IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR ARTICLES OF DRESS AND JEWELLERY
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hawkes Ryland, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Manufacturer and Factor, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR ARTICLES OF DRESS AND
JEWELLERY."
1
Scaled the 9th October 1868, and dated the 24th April 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hawkes Ryland
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th April 1868.
I, WILLIAM HAWKES RYLAND, of Birmingham, in 'the County of
5 Warwick, Manufacturer and Factor, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR ARTICLES OF DRESS AND
JEWELLERY," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists of the construction and arrangement
herein-after described of the parts of a fastening for articles of dress
and jewellery whereby a fastening is produced simple in construction
and efficient in action and not liable to accidental unfastening.

page_text: Fastenings constructed according to my Invention are especially suited
to be used as glove fastenings and sleeve links, but may also be used for
various other
purposes.
The
I construct a fastening according to my Invention in the following
manner-To one side of the body of the fastening a bow is jointed
having at its free end a snap catch of the ordinary kind. The said
snap catch may be shut down into and fixed in an opening on the other
side of the body after the bow has been passed through the parts of the
article of dress it is wished to fasten or to which it is wished to attach the
article of jewellery having a fastening constructed according to my
Invention. The fixing of the snap end of the bow in the body of
the fastening and its liberation therefrom are effected by parts
constructed and arranged as follows:- In a small chamber in the
body of the fastening is a sliding bar having motion parallel to the
bow when shut down. The outer end of this sliding bar projects
from the edge of the fastening and is turned at right angles.
said turned part serves as a handle by which to pull the said bar in
unfastening or liberating the bow. In the said bar and opposite the
opening in the body through which the snap end of the bow passes
is, a rectangular hole the upper or outer edge of which engages in the a
snap of the bow to fix the said bow. The inner end of the said bar
has a shoulder on either side between which shoulders and the edge
of the body springs are placed which springs tend to force the said
bar inwards and keep it engaged with the snap. In order to liberate
the snap from the body of the fastening it is only necessary to place
the thumb or finger nail under the handle of the bar and pull the
said bar outwards. The edge of the hole in the bar is thereby
disengaged from the snap and the bow can be raised and the fastening
can be detached from the dress. In order to secure the snap of the
bar in the body of the fastening it is only necessary to press it down
into the opening in the body when its snap engages with the hole
in the sliding bar. As the unfastening is effected by a pulling action
there is not the same liability to accidental unfastening as in dress
fastenings in which the unfastening is effected by a pressing action.

page_text: T
•
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.
filed by the said William Hawkes Ryland, in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th October 1868.
TO ALL. TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HAWKES RYLAND, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer and Factor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Hawkes Ryland, Her special
licence that I, the said William Hawkes Ryland, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Hawkes
Ryland, 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 FASTENINGS FOR ARTICLES OF DRESS AND JEWELLERY," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Hawkes
Ryland, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 William Hawkes Ryland, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My said Invention, consists of the construction and arrangement
herein-after described of the parts of a fastening for articles of dress
and jewellery whereby a fastening is produced simple in construction
and efficient in action, and not liable to accidental unfastening.
i
Fastenings constructed according to my Invention are especially

page_text: suited to be used as glove fastenings and sleeve links, but may also be
used for various other purposes.
I construct a fastening according to my Invention in the following
manner-To one side of the body of the fastening a bow is jointed
having at its free end a snap catch of the ordinary kind. The said
snap catch may be shut down into and fixed in an opening on the other
side of the body after the bow has been passed through the parts, of
the article of dress it is wished to fasten or to which it is wished to
attach the article of jewellery having a fastening constructed according
Invention.
to
my
.
The fixing of the snap end of the bow in the body of the fastening
and its liberation therefrom are effected by parts constructed and
arranged as follows:-In a small chamber in the body of the fastening
is a sliding, bar having motion parallel to the bow when shut down.
The outer end of this sliding bar projects from the edge of the fastening
and is turned at right angles. The said turned part serves as a handle
by which to pull the said bar in unfastening or liberating the bow.
In the said bar and opposite the opening in the body through which
the snap end of the bow passes is a rectangular hole, the upper or outer
edge of which engages in the snap of the bow to fix the said bow.
The inner end of the said bar has a shoulder on either side between
which shoulders and the edge of the body springs are placed, which
springs tend to force the said bar inwards and keep it engaged with
the snap. In order to liberate the snap from the body of the fastening
it is only necessary to place the thumb or finger nail under the handle
of the bar and pull the said bar outwards. The edge of the hole in
the bar is thereby disengaged from the snap and the bow can be raised
and the fastening can be detached from the dress. In order to secure
the snap of the bar in the body of the fastening it is only necessary to
press it down into the opening in the body, when its snap engages with
the hole in the sliding bar. As the unfastening is effected by a pulling
action there is not the same liability to accidental unfastening as in
dress fastenings in which the unfastening is effected by a pressing action.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in which the
same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, Figure 2
plan, and Figure 3
in end elevation a sleeve link or a fastening for a glove constructed

page_text: according to my Invention; Figure-4 is a vertical section of the same,
and Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the same; Figures 6 and 7 are
parts of the same, as herein-after explained. The fastening in Figures 1,
2, and 5 is represented open, and in Figures 3 and 4 closed. The same
letters of reference are employed to indicate the same parts in each
Figure of the Drawing.
a is the shell or body of the fastening, and b is the bow jointed at
c to one side of the said shell or body. The free end of the bow is
made into a snap catch 6 of the ordinary kind. At the back of the
body a is a small chamber d in which a bar e slides. The said sliding
bar is represented separately in Figure 6. The outer end e² of the
bar projects from the body of the fastening and constitutes a handle
by which the said bar may be pulled outwards to liberate the bow of
the fastenings, as herein-after explained. In the under side of the
said chamber d is a hole & through which the snap end 6 of the bow b
enters when shut down upon the back of the fastening, and in the
sliding bar e and opposite part of the said hole d is a hole e, the
outer edge of which hole engages with the snap so as to fix down
the bow b. Shoulders at f are made at the inner end of the sliding
bar e, between which shoulders and the edge of the body of the fastening
springs are placed, which springs tend to force the bar e inwards
and keep it engaged with the snap 6. The springs I prefer to employ
consist of small blocks or strips of vulcanized india-rubber of a size
proper to fit in the spaces between the bar e and the sides of the
chamber d, but, metal springs may be used with the same. effect. I
pass the springs g into the chamber d from the open end thereof and
secure them in their places by closing the ears d³ over the end of the
said chamber in the manner best seen in Figure 3. I make the
chamber d partly out of the back plate of the body of the fastening,
that is, I raise a portion of the said back plate out of the plane of. the
other part and solder a covering plate over the said raised part, as
seen in Figure 4, and thereby form the chamber d.
Figure 7 represents the back plate separately before the ears d'are
closed upon the end of the chamber d. The eyes i of the joint on which
the bow turns are made on the said back plate, as represented...
Instead of closing the back of the body of the fastening by a plate it
may be left open and a chamber consisting of a flat tube be soldered
across the open back, as represented in elevation in Figure 8, plan in

page_text: Figure 9, and horizontal section of the chamber and parts carried by it
separately in Figure 10.
Where the front of the fastening carries a stone or setting I use a
metal back plate to which the stone or setting is affixed of the kind
represented in plan in Figure 11 and section in Figure 12, and I form
the chamber in which the bar and springs work by making across
the back plate a channel . and soldering underneath this channel
a raised plate as represented in Figure 12 where the back plate is
marked and the plate soldered to it is marked . The plate is
represented separately in Figure 13, and the back plate k is repre-
sented separately in Figure 14. The action of the fastening is as
follows-The bow b having been passed through the holes in the
glove or article of dress to be fastened, the said bow is shut down
upon the back of the body a. In shutting down the bow its snap
catch enters the opening d in the chamber d and pressing outwards
the bar e enters the opening es in the said bar. By the motion thus
given to the bar the springs 7 are compressed, and as soon as the snap
has entered the opening e³ the said springs press the bar e inwards
and the outer edge of its opening engaging in the snap b³ of the bow
holds down the said bow and thereby fastens the glove or article of
dress as represented in Figure 4. In order to liberate the snap of
the bow from the body of the fastening, the thumb or finger nail is
placed under or at the back of the handle e' of the bar e, and the said
bar is pulled outwards. The edge of the hole e' in the bar e is thereby
disengaged from the snap and the bow b can be raised in the manner
represented in Figures 1, 2, and 5 and the glove or article of dress
thus unfastened. On loosing the handle of the bare the said bar is
returned to its normal position by the springs 9 ready to be forced
outwards so as to engage the edge of its opening with the snap of
the bow when the latter is shut down as herein-before explained. By
releasing the fastening by a pulling action as described and represented
instead of a pressing action as in the ordinary dress fastening the
liability to accidental unfastening is avoided.
My improved fastening may be made of various sizes and ornamental
shapes to suit the purpose to which it is to be applied. The articles
among others to which my improved fastening may be applied are
glove fastenings, sleeve links, glove and sleeve solitaires, collar and
shirt studs, scarf pins, scarf slides, brooches, and belt and hand clasps.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and
represented as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention the improve-
ments in fastenings for articles of dress and jewellery herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is
to say, the combination or arrangement of a hinged bow, sliding bar
and springs, and chamber for containing the said bar and springs,
substantially as described and illustrated, whereby the releasing of
the bow of the fastening is effected by a pulling action and the liability
to the accidental unfastening of the said bow thus prevented.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hawkes Ryland, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
WILLIAM HAWKES RYLAND. (L.S.).