Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Apr., 1891-Accepted, 4th July, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
We, WILLIAM GORDON of 57 Lincoln Street Boston, in the County of Suffolk,
and OLIVER AMMI MILLER of 272 North Warren Avenue Brockton, in the
County of Plymouth, both in the State of Massachusetts, in the United States of
America, Gentlemen, do hereby declare the nature of the said William Gordon's
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LASTS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES" and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient last which shall
have no detached or loose parts, and which shall have a firmi bearing on the inner
surface of the boot or shoe and be easily inserted in and removed from a boot or
shoe to which it may be applied.
To this end the invention consists in a last having a fore-part section provided
with an outwardly curved rear face, and a heel section provided with an inwardly
curved front face adapted to bear upon the rear face of the fore-part section, the
two sections being so connected as to allow the heel section to swing upon the fore-
part section, all of which we will now proceed to describe.
Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this Specification,
Figure 1 represents a side view of the improved last.
Fig. 2 represents a top view of the same."
Fig. 3 represents a side view showing the heel section-swung upwardly.
Fig. 4 represents a side view of another form or modification of the improved last.
Fig. 5 represents a side view of another modification.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all of the figures.
In the drawings a represents the fore-part, and b the heel section. The rear
face 2 of the fore-part section a is curved outwardly in the segment of a circle, and
the front face 3 of the heel section is curved inwardly to correspond to the curved
face 2 of the rear side of the fore-part section, the said face 3 bearing upon the
face 2 as shown.
In the construction shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 the heel section is provided
with a forwardly projecting tongue 5, and the fore-part section is provided at its
rear end with a forwardly extending slot 4 which is adapted to receive the said
tongue 5. The tongue 5 has a segmental slot 6, said slot corresponding in
curve to a segment of a circle concentric with the seats or faces 2, 3.
cc represent pins which are inserted in the fore-part and pass through the
slot 6 in the tongue 5, thus engaging the fore-part section with the heel section.
The pins c c are so arranged that when the last is in its normal position the pin c
will be at one end of the slot 6, as shown in Fig. 1, while when the heel section is
swung upwardly the pin c will be at the other end of the slot 6, as shown in
Fig. 3.
A. single pin may be used instead of the two pins, and said pin may be of
oblong form in cross section.
It will be seen that this construction gives the two sections of the last a firm
bearing upon each other at their meeting ends, while at the same time it allows of
the ready upward swinging movement of the heel section to permit the removal of
the last from the boot or shoe to which it is applied, said movement having the
effect to shorten the last and thus free it from its engagement with the boot
or shoe.
When the last is to be inserted in a boot or shoe the heel section is swung
upwardly, and the fore-part is then inserted in the boot or shoe and pushed forward
to place, and the heel section is then swung down into the heel of the boot or shoe,
the last then being in its operative position.

page_text: Lasts have been made which are pivoted or hinged together at their meeting
ends so that the heel section can be swung up on the fore-part section; but all lasts
of this kind have had to be provided with a separate third, piece or wedge to give
the heel section a bearing upon the fore-part section when in its operative position.
This separate piece or wedge is dispensed with in this improved last, the parts
having a firm bearing upon each other by reason of their.segmental meeting faces
or seats in whatever position they may be placed. It will be obvious that this
enables the improved last to be placed in a boot or shoe and made operative more
readily than is the case with lasts of the kind referred to having blocks or wedges
separate from the fore-part and heel sections.
Fig. 4 shows a last embodying the invention, but of slightly different arrangement
from that already described. This form is provided with the segmental seats or
faces 2, 3, the tongue 5 in the heel section, and the slot 4 in the fore-part section,
as in the form before described, the difference consisting in the form of the tongue 5
and the manner in which it is attached to the fore-part section. The tongue 5 is
in this form extended forward somewhat farther than in the other form shown in
Figures 1, 2 and 3, and instead of having a segmental slot 6 it is provided with a
hole at its forward end to receive the pine, the slot 4 in the fore-part section
extending somewhat further forward than in the first described form of the
improved last. The tongue is in this case attached to the fore-part section by a
single pin e, which passes through its forward end at a point which is the centre
of the circle of which the faces or seats 23 are segments. It will be seen that in
this form the heel section will swing on the pivot of the pin c.
The invention is not limited to the precise forms, of attachment of the. two
sections here shown and described, and said sections may be connected in any other
suitable manner.
In Fig. 5 the tongue 5 is shown attached to the fore-part. section a and entering
a slot in the heel section b.
It will be observed by reference to Figures 1 and 4 that the heel section is
prevented from dropping below its operative position by the bearing of the tongue 5
on a stop which arrests the downward movement of the heel section when the
bottom of the heel section registers with the bottom of the fore-part section. Said
stop may be the pin e arresting the upper end of the slot 6, or it may be the lower
portion of the slot 4 arresting the lower edge of the tongue 5. 'The arrest of the
downward movement of the sliding heel section when its bottom registers with the
bottom of the fore-part section is a matter of much importance, it being necessary
that the continuity of the bottom of the last be.unbroken when the last is.in' use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed; weideclare that what we
claim is:
1. A last transversely divided into two sections composed of a fore-part section
provided with an outwardly curved seat at its rear end, and a heel section connected
to slide on the fore-part section and provided with an inwardly curved seat 3 formed
to bear upon the seat 2, and a pivot for hinging the two sections permanently.to
each other, the said seats being formed to give the heel section a. solid support,
when in its operative position, and to permit said section to swing upward and
forward from its operative position without being removed or disconnected from the
fore-part section, as set forth.
2. In a last transversely divided into two. sections, the combination of the fore-
part section' having at its rear portion an outwardly curved seat 2 and provided
with a slot 4 extending forward 'from said 'seat, 'the heel section having an inwardly
curved seat.3 formed. to bear on the seat 2 and provided with a tongue 5 formed to
enter said slot, and means for pivotally securing said tongue to the fore-part section
within said slot, as set forth.
3. A last transversely divided into two sections and composed of a fore-part
section and a heel section movable on the forc-part section; one section having a

page_text: slotted tongue and the other a slot or recess receiving said tongue, and a pin
passing through the slot in said tongue whereby the tongue is secured to the slotted
section and permitted to move up and down independently, as set forth.
4. In a last transversely divided into two sections, the combination of a fore-part
section having an outwardly curved seat at its rear end, a heel section having an
inwardly curved seat formed to bear on the seat of the fore-part section, a tongue
on one section engaged with the other section and adapted to move in a slot in the
latter to permit the upward and downward movement of the heel section in the arc
of a circle, and a stop arranged to co-operate with said tongue in limiting the
downward movement of the heel section, as set forth.
Dated this 28th day of February A.D. 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicants.