and for that
end Her said Majesty requires and strictly commands all Her subjects what-.
soever within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed aforesaid, that they

page_text: shall not neither directly nor indirectly make, use, or put in practice our said
Invention, or any part thereof; nor in any wise, counterfeit, imitate, or resemble
the same, nor make any addition thereto, or substraction therefrom, whereby
to pretend himself, or themselves, to be the Inventor or Inventors thereof.
And whereas the said Letters Patent contain a proviso, obliging us, the said
John Wakefield and John Ashton, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her 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, refer-
ence being thereunto had,) will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Ashton; for myself and for the said John, Wakefield, do hereby declare
that, our said Invention is, described and ascertained in manner following,.
that is to say:
Our said improvements relate to the manufacture of hat bodies of that kind
which are commonly made of slender strips of, willow, wood, interwoven
together by weaving them in a loom in the manner of coarse woven gauze or
cloth, so as to form a tissue of woven willow, from, which, tissue, pieces of
suitable shape and size are cut out and joined together around or upon a hat
block to form, what is called a hat body, and which is exactly the size; and.
shape of the hat intended to be made, such hat body being the skeleton or
frame or foundation, which is to give shape and firmness to the intended hat;
and such hat body so made is to be afterwards covered on the outside with
cloth of the kind called, plush or shag; but note, such hat bodies are commonly
coated over with a composition called waterproof, previous to covering them
with plush or shag, the chief ingredient in the waterproof most commonly
used being shell lac, dissolved in or reduced to a semi-fluid state by spirits of
wine or other suitable solvent. The hat body is covered on its outside with
such waterproof, or else a thin muslin cloth saturated with the semi-fluid.
waterproof is applied around and upon the hat body. In either way of apply-
ing the waterproof it serves, when it has become, dry, and has been pressed.
and smoothed with a hot iron; to cement more firmly together the pieces of
tissue of willow whereof the hat body, is made, and also to partly fill up the
interstices of the woven, tissue of willow, it is usual to varnish over the
waterproof on the hat body, with a composition called varnish, the chief ingre-.
dient in which is also shell lac partially dissolved in a suitable solvent That
varnish serves to fasten on the plush or shag covering which is ultimately.

page_text: applied on the outside of the hat body over such varnish and waterproof; the
said covering of plush or shag is finally smoothed down on the hat body,
whilst the same is on a hat block, by pressure with a hot iron which causes
the plush or 'shag to adhere to the varnish and waterproof.
Part of our said improvements in the manufacture of such hat bodies consist
in making the same out of pieces of tissue (woven in a loom) of slender strips of
palm leaves commonly called palmetto, and sometimes called Brazillian grass,
an article well known' in commerce under those names, being the leaves of palms
which grow in South America to a large size, but which also grow in other parts
of the world, and specimens of the kind named chamaerops humilis are occa-
sionally kept growing with artificial heat in conservatories in England, though.
the leaves in such case are commonly of too small a size to be of much use;.
those leaves are long narrow blades whereof several radiate out from a common.
centre at the extremity of a branch of the palm in the manner of the sticks
of a lady's fan, or in the same manner as the fingers of the human hand.
radiate out from the palm thereof. There are different varieties of the leaves,:
which are imported under the names of palmetto palm leaves or Brazillian
grass, but which answer the same purpose, and are well known, because strips
of such leaves are commonly used for platting by the fingers into the form of
hat bodies, hats and bonnets.
"
And for performing this part of our said improvements, strips of palmetto
palm leaves, such as are commonly used for so. platting by the fingers, are to.
be woven in a loom into a tissue like a coarse woven gauze or cloth, in the
same well-known 'manner as is now commonly done with strips of willow as
horéin-before mentioned; and; according to this part of our said improvements,.
hat bodies are to be made up out of pieces of such loom-woven. tissue of
strips of palmetto palm leaves, in the same manner as like hat bodies, are now
commonly made up out of pieces of a loom-woven tissue of strips. of willow ;.
and hat bodies so made up, according to this part of our said improvements,.
out of pieces of loom-woven tissue of strips of palmetto palm leaves are to.
be afterwards finished into hats, in all respects in the same manner as is now.
commonly done with the hat bodies of willow; the breadth of the strips into
which the palmetto palm leaves are to be slit or cut up for weaving in the loom
as aforesaid, should be about the same breadth as the strips of willow conimonly.
used for the like purpose as aforesaid. The superior strength of the strips of
palmetto palm trees over that of strips of willow of equal size will render
the hat bodies which are made, according to this part of our said improve-
ments, of a loom-woven tissue of strips of palmetto palm leaves much stronger
and better able to retain the hat in form. than a common hat body made of

page_text: willow can do, because, if the hat is bruised or bended by force so much out
of form as that strips of willow would be crippled or broken, and would there-
fore be unable to restore the hat to its true form, the strips of palmetto palm
leaves would, in like case, from their greater tenacity probably escape being
crippled or broken, and would, therefore, perfectly restore the hat to. its true
form.
. Another part of our said improvements in the manufacture of hat bodies,
consists. in making the same out of pieces of woven tissue (woven in a loom) of
strips of palmetto palm leaves, aforesaid, in combination with yarns or threads
of cotton or flax; the said strips of leaves and yarns, or threads, which are
combined together being interspaced, and extending in parallel courses with
the strips of leaves, side by side of the yarn or threads, throughout the woven
tissue in both directions, lengthways and breadth ways thereof, that is to say,
the strips of palmetto palm leaves and the yarns or threads which are combined
together, and which are interspaced so as to extend in parallel courses, as
aforesaid, are disposed in the woven tissue in the direction of the warp, and
also in the direction of the weft thereof, so that the strips of leaves and the
yarns or threads will mutually intersect and cross each other at right angles,
over and under alternately, in order to interweave together and form the
compound woven tissue. The yarns or threads may be course cotton, such as
is called No. 15, or between that and No. 40, and one, two, or three, or
more such yarns or threads may be introduced in the compound woven tissue,
between each strip of palmetto palm leaves and the next adjacent strip thereof.
As far as regards the warp, the intended combination of the yarns or threads
with the strips of leaves is to be effected by the manner in which the warp is
put into place in the loom, preparatory to the weaving of the compound tissue;
for this purpose the yarns or threads proceeding from a yarn roller, in the
usual manner of the warp in a loom, are inserted through the eyes or mailles
of the heddles, and through the proper spaces between the dents of the reed of
the loom, but leaving every second, or every third, or every fourth, or other
proportion of such eyes or mailles and spaces in the reed vacant (without any
thread or yarn therein), those mailles and spaces so left vacant being for the
reception of the strips of palmetto palm leaves, which are to form part of the
warp of the intended compound tissue, and those strips are to be introduced
into such vacant eyes or mailles and spaces, in the same manner as is usually
practised in weaving strips of willow, for introducing the same into their
proper places in the heddles, and the reed of the loom, in order that those
strips may serve as warp in preparation for weaving them into a tissue of
willow; and after the compound warp of yarns or threads and strips of leaves

page_text: has been thus introduced in place in the loom, then the weaving of the tissuo
is begun, by throwing a thread or yarn of weft across the said compound warp;
using a shuttle in the usual manner of weavers looms, so as to interweave
that weft with the said compound warp, and after one, or two, or three or
more successive shoots have been so thrown across, (the warp being duly
divided or opened afresh, by proper and ordinary action of the heddles in the
interval between the throwing of each successive shoot) then the throwing of
the shuttle is suspended, whilst a strip of palmetto palm leaf is introduced or
drawn in across the warp by using a hook, in the same manner as a strip of
willow is commonly introduced across the warp, by aid of a hook in the
ordinary mode of weaving a tissue of willow, so that the strip of palmetto palm
leaf, thus introduced, becomes as it were a shoot of weft in the compound
tissue which is in course of being woven. Then the shuttle is thrown again
one, two, three, or more times, in order to lay the yarn or threads of weft as
many times across the warp, after which another strip of palmetto palm leaf.
is introduced across as before; and so on, in that way, the weaving is continued
until so much length of the compound tissue is completed as can be woven
with one length of these strips of palmetto palm leaves which belong to the
warp, and that said length of compound woven tissue will form one piece or
sheet thereof. Then, by a repetition of the previous operation of preparing the
compound warp, or fresh set of strips of palmetto palm leaves are to be intro-
duced in the loom, as part of the warp in preparation for beginning to weave
another such piece or sheet of compound woven tissue, as before, and so on.
Those yarns or threads aforesaid which belong to the compound warp, being
continuous, they serve for many sheets of woven tissue, which are woven in
succession, although the strips of palmetto palm leaves which belong to the
compound warp can only extend the length of one of those sheets, and therefore
a fresh set of such strips must be introduced, for making each succeeding
sheet; the length of such sheet must depend upon the length of strips of
palmetto palm leaves which can be obtained; and such strips should be well
sorted into separate lots, in order to get together those strips which are alike
as to strength, and which are also nearly of one length, so that the strips
constituting each lot may be cut exactly to one length with the least loss; and
strips so sorted as to be all alike (as to strength and length) are to be used
together as one set in the warp and another set in the weft, for the formation
of each sheet of the woven tissue. The sorting of the strips will be the same,
whether they are to be used for weaving a compound tissue or a tissue without
any threads or yarns in it.
And note, the action of the hoddles of the loom during such weaving

page_text: may be the same as such action would be for weaving textures of plain
cloth, one half the warp being raised and the other half depressed alter-
nately at each shoot, the heddles being made operative, in order to divide
the warp, in that manner in due preparation for every successive shoot
of the shuttle, that is thrown across as well as for any strip of parmetto
palm leaf that is introduced across, and the same may be said of the beating-
up of the weft by the reed; that beating-up is to be performed in the usual
manner of weaving in looms, after every time that the shuttle has been thrown,
as well as after every time that a strip of palmetto palm leaf has been intro-
duced across the warp.
And note, as to the reed, it may be made with wider spaces between
its dents, at all the spaces which are to be prepared for the admission of
those strips of palmetto palm leaves which belong to the compound warp,
than at the intervening spaces, which are to be for the admission of the
yarns or threads which belong to the same compound warp, that is to say,
every other, or every third, or every fourth space between the dents of the
reed, as the case may be, is to be made wider than the spaces between the
intermediate dents; the latter or narrow spaces, which are for the reception
of the yarns or threads, should be made about the same width as is usual in
the reeds of looms for weaving yarns or threads of like size into cloth, but the
wide spaces, which are provided at proper intervals for the reception of the
strips of palmetto palm leaves, are to be twice, or three, or more times such
usual width, so as to be suitable for the width of such strips as are intended to
be used with that reed. In short, the reed is to have the spaces between its
dents made to suit the warp that is compounded of yarns or threads and strips
of palmetto palm leaves, according to the sort of compounded warp which is
to be used in cach particular case for weaving the compound tissue.
But note, it is not absolutely necessary to have such a peculiar reed made
for the purpose, because a uniform reed may be used, having all its spaces of
the same width, that width being wide enough for the reception of the strips of
palmetto palm leaves, and the yarns or threads which would require narrower
spaces may be put two yarns or threads together in the same spaces.
And hat bodies which are made according to this part of our said improve-
ments, out of pieces of woven tissue of strips of palmetto palm leaves, woven in
a loom, in combination with threads or yarns, as herein-before described, will
have the advantage of the said strips being very firmly held together in the
compound tissue, by those threads or yarns, and also in the usual application
of the water-proof composition, to cover the outside of the hat body before the
outside covering of plush or shag is put on, as herein-before mentioned; that

page_text: water-proof which is most commonly used, and which is most esteemed by hat
makers, will adhere more firmly to the yarns or threads, than the same water-
proof would adhere to a hat body made of a loom-woven tissue of strips of
palmetto palm leaves alone, according to the preceding part of our said
improvements, without having any yarns or threads combined with such strips
in such loom-woven tissue.
Another part of our said improvements in the manufacture of hat bodies
consists in forming the round or cylindrical sides of such bodies out of a
continuous (or nearly continuous) tissue of the compound nature last, described,
which continuous tissue is adapted to extend all round the hat body without
seam; and which continuous tissue is obtained by weaving in the loom strips of
palmett palm leaves combined with yarns or threads, as aforesaid, as well for
the warp as for the weft of the tissue, such weaving being double or in two
distinct thicknesses of the tissue, but both woven at the same time and from the
same warp, one thickness being above the other in the loom and at suitable
intervals during such weaving double in the loom, that is, at suitable distances
along the length of the piece of double woven tissue, according to the size of
the hat bodies intended to be made; the strips of palmetto palm leaves, and the
yarns or threads which constitute the compound warp, for both the said distinct
thicknesses, are interwoven together into one thickness of tissue by means of
weft of yarn or thread interweaving with and across the whole of the said warp
belonging to both thicknesses; such interweaving of the whole of the warp of
both thicknesses into one thickness being continued for a short length, but only
so much as is requisite for making a sufficient junction or union between the
two thicknesses; and after such junction is effected then the double weaving in
two distinct thicknesses is resumed, until another suitable length of double
tissue has been woven, and then they are again joined or united together into
one thickness by interweaving the weft across, and with the whole of the warp
belonging to both thicknesses as aforesaid; wherefore, by suitable interweaving
of the weft across the warp alternately as a double warp to form two
thicknesses or tissues, and then as a single warp to form one tissue in manner
aforesaid, a long piece of compound tissue is woven, which being afterwards.cut
transversely across, at the middle of each of the said single thicknesses which
form the junctions of the two thicknesses as aforesaid, the said long piece of
tissue becomes divided into a number of pieces of what I have herein-before
called a continuous or nearly continuous tissue, and which pieces of continuous
tissue are proper in form and in size for forming the round or cylindrical parts
of as many hat bodies, according to this part of our said improvements, that is
to say, they are pieces of continuous or nearly continuous compound tissue of

page_text: a proper size for extending all round the hat body without seam; those strips
of palm leaves and yarns or threads which constitute the warp of the compound
tissue (when the same was in the loom) being, when the same is made up into
hat bodies (according to this part of our said improvements), bended round in
the direction of the circle round the hat body, and those strips of palm leaves
and yarns or threads which constitute the weft of the compound tissue, (when
the same was in the loom) being when the same is made up into hat bodies
(according to this part of our said improvements) in the direction of the height
of the hat body, that is, in the direction from the brim towards the crown
thereof.
The mode of weaving double or in two distinct thicknesses of the tissue
at the same time being commonly known and well understood by weavers,
it is unnecessary to enter into details thereof, and it will be sufficient to
remark that the effect is produced by the action of the heddles, which are
caused to divide and open the warp in such manner, that those yarns and strips
of the warp which are to belong to one of the thicknesses, will be open for the
admission of one shoot of weft, and then those yarns and strips of the warp
which are to belong to the other thickness, will be open for the admission of
the next succeeding shoot of the weft, but none of the yarns and strips of warp
which belong to one thickness, are in any case raised or lowered amongst any
of those which belong to the other thickness, wherefore the two thicknesses
always keep distinct.
The weft, in passing and repassing at the two selvages, unites the two
thicknesses together, but those selvedge junctions are cut away before making
the several pieces of continuous tissue into hat bodies, according to this part of
our improvements, the continuity of each such piece being in the direction of
the warp threads and strips, and when each such piece is put around a hat
block in order to be made up into a hat body, the junctions before mentioned
of the two thicknesses which junctions by being woven single at that place unite
the two thicknesses into a continuous tissue will stand projecting outwards
from the block, and they require to be folded down flat towards the block and
stuck fast by application of the waterproof and the pressure of the hot iron;
and thereby the round sides or cylindrical part of the hat body will be made in
one piece of compound woven tissue without seam, which will be an expeditious
mode of making them and they will be very strong.
And note, in making hat bodies according to either part of our said im-
provements, the flat circular tops or crowns thereof may either be made of the
same material as the sides, or cylindrical sides or are made of as herein-before
described, or the said crowns may be made of any of the materials usually

page_text: employed for the crowns of hat bodies, and also the brims of such hat bodies
may be made of any of the materials usually employed for making the brims
of hat bodies, and may be fastened and applied to such bodies in the usual
manner.
Ilaving now described our said improvements, and the manner of performing
the same, I, the said John Ashton, for myself and for the said John Wakefield,
do hereby declare that what we claim as new Invention under the said Letters
Patent, is as follows:-
First, the improvement, herein-before described, in the manufacture of hat
bodies, of making the same out of pieces of a loom-woven tissue of strips of
palmetto palm leaves, as herein-before explained.
Second, the improvment herein-before described of making hat bodies out
of pieces of a compound loom-woven tissue of strips of palmetto palm leaves,
woven in combination with yarns or threads of cotton or flax, as herein-before
explained.
Third, the improvement herein-before described of making hat bodies with
the round sides or cylindrical parts thereof, in one piece of continuous loom-
woven compound tissue or nearly continuous loom-woven compound tissue of
strips of palmetto palm leaves, woven in combination with yarns or threads
of cotton or flax, as hercin-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said. John Ashton, have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twentieth day of May. One thousand eight hundred and