IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Berman, of Addle Street, in the City
of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BUTTONS."
Sealed the 9th December 1875, and dated the 14th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Berman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th June 1875.
I, EDWARD BERMAN, of Addle Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a fancy metal button to be
used for waistcoats and coats or for ladies' dresses or garments.
Hitherto these metal buttons have been made either with metal backs
› into which a metal shank is inserted, or with metal backs having a large

page_text: holo in the centre through which a piece of coarse linen projects, and
which serves in place of a metal shank, or the buttons have been covered
with thread, lace, or network through which they are sewn on to the
fabric. All these different kinds of buttons however do not give perfect
satisfaction, as the buttons when sewn on to the dress do not sit firmly
on it. This can only be effected by sewing on the button through holes
pierced through the button itself, as in the case of horn, vegetable ivory,
glass, or composition buttons, all made out of one piece.
Many attempts have been made to produce fancy metal buttons
having holes through the buttons, but all have failed in consequence of 1
the edges of the metal being sharp and unprotected, and cutting the
thread by which the button is fastened on to the fabric. This objection
I have overcome by the combination of metal tops with wooden cores,
through which smooth round holes are bored by which to sow the button
on, doing away with the unpractical and more costly metal shanks, lace 1
work, or linen backs, and producing at a lower cost and a better finished,
lighter, and stronger article.
In carrying out my Invention I employ very thin sheet metal, which
I cover with enamel of any desired colour or design or which I may
otherwise ornament. The size and form of the button being decided
upon, the enamelled sheet of metal is cut or punched out into pieces of
the form and a little larger than the size desired, and the button holes
are carefully punched out downwards through the centre, leaving a
rounded off edge for the thread to run over. I then take wooden cores
previously prepared of the exact size and form of the button required, 2
and place them in the centre of the metal piece. The size of the latter
being larger than that of the wooden cores, it will allow of the former
being lapped round firmly over the edges of the cores by suitable
machinery. Holes are then drilled through the wooden cores corre-
sponding to the holes already pierced in the metal covering, and by these a
means a strong solid button with perfectly round smooth holes is
obtained at a much cheaper rate than hitherto and capable of great
variety in design.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Berman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Edward
BERMAN, of Addle Street, in the Oity of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Berman, Her special
licence, that I, the said Edward Berman, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Berman,
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 BUTTONS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Edward Berman, 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.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said Edward Berman, 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 following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):-
The object of this Invention is to produce a fancy metal button to be
used for waistcoats and coats or for ladies' dresses or garments.
Hitherto these metal buttons have been made either with metal backs
into which a metal shank is inserted, or with metal backs having a large

page_text: hole in the centre through which a piece of coarse linen projects, and¸
which serves in place of a metal shank, or the backs of the buttons have
been covered with thread, lace, or network through which they are sewn
on to the fabric. All these different kinds of buttons however do not
give perfect satisfaction, the shanks often break out and the buttons
This can
when sewn on to the dress by same do not sit firmly on it.
only be effected by sewing on the button through holes pierced through
the button itself, as in the case of pearl, horn, vegetable ivory, glass, or
composition buttons, all made in one piece and holed.
Many attempts have been made to produce metal buttons having
holes through the buttons, but all have failed in consequence of the
edges of the holes being sharp and unprotected, and so cutting the
threads by which the button is fastened on to the fabric. This objection
I have overcome by the combination of metal tops with cores or filling
pieces of wood, through which smooth round holes are punched down-
wards, by which to sew on the button, thus dispensing with the
unpractical and more costly metal shanks, lace work, or linen, or thread
backs, and producing at a lower cost a better finished, simpler, and
stronger article.
In the accompanying Drawing I have illustrated the different stages
in the manufacture of my new button.
In carrying out my Invention I employ thin sheet metal for the tops
of the buttons. This sheet metal I cover with enamel of any desired
color or design, or I may otherwise ornament it. Tho size and form of
the button having been decided upon, the enamelled sheet of metal is
punched out into discs of the form and a little larger than size desired,
as shown in plan view and section at Figs. 1. The cut pieces of metal
are then placed in suitable dies and the edges are turned down, as shewn
in section and plan view at Figs. 2, after which the centres of the discs
or pieces are depressed or countersunk (see Figures 3 and 4) in any
suitable manner, or the discs or pieces may be embossed with a device
such as a crown or anchor. The metal pieces having thus been made to
take the form of shallow cups, I insert therein cores or filling pieces of
wood which have been previously prepared to the exact size and form of
the button required, and the edges of the cups are then laid or pressed
over the edges of the filling pieces in any suitable manner, as seen in
Figs. 4 and 5, in which a is the metal top, and 6 the wooden core.

page_text: Holes are then punched downwards through the metal tops and wooden
cores (see Figs. 6), and the button is finished with perfectly smooth
round holes. It will thus be seen that the wooden core or filling serves
as a protection for the thread used in sewing on the button.
If preferred the holes may be first punched in the metal, and the
corresponding holes may be drilled or punched in the wooden cores
when the latter are encased in the metal covering.
As a modification of the above plan of manufacturing the buttons,
and as a means of increasing the ornamentál appearance of the button,
I employ two pieces of metal of different colors; one of these pieces is of
an annular form and is intended for the edge of the button, while the
other piece will form the centre, the wooden cores being the same and
all the parts being prepared in the same manner as before described.
This modification I have shown at Figs. 7 in which a is the metal centre
piece; a', the annular edge piece; and b, the wooden core.
By the means above described strong solid fancy buttons with
perfectly round smooth holes are obtained at a much cheaper rate than
hitherto, and capable of much greater variety in design.
Having now described the nature of my Invention of "Improvements
in Buttons" and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, the combination of metal and wood in the manufacture
of buttons, in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Berman, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of December, in the
year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
מקלחת
DODMANT