improvements in the manufacture of Stra
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 5th June, 1900-Accepted, 4th Aug., 1900
improvements in the manufacture of Stra
I, EDWARD FERRABY WALSH, of the Firm of William Walsh & Son, of 55,
George Street, Luton, in the County of Bedford, Straw Hat Manufacturers, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows: —
My invention relates to the manufacture of straw hats and especially to straw
hats of the kind known as "boaters" the object of my invention being to pro-
ride hats of this class which while presenting the appearance of the ordinary
plaited straw are pliable or flexible thereby rendering them more comfortable
to wear than the ordinary "boaters."
According to my invention the plaited straw is sewn in the ordinary manner
to form the hat and then instead of being stiffened as heretofore has applied
to it wholly or in part an inner lining or backing of a suitable flexible material
which possesses sufficient rigidity to give the straw the requisite degree of stiff-
ness at the required parts. In practice I find it advantageous to make this
lining or backing of Yeddo or Swiss straw fabric that is to say fabric wherein
the straws are laid parallelwise and secured together by thread.
The hat and lining are sewn together with or without cement between them
and are then blocked in the usual manner.
In some cases a wire or the ke may be inserted between the hat and the back-
ing at the edge of the brim.
Dated the 2nd day of Sentember 1899
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Straw Hats.
I, EDWARD FERRABY WALSH, of the Firm of William Walsh & Son, of 55,
George Street, Luton, in the County of Bedford, Straw Hat Manufacturers, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement : —
"
My invention relates to the manufacture of straw hats and especially to straw
hats of the kind or shape known as boaters," the object of my invention being
to provide hats of this class which while presenting the appearance of the ordi-
nary plaited straw and retaining straightness of brim and correctness of shape
are pliable or flexible and possess the quality of conforming or adjusting them-
selves to the shape of any head whether long, round or irregular oval thereby
rendering them more comfortable to wear than the ordinary "boaters."
According to my invention the plaited straw is sewn in the ordinary manner
to form the hat and then instead of being stiffened as heretofore, has applied

page_text: to it wholly or in part an inner lining or backing of a suitable flexible material
which possesses sufficient rigidity to give the straw the requisite degree of stiff-
ness at the required parts. In practice I find it advantageous to make this
lining or packing of Yeddo or Swiss pipe-straw fabric, that is to say, fabric
wherein the straws are laid parallelwise and secured together.
To enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:-
-
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a hat constructed according to my inven-
tion:
Figure 2 is a sectional view drawn to a larger scale than Figure 1; and
Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figure 2 illustrating modifications:
Figure 5 is a plan view illustrating another modification.
a indicates the plaited straw of which the crown and brim of the hat are
constructed in the usual manner and which for convenience I term the outer
shell and bindicates the lining or backing of Yeddo or Swiss pipe-straw fabric
which for convenience I term the inner shell. In practice these two shells are
made separately and are then fitted one into the other and secured together by
suitable stitching, with or without cement between them, the whole being
then blocked in the usual manner.
In order to afford the necessary stiffness to the brim the portion of the inner
shell which forms the backing for the said brim can be made of a double layer
of Yeddo or Swiss straw the two layers being compressed together, as shewn
in Figure 2, or if this double layer is considered objectionable the straws of the
brim portion of the inner shell can be stiffened by inserting into them strips
of cane c, as shown in Figure 3, the edge of the outer shell is also preferably
turned over the edge of the lower shell as at d. Furthermore the material by
which the straws of the Swiss pipe-straw fabric are secured together instead of
being ordinary thread as has heretofore been usual may be thin cane shreds.
When it is desired to conceal the Yeddo straw fabric, a layer of plaited straw e
may be placed on the underside of this layer the edges of the strip of straw
plait being overlapped, as shewn in Figure 4, or placed edge to edge as shewn
in Figure 5.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a straw hat the combination of an outer shell or covering of plaited straw
and an inner shell, forming a lining or backing, of Yeddo or Swiss pipe-straw
fabric or other flexible straw fabric of sufficient rigidity, the said two shells
being united together and blocked, substantially as described.
2. In a hat the combination of an outer shell of plaited straw, an inner shell
of Yeddo or Swiss pipe-straw fabric the part of the fabric which forms the lining
or backing of the brim being of double substance, or having strips of cane in-
serted, substantially as described.
3. In a hat the combination of an outer shell of plaited straw, an inner shell
of Yeddo or Swiss pipe-straw fabric secured to the said outer shell and a facing
of plaited straw on the underside of the brim to cover the lining or backing of
the latter, substantially as described.
4. The manufacture and use of straw hats, substantially as hereinbefore des-
ribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
D
1 1
1
1
T
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4. South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.