IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIMS OR SUNSHADES FOR ATTACHING TO HATS OR CAPS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred William Moss, of Nelson Square, in the
County of Surrey, Hat and Cap Manufacturer, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIMS OR SUNSHADES FOR ATTACHING TO HATS OR
CAPS,"
Sealed the 17th August 1869, and dated the 15th June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said Alfred William Moss
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th June 1869.
I, ALFRED WILLIAM Moss, of Nelson Square, in the County of Surrey,
Hat and Cap Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIMS OR SUNSHADES FOR ATTACHING TO HATS
OR CAPS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to make brims or sunshades in such a
manner that they can be fitted to shapes or caps, and when applied they
are held in place by an elastic material secured to the brim. The brim
may be made of any width for protecting the eyes and face of the

page_text: wearer from the heat and glare of the sun and from the effects of rain
or dust.
My improvements consist in attaching to the inner edge of the brim,
by sewing or otherwise, an elastic band, preferably by enclosing a piece
of tubular elastic material within a strip of any fibrous material, when
by sewing the two. edges of the strip to the brim the elastic is secured in
place.
In some cases I employ a flat or other shaped elastic material
within the strip, or the elastic material may be scoured directly to
the brim.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred William Moss, in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 15th December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
WILLIAM Moss, of Nelson Square, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred William Moss, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred William Moss, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred William Moss,
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 BRIMS OR SUNSHADES FOR ATTACHING TO HATS AND CAPS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred 'William
Moss, 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

page_text: 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 Alfred William Moss, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The object of my Invention is to make brims or sunshades in such a
manner that they can be fitted to hats or caps, and when applied they
are held in place by an elastic material secured to the brim. The brim
may be made of any width for protecting the eyes and face of the
wearer from the heat and glare of the sun and from the effects of rain
or dust.
My improvements consist in attaching to the inner edge of the brim,
by sewing or otherwise, an elastic band, preferably by enclosing a piece
of tubular elastic material within a strip of any fibrous material, when
by sewing the two edges of the strip to the brim the elastic is secured
in place.
In some cases I employ a flat or other shaped elastic material within
the strip, or the elastic material may be secured direct to the brim.
The accompanying Drawings represent the manner in which I prefer
to carry my Invention into effect.
Figure 1 is a plan view of a brim or sunshade with a tubular piece of
elastic material held within a strip of fibrous material a in a loose
manner, so that when a brim is pressed over the crown of a hat or cap
the elastic is caused to stretch and conform itself to the shape of the
body of the hat or cap. The strip a is shewn as secured to the material b
forming the brim by a double row of stitching or sewing, so that the
elastic material is within the double fold of the strip. The brim may be
composed of any rigid or flexible substance; if made of a rigid substance
it is shaped to suit the style of hat or cap which it is intended to fit ;
but if made of a flexible substance I prefer to shape it by attaching a
steel wire in the outer edge which has been previously shaped by
bending or curving while in a soft state and before being tempered, so
that when the required degree of "temper" has been given to it it will
retain the shape notwithstanding its being folded and packed when

page_text: fitted in the brim to occupy a small compass to be carried in the coat
pocket.
Figure 2 represents the brim in section and fitted over the body of a
hat known as the "tourist hat;" it fits close round the band of the hat
and rests upon the brim c, which produces an amount of steadiness
to the sunshade or brim and prevents a flopping motion being given to it
when the person who is wearing it is walking or undergoing other
out-door exercise.
Figure 3 shows a portion of the strip and elastic material on a larger
scale so as to be more clearly seen. The manner which I prefer to unite
the two ends of the elastic material is by sewing after slipping one end
within the other, as by this means no bulge or enlarged part is produced
to render the joint unsightly. From the pliability of the steel within
the edge of the sunshade I am enabled to fold it into a small compass,
as before explained; and among the many ways in which this folding
can be accomplished I prefer the following, as it renders it of a flat
nature to be placed in a bag, shewn in Figure 4, which not only serves
to keep it clean, but permits of it remaining in a folded state without
fear of becoming broken, which it would most probably be were it only
folded and tied round with the cord or hat guard, as represented in
Figure 5.
I first take hold of the central part of the two side edges and
bring them together and then overlap one upon the other; this causes
the front and back edges to form pockets looking towards each other. I
then fold one of the pockets inwards and place it against the side edges
and hold it there with one hand; the other pocket is next folded in a
similar manner upon the flat of the first pocket, by which means I
produce a comparatively flat surface to the whole. I next press the
folded-over parts towards one another and wind the hat guard round
them, and I secure the end of the same by passing it under and over the
wound-on portions. The sunshade is then of a thin flat body and occu-
pies little space, and if the materials are of a light weight in texture its
weight will be hardly perceptible in the pocket of a coat.
Although I have described in detail the manner in which I prefer to
make my improved sunshade or hat brim I do not wish to confine myself
thereto, as various other methods may be employed, for instance, the
elastic material within the strip of fibrous material may be of a solid
nature instead of being tubular, as before mentioned; or the elastic

page_text: material may be secured direct to the body of the brim by sewing or
otherwise, or by an adhesive cement of any kind, and without the
employment of a fibrous strip as a means of attachment. The body of
the sunshade or brim may be composed of one thickness of material or
of two or more to obtain the desired degree of stiffness or limpness. In
the Drawings I have shewn it as composed of two thicknesses. of material
which are kept in close contact by rows of stitching d, d.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
Invention,-
First. The construction and employment of sunshades or brims com-
posed of an elastic material secured within a strip of material attached
to the body so that it shall fit hats or caps of any size or shape, in the
manner herein-before described and represented in the accompanying
Drawings.
Second. The modified modes of attaching an elastic material to sun-
shades or brims to be fitted on hats or caps, in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred William Moss, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of December One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.