IMPROVEMENTS. IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, HARNESS, AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jean Léonard Codet-Negrier, of 'Paris, in the
Empire of France, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS. IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, HARNESS, AND OTHER ARTICLES."
10 16:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jean Léonard Codet.
Négrier at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Pétition,'
on the 27th May 1857.
I, JEAN LEONARD CODET-NEGRIER, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, HARNESS; AND OTHER ARTICLES," to
be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object the manufacture of all kinds of shoes or
coverings for the feet by uniting or joining the several parts of which they are
composed by cementing.
Firstly, with reference to the coating or substance which serves for the
cementing, it is composed of india-rubber, gutta percha, and gum lac
dissolved in their solvents, and mixed together; sulphur may be added for the
purpose of obtaining a greater resistance to heat. I also obtain the cementing
of leather by means of acids, alkalies, and other solvents.
Secondly, 'with reference to the manufacture of the shoe, I proceed as
follows: Firstly, I join the vamps and the quarters by means of the coating
[Price 8d.]

page_text: or cementing substance; or by a seam covered over and consolidated with the
coating. Secondly, I shape the soles and the stiffenings either by handl or by
the aid of a machine of my Invention, and then coat them. Thirdly, I stamp
the soles with their heels in a single piece. and the heels (the projecting part
of them only) and the stiffenings, between two matrices, male and female. The
heels are punched or stamped hollow, and are filled up with the waste cement,
resin, and broken pieces of leather. Fourthly, I scrape the leather soles on
a card mill, for removing from one side the tough parts, and so permit the
coating to penetrate well into the pores of the leather, and to adhere well to it.
Fifthly, I mount the shoe on a last, and stretch it on by the aid of a jointed
machine furnished with pincers of my Invention. Sixthly, I unite the first
sole to the vamp by heating the parts coated, the junction is effected by
pressure. Seventhly, I form holes round the sole, and fill them with the
cement to form a hold or fixing between the two soles. Eighthly, I join in
like manner by cementing and by pressure the stiffening and the projecting
part of the heel to the first sole; the pressure is supplied by machines I have
designed for that purpose. Ninthly, I form holes through the thickness of
both soles and of that part of the vamp which is turned in, and I introduce
into these holes the cement or pegs of leather or of wood impregnated with
the cement. Tenthly, and lastly, I place the shoe in a vice, for the purpose of
regulating the form of the shoe.
Thirdly, with reference to the union or junction by cementing with this
coating of cement. It may be applied also in coach-making, saddlery,
harness-making, and in male and female clothing. For that purpose the parts
to meet together are always furnished with a border of the coating. which is
heated and cemented by the aid of pressure; and when two pieces of leather
are to be superposed, they may be completely cemented and held together.
This same means of connection serves for uniting the parts of boots,
harness, and other articles of leather, which it is unnecessary further to
describe..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jean Léonard Codet Négrier in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th November 1857..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JEAN
LEONARD CODET NEGRIER, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Merchant, send
greeting.

page_text: .done by the workman in a standing position. A description of this new
system, and the manner of applying it will be found hereafter.
To unite the leather perfectly, and to render it completely waterproof, it
must imbibe the solution, prepared as herein-after explained, by spreading
several layers upon it in succession; when it is all dry it is placed near the
fire in order to melt the surface of the cement at the two parts to be cemented
together; they are united and subjected to sufficient pressure.
Every part of the boot or shoe being ready for placing, the edge of the
upper leather, of the inside leather, and of the first sole, which must, be
scraped on the side which is to be cemented, the first layer of cement is then
laid on in a sufficiently liquid state to enable it to penetrate into the pores of
the leather; when almost dry a second layer of cement must be spread rather
thicker, and quite dry, the shoe.must be put together, and held to the fire
to re-heat the surfaces, and then united rapidly by pressure. This being done,
holes are made in the upper leather. by means of a punch all round the
last, so that the cement penetrating these holes forms a kind of rivetting
process, fixing the upper leather and the two soles together, which being thus
united form one piece. If wished, the upper leather may be stitched all
round to the first sole, or if preferred a few small nails may be inserted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PASTE OR CEMENT.
lac.
This composition is most advantageous and perfect in every respect, being
flexible, waterproof, and capable of resisting a certain heat; it adheres so
strongly to the leather that it becomes in fact one body with it, and cannot
. be separated without tearing the leather. Three principal substances are
employed to make this cement; india-rubber, gutta percha, and gum
They must all be of the best quality. To purify gutta percha in the state
in which it is imported it must be cut into little pieces and soaked in
hot water to separate from it all its impurities, then leaving it to cool. I
cut it up afterwards into thin strips, so that it may be more easily dissolved.
India-rabber must also be prepared by cutting into pieces, and chopping itup
in order to dissolve its thin filaments completely. These two substances are
dissolved separately, either by sulphuret of carbon, sulphuric ether, or by
clarified essential oils; aud after four days dissolving the two gums must be
mixed in equal proportions ready to be spread on the parts which are to be
joined. Gum lac is dissolved by means of camphine or by pure alcohol,
or used in fine powder; it is united to the two above-named substances in the
proportion of a twentieth. Five per cent. of sulphur may be added in order
to ensure greater power of resisting heat, The solution or mixture must be

page_text: mixed up until it acquires the consistency of a-thick syrup, and afterwards
spread upon the leather, into the pores of which it penetrates, in which it
becomes solid, depositing the preserving substance, which it leaves in the
natural state by the evaporation of the solvent. Acids and alkalies, such as
soda, potash, ammonia, and others, furnish the means of uniting leather by
the disruption or abrasion of the surfaces, and submitting them to a perfect
contact and adherence by means of a heavy pressure (two hundred pounds
weight at least), which manner of uniting presents great resistance to separa-
tion, particularly when the leather is permeated by cement made of the
resinous gums indicated.
⚫ ARTIFICIAL LEATHER FOR SOLES AND HEELS.
This leather is made of the refuse or remnants of all leathers scraped or
reduced into thin strips, to which is added hair from the coats of horses, oxen,
cows, and other quadrupeds, and hemp, cotton, and other vegetable fibres, to
which is added siccative oil; this is all mixed with a sort of paste, when
some gum (resin) must be added, as well as the refuse of whatever I make use
of in the manufacture. I also add gutta percha, with a small quantity of
quick lime in powder, or sulphur, in proportion to the quantity and quality
desired; the whole to be made into a glutinous substance and placed in a
heated mortar; and after being well pounded until it acquires sufficient con-
sistency to be adhesive and to draw out, it is then placed on a marble table,
heated, and well spread out with a heated cast iron roller. The paste,thus
formed may be cut out immediately into heels and placed in moulds; or made
into sheets of leather, according to the thickness required for cutting into
soles or heels; or to be kept as it is in the form of leather to be used for
various purposes. Heels may either be cut out by machines or shaped by
means of moulds while the paste is sufficiently warm to be properly made
use of. To this composition I add bits of rope and hemp or vegetable fibre,
and other kinds of fibrous materials, as well as certain light felts, which I
incorporate with the cement, and then roll it into sheets of leather, which is
thus rendered thick and strong. Made in this mauner, this composition
becomes almost equal in strength to natural leather and quite as elastic,
besides which another great advantage is, that it is perfectly waterproof.
I also make in the same manner detached soles and inside leathers. I'also
make use of the odds and ends of currier's leather, which I also incorporate
with the cement and submit to pressure, in order to obtain soles and heels.

page_text: on with a slide and pressure screw under the sole; when the leather is once
secured, the last, by means of a tightening screw, is lengthened, and rises at
the same time, stretching the leather in every direction, leaving not the,
slightest wrinkle.
MOUNTING THE SHOE IN LENGTH AND WIDTH BY MEANS OF A FRAME
EITHER OF CAST IRON OR COPPER.
This is performed by means of a jointed lever with rack, holding dogs, and
springs, holding the shoe so tight in the frame that it can only be moved by.
the workman. Twelve jointed levers with their ratchets and holding dogs,
twelve beaks or holders held tight by a spring barrel, and opening by an excen-
tric, are placed at the end of a steel chain about eight inches in length, and.
fastened to the levers; the beaks or hooks hold the shoe placed on the said
frame, and are held by a bridle having a hook placed in the centre of the
twelve levers. The workman has only to start the levers in every direction,
that is to say, on all four sides, in order that every part of the upper leather
may be equally stretched, and the shoe regularly mounted.
:
CEMENTING THE FIRST SOLE.
The shoe being still held fast by the twelve levers which have stretched the
leather to the utmost, and being cemented to the first sole already cemented
as well as the upper leather; the heating must be commenced by means of a
wax candle or by gas, or by a revolving candlestick with several lights, or else

page_text: appears; after a lapse of five minutes the holding beaks may be withdrawn,
and the cementing is perfect.
CEMENTING BOOTS, SHOES, &c.
When still on the above-described frame the shoes are ready for finishing;
and having been scraped and prepared to receive the cement, small holes are
made by means of a punch all round this part of the upper leather which is to
be joined to thesole, that the cement may penetrate and form a kind of rivet-
ting which holds fast the upper leather, uniting the two soles in such a manner
that they form, as it were, one piece of leather. After spreading the cement
on the shoe, the stiffening leather already cemented must be placed on the
'frame and cemented in the same manner as the upper leather, either by
pressure or by the hammer.
FINAL CEMENTING, UNITING THE SHOE AND SOLE. BY MEANS OF THE FRAME.
This is done by placing the shoe on the frame and fastening it there by
means of a spring holder, which runs about an inch and a half into the last,
which is removed by means of a small rocking lever; every part of the sole
and the shoe must be heated by the fire, in the manner already described, in
order to melt the surfaces, and they must be immediately. pressed together by
bands of leather or of other substance; in order to press regularly all over the
surface; these bands or fastenings are independent of each other, those at the
two extremities fastening lengthways are elastic. The bands are regulated by
adjusting screws and jointed rods, by which they allow of a suitable pressure
being exerted on each according to circumstances. A lever acting on all the
joints causes a strong pressure, which forces the soles to take exactly the shape
of the shoes and firmly adhere thereto. At each extremity of the frame are
two jointed levers with their hooks and holding dogs, which, if necessary,
increase the pressure by acting on the strap at the two extremities of the
shoe! :
I have represented this machine in the annexed Drawing. Fig. 1 shows
the side elevation. -a, shoe mounted on the last; b, vice for raising the frame;
c, lever working the vice; d, frame of the machine; e, e, pressing straps; f
screws for adjusting the straps; g, treadle lever, giving the pressure or tension;
h; levers having holding dogs or catches for exerting a longitudinal tension on
the sole.
I have also another cementing or uniting machine, which is fixed on a

page_text: wooden bench of about three or four inches thick. This simplified machine
offers still greater advantages than the other; it acts with greater force, and is
worked either by a lifting jack or by two iron rollers moved by two levers,
with their hooks and holding dogs. These rollers are an inch and a quarter
thick, and are fixed upon four iron columns with their nuts and screws, and
fastened by means of a spring holder already described. The bands or straps
acting on the stoe are fixed in the two rollers by the adjusting screws, which
regulate them according to the shape and the size of the shoe. The straps
are furnished with iron at the two extremities to strengthen them.
This machine is represented at Figure 2 in vertical section, and Figure 3
side view, Figure 4 plan, and Figure 5'horizontal section. i, frame fixed on a
wooden bench by means of bolts; j, last; k, vice held by friction in the frame;
1, rack for raising the vice, and joined to it; m, pinion, actuating the rack ;,
n, hand wheel; o, pressing straps; p; adjusting screws!
doo b
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CHEMICAL AND STRONG LEATHER PEGS:
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"Before placing the soles, holes must be made in them by means of a punch,
which holes, if desired, may be made right through the whole thickness of the
shoe.' 'Nails, or leather pegs of sufficient thickness, are impregnated with
cement,' and placed in these holes by means of pressure or by a hammer.
The holes inay also be filled with my chemical preparation. The pegs give
extra strength to the shoe, and are ornamental on account of the great variety
of 'colours with which they can be made. I have also another system of
pegging, either with French wood' or wood from the Colonies, and like the
leather pegs they are naturally or artificially of different colours.
JA FRAME FOR UNLASTING.
Working shoemakers, even the best, work without compasses, and have
the bad habit of doing everything by the eye, or nearly so, which being the
case, two' shoes are seldom seen alike; and the heels are frequently placed
differently, which naturally causes them to wear differently; besides," one
shoe is almost certain 'to fit better than the 'other. My frame for finishing
does away with all these imperfections. 'Men's and women's boots and shoes'
are made in the greatest perfection, and do not require' what is termed
finishing, the heels' are always straight and of the same height, they are both
exactly alike, and an exact copy of the model adopted by the manufacturer;
the model may be varied and ornamented in any way.
+
The machine for finishing consists of a frame also furnished with straps
and hooks to fix the shoe, which is surrounded by slides with copper or steel

page_text: grooves, which prevent the upper leather being seen, and consequently it can.
never be cut in any case whatever by the workman's knife. Another set of
tools working in slides and grooves finishing the heels regularly, as well as the
other ornamental parts, and other polishing and blacking instruments,
complete the finish. In the slides there are circular plates fixed, which are
engraved and bored, by which means the mark is placed on the shoe either
in copper or any other metal, and either knocked in by the hammer or pressed
in. The plates by describing a circle uncover the engraved part, and.
return to their places to receive other marks, letters, or designs. A series
of detached letters in relief may be formed round the sole, which letters
may, required, be surrounded with designs: :
MY CEMENT APPLIED TO COACH-MAKING, SADDLERY, &c.
I extend my system also to the above-named trades, principally, to that of
the harness, such as traces, pole straps, back leathers, and other articles
belonging to that branch of business. Leather employed in large steam or
hydraulic works is the cause of great and continued expense, not only from
the natural stretching of the leather, but also more particularly from the
rapid destruction of the sewing of the leather. By my process all these incon-
veniences are removed. With my cement I am able to graft as it were the
leather together wherever it is necessary to join, by which means difference
of thickness is avoided, and the jerking and irregular motion so objectionable
to machinery are completely prevented; and I can at the same time line
with leather or any other stuff the straps used for machinery; thus preventing
the numerous inconveniences arising from the stretching of the leather.
MY CEMENT APPLIED TO MEN'S WEARING APPAREL.
My chemical composition offers great advantages for uniting together
woollen, silk, cotton, and other goods, and becomes an excellent substitute for
sewing of every kind. To join together the different pieces of a coat, great
coat, frock coat, trowsers, waistcoat, cap, and other articles of wearing apparel
of both sexes, I impregnate with the cement the parts which are to be united.
or cemented; after drying, every part so impregnated must be held to the fire
to melt the surface of the cement, and then joined together and pressed
immediately. To do this kind of work I use blocks made of metal, wood
pasteboard, or of hardened-india-rubber, of different shapes and different sizes
fastenings of iron, copper, cast iron or sheet iron, corresponding with the
pieces of cloth which are to be cemented instead of being sewn; other jointed
astennigs, fitting exactly into the first, press together the edges of the cloth

page_text: by means of a rack bridle, furnished with hooks. To avoid seams, I make
use of small heated irons to iron the part cemented, which allows me also
to make facings, designs, and ornaments according to the orders, received.
It is my intention to adapt this system of cementing to the canvass of
pictures, and to many articles in the brush, basket, and other trades.
I also manufacture a leather by uniting several pieces of leather of all
thicknesses, such as bellies, heads, hoofs, and other parts and remnants; also
parings, clippings, and other refuse of leather obtained in tanning, curriery,
and other trades in which leather is equalized and divided or thinned. I
unite different pieces of leather by means of my cement, which I apply in the
same way as that already herein-before described, either by superposing
different parts of leather on each other throughout their length and breadth,
or by uniting them at their junction only, so as to obtain on the one hand
different thicknesses, and on the other hand different sizes.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of perform-
ing the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be secured by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the manufacture of all kinds of coverings for the feet, garments, and
harness, by uniting and cementing the parts of which they are composed by
the means herein-before described.
Secondly, the composition of the cement or uniting material herein-
before described, for the purpose of uniting parts of boots, shoes, and other
articles.
Thirdly, the use of refuse parts of leather agglutinated, and made into
artificial leather, as herein-before described.
&, fourthly, the machine herein-before described, serving to unite different
pieces of leather by pressure
In witness whereof, I, the said Jean Léonard Codet-Négrier, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
LT CODI VRODIRD