IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC- TURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Forster, of Streatham, in the County
of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
Sealed the 27th January 1854, and dated the 28th July 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Forster
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th July 1853.
1, THOMAS FORSTER, of Streatham, in the County of Surrey, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES" to be as follows:-
This Invention is peculiarly applicable to boots and shoes to be used
when fishing or otherwise when the wearer is liable to walk in water.
Heretofore it has been common to coat the exterior surfaces of boots
and shoes with india-rubber, in which cases the fabrics interior of the
boots and shoes are liable when out of use to become damp andto
rot; now one object of my Invention is to line the interior of boots and
shoes with india-rubber or compounds thereof, and another part of my

page_text: Invention consists of coating the exterior surfaces of leather boots and
shoes with india-rubber or compounds thereof, and japanning the outer
surfaces.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
filed by the said Thomas Forster in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 28th January 1854...
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
THOMAS FORSTER, of Streatham, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of July, 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 successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Forster, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Forster, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I the said Thomas Forster, 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Forster, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and scal, 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 he 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 Thomas Forster, 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):

page_text: This Invention is peculiarly applicable to boots and shoes to be used
when fishing or otherwise when the wearer is liable to walk in water.
Heretofore it has been common to coat the exterior surfaces of boots
and shoes with india-rubber, in which cases the fabrics interior of the
boots and shoes are liable when out of use to become damp and to
rot. Now one chject of my Invention is to line the interior of boots
and shoes with india-rubber or compounds thereof, and another part of
my Invention consists of coating .the.exterior surfaces of leather boots.
and shoes with india-rubber or compounds thereof, and japanning the
outer surfaces.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed
to describe the manner of performing the same.
Heretofore it has been common in the manufacture of waterproof
boots and shoes to coat the exterior surfaces with india-rubber, and to
line the interior with leather or a fabric with an intermediate coating of.
cotton or linen to give additional strength. And it has long been a
complaint that in use the leather or fabrics absorbs damp from the feet.
or otherwise, so that when the boots are out of use they become mildew'd
and rotten. The object of this Invention is to remedy this defect,
which I do as follows:-
When it is desirable that the boots or shoes should have, as before,
india-rubber outside, I line the interior with india-rubber in lieu of the
leather or fabric above described. I take a sheet of india-rubber or of
its compounds, with sulphur or sulphurets, gutta-percha, or any of those
materials named by me in the Specifications of the Patents granted to
me on the Sixth of September, One thousand eight hundred and forty-
four, September Second, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven,
and October Twenty-first, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
By preference I employ india-rubber combined with milk of sulphur,
as described in the Patent dated Second September, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-seven. The sheet of india-rubber should be
about one sixteenth of an inch thick (or a fabric coated with india-
rubber or its compounds to that thickness would answer equally well),
and cut from it a lining suitable for the boot or shoe. I cement together
the seams in the leg, and then block the foot on a last as though it

page_text: were leather, and cement the "upper" to an insole. of india-rubber pre-
viously rounded to the last; this insole should not be less than one fourth
of an inch thick (see Figure 1), and if I desire that the lining should
be vulcanized I remove it from the last, and carefully examine it to
see that it is perfect and water-tight. I then dust the interior with
French chalk, and then vulcanize by heat, which is well understood.
I then replace it on the last, and proceed to cement over it any linen or
cotton fabric to give strength and prevent undue elasticity, after which
I cover it with sheet india-rubber (colored black or otherwise in its
manufacture), putting on a golosh and sole of leather, as usual in the
manufacture of ordinary india-rubber boots.
Providing both the inside and outside of the boot is to be vulcanized.
I proceed as above stated, but delay the vulcanizing until the exterior
coat of india-rubber is on. After it is vulcanized I put on the golosh
and sole as usual.
Figure 2, is a section of the above boot; the color pink being
intended to represent the india-rubber (the dark line, see Figure 3),
the fabric between it, and brown the leather golosh and sole.
Another part of this Invention consists in making the interior of boots
and shoes of india-rubber or its compounds as above described, and the
exterior of leather or fabrics, by which means a much more neat and
serviceable article can be produced, and according to the kind of leather
used for the exterior, whether calf, goat, enamel, or cowhide, suitable
for officers in the army or navy, sportsmen, soldiers, miners, fisher-
men, and others, and when the exterior is formed of a fabric with or
without a golosh of leather suitable for ladies wear.
To make these boots with leather exterior and the interior of india-
rubber vulcanized I proceed as before described for the lining (Fig. 1), .
and when complete put it on to a boot tree, and having the leather all
ready blocked to the shape with the tongue sewn in, I proceed to
cement the leather to the rubber, having one join up the back, which
must be neatly closed; this must be done with care to prevent the awl
by any chance puncturing the india rubber.
When the boot is closed the foot part will present the form of sec-.
tion, sec Figs. 4, and 5 the leather in-sole having been previously

page_text: rounded must then be attached to the india-rubber with a little india-
rubber cement, the upper turned down, and the welt sewn on; the heel,
&c., being finished in every way as an ordinary leather boot or shoe.
I need scarcely remind the workman that no nails must be used in
fixing the work..
The object of the india-rubber insole being so thick is to prevent
every possibility of the awl by accident puncturing through it, or the
points of the nails used in nailing the soles doing mischief. It is advi-
sable carefully to select the nails for the soles; they should not be longer
than the sole is thick.
The directions here given for boots vulcanized with leather exterior
is equally applicable for those not vulcanized or for shoes.
Variations in the modes of carrying out this Invention may be
resorted to.
The leather can be blocked, as before described, and then lined with
the india-rubber, the back seam closed upon the inside, and a strip
of india-rubber put over it neatly, or the leather may be coated in the
skin, and the boots or shoes cut from them, and the seams made secure
by a piece of india-rubber or waterproof fabric laid over them. But
in both these cases the last must have side linings of india-rubber,
(see Fig. 6.) cemented well to the insole before the upper is put on;
"the upper" should be cemented well to the side lining, and then the
leather insole, welt, &c. should be applied as before directed. When
the lasts are withdrawn from the finished boots or shoes the interior
should be well rubbed with some ground French chalk, and a little
should be used by the wearer to enable them to be draw on easily.
Having described the mode of carrying out my Invention to the
best of my ability, I wish it understood I do not confine myself to the
details, although I believe them to be the best, neither do I claim any
particular compound of rubber for use in this Invention. But what I
do claim as my Invention is, the manufacture of boots and shoes with
exterior surfaces of india-rubber or its compounds, with interposed
leather or fabrics combined with linings of india-rubber or its com-
pounds (vulcanized or not), in lieu of the linings of leather or fabric
hitherto used.

page_text: I also claim as my Invention the manufacture of waterproof boots
and shoes having an interior lining of india-rubber or its compounds
(vulcanized or not), the exterior surfaces being leather or a fabric, as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Forster, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
THOMAS FORSTER. (L.S.)