IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Gilbert, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BUTTONS."
Sealed the 29th August 1873, and dated the 21st March 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Gilbert at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st March 1873.
I, DAVID GILBERT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS," to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to buttons the faces of which are covered
with a fabric, that is to say, the buttons which as commonly manufactured
are called Florentine or covered buttons.
In the said buttons as ordinarily manufactured the fabric extends
over the whole face of the button, around its edge, and to a short distance
on the back of the button. The said buttons as thus ordinarily manu-

page_text: factured are liable to wear at the edge where the fabric becomes rapidly
injured or worn through. The edges of the buttons also injure the
button holes.
The object of my Invention is to remedy these defects as well as to
give an improved appearance to the buttons.
In manufacturing buttons according to my Invention I employ a shell
constituting the back and body of the button, the edge of which shell
is turned up over the face of the button, the said turned over edge con-
stituting a rim or framing to the disc of fabric, which when inserted in
the shell constitutes the covered face of the button. The turned over
edge or rim described is in its inner side undercut so that its diameter
is somewhat greater at bottom than at its upper exposed edge. In
inserting the discs of fabric they may be attached to the shell by cement
or when the fabric is sufficiently rigid it is inserted in the shell by
pressure. The edge of the fabric is held firmly by the undercut rim or
frame of the shell. When the disc of fabric is attached to the shell by
cement the undercutting of the rim of the shell may be dispensed with.
When buttons made according to my Invention have flexible shanks
I back or strengthen the fabric by canvas or other filling material.
The shells which I employ may either be made of metal or non-metallic
material material. When made of metal I make them by the ordinary
and well known raising processes. When made of horn I make them
by cutting out and pressing processes. When made of wood, pearl, or
animal or vegetable ivory I make them by turning. When made of
vulcanite I make them by cutting, pressing, and moulding processes.
I do not however limit myself to the materials described.
My Invention is applicable to various kinds of buttons, such, for
example, as drilled through buttons and buttons having flexible or rigid
shanks.
When I apply my Invention to drilled through buttons the holes
for the thread may either pass through the fabric or through a central
portion of the same material as the shell.
The fabrics which I employ are principally velvets, cloths, silks, linens,
and the woollen fabrics called mixtures. I do not however limit myself
to the non of any nentionlar fahrie

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said David Gilbert in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID:
GILBERT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said David Gilbert, Her special license that
I, the said David Gilbert, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said David Gilbert, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said David Gilbert, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,. or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
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 Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Gilbert, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention has reference to buttons the faces of which are covered
with a fabric, that is to say, the buttons which as commonly manu.
factured are called Florentine or covered buttons.
In the said buttons as ordinarily manufactured the fabric extends
over the whole face of the button around its edge and to a short distance
on the back of the button. The said buttons as thus ordinarily manu-
factured are liable to wear at the edge where the fabric becomes rapidly

page_text: injured or worn through. The edges of the buttons also injure the
button holes.
The object of my Invention is to remedy these defects, as well as to
give an improved appearance to the buttons.
In manufacturing buttons according to my Invention I employ a shell
constituting the back and body of the button, the edge of which shell is
turned up over the face of the button, the said turned-over edge con-
stituting a rim or framing to the dise of fabric, which, when inserted in
the shell, forms the covered face of the button. The turned-over edge
or rim described is in its inner side undercut so that its diameter is
somewhat greater at bottom than at its upper exposed edge. In inserting
the discs of fabric they may be attached to the shell by cement, or when
the fabric is sufficiently rigid it is inserted in the shell by pressure. The
edge of the fabric is held firmly by the undercut rim or frame of the
shell. When the disc of fabric is attached to the shell by cement the
undercutting of the rim of the shell may be dispensed with.
When buttons made according to my Invention have flexible shanks
I back or strengthen the fabric by canvas or other filling material.
The shells which I employ may either be made of metal or non-
metallic material. When made of metal I make them by the ordinary
and well-known raising processes. When made of horn I make them by
cutting out and pressing processes. When made of wood, pearl, or
animal or vegetable ivory I make them by turning. When made of
vulcanite I make them by cutting, pressing, and moulding processes.
I do not, however, limit myself to the materials described.
My Invention is applicable to various kinds of buttons, such, for
example, as drilled through buttons and buttons having flexible or rigid
shanks.
When I apply my Invention to drilled through buttons the holes for
the thread may either pass through the fabric or through a central
portion of the same material as the shell.
The fabrics which I employ are principally velvets, cloths, silks,
linens, and the woollen fabrics called mixtures. I do not, however, limit
myself to the use of any particular fabric.
I will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing
various kinds of buttons constructed according to my Invention.

page_text: Figure 1 represents a section and Figure 2 a plan of the face of the
shell of a drilled through button made according to my Invention.
Figure 3 represents the ring or disc of fabric by which the face of
the button is covered; and Figure 4 is a section of the finished
button.
a is the shell made of bone, horn, or other non-metallic material, the
said shell constituting the back and body of the button. The said shell
has a turned-over edge or undercut rim b, the undercut part being
marked b². In the centre of the face of the shell a is a raised part c
around which centre part and between it and the inner circumference
of the turned-over edge 6 of the shell the ring or disk of fabric e is
secured, the said ring or disc of fabric having a central perforation to
pass over the central part c of the shell. The ring or disc of fabric e is
attached to the face of the shell a by inserting the said disc of fabric
between the edge or rim b and the central part c, and pressing the edge
of the said disc of fabric into the undercut part 62 of the said rim or
edge in the manner seen in Figure 4. The turned-over edge 6 of the
shell a is thus made to constitute a rim or framing to the covered face
of the button.
In addition to securing the disc of fabric to the face of the shell by
pressing the edge of the disc into the undercut part of the said shell,
the said disc may also be secured by cement to the shell. This,
however, is generally unnecessary except in the case of very thin
fabric. The holes through which the thread passes in sewing the
button to the garment are drilled in the centre part c of the shell a,
as represented.
Figure 5 represents a section and Figure 6 a plan of the face of a
drilled through button, in which the under cutting of the rim bis
dispensed with. Figure 7 represents a section, and Figure 8 a plan of
the face of the finished button. In this button the disc of fabric e is
attached to the shell a by cement.
Figure 9 represents a section and Figure 10 a plan of the face of the
shell or body of a button similar to that last described but without the
central raised part c. Figure 11 represents the disc of fabric e to be
5 inserted and fixed by cement in the said shell, and Figure 12 represents
a section, and Figure 13 a plan of the finished button. The fabric e,
which in this case is a complete disc, is perforated with holes before it

page_text: is fixed in the shell a by cement, the said holes in the finished button
coming opposite those in the shell a, as seen in Figure 12.
Figure 14 represents a plan of the face, Figure 15 a section, and
Figure 16 a plan of the back of a button made of pearl, ivory, or other
non-metallic material, constructed according to my Invention, the said
button having a flexible shank. In this button the shell or body a has
a central piercing through which a portion of the disc of fabric e con-
stituting the covered face of the button passes to form the flexible
shank e². When the covering disc of fabric e also forms the flexible
shank as last described the fabric is strengthened by canvas or other
filling material, the said canvas being inserted between two discs of
fabri
Figure 17 represents a section, Figure 18 a plan of back, and Figure
19 a side elevation of a bone button constructed according to my
Invention, the said button having a rigid shank f, that is, a shank ]
made in one piece with the shell or body a; or the said button may
have a shank made of metal instead of the shank represented.
Figure 20 represents a section of a button with a flexible shank e³,
constructed according to my Invention, the shell or body a of the said
button being made of metal, and Figure 21 represents a section of a 2
drilled through button constructed according to my Invention, the
shell or body a of the said button being made of metal. In constructing
rigid shanked buttons having metal bodies or shells, the rigid shanks
are made in one piece with the said shells.
In the buttons represented in Figures 5 to 21, both inclusive, the rings 2
or discs of fabrics by which the face of the buttons is covered or mainly
covered are attached to the shells or bodies by cement. When the dise
or ring of fabric is attached to the shell by pressing its edge into an
undercut part of the rim as in Figures 1, 2, and 4, the upper face of the
said disc or ring is below the said rim, but when the disc or ring of 3
fabric is fixed to the shell by cement, as in Figures 5 to 21, the face of
the disc or ring is situated on a level with the said rim, but I do not
limit myself to the level of the covered face of the button.
By constructing covered buttons in the manner described and illus-
trated the fabric by which the face of the button is covered or partly 3
covered is not exposed at the edge of the button to wear, and the buttons
so constructed are very elegant in annearance.

page_text: The cement which I have found to answer well in practice consists of
a solution of shellac in wood naptha, but any other waterproof cement
may be employed.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention the improvements in buttons
of the kind called covered buttons herein-before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making covered buttons of
a shell constituting the back and body of the button, the said shell
having a turned-over or undercut or raised edge or rim, within which
edge or rim the disc or ring of fabric to form the covered or partly
covered face of the button is secured either by pressing its edge into an
undercut part of the turned-over edge or rim and either with or without
cement, or dispensing with the said undercut part and securing the disc
or ring of fabric by cement, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Gilbert, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
DAVID GILBERT. (L.S.)