IMPROVEMENTS IN LASTS FOR THE MANUFACTURE UF BOOTS AND SHUES UF ALL KINDS.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Huard, Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, of
the City of Paris, in the Republic of France, 8, Rue de Valois,
Palais Royal, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LASTS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE UF BOOTS AND SHUES UF ALL
KINDS.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Huard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th March 1875.
I, LOUIS HUARD, Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, of the City of Paris,
in the Republic of France, 8, Rue de Valois, Palais Royal, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LASTS
for the ManufaCTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES OF ALL KINDS," to be as follows:-
The improvements in lasts referred to, and to which I give the
appellation of the "Huard last," consists in their peculiar formation,
that is to say, they comprise four pieces, the front or fore part of the foot,
the heel, a central or key piece, and a locking bar or band above for
uniting the whole firmly together.

page_text: The parts mentioned, with the exception of the locking bar, are
united by a mortice and tenon arrangement, the bar being fixed by
screws.
In well-shaped shoes, especially those worn by ladies and known as
the Louis XV., it is advantageous that the entry thereto should be as
narrow as is practicable and convenient, so that when on the foot it shall
not bulge.
By the old or solid mode of construction the difficulty of inserting
and removing the last when the vamp was drawn in round the entry was
a source of great inconvenience, which is obviated by forming the lasts
as herein described, as they can be inserted and removed piece by piece.
This system also admits of cutting the vamps and the parts where the
seams should be sloping or at an acute angle. This alone effects and
facilitates the narrowing of the entry, and moreover, by this system of
construction the binding can be accomplished before the final shaping.
The lasts are made of wood, and the parts most exposed to wear may
be protected by metal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Louis Huard in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LOUIS
HUARD, Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, of the City of Paris, in the
Republic of France, 8, Rue de Valois, Palais Royal, 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 seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Louis Huard, Her special licence that I,
the said Louis Huard, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Louis Huard, my executors, admini-
strators, 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

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LASTS FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, OF ALL KINDS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Louis Huard, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be 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 Louis Huard, 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 and accompanying Drawings:-
In the vast and laborious industry of boot and shoe making experience
has shown what difficulties the workmen have to contend with in
obtaining a satisfactory result in the all-important operation of shaping.
For some shaped shoes, especially those worn by ladies and known as
the Louis XV., the sewing of the sole to the leather or tissue forming
the upper or vamp is made externally and then turned the same as
pumps or slippers, therefore the whole difficulty rested in placing and
removing the last in and from the shoe.
The best made shoes or boots, independent of the care taken in the
manufacture generally, are those where the entry for the foot is smaller
than the interior.
In shaping at the present time when the sole is fixed to the vamp.it
is necessary to leave the binding as the last operation, and generally
this cannot be performed till the last is removed from the shoe; con-
sequently the workman in order that the work may be effected to the
best advantage is forced to make the opening straight on account of the
loose sides of the shoe. It is this narrowing of the entry which has
always required the most care by reason of the difficulty of producing.a
favourable result.
The object of this Invention is to obviate these drawbacks by the
employment of the improved last (to which I give the name of the
Huard last) in the manufacture of boots and shoes of all kinds. The
facility with which this last is placed in and, removed from the shoe

page_text: admits of cutting the vamp, as well as the parts where the seams occur,
either at the side or heel in a sloping manner or an acute angle. This
alone effects and facilitates the narrowing of the entry, admitting at the
same time of the insertion or removal of the last according to the
exigencies of manufacture. This facility of adjustment of the last
allows the binding to be performed before the final shaping.
The Huard last consists of three principal parts held together by
means of a small horizontal band of wood or metal, serving to unite
them by screws. The fore part being that which gives the form to the
shoe or boot, it is obvious that its shape may vary as desired. The key piece
is fixed or removed as required for uniting or separating the several parts.
The lasts are made of wood and the parts most exposed to wear may
be protected with metal.
Fig. 1 is the fore part of the last; Fig. 2, the centre or key piece;
Fig. 3, the heel; Fig. 4, the locking bar; Fig. 5 is an end view of the
fore part; Fig. 6, a like view of the key piece; Fig. 7, an end view of
the heel; and Fig. 8 shows the last complete and all the parts in situ.
The same letters of reference indicate like parts in the several
Figures.
The centro piece is provided with two tenons A, B, which slide in the
mortices C, D, on the fore part and heel. These two latter parts are
each provided with screw-threaded apertures E, F, for the reception of
the screws G, H, of the locking bar I.
Having thus described my Invention, what I claim and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is, the construction of lasts in the manner herein
explained, and as shown by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Huard, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
E. HÉBRÉ,
Ingeneur Civil,
à Paris.
LOUIS HUARD. (L.S.)
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