IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, HELMETS, BONNETS, OR CAPS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Cooper Tress, of the Firm of Tress & Company,
Hat Manufacturers, of Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, HELMETS,
BONNETS, OR CAPS."
Hat Manufacturers, of Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, HELMETS,
BONNETS, OR CAPS."
Sealed the 11th November 1862, and dated the 15th May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Cooper Tress at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
May 1862.
I, COOPER TRESS, of the Firm of Tress & Company, Hat Manufacturers,
of Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature
of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, HELMETS,
BONNETS, OR CAPS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture or
formation of hats, caps, bonnets, or helmets, whereby currents of air may
readily pass from the exterior to the interior chamber formed above and
surrounding the head of the wearer, in order to cool and ventilate the interior
in very hot or tropical climates. For this purpose I prefer to form hats or
other similar articles from one piece of felt or other suitable material, so that
the head band (which is continued to the crown) may by reason of its peculiar

page_text: formation admit of ventilation to and from the interior, suitable openings being
formed therein for this purpose, such openings having eyelet holes inserted
therein if desired. The upper surface of the crown is enlarged or expanded
so as to overhang and cast a shadow upon the rim, which is also so formed
as to cast a shadow upon and protect the face of the wearer from the direct
rays of the sun.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Cooper Tress in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, COOPER
TRESS, of the Firm of Tress and Company, Hat Manufacturers, of Black-
friars Road, in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Cooper Tress, Her special licence that I, the said Cooper Tress,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Cooper Tress, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
ime 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 HATS, HELMETS, BONNETS, OR CAPS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Cooper Tress, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under his, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Cooper Tress, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture and
formation of hats, caps, bonnets, or helmets, whereby currents of air may

page_text: readily pass from the exterior to the interior thereof, an air chamber, cells, or
cavitys being formed therein, above and surrounding the head of the wearer,
in order to ventilate and keep the head or interior cool in hot weather, or in
very hot or tropical climates, and when else required. In forming these hats
and other similar articles I propose to use felt or other material suitable for
the purpose. The principal upon which these coverings for the head are
formed is capable of being applied in the manufacture of hats, helmets, and
the like of various shapes. By preference I form the same from one piece of
felt or other material capable of taking the required shape from a block of
the required form. The upper portion of the crown is enlarged, and in part
double, the upper portion overhanging and passing partially down outside and
over the lower portion all round, so as to cast a shadow upon the latter at the
brim, which is formed by an enlargement of the said inner or lower portion.
The overhanging portion of the crown is intended to pass as nearly down to
the brim as possible in practice, so that where it is level with the head of the
wearer it may form a double cavity or air spaces between the exterior and
interior. Instead of carrying the overhanging enlarged crown down to the
brim the latter may be formed with a second return from the band upwards to
meet the overhanging crown, leaving a space between the band portion of the
crown and such return, and then by again turning the brim downwards and
outwards. By combining the two improvements the entire circumference of
the hat or helmet from the brim to the crown may be provided with
double cavitys for the protection of the head from the rays of the sun or
external heat. A similar protection or air space being formed at the top by.
the insertion of a false crown or disk of cork. supported from the top or
natural crown; suitable perforations in the inner and outer portions of the
sides and crown being provided for ventilation. As a further protection for
the head of the wearer from the external heat, and at the same time to allow
a free passage of air from above and below the brim into the head space, I:
propose to use a lining of leather with lateral perforations round the top, and
having strips or bands of cork with vertical perforations round the bottom;
the bands or strips of cork or other non-conducting semi-elastic material are
placed between the felt and lining entirely round the head, and are also
intended to prevent the discoloration of the hat or other article from. grease
or other matter from the head.
The blocks for producing the hats, helmets, and other head coverings of the
forms herein described are made in pieces to separate and fasten with a centre
key in the usual way. Upon these blocks, however, one or more dipping or

page_text: rising flanges of metal are fitted, so that they can be separated from the
sections of the blocks at pleasure. Loose bands of metal made to fasten with
a stud and eyes are also used with and fitted to the blocks; these bands pass
over the felt or other material under, up, and down, between the dipping and
rising flanges and the block surfaces, and the head coverings are thereby
formed to the shape required. These shapes or forms, with the blocks,
flanges, and bands for producing the same, are shewn upon the accompanying
Drawing, in the following explanation of which the process of the manu-
facture is also described
The illustrations here shewn are laid down to one-fourth the natural size.
Fig. 1 is a side view of a hat formed with an enlarged crown, with air cavities
or spaces therein, carried down to and shadowing the brim; Fig. 2, blocks,
flanges, and bands for shaping and forming the same; Fig. 3 is a side view of
a helmet with an enlarged crown carried partially down to the brim, the latter
being returned to meet the said enlarged crown; Fig. 4 shews the blocks,
flanges, and bands for shaping and forming the said helmet; and Fig. 5, a band
detached. These blocks, in addition to their being made in pieces as before
described, are also formed to separate at the lines a, a. b, b, are the flanges
by which the cavities c, c, are formed, and d, d, the bands for forming the
cavities e, e; these cavities are shewn by dotted lines at Figures 1 and 3.
The felt or other material first manufactured in the conical or other required
form is stretched over these blocks and over the flanges b, b, downwards, when
the bands d, d, are placed outside the felt, which is thereby drawn close to the
sides of the block under the said flanges, which are then fastened as tightly as re-
quired by passing the perforated end f (Figure 5) over the stud 9 until the latter
enters one of the perforations, and is there secured and forms a sliding ring;
this ring is then forced upwards between the projected flange and the sides of
the block, carrying the felt therewith, and forming the cavities c, e. In this
state the upper portion of the block h is placed on the lower portion i, and
held in the required position by the pins j, j, the ring or rings being merely
fastened round the upper portion; the superabundant felt is then stretched
downwards over the brim block and the edges secured in the groove k, k, by
clips or other suitable means. The felt is softened, blocked, and dried in the
ordinary way; the false crowns m and linings m, m, with cork perforations, as
before described, are then put in, when the hat or other similar article is finally
shaped, bound, and banded ready for use.
وا

page_text: I do not confine myself to the precise forms here shewn, as these illustra-
tions are merely intended to explain the principle upon which my said im-
provements are founded.
In witness whereof, I, the said Cooper Tress, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eighteen hundred and sixty-two.
COOPER TRESS. (L.S.)