IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HOLLAND, of Darwin Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Umbrella Furniture Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster the Seventh day of May, in the Third year of Her
reign, did for Ierself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me
the sail Henry Holland Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege,
and authority, that I the said Henry Holland, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as I the said Henry Holland, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend within England, Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UMBRELLAS AND
PARASOLS." In which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that
I the said Henry Holland shall cause a particular description of
the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in Her said 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, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Henry Holland, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon; that is to say, my Invention relates,-First, to
improvements in the ribs and stretchers of umbrellas and parasols, by
forming them of tubes of steel or other elastic metal, by which strength
with lightness is obtained; and, secondly, my Invention relates to a
mode of constructing and fastening the "joints" or "bits" which
connect the ribs to the stretchers of umbrellas and parasols. And in
order to give the best information I am possessed of, I will proceed to
describe the means practised by me; I produce tubes from sheet steel,
-which metal I prefer, because, when hardened and tempered, they
retain their figure better than other metal,-in the same manner as
is ordinarily practised for making tubes of steel or of copper, and as is
well understood and forms no part of my Invention; the two edges
which come together do not require to be soldered in or otherwise joined;
and having obtained such tubes of the size or diameter desired, I cut
them into such lengths as are required for ribs and for stretchers; and at
the places at the ends of the ribs where the top tips have to be fastened,
I make an indent in each of the tubes; and such is the case where the bit
or joint for receiving the stretcher, the object of which will be better under-
stood hereafter. The tubes of steel for ribs and for stretchers are to be
hardened and tempered, as is well understood by persons engaged in
working steel, and I prefer the degree of temper should be like that
given to saws; and into each end of those tubes which are to be formed
into stretchers I insert small tips or picces of brass or steel, or other
suitable metal, by soldering or other convenient means, through which
tips or pieces the holes for the rivets for attaching the stretchers to the
bits or joints on the ribs, and for the wire to fasten them to the runners
pass, as is well understood.
Figure 1, represents the rib of an umbrella or parasol made of a steel
tube, having part of a stretcher attached thereto; Figure 2, shows two 35

page_text: views of a joint or bit for attaching a rib to a stretcher; Figure 3, shows
part of a stretcher and a bit combined: a, a, is a rib having the top and
bottom tips affixed; the top tip b, which is of the ordinary construction,
slides on to the upper end of the rib a, and is affixed by indenting the
metal of the top tip, and sinking it into the recess formed in the rib a,
which is clearly shown in the drawing; the bottom tip c, slides on to
the lower end of the rib, and is held secure by the thread which fastens
the covering to the bottom tip, though I find it desirable to put into the
bottom tip some melted glue or other cement, slightly to hold the bottom
tip till the cover of silk or other material is applied; d, is the "joint"
or "bit" affixed on the rib a, by which the stretcher e, is attached thereto
by a pin joint, as is well understood; this "joint" or "bit" I prefer to
be made of brass, though other suitable metal may be used; and the
peculiarity of this joint or bit is, that it has a hole through it which
allows of its being slided along the rib a, and when at its proper place
to be affixed or secured thereto by simply indenting the metal and
causing it to enter the recess or indent at f, formed in the rib a, as before
mentioned. And I would here remark, that this description of "joint"
or "bit" is equally applicable to umbrellas and parasols, when solid
steel or other metal rods or ribs are used, as such bits or joints offer a
simple and convenient means of being secured to the ribs by sliding
thereon and indenting the metal thereof as above described, and clearly
shown in the drawing, such indenting and fixing being readily per-
formed by a sharp blow.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
applying "top tips," "bottom tips," and "bits" or "joints" to ribs and
stretchers for unbrellas and parasols, made of tubes as practised by me,
and which I have found fully to answer, I do not confine myself thereto,
as other means may be resorted to for making or affixing such parts
without departing from my Invention, so long as steel or other metal
tubes are employed in the making of the ribs or the making of the
stretchers for umbrellas and parasols. And I would have it understood
that what I claim as my Invention is,―
First, the mode of making ribs and stretchers for umbrellas and
parasols by forming them of steel or other metal tubes, as herein de-
scribed; and,

page_text: year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid Henry Holland came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and everything therein contained and specified
in form above written, and also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.