AN IMPROVED MODE OP FASTENING AND UNITING THE EDGES OF THE DIVIDED PARTS OF SHOES, BOOTS, BANDAGES, PACKAGES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF DRESS OR UTILITY
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CAROLINE
JULIA SOPHIA Cox, of No. 6, Addison Road, Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex, Spinster, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, that I had invented "AN IMPROVED MODE
OP FASTENING AND UNITING THE EDGES OF THE DIVIDED PARTS OF SHOES, BOOTS,
BANDAGES, PACKAGES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF DRESS OR UTILITY;" 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day of March last (One
thousand eight hundred and forty), in the third year of Her reign, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, to give and grant unto me, the said Caroline Julia
Sophia Cox, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial license, full power,
sole privilege 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 said Majesty's Dominions called
England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
also in all Her Plantations and Colonies abroad, in such manner as to me, my
exors, admňors, and assigns, shall seem meet; and as that I or they shall enjoy
the whole profit and advantage arising by reason of the said Invention, during

page_text: the said term of fourteen years; and for that end Her said Majesty requires
and strictly commands all Her subjects whatsoever, within England, Wales,
and Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Colonies and Plantations aforesaid, 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 there-
from, 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 Caroline Julia Sophia Cox, 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 enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within two 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
Caroline Julia Sophia Cox, do hereby declare that the nature of
my said
Invention is described and ascertained in manner following, and by the aid
of the Drawing hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My said improved mode of fastening and uniting the edges of the divided
parts of shoes, boots, bandages, packages, and other articles of dress or utility,
is applicable in cases where a row of holes usually is or may be made along
each edge of such divided parts for receiving a string or cord, or boot or shoe
lace, which, being laced and drawn through the said holes, will approach,
fasten, and unite the edges of the divided parts together, as is well known
and commonly practised in shoes and boots for binding the same tight around
the ancles and legs of the wearer. In my said improved mode the rows of
holes which are to receive the cord or lace are made (as is explained by
Figure 1 of the Drawing hereunto annexed), through the doubled thickness of
folded edges a, b, of leather cloth or other suitable material sewed to or
forming part of the divided parts A, B, which are to be fastened and united by
the lace or cord C, but the said folded edges a, b, are cut across opposite to
each such hole from the said hole to the outside of the folded edge a or b, so as in
fact to render each row of holes a row of open notches, as is explained by the
Figure, and a small slender strip of whalebone d, e, or other suitable material
is inserted into the hollow of the fold of each folded edge a, b, so as to close
each of the said rows of open notches, in order that the notches when so closed
by insertion of the strips of whalebone d, e, may answer the purpose of two
rows of holes for the reception of the cord or lace C, which is accordingly to

page_text: be laced into and drawn through the notches and passed around behind the
whalebones d, e, in the same manner as the lace would be inserted into and
drawn through two ordinary row of holes, in order to fasten and unite the
divided parts A, B, together, but the whalebones will be better able than
ordinary holes are to resist wearing or tearing out by the strain or tension of
drawing the lace C tight. The ends of that cord or lace are to be made fast
in the usual manner. When it is required to unfasten and disunite the said
divided parts A, B, the strips of whalebone d, e, may be wholly withdrawn
from their places in the hollows of the folds of the folded edges a, b, and will
set the lacing at liberty in an instant without the trouble of withdrawing or
unlacing the cord or lace C, as must be done in the ordinary mode of lacing
into rows of holes, for the withdrawing of each whalebone leaves a row of open
notches, wherein the cord or lace can have no hold, although when the whale-
bones are inserted in place, they render the rows of notches equivalent to
rows of holes, so that the cord or lace C will have an equal or even a firmer
hold in two such rows of notches when they are closed by the strips of whale-
bone d, e, than the same cord or lace would have if it were laced through two
rows of holes in the usual manner. And note.-In order to retain each
whalebone d, e, in place and prevent it from working out endways from its
place, the upper and lower ends of the hollow of each of the folded edges a, b,
wherein each whalebone d or e is inserted, may be closed at the places where
the two ends of the whalebone will come when in place, so as to form a suitable
lodgement for those ends and conceal them, but in such case, in order to intro-
duce each whalebone into its place, its end must be first inserted into the
hollow of the fold of the folded edge a or 6 at that cut, whereby the uppermost
of the holes is rendered an open notch, as already mentioned, and the whale-
bone having its end so inserted can be thrust down within in the hollow of the
fold of the folded edge a or 6 until it gets to its intended place, and then the
uppermost part k or l'of the folded edge that is above the uppermost hole
is to be lifted over the upper end of the whalebone in the manner of a cap.
thereto, as is shewn in Figure 1, at k, l, and thereby the upper end of
the whalebone will be concealed, and the whole whalebone will be retained
from getting out of place by working endways if it should have any
tendency to do so. When it is required to withdraw the whalebones tho
said uppermost parts k, l, of the folded edges being lifted upwards from off
the upper ends of the whalebones d, e, will expose those ends, and they may
be then taken hold of to draw out the whalebones for the purpose of setting.
the lacing at liberty, as already described. Figures 2 and 3 represent a shoe,
or boot, whereof the divided parts A, B, are fastened and united according to

page_text: my said improved mode. a, b, are the folded edges, through the double
thickness whereof the holes to receive the lace C are made; and as already
described, the folded edges are cut across from each hole outwards, so as to
render each hole an open notch, wherein the lace C can have no hold unless
the strips of whalebone d, e, are inserted within the hollows of the folds of the
folded edges a, b; but when those strips are so inserted, the holes are qualified
to receive the cord or lace C, which, by passing around the whalebones
d and e, will obtain a very secure hold, in order to lace or approach and draw
together the edges of the divided parts A, B, so as to fasten and unite those
edges; but by withdrawing the whalebones d, e, the whole lacing C will
be instantly set at liberty, in order to unfasten and disunite the divided parts
A, B, without the trouble of withdrawing the lace. The folded edges a, b,
may be leather or strong cloth, or other suitable material, and may be sewed
to the inside of the edges of the divided parts A and B, so that the meeting of
those edges will conceal the lacing if desired.
Figure 4 represents a bandage for a leg, with the edges of the divided parts
A, B, fastened and united according to my said improved mode. The folded
edges a, b, answer to those before described, but they may be a series of loops
of tape sewed to the edges of the divided parts A, B, leaving intervals between
the loops, forming notches for the reception of the lace C; that is, when the
open sides of those notches are closed by insertion of the strips of whalebone
d, e, as before described; or, in lieu of whalebone, metal wire may be used, of
that kind which is covered with a lapping of thread, and called bonnet wire.
When the lacing is of considerable length, as in Figure 4, and particularly if
the line of lacing is a curve, the strips of whalebone should not extend the
whole length in one piece, because it would not be easy to draw out a long
piece, particularly if curved; therefore, the upper and straight part only
may be made to receive strips of whalebone according to my improved mode;
the lower part being made with two rows of holes in the ordinary manner of
such bandages, unless it is preferred to have the whole of the lacing, according
to my said improved mode, and then the lower part may be made in the same
manner as the upper part already described, but with two or more short strips
of whalebone in the length of the lacing, one at the end of the other, so as to
avoid having an inconvenient length of whalebone to draw out in one piece.
Similar bandages may be made for the arm if required. Such bandages will
be found extremely convenient from the facility with which the lacing can be
set at liberty by withdrawing the strips of whalebone. Or gaiters may be
made in the manner of Figure 4 by using suitable materials.
Figure 5 represents a package, whereof the edges of the divided parts A, B,

page_text: are fastened and united according to my said improved mode; the lacing into
two rows of notches, closed by the insertion of strips of whalebone, being the
same as already described in reference to Figure 1, require no farther expla-
nation; but for packages and coarse articles slips of cane or wood may be
used instead of whalebone.
Having now described my said improved mode, I, the said Caroline Julia
Sophia Cox, do hereby declare that the new Invention, whereof the exclusive
use is granted to me by the aforesaid Letters Patent, consists in the appli-
cation in manner herein-before described of strips of whalebone, or other
suitable materials, to rows of open notches, which are made along the edges
of the divided parts of shoes, boots, bandages, packages, and other articles of
dress or utility, in order by such application of strips of whalebone or other
suitable material to close such notches, so as to render them equivalent to
rows of holes for the reception of a lacing for fastening and uniting the said
edges of the divided parts; but by withdrawing the said strips of whalebone or
other suitable material in manner herein-before described the lacing can be
set at liberty in an instant without the trouble of unlacing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Caroline Julia Sophia Cox, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and forty.