CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS AND CAPE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Brown, of 71, Leadenhall Street, in the
City of London, Cabinet Manufacturer, for the Invention of " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS AND CAPE."
Sealed the 19th December 1856, and dated the 3rd July 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Brown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
July 1856.
I, JOSEPH BROWN, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS AND CAPS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference to improvements in hats and caps with regard
to ventilating the same, which I can effect thus:-By making a hat or cap
body without a crown, or with a crown with sufficient opening or perforations
therein, and with or without perforations, cuts, slits, or open work at the sides.
Over this I have another hat or cap body without a rim, but with a crown to
fit the first-named body, and so arranged that it may be pushed up to admit
the air, and down again, and will keep out the wet. If the outside hat or cap
body is not required to rise, a space is left between the outer and inner body to
admit air to pass between the two, in that case the steam from the head will
pass down between the two, and admit the air from the outside at the same
time. The inside may or may not be perforated. Also the hat or cap can be

page_text: made in the usual way with perforated, slitted, or open work sides, the outer
covering to be secured to the crown, but to be simply drawn down the other
part of the body, and secured with india-rubber band or other suitable attach-
ment; or the cover might be entirely loose. Indeed, any arrangement might
be adopted so that one body might be wholly or partially covered by another
body, & so as to allow communication with the external air.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BROWN, of 71, Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, Cabinet Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph
Brown, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Brown, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Brown, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS AND CAPS," upon
the condition, amongst others, that I, the said Joseph Brown, 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 Joseph Brown, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:―
The nature of the said Invention consists in improvements in hats and caps
with regard to ventilating the same, by making a hat or cap body, or part

page_text: thereof, without a crown (or with a crown with sufficient openings or per-
forations, and with or without perforations, cuts, or slits in the sides), and over
this another bat or cap body or part of a body without a brim, but with a crown
to fit loosely over the first body, which might be so arranged as to be capable of
being pushed up to admit air, or closed to exclude it. If the outside hat or
cap body is not required to rise, a space may be left between the outer and
inner body or part of a body, to admit air to pass between the two, the same
being in communication with the external air; in that case the steam from
the head will pass down between the two, and also admit air from the out-
side at the same time; in which case the inside may or may not be perforated.
Also, the hat or cap body may be made in the usual way, but with per-.
forated, slitted, or open work sides, the outer covering of plush or shag, or other
material being secured to the crown, but simply drawn down over the other
part of the body, and secured by an india-rubber band or other suitable.
attachment; or the crown may be entirely loose.
Also, my Invention contemplates the adoption of any arrangement whereby
one body, or part of a body, may be wholly or partially covered by another
boly, or part of a body, in such manner as to allow communication with the
external air.
Having thus particularly described the nature of the said Invention, I will
now proceed to describe in what manner the same is to be performed, wherein
I shall refer to the Drawings accompanying this Specification, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1, elevational view, and Fig. 2, top plan view of a hat with this.
Invention applied thereto. In this case there is a hat body A, with a brim
as usual, but without a crown, the top of the body being indicated by the
dotted lines at *.. Over the top of this body is a crown of larger diameter
than the body, and this crown is attached in the usual manner to a small
portion of another body B, which being of a larger diameter than the body A,
adunits of the entrance and exit of air between the two, and the crown being
placed some little distance above the top of the body A, and the part body B
being secured by sewing or stitching to the first body at various points, as
shewn by the black dots (one of which is marked C, in Fig. 2, there will be
between the said dots, the top of the body A, and the crown, sufficient passage
for the entrance and exit of air so as to ventilate the hat. The body A may
have (if thought proper) at the top, or in other suitable position, a gauze or
perforated cover to it; or the head lining (shewn by dotted lines in the
lower portion of the body), may be water and air proofed on the side away

page_text: from the head, with a gauze or perforated cover over the head attached to it
(if thought proper), to break the force of the air.
Fig. 3, elevational view, and Fig. 4, horizontal section (taken at the line
(X, Z, Fig. 8), in which the body A2, (partly in dotted lines in Fig. 3,) is
much shorter than the outer body D, which has the crown as in ordinary hat
bodies, but not the brim which goes with A*. In this case the outer body has
air openings at each side of the same near the brim, viz., where A³ is placed,
whence the air passes outside the inner body to and from the interior of the
hat, by reason of there being a space between the inner and outer body.
. Fig. 5, elevational view, and Fig. 6, horizontal section taken at the line (X,
Z, Fig. 5), shew an arrangement similar to that shewn at Figs. 3 and 4,
(the same letters of reference being adopted, save that the inner body which
is here marked A³, (which points out also the position of the air openings,
has the said air openings at the back and front of the hat.
Fig. 7, elevational view, and Fig. 8, horizontal section taken at the line
(X, Z, Fig. 7,) of an air arrangement differing from Figs. 3 and 4, and 5 and 6,
only in there being several air openings (some only being here marked A¹) all
round the body, and also in having (if desired) holes or perforations in the
upper part of the body. The outer body is marked D, as in the former Figures.
The head lining, as regards, the arrangements exhibited in Figs. 3 to 8,
might (if thought proper) be water and air-proofed on the side or surface away
from the head, and used as and adopted for the inner body, thus dispensing
with any other head lining, and, as in the case of Figs. 1 and 2, a gauze or
perforated cover might be attached to the top of inner body to protect the
head.
Fig. 9, elevational view; Fig. 10, external view of the inner body;
Fig. 11, vertical section of half of outer body, and Fig. 12, partial in-
ternal view shewing the screw mechanisın, shew an arrangement whereby
the outer body being made with openings or perforations therein, the same
may be opened or closed by moving up and down the outer body upon the
inner body, which inner body being without any corresponding openings, will
close the same, when the two bodies are in the position shewn by the dotted
Jines at the top of that Figure (Fig. 9). In this case it will be observed, the
outer body E has a crown and no brim, and is provided at each side with thin
slips of whalebone or cardboard, forming strengthening pieces, (see F, Fig. 11,)
to which are secured the heads (the one shewn being marked G) of screw
pins, (the one shewn being marked G*,) which pass through such strengthen-
ing pieces, and through a slit or slot H, (see Fig. 10,) in the inner body A³,
which slit or slot is long and wide enough to allow the said strengthening

page_text: pieces to slide up and down, sufficient to pass the top part of the outer body,
into the position shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 9, that is, beyond the top
of the inner body, and open the perforations or valves, in which positions the
two bodies may be maintained by the screw nut I, I, being screwed down, as
the same will then be caused to bind against the edges of the slot or slit H;
by unscrewing which screw nut the outer body will be allowed to move down
again, and may be kept in place by again screwing down the nut. Fig. 13 is
a plan view, shewing how a ventilating opening may be provided at the brim
part of the head lining. In this case, K is the head lining, and L, L, spaces
for the entrance and exit of air by the side of the brim. I may here remark,
that all the inner bodies, except those shewn at Figs. 1 & 2, might be
skeleton bodies, if thought desirable.
With regard to caps, it is evident that soldiers' caps and shako's may be
made as described, the brim or edges nearest the head being fashioned in the
military mode. When, instead of an outer body, the hat or cap is to have a
loose cover, it is merely necessary to stretch the same over a skeleton perforated
or slitted body, and secure it by an india-rubber band or other attachment.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I further declare that I do not claim the
mechanism or details of construction employed in the arrangements shewn
and described, except as constituent parts of such arrangements; but I claim
the improvements in hats and caps as described in the outset of this Speci-
fication.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
JOSEPH BROWN. (L.8.)