Improvements in Hats and Helmets.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th May, 1899
Comniato Concification Loft 6th June 1809-Accented 22nd July 1899
PRUVIDIONAL DITUIFICATION
Improvements in Hats and Helmets.
JOHN BALL, Hatters Clerk, 343, Kentish Town Road, London, N.W., do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;-
The use of celluloid as a lining for felt and silk hats; also helmets.
The advantage claimed for this kind of lining over others, is that its being
of a smooth, impervious surface, the hot air rising from the head escapes much
more freely from the vent in the crown of the hat or helmet.
I, JOHN BALL, of 343, Kentish Town Road, in the County of London, Hatters
Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement;-
My invention has for its object to provide hats and helmets; especially felt,
or silk, hats, and felt helmets; wherein the hot air rising from the head of
the wearer escapes much more freely from the vent in the crown of the hat,
or helmet, than is the case with ordinary hats or helmets.
According to my invention I provide the hats, or helmets, with a lining of
celluloid which fits inside the hat, or helmet, and preferably extends from the
crown, or top, down to within the leather, or pad, around the part which fits onto
the head. The celluloid can be blocked, pressed, moulded, or bent, to the re-
quired shape to form the lining, and it can be in one piece or in several pieces
joined together by sewing, cementing, or other suitable means, and at or near,
the top there is an opening, or there are openings, passing through the lining
and the body of the hat, or helmet. The lining for instance can be secured to
the top, or crown, of the hat, or helmet, by means of an eyeletted vent which
passes through the lining and top, or crown, and is "upset," so as to bind the
lining to the hat, or helmet; or it can be secured by such eyeletted vents at
each side, or both at the sides and top, or crown. The lower part of the said
lining can be cemented, or otherwise attached, to the body of the hat, or helmet.
As the said lining is smooth and impervious the warm air, rising from the
head of the wearer, instead of clinging to the inside of the hat, or helmet, or its
lining, as has hitherto been the case, will readily pass upwards and escape by the

page_text: vent, or vents, provided for the purpose thus keeping the head of the wearer
cool, which not only adds greatly to the comfort of the wearer but also over-
comes much of the injurious effect upon the hair incidental to the use of ordinary
hats, or helmets. The lining, in accordance with this invention, presents also
the advantage that it can be readily cleaned. In the term "celluloid" I of
course include the materials made of, or principally of, cellulose, and known by
various names, such as xylonite, and the like.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In, or for, hats, or helmets, a lining made of celluloid, as hereinbefore
defined.
2. Hats, or helmets, provided with a lining of celluloid, as herein before defined,
and with an air vent, or air vents, passing through the lining and the body of
the hat, or helmet, substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 6th day of June 1899.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.