IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTTONS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
AINGWORTH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by Petition, humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, that after considerable application and
expence I had invented "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTTONS,"
and Her said Majesty being willing to give encouragement to all arts
and inventions which may be for the public good, was graciously pleased
by Her Royal Letters Patent under, the Great Seal of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the
Seventh day of October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-one, in
the fifth year of Her reign, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, to
give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Aingworth, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole priviledge
and authority, that I or they, by myself or themselves, or by my or their
deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as I or they should agree
with, and no others, during the term of fourteen years from the date of
the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, my said Invention within that part of Her Majesty's Dominions
called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
in such manner as to me, my executors, administrators, and assigns; shall
seeni meet, and as that I or they shall enjoy the whole profit and advantage
arising by reason of the said Invention during the said term of fourteen years;
and for that end Her said Majesty requires and strictly commands all Her

page_text: subjects whatsoever, within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed afore-
said, that they shall not, neither directly nor indirectly, make, use, or put in
practice my said Invention, or any part thereof, nor in anywise counterfeit,
imitate, or resemble the same nor make any addition thereto or subtraction
therefrom, whereby to pretend himself or themselves to be the inventor or
inventors thereof: And whereas the said Letters Patent contain a proviso
obliging me, the said Benjamin Aingworth, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed;-by-an-instrument in writing "under my hand and seal,
and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next. and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent, as in and by the same (reference being thereunto had) will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said. proviso, I, the said
Benjamin Aingworth, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described
and ascertained in manner following, and by the aid of the Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
Part of my said improvements relates to certain new kinds of metallic
shanks for buttons of various .descriptions. One kind of such new metallic
shanks is a small round or roundish knob of metal, perforated through the
centre of the knob with two holes intersecting or crossing each other at that
centre in directions at right angles one to the other, and the said knob so
perforated is applied and securely fastened to the centre of the back of the
button with the said directions of both the intersecting holes parallel to the
plane of the circular edge or circumference of the front or face of the button.
In attaching a button having such a shank to a garment, the, sewing thread
may be passed by its needle first through one of the said holes of the shank
in one direction across the shank in order to obtain one, fastening stitch of the
thread, and then through the other hole of the same shank in the crossway
direction through the shank for obtaining another fastening stitch, and so on
successive stitches may be taken; and whereas the said two intersecting holes
through or across the shank exhibit four external orifices in the circumference
of the knob, the needle with the thread may be occassionally passed in at one
such orifice and out at the next adjacent orifice instead of passing the needle
and thread in at one orifice and out at the opposite orifice, in which case the
thread will pass through and across the centre of the knob, as already
mentioned, and in consequence of such shank permitting the stitches of thread
to be passed through the said holes of the shank in the different ways afore-
said, buttons having such shanks may be very securely attached to the garment
by sewing.

page_text: Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed will explain such shank more
fully. a represents the small knob of metal detached from any button, it is
perforated with two holes intersecting each other, as already mentioned. The
four orifices of the said two holes are all enlarged or made what is termed
bell-mouthed or countersunk in order to avoid cutting the thread and so as to
reduce the metal that is left between the adjacent orifices to as small dimen-
sions as is consistent with the requisite strength. That part of the knob a
which is to apply to the centre of the back of the button is a flat surface in a
suitable manner for being fastened to the said centre by soldering; b is an
edge view, and d. a back view of a complete button with such a shank a
soldered to it, such button having its face or front of one solid piece of metal,
and it may be gilt, or it may be what is called gold plate, or what is called
white metal, or it may be of steel; e is an edge view and ƒ a back view of a
concave or hollow metal shell back for a button with such a shank a soldered
to the centre of such, shell back, which may be made up into a button of any
such kind as is usually or which can be made with a concave shell back having
a metal shank to it by applying and fastening to such shell back any suitable
front by the usual and well-known means of applying and fastening such
fronts, whether a front shell of metal, which may be stamped with an
ornamental pattern, and gilded or varnished, and fastened to the concave shell
back by the usual mode of pressing the border edge of the front shell over the
border edge of the back shell, or else such front shell being suitably formed
with its border 'edge turned back all round, and inwards towards the centre,
may be covered with any suitable kind of cloth, or woven fabric or tissue, or
felted cloth applied and fastened over the face or front of such front shell by
means of moulds and dies with pressure, that is to say, the overlapping
circumference of the cloth or other front covering being gathered over all
round the aforesaid turned-backed border edge of the front shell so as to over-
lap into the hollow within that border edge, and the circumference of the
concave back shell e, f, being then inserted within the same turned-back
border edge of the front shell and within the turned-over edge of the covering,
the pressure which is next:.exerted on that border edge and on that of the
concave shell back by the.dies in the mould is caused to compress the said
edge so as to fasten the covering and at the same time consolidate the front
shell and back shell together into what is called a covered button made in a
mould by dies.with pressure on the plan known to the manufacturers of
buttons at Birmingham as Mr. Aston's method. Or the concave shell back
e, f, may be applied to a front made of mother-of-pearl, or stone, or spar, or
glass, or other suitable substance, or porcelain, or pottery, as herein-after

page_text: described, the circumference of the concave back shell being (in the last-
mentioned case) inlaid into a suitable circular recess or hollow excavated in
the back surface of such front, and fastened into that recess by any suitable
cement.
Figure 2 represents a metallic shank of the same kind as Figure 1, except
that in order to fasten it to the button back the shank g has a small tail
projecting from it at the place where the shank Figure 1 is applied and
soldered to the back of the button, and the said tail is divided into two
branches by a saw. This kind of shank is applicable to concave metal shell
backs of bottoms as h and i. The divided tail is inserted through a hole in
the centre of the button back h, and the two branches of the tail which
project through that hole are then separated or bended apart, one away from
the other, and turned down in the manner of what is termed clinching within
the concavity of the back, as shewn at h and i, so as to effectually fasten the
shank g to the button back h, i. Solder or cement may (if thought desirable)
be applied over the clinched branches to fill up around and over them so as to
make them quite fast and render the concave inside of the shell back h, i,
sinooth and even.
Figure 3 is another variety of the same kind of shank, the small knob k
thereof having a small round pin projecting from it in place of the divided
tail to go through the hole in the centre of the button back 1, n, that pin may
be tapped with a screw thread, and may have a small nut m screwed upon the
end of it to fasten the shank to the shell back l, n; or the end of the pin which
protrudes through such nut m may be revitted, and in that case the tapping of
the pin might be dispensed with; for the nut m being a small collet with its
hole fitting very tight on the pin, it would be secured from coming off by
rivetting the extreme protruding end of the pin. The shank Figure 3 as well
as Figure 2 is only applicable to button backs, that is, concave metal shells
which are to form such backs, whereas the soldered shank a, Figure 1, is
equally applicable to solid metallic front buttons as to button backs, as already
explained. The shanks Figures 1, 2, and 3 are made of metal, and may be
formed by turning brass wire in a latch and drilling the holes out of the solid
metal, or such shanks may be cast a number together in brass side by side
upon a steel wire covered with a slight coating of lime or chalk applied in a
semi-liquid state and dried on the wire so as to prevent adhesion of the cast
brass to the wire, and therefore the wire can be withdrawn from the cast shanks
so as to leave holes through them all in one direction, and the other holes
which are to cross the first-mentioned holes in a transverse directions may be
afterwards drilled, and the orifices of all the holes are to be countersunk by the

page_text: usual tools and mode of operating for countersinking. Or the said shanks
may be formed by stamping out small round beads from brass plate with holes
through them in one direction in the same manner as is done for making
metal beads, the cross holes in the other direction being drilled afterwards
across the centre of the knobs.
Figure 4 is a metallic shank having the same qualities when it is soldered
in place at the centre of the back of the button as the other shanks already
described, for the shank Figure 4 when so in place has four orifices at which
in the act of fastening the button to the garment the needle and sewing thread
can be inserted, and the needle and thread may be brought out either at the
opposite orifice or else at the next adjacent orifice to that orifice at which it is
so inserted, as already explained respecting the shanks Figures 1, 2, and 3.
The shank q, Figure 4, is made out of a small piece of metal stamped or cut
out in the form of a cross p, or it may be cast in that shape by stamping or
pressing between dies or otherwise; the angles of the arms and of the central
part of the cross p are rounded smoothly, and the said arms are then bended
up each one at right angles to its original direction in the manner shewn at q,
so that the four arms of what was the cross become as many prongs to the
shank, and the extreme ends of those four prongs are applied to the central part
of the back of the button, and are fastened thereto by soldering so as to form
the button r, which may be either the same piece of metal as the front of the
button, or it may be a button back, the said shank q of Figure 4 being applicable
to either, in the same manner as already stated respecting Figure 1.
Figure 5 represents another kind of metallic shank, composed of a short
piece of oval or flattened wire s, bended into the form of a crescent, or into the
form of a staple, and the two ends of that crescent or staple are soldered
to the central part of the back of the back of the button, as shewn at t, which
is a back view, also at u or v, which are edge views of a complete button.
This kind of shank, by bringing the sewing thread close to the back of the
button, causes the button to lay flat against the garment on which it is sewn.
This kind of shank, Figure 5, may be applied to the concave or hollow shell
back of a button, or else to a solid. button, such as at t, u, being equally
applicable in either case, as already stated respecting Figure 1.
Figure 6 represents a button, or the back of a button, which may be made
of hard wood, or of horn, bone, ivory, or mother-of-pearl, with a shank (or sub-
stitute for a shank) formed out of the same piece of material with the button
itself, or with the back of the button, by leaving a small central prominence x,
through or across the centre of which two holes are perforated in directions
intersecting one another across that centre of the prominence a, and all the

page_text: four orifices of those holes are to be countersunk or rendered bell-mouthed;
the thread by which the button is sewn to the garment is passed through the
said holes. This shank or substitute for a shank x answers in some degree
the same purpose as the metal shanks Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. The said shank
or substitute for a shank x may either be in the same piece of material with
the front of the button (the whole button with its said shank a being in that
case formed of one piece of material), or else the said shank may be in the
same piece of material with only the back of the button, which back must in
that case have a front of any suitable kind applied and fastened to it in any of the
modes of applying and fastening such fronts to buttons; that is to say, the front
may be a hollow shell of metal, and that shell may be covered on the face
with cloth or other suitable material, in the manner of what are termed covered
buttons. y, Figure 6, represents a front so covered on its face, the covering, as
well as the front, being fastened to the back (which back is in the same piece
with the shank a) by means of pressure exerted by dies on the border edge of
the front of the button whilst it is lodged in a mould, according to Mr. Aston's
method, as already explained.
Figure 7 explains a new kind of flexible shanks for buttons which are made
with concave shell backs, those backs being covered with cloth of silk or other
material, and to which backs fronts of any suitable kind may be applied. A is
a section, and B a back view, of a metal concave shell back having a number
of holes arranged at equal distances in a circle around the centre of the shell
back. X is a circular disk of the cloth of silk or other material which is to
cover the convex surface of the shell back A, B, and that disk X being applied
on B, and slightly fastened thereon by means of cement of shell lac, a strong
twisted cord of silk or other thread is then inserted by means of a needle
through the disk X and through the aforesaid holes in the shell back B, the
said cord being drawn through first one hole and then another, the cord being
conducted diametrically across the centre of the back every time that the cord
is so conducted at the outside of the shell back B and disk X, as is shewn at C;
but at the inside thereof, as is shewn at D, the cord-is every time conducted
from one hole to the next adjacent hole, as is sufficiently explained by the
Figures. The two ends of the cord are tied together withinside the hollow
shell back, as shewn at D. In order to secure the cord, the intersections or
diametrical crossings of the cord across the centre of the outside of the back, as
shown at C, constitute the new kind of flexible skank, which is applied to and
combined with a cloth-covered shell back. In the act of sewing the button' to
a garment the sewing thread is passed, by aid of a needle, between the central
part of the cloth-covered back of the button and the said diametrical intersec-

page_text: tions of the cord, so as to get hold thereof with the successive stitches of the
sewing thread.. The cloth-covered button back C, D, with such a flexible
shank, is ready to be applied to and fastened to any suitable kind of front,
which front may be a hollow metal shell, to be gilded or varnished, or that.
shell may be covered on the face with cloth, applied and fastened by pressure
with dies in a mould, on Mr. Aston's method, as already explained. E is an
edge view, and C a back view; of such a covered button, having its back as
well as its, face cloth-covered, and its flexible shank of cord of the kind
aforesaid.
.
:
Another part of my said improvements relates to buttons made of porcelain,
glass, or earthenware.. Figure 8 explains how the fronts of buttons are to be
made of those materials, F being a section, and G a back view, of such a front..
The back surface G is excavated with a circular recess or hollow, which may
be as large as the size of the button will admit, consistently with leaving a
substantial border of material all round the outer circumference of the button
for strength, and into the hollow of that circular recess the exterior circum-
ference of a shell back is, inserted,..and is fastened therein by cement; that
shell back may be à concave metal shell, with, any kind of shank. His a
section, and I is a back view of a button with the porcelain front F, G; and
a shell back and shank like e, f, Figure 1;. or, instead of that, it might be the
shell back h, i, Figure 2, or the shell back l, n, Figure 3; or otherwise the back
and shank a, Figure 6, made in one piece of material, might be used, or else
a shell back having a shank such as q, Figure 4, or such as s, Figure 5, might
be used, or it may be a metal shell back C, D, Figure 7, with the flexible shank
of cord, but in such case the aforesaid cloth.covering X of that back may be
omitted or not. .A similar back, with a similar flexible shank of cord, may
be made of porcelain or earthenware instead of metal, see Figure 9, where K
is a section, and L a back view of a concave shell of porcelain or earthenware,
perforated with holes arranged. in a circle, similar to the shell back A and B;
Figure 7, except being, made of porcelain or earthenware instead of metal, and
being without any such covering as X, in that Figure. M is a back view,
shewing that the cord of silk or thread, which is to form the flexible shank, is
inserted and passed through the aforesaid holes in the porcelain or earthenware
back, in the same manner as already explained in respect to C and D,
Figure 7. The section N shews how the complete button, which is composed
of the front F, G, Figure 8, and the back K, L, Figure 9 is put together; the
outer circumference. of the back being inserted into the circular recess in the
back surface of the front and held therein by cement in the same manner as
already explained respecting Figure 8. And note, in all the porcelain, glass.

page_text: or earthenware fronts F, G, Figure 8, and N, Figure 9, the circular recess in
the back surface of such front should be somewhat larger in diameter inside,
or at the bottom of the hollow, than it is at the outside, the interior of the
circumference of the recess being somewhat under cut, as it is termed. The
circumference of the back which is to go into the recess, whether that back be
porcelain or earthenware, or a metal shell back, or other kind of back, should
be correspondingly formed, in order to suit the undercutting of the aforesaid
recess, but so much less as will allow the back to go easily into the recess, then
the cement filling up all interstice around the exterior circumference of the
back, between that exterior and the interior undercut circumference of the
recess, the back will become what is termed dovetailed into the recess, and
securely fastened to the front. The cement which may be used for such
purpose may be plaster of Paris, or resinons or bituminous cement may be
used, or dissolved gum, or cement of shell lac may be used.
Another part of my said improvements relates to that kind of buttons which
are termed stud buttons or shirt buttons, being a kind of buttons which are
not permanently sewed or attached to the garment, but the part of a stud
button which answers to or occupies the place of a shank is inserted into an
additional button hole of the garment, for the purpose of fastening the stud
button thereto means of such additional button hole, and the head or front
of the stud button is inserted through the usual button hole in the garment,
for effecting the intended buttoning of the garment by the stud button.
My improvement in such stud buttons is, the application thereto of fronts of
porcelain, glass, or earthenware, see Figure 10, wherein O is a section, and
P a back view of such a front, being similar in every respect to F, G,
Figure 8, except being of smaller dimensions. is a side view of a stud
made of metal, in the usual manner of ordinary stud buttons, except as to the
smallness of the part corresponding to the usual head or front of a stud button,
that part of the stud Q being made of suitable size and form for entering into
the hollow of the circular recess in the back surface P of the porcelain,
glass, or earthenware front O, P, and for being fastened or dovetailed into
that recess by cementing, as is shewn in section at w, and as herein-before
described in respect to Figures 8 and 9. Or another mode of applying a
porcelain or earthenware front to a stud button is represented in section at R,
Figure 10, the stud in that case having the part answering to the usual head
or front of a stud button made with a concave hollow, as shewn at R, as to
receive the convex back surface of the porcelain or earthenware front S, which,
after being lodged in that hollow, is fastened in place by turning over or
burnishing down the prominent border edge of the said hollow which surrounds

page_text: the porcelain or earthenware, so as to cause that border to somewhat overlap
the exterior edge or circumference of the porcelain or earthenware front, in
order to hold the same in place, as is shewn at T. And note, the same mode
of applying and affixing porcelain or carthenware fronts as that last described
in respect to studd buttons, may be also used in respect to buttons with metal
shanks, see Figure 11, where V is a side view of a porcelain or earthenware
front for a button, and W is a section of a metal shell back of a button adapted.
to receive the front V within the concavity of that shell back W, and the said
front V is to be fastened therein by turning over or burnishing down the
prominent border edge of that concavity, so as to cause that edge to somewhat
overlap the exterior edge or circumference of the porcelain or earthenware
front V, in order to hold the same securely in place within the concavity of
the shell back W, as shown in section at Y. The said metal shell back W is
represented with a shank of the kind Figure 1, but it might have a shank of
the kind Figure 2 or Figure 4, or Figure 5 or Figure 7, and the porcelain or
earthenware front V, Figure 11, may have its face or front surface convex, as
represented at V, or that face may be flat, or it may be. concave, and the said
face may be ornamented by any of the modes which are or may be used for
ornamenting porcelain or earthenware.
And another part of my said improvements relates to what are known by the
term. covered buttons with flexible shauks, made in moulds by pressure with
dies, according to what is known in Birmingham as Mr. Aston's method, as
herein-before mentioned. Such buttons are not commonly made by that method
with their backs covered with cloth of silk or other material, as well as their
fronts being covered so as to conceal all the metal that is contained in the
structure of the button; but, by a peculiar mode of manufacture, for which
former Letters Patent were granted to me on the Thirtieth day of August,
One thousand cight hundred and thirty-one, covered buttons can. have their
backs as well as their fronts covered; and that mole of manufacture is now
carried on, under an assignment of my said former Patent, by Messrs. Sanders,
of Bromsgrove.
Figure 7, already explained, shews how covered buttons, having. flexible
shanks of a new kind, can have the backs also covered with cloth of silk or
other material, so as to conceal all the metal; and Figure 12 shews how
buttons having flexible shanks of the ordinary kind (that is, flexible shanks of
strong cloth) can have their backs so covered, as well as their fronts, without
resorting to the said peculiar mode of manufacture which was the subject of
said former Patent.
my
I, Figure 12, is a concave metal shell back of the usual kind, for making

page_text: common flexible shank buttons, having a hole of considerable size through its
centre, so that, in fact, the said back is a sort of metal collet. J is a circular
disk, of cloth, of silk, or other material, having a small-sized hole through its
centre. The cloth J is applied concentrically on the back or convex surface
of the shell back I, and is slightly fastened to that surface by cement of shell
lac; also the central part of the cloth J, around the small central hole therein,
is pushed through, the larger central hole of the metal shell I, so as to protrude
through that hole into the interior concavity off the shell, and the part of the
cloth which is thus caused to protrude is stuck fast, to that interior* with
cement of shellac, so as to overlap a little all round the circumference of the
central hole of the shell back, withinside of the concavity of that shell, and by
that means the said metal shell back I becomes effectually: .covered on its
back or convex surface, with cloth,J, of silk or. other material, such covering
being applied over: the same back surface aforesaid of the metal shell back as
is usually covered with japan or varnish in the ordinary mode of making
covered.buttons::with flexible. shanks;. and the said metal shell back I, so
prepared with its, said covering J, is. then to be treated in every respect,in the
same manner as the same or a like metal shell back. I, without any such
covering J, would be treated in the ordinary. course, of, making a common
flexible shank button by Mr. Aston's method; that is to say, a flexible: shank
is prepared in the usual form,. as is shewn at, U; Figure 12, from a circular
disk of strong cloth, raised by pressure into a form resembling a,hat with a
convex crown in miniature. The brim or border thereof is applied withinside
the concavity.of. the metal shell back I,,and that which answer to the crown
part of a hat is put through. the central.hole of the metal shell back: I, being
of a proper size to fit the said hole; and that. portion which 'answers to the
convex crown of a hat, and which protrudes through the hole, forms the
flexible shank of the button. The flexible shank and back being thus put
together, the metal shell front of the button, with the usual covering over that
front, is applied and fastened thereon, and the front is fastened to the said-back,
and the flexible shank fastened in place by one action of dies in, moulds.
According to Mr. Aston's: method aforesaid, that is by pressure with such
dies, all the said parts are compressed and consolidated together into a covered
button with a flexible shank, as shewn at z, which only differs from an ordinary
covered flexible shank button (as visually made. on what is called Mr. Aston's
method) in the circumstance of the convex back I being covered with cloth J,
of silk or other material, instead of exposing a japanned or varnished surface
of metal at that back. Note, it is to be understood that the front:covering of
such button is held in place, and that, the whole button: isi put together and

page_text: held together in the usual manner; videlicit, the overlapping circumference of
the front covering is gathered over all around the turned-back border edge of
the metal shell front, so as to overlap into the hollow within that border edge;
and the metal shell back I being prepared with its covering J as aforesaid,
and having the flexible slank inserted through its central hole as aforesaid,
then the circumference of the said metal shell back I and covering J is
inserted within the aforesaid turned-back border edge of the metal shell front,
and within the aforesaid gathered-in circumference of the front covering,
which being done in the mould, then, by pressure of: the dies exerted on the
border edge around the circumference of the button, all the aforesaid parts are
compressed and consolidated together into the button z; all which is the well-
known process of making covered buttons by pressure in moulds with dies,
according to Mr. Aston's method.aforesaid. And note; the backs of covered
buttons which are made with metal shell backs having metallic shanks of the
kind
9, Figure 2, and k, Figure 3, may have a covering of cloth of silk or
other material, applied over the convex surface of such backs, in order to
conceal all the metal of that shell back from view. For that purpose a
circular disk of cloth, of silk, or other material, see X, Figure 7, or J,
Figure 12, is to be applied and slightly cemented with shell lac to the back
convex surface of the metal shell back h, i, Figure 2, or 1, n, Figure 3, before
the metallic shank g, Figure 2, or k, Figure 3, is applied to the said shell
back. And in the application of the said shank in manner. herein-before
described, the tail or pin thereof. being inserted through the centre of the said
disk of back covering, as well as through the central hole. of..the metal shell
back, the fastening of the shank will effectually fasten and retain the said
back covering; and the metal shell back h, i, Figure 2, or 1, n, Figure 3,
being thus prepared with its said back covering, will be ready for being treated
in every respect as usual for making up into covered buttons with metallic
shanks, by pressure of dies in moulds, on Mr. Aston's method aforesaid and
above referred to, but the covered buttons so made will be covered on the
convex surface of the back as well as the usual covering over the front face
of the button, so that all the metal will be covered and concealed except the
metallic shank. And note, buttons having backs as well as fronts of porcelain
or earthenware may have flexible shanks of the common kind (that is, of
strong cloth) applied to such buttons of porcelain or earthenware by the mode
shewn in Figure 13, where A is a button front of porcelain or.earthenware.
the same as F, G, Figure 8, and B is a button back of porcelain or earthen-
ware, which is somewhat similar to K, I, Figure 9, except that the back B
has only one central hole through it instead of several small holes, arranged in

page_text: a circle. D is a circular disk of strong cloth prepared for a flexible shank
exactly the same as U, Figure 12, by being pressed into the shape of a hat
with a convex crown in miniature. The said crown fits into and is put
through the central hole of the back B, so as to protrude through at the
convex back thereof in order to form the flexible shank; and the brim of D,
which applies to the concave inside surface of B around the said central hole,
is stuck to the surface around that hole with cement of shell lac. The
porcelain or earthenware back B, being thus prepared with its flexible shank D,
is then to. have its circumference or edge inserted into the circular recess in the
back surface of the front A, and the said edge is to be fastened to the porcelain
or earthenware front A by cementing with plaster of Paris, as is shewn at E,
and as already explained respecting Figures 8 and 9.
Having now described my said improvements in the manufacture of buttons,
J, the said Benjamin Aingworth, do hereby declare that the new Invention
whereof the exclusive use is granted to me by the said Letters Patent of the
Seventh of October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-one, consists in
the following particulars,―
First, in the new kind of metallic shank herein-before described or referred
to a, Figure 1, also g, Figure 2, and k, Figure 3, which shank a is applicable
to solid metal buttons; that is, metal buttons whereof the back and the front
are in the same piece of metal, as b, d, Figure 1. And the said shanks a, g,
and are all applicable to the concave metal shell backs of buttons, as e, f,
Figure 1, or h, i, Figure 2, or 1, n, Figure 3, which said metal shell backs
may be used in the manufacture of buttons, as herein-before described, or in
any of the ways whereby metal shell backs. with metallic shanks are or may
be used in such manufacture.
Secondly, in the new kind of metallic shank herein-before described in
reference to p, q, Figure 4, which shank is applicable to solid metal buttons,
as in that Figure, or to concave metal shell backs of buttons, which shell
backs may be used in the manufacture of buttons, as herein-before described,
or in any of the ways whereby metal shell backs with metallic shanks are or
may be used in such manufacture.
Thirdly, in the new kind of metallic shank berein-before described in refe-
rence to s, Figure 5, which shank is applicable to solid metal buttons, as t, u,
in that Figure, or to concave metal shell backs of buttons, which shell backs
may be used in the manufacture of buttons, as berein-before described, or in
any of the ways whereby metal shell backs with metallic shanks are or may
be used in such manufacture.
Fourthly, in the new kind of shank herein-before described in reference to

page_text: , Figure 6, for buttons made of hard wood, or of horn, bone, ivory, or mother-
of-pearl, or other suitable substance, which shank is formed in the same piece
of material as the back of the button, and is applicable for solid buttons having
the front and back, as well as the said shank x, in one piece of material, or is
applicable for the backs of buttons, and to which backs any suitable fronts are
to be applied, as herein-before explained, and whereof an example is repre-
sented at y, Figure 6.
Fifthly, the new kind of flexible shanks of cord for metal shell backs of
buttons herein-before described in reference to Figure 7, and which shell
backs are covered with cloth, or silk, or other material. The said shell backs,
with such flexible shanks and back covering, may be used in the manufacture
of buttons as herein-before described; or in any of the ways whereby shell
backs with flexible shanks are or may be used in such manufacture.
Sixthly, the new kind of porcelain, glass, or earthenware fronts for buttons,
herein-before described in reference to Figure 8, which fronts may be used
with metallic shell backs having metallic shanks of any ordinary kind, or of
any of the kinds herein-before described, and whereof one kind is shewn by
way of example at II, I, Figure 8, or with metal shell backs having flexible
shanks of the new kind herein-before described in reference to B, D,
Figure 7, or may be used with metal shell backs having flexible shanks of the
ordinary kind, as herein-before described in reference to Figure 13, supposing
that the back B were to be made of a shell of metal instead of porcelain or
earthenware; also the new porcelain or earthenware backs herein-before
described in reference to Figure 9 and Figure 13, and the new kind of
porcelain or carthenware fronts for buttons hercin-before described in
reference, to Figure 11.
Seventhly, the application herein-before described in reference to Figure 10
of fronts of porcelain or earthenware to stud buttons, which fronts may be
applied in the manner represented at O, P, Q, Figure 10, or in the manner
represented at R, S, T, in that Figure.
Eighthly, the application herein-before described in reference to J,
Figure 12, of a covering of cloth, of silk, or other material over the convex
surface of the metal shell backs of covered buttons; that is, buttons covered
on the front face having flexible shanks of the ordinary kind (that is, of strong
cloth), such covered buttons being made in moulds by pressure with dies, on
Mr. Aston's method, as herein-before explained, the said back covering J
being so applied in order to conceal all metal at the back of the buttons; also
the application herein-before described in reference to X, Figure 7, of such a
covering of cloth, of silk, or other material as aforesaid over the convex surface

page_text: of the metal shell backs B, D, Figure 7, of covered buttons as aforesaid,
having flexible shanks of cord of the new kind herein-before mentioned under
the fifth article of improvement, and herein-before described in reference to
Figure 7, and as is shewn by way of example at C, E, in that Figure; also
the application herein-before described (in the last note but one, at the latter
end of the foregoing description), and in which said note mention is made of
g, Figure 2, and k, Figure 3, and X, Figure 7, or J, Figure 12, of such a
covering of cloth, of silk, or other material as aforesaid over the convex surface
of the metal shell back h, i, Figure 2, with the new metallic shank g in that
Figure, or 1, n, Figure 3; with the new metallic shank k in that Figure.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Aingworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-two.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of April, in the
fifth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Benjamin
Aingworth came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written.. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of His late Maiesty King George the Third.