IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Bowman of Birmingham in the County of
Warwick for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
BOOTS AND SHOES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Bowman at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th August 1883.
ALFRED BOWMAN of Birmingham in the County of Warwick
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
"
"IMPROVEMENTS
This Invention has for its object Firstly To greatly enhance the comfort of the
wearer and Secondly To economise the cost of manufacture
My first improvement consists in entirely dispensing with the ordinary welt
between the upper and the sole In order to do this I make two or more small.
incisions in that part of the upper which laps over the sides of the boot or shoe-
(hereafter terined the "underlay") so as to allow the sides of such underlay to
be folded or doubled back along each side of the boot or shoe thus forming a false
welt of equal if not greater strength than the ordinary welt but much more light
and flexible
In order to complete such false welt at the toe of the boot or shoe where the
upper is drawn under and stitched down single in the ordinary manner I insert a
toepiece made of leather of any suitable thickness which toepiece is stitched in
between the sole and the upper and such false welt is thus rendered perfect
By this simple and novel method which is equally applicable to hand-made and
machine-made boots and shoes I avoid the rigidity and heaviness which are
inseparable from the ordinary welt and so render the sides of the boot or shoe
extremely light and flexible without imparing its durability
My second improvement inore particularly relates to machine-made boots and
ehoes and consists in preventing the stitches or pegs which secure the solo
penetrating through the entire substance of the inner sole as by the present mode
of manufacture they now do and so rendering an additional sock or lining
11

page_text: necessary to prevent their galling and incommoding the wearer and which
additional sock or lining is very apt to work loose and add to the inconvenience
and discomfort
This I effect by splitting the edges of the sides of such inner sole in two
thicknesses and making two small incisions in the upper thickness sufficiently
deep to allow such upper thickness to be temporarily turned up while the boot is
being stitched or fastened together after which such upper thickness is again
turned back and when the work is hammered down assumes and retains its proper
position thus effectually covering the stitches or pegs and presenting a smooth
and durable surface to the foot of the wearer and so greatly promoting both
comfort and convenience
By the application of my improvements to the manufacture of machine-made
boots and shoes it will be found that articles so produced are not only equal
but superior to hand made boots and shoes as made by the methods hitherto in
practice
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred Bowman in the Patent Office on the 15th February 1884.
ALFRED BOWMAN of Birmingham in the County of Warwick IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
This Invention has for its object Firstly To greatly enhance the comfort of the
wearer. Secondly. To considerably economise the cost of manufacture
This I effect by entirely dispensing with the ordinary welt between the upper
and the sole and substituting an imitation welt therefor-In order to do this I
make two or more small incisions in that part of the upper which laps over the
sides of the boot or shoe-(hereafter termed the "underlay"-,) so as to allow
the sides of such underlay to be fulded or doubled back along each side of the
boot or shoe thus forming an imitation welt which has the advantage of being of
equal strength with the ordinary welt at the same time that it is much more light
and flexible and consequently more durable
In order to complete such imitation welt at the toe of the boot or shoe where
the upper is drawn under and stitched down single in the ordinary manner I
insert a toe piece made of leather of any suitable thickness which toe piece is
stitched or otherwise fastened in between the solo and the upper and by so doing
the imitation welt is thus rendered perfect-Such imitation welt may however
be completed in a variety of ways without departing from the principle of my
invention which is to substitute for the ordinary welt an underlay or imitation
welt formed out of the upper in the manner already described
By this simple and novel method which is applicable either to hand made or
machine made boots and shoes I avoid the rigidity and heaviness which are
inseparable froin the ordinary welt and so render the sides of the boot or shoe

page_text: extremely flexible and comfortable without in the slightest degree impairing its
durability
By the application of this improved principle of manufacture to boots and shoes
it will be found that articles so made are not only equal but superior to hand
made boots and shoes manufactured in the ordinary manner
The following is a clear and full description of the manner of carrying my said
invention into practical operation reference being had to the accompanying
drawings, that is to say; The upper a is first lasted in the ordinary way after
which the lining and side lining are braced to the inner sole b.-Or instead of
bracing the lining and side lining to the inner sole, I put a few basting stitches
through the upper and lining to the inner sole-Such basting stitches are placed
about one eighth of an inch from the edge of the inner sole and form a guide line
to shew the distance the underlay of the upper is to be turned back-I then nick
the upper at the points d. d. at the heel and toe about a quarter of an inch from
the edge of the inner sole b-so as to allow of such upper being turned back about
one eighth of an inch from heel to toe as shewn at a a¹ in section B. Fig: 1 to
form my improved imitation welt; and when so turned back I tap it lightly with
the pincers in order to set it.-I then put on the sole, after which I run the bone
lightly round the imitation wolt taking care at the same time to press the sole
with the fingers towards the welt, more than the welt towards the sole, by doing
which I make them lay well together for stitching-I then slip in a piece of
leather e of a corresponding thickness with the upper between the outer sole and
that portion of the upper which is not turned back, and so complete the imitation
welt at the toe;-after which I fasten such toe piece with stitches or in any other
convenient manner
I would here observe that although it is possible to complete such imitation
welt by turning the underlay of the upper back round the front of the toe in a
similar way as at the sides, yet in practice I find that it is undesirable to do so, as
by piecing it out in the manner already described a boot or shoe can be made with
greater facility and in less time
I then make the heel of the boot or shoe cither by sewing the same in the.
ordinary manner, or in any other convenient way
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings shews a
boot, having the outer sole removed, and divided
longitudinal sections A-B-for the purpose of
invention
plan view of the bottom of a
by a dotted line into two
more clearly shewing my
Section A shews the upper a hasted before being turned back-also the basting
stitches c put through the upper and lining to the inner sole b in lieu of bracing
the lining to the inner sole as already described
The long stitches marked shewn in section A are the stitches on the inner sole
and these are made with a single closing end and closing awl
Figure 2 of such drawings also shews a plan view of the bottom of a boot and
further illustrates my improved method of making the same In this figure
A shews the edge of the upper leather after being turned back to form the welt-
B is the outline of the boot or edge of the inner sole under the upper leather-
C the distance the upper is turned back from the edge B of the inner sole-D the
edge of the lining braced to the inner sole and E the stitches that so brace the
lining
The advantages possessed by boots made according to my invention as compared
with machine sewn boots may be briefly summarised as follows:-
Firstly dispense with the ordinary sock which is so frequently the cause of
annoyance to the wearer
Secondly There are no large waxed stitches inside to gall or hurt the foot
Thirdly Boots so made are much lighter as they require no middle sole from
toe to heel such as is used in a machine sewn boot to produce what is technically
termed the "fair stitch" round the waist and fore part.
Fourthly They are extremely pliable and bend easily with the action of the

page_text: foot, thus affording great comfort and producing far less fatigue in walking as the
soles of the feet are neither galled or irritated
The advantages of such boots over hand sewn boots are as follows:—
Firstly Effecting a considerable saving of time in the making of a boot or shoe,
there being no welt to sew in-thus also dispensing with the feathering and
holeing of the inner sole-Secondly-They are lighter and consequently less
fatiguing Thirdly-By dispensing with the ordinary welt, as also with the large
waxed thread used to sew the same in I avoid the large stiff seam round the boot
which is called the "sewing seam and obtain a pliability hitherto unknown
which while it in no way detracts from the durability of the boot affords greatly
increased case and comfort
"
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and the manner of carrying the same into practical operation I would
have it understood that what I claim as novel and of my invention is
Firstly. The incising and doubling back the underlay of the upper leather of a
boot or shoe so as to form an imitation welt either all round or at the two
sides of a boot or shoe substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and
illustrated
Secondly. In combination with such incising and doubling back of the underlay
of the upper leather to form an imitation welt at the two sides of a boot or shoe as
aforesaid inserting a separate toe piece to form the continuation of such imitation
welt at the toe thereof substantially in the manner herein before specified and
shewn
-
In witness whereof I the said Alfred Bowman have hereunto set my hand
and seal this fifteenth day of February in the Year of Our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty four
Witness,
ELT & Co.
Agents,
33 Southampton Buildings, Holborn, London
A BOWMAN (L.S.)