IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th May 1881. A communication
from abroad by George Spencer, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of
America.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
WATERPROOF BOOTS AND SHOES." [A communication from abroad by George
Spencer, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.]
This Invention relates to improvements in waterproof boots and shoes designed.
for use in wet and cold weather.
The said Invention comprises a boot or shoe having a leather sole and insole,
and a middle sole made of waterproof canvas or duck, and an upper made of such
duck combined with a wool skin interior, the waterproof duck serving to exclude
the water from the outside, and the wool skin serving to keep the foot both warm
and dry. The said Invention also comprises a novel construction, arrangement,
and combination of the several parts of the boot or shoe herein described, whereby
the same is rendered waterproof, strong, and durable.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide an outer sole and an
insole made of leather, also a middle sole made of waterproof duck or canvas.
The upper is also made of waterproof duck, and is inserted between the insole and
the waterproof sole. The upper is made of a single piece of canvas or duck having
its two edges joined together by a lap seam in front extending from the toe of the
boot to its top, the seam being covered by a welt stitched to the outside of the
upper over the seam to protect the edges of the canvas or duck from ravelling;
this welt is made of leather. I also provide a wool skin interior, which is secured
to the interior surface of the upper and the insole by shoe-makers' paste or glue.
For this purpose I use a kind of paste which is impervious to water, and not
affected by it, as an additional protection against the ingress of water through the
waterproof duck, of which the upper is made. However, other kinds of shoemakers'
paste may be used. In making my improved boot the wool skin interior or lining
is made separate, in the form of an ordinary wool skin sock, its outer or smooth
surface is coated with paste, and the same is inserted in the boot and pressed out

page_text: against the interior surface thereof by means of a last, and then subjected to a
suitable degree of heat until the paste is dried, and the wool skin is made to adhere
firmly to the upper and insole. The upper surface of the middle or waterproof sole
I cover with a thin coating of pitch, tempered or made elastic by a slight addition
of tallow or oil to prevent the same from cracking, for the purpose of insuring a
tight seam or joining of the upper to the sole of the boot. The boot is provided
with a leather counter outside of the waterproof duck, which counter is extended
forward to protect the shank of the boot, give it strength, and preserve its form.
This counter serves to prevent the duck from crimping or wrinkling behind at the
heel. By cutting the canvas in such a manner that the seam comes in front, the
instep of the boot is protected from crimping. Crimps or wrinkles at the instep
would not only tend in some degree to work the water proofing material out of the
canvas or duck; but would also make the boot uncomfortable to the foot. However,
it is not necessary to make the waterproof duck upper all of one piece, as the same
may be made in two or more pieces, so that there will be other seams in addition
to the front seam, and if holes are worn or torn in the upper it may be patched.
The boot may be resoled if the sole becomes worn. My improved boot, while it is
as impervious to water as an india rubber boot, is much warmer and drier than the
latter, as the waterproof duck is not so tight, and permits the escape of perspiration
arising from the foot and the ventilation of the boot.
If desired the toe of the boot may be provided with a leather tip.
Shoes may be made of the same general construction as my improved boot,
differing only as a shoe differs from a boot. Such shoes may be used either as
ordinary shoes or as overshoes.
My improved boot or shoe is adapted to be used as a "pac" or mocassin for
protection against extreme cold weather, and also in the place of an ordinary india
rubber boot for use in water or mud, in cold or wet weather, being as warm as the
former, and as complete a protection against the admission of water as the latter,
while at the same time it is much cheaper than either, and more durable and
pleasant to wear:
By turning the shaggy side of the skin inward several advantages are obtained.
When the shaggy side has been turned outward, as has been customary; the wool
affords lodgment for moisture, which cannot readily escape, because it is covered by
the exterior fabric, and it prevents any union between the duck and lining, except
by stitching. When turned inward it lets off any accumulation of moisture,
because it is fully exposed when the boot is not being worn, and on the other hand
the skin may be readily united to the outer fabric by paste, and it repels outside
moisture which may penetrate the duck instead of taking it up, as would the
wool.