IMPROVE- MENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR PURSES, POCKET BOOKS, BAGS, GARTERS, BRACES, AND OTHER ARTICLES.”ATION
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Charles Hathaway, of Walsall; in. the
County of Stafford, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR PURSES, POCKET BOOKS, BAGS, GARTERS, BRACES,
AND OTHER ARTICLES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Oharles.
Hathaway at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
Petition, on the 2nd July 1874.
his.
I, FREDERICK CHARLES HATHAWAY, of Walsall, in the County of
Stafford, Manufacturer, do hereby declarò the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR PURSES, POCKET BOOKS, BAGS,
GARTERS, BRACES, AND OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
:
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described
in the construction of fastenings for purses, pocket books, bags, garters,
braces, and other articles, the principal-object of my said Invention
being to produce a fastening capable of accommodating itself to the purse
-

page_text: or article to be fastened, whether the said article be in its collapsed or
expanded state, or where the length of the parts to be connected varies
at different times. My said Invention may however be also applied to
purposes where an adjustment is not required, as in sleeve links, collar
studs, and the like.
I will describe my Invention as a purse fastening. On the flap of
tho purso I fix one part of the fastening, the said part consisting
of a disk or plate on the outer side of the flap with a stem passing
through the flap, the said stem having at its end a hooked or expanded
part. To the body of the purse I attach a plate having a slot in it.
At the back of the said plato is a series of small parallel rollers crossing
the slot at right angles. Six or other number of these rollers may be
employed. The said rollers are retained against the slot described by
means of a plate at their back, and a spring at each end of the series
of rollers forces them into close contact with one another.
In using the fastening the hooked stem on the flap is introduced
into the slotted plate on the body of the purse and pressed between
two of the rollers of the scrics. By the said pressure the two rollers
aro separated, and the head or hook of the stem forced between them
passes to their opposite sides, when the springs described cause the said
rollers to close or snap upon the head or hook of the stem and effect the
fastening of the purso.
The unfastening of the purse is effected by lifting, with the required
pressure, the flap in a direction at right angles to the plane of the
slotted plate, when the head or hook of the stem on the flap soparates
the rollers between which it is engaged sufficiently far to allow it to pass
out from between them.
The extent of the adjustment of which the fastening is capable is
equal to the length of the slot behind which the rollers are situated,
as the pressing of the hooked head of the stem into any part of the
slot causes it to engage between the two rollers stuated at that
part.
When no adjustment is required two of the spring rollers described
or one spring roller and a fixed edge may be employed.
The principal articlo to which my Invention is applicable are purses,

page_text: pocket books, bags, cigar cases, sleeve links, collar studs, garters, and
braces. I do not however limit myself to the use of my Invention to
the articles enumerated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederick Charles Hathaway in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 23rd December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
CHARLES HATHAWAY, of Walsall, in the County of Stafford, Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
:.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Frederick Charles. Hathaway, Her special
license, that I, 'the said Frederick Charles Hathaway, my executors, ad,
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick Charles
Hathaway, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR PURSES, POCKET BOOKS, BAGS,
GARTERS, BRACES, AND OTHER ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Frederick Charles Hathaway, 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 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 Frederick Oharles Hathaway, do
hereby declare-the-nature of the-said-Invention, and-in-what-manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described-and-ascer
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:

page_text: My Invention consists of the improvements hercin-after described
in the construction of fastenings for purses, pocket books, bags, garters,
braces, and other articles, the principal object of my said Invention
being to produce a fastening capable of accomodating itself to the purse
or article to be fastened, whether the said article be in its collapsed or
expanded state, or where the length of the parts to be connected varies
at different times. My said Invention may however be also applied to
purposes where an adjustment is not required, as in sleeve links, collar
studs, and the like.
I will describe my Invention as a purse fastening. On the flap of
the purse I fix one part of the fastening, the said part consisting
of a disk or plate on the outer side of the flap with a stem passing
through the flap, the said stem having at its end a hooked or expanded
part. To the body of the purse I attach a plate having a slot in it.
At the back of the said plate is a series of small parallel rollers crossing
the slot at right angles. Six or other number of these rollers may be
employed. The said rollers are retained against the slot described by
means of a plate at their back, and a spring at each end of the series
of rollers forces them into close contact with one another.
In using the fastening the hooked stem on the flap is introduced
into the slotted plate on the body of the purse and pressed between
two of the rollers of the series. By the said pressure the two rollers
are separated, and the head or hook of the item forced between them
passes to their opposite sides, when the springs described cause the said
rollers to close or snap upon the head or hook of the stem and effect.
the fastening of the purse.
The unfastening of the purse is effected by lifting, with the required
pressure, the flap in a direction at right angles to the plane of the
slotted plate, when the head or hook of the stem on the flap separates
the rollers between which it is engaged sufficiently far to allow it to pass
out from between them.
The extent of the adjustment of which the fastening is capable is
equal to the length of the slot behind which the rollers are situated,
as the pressing of the hooked head of the stem into any part of
the slot causes it to engage between the two rollers situated at that
part.

page_text: When no adjustment is required two of the spring rollers described,
or one spring roller and a fixed edge, may be employed.
:
The principal articles to which my Invention is applicable are purses,
pocket books, bags, cigar cases, sleeve links, collar studs, garters, and
braces. I do not however limit myself to the use of my Invention to
the articles enumerated.
I will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying
Drawing, the manner in which my Invention may be carried into
effect.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation, and Figure 2 in side elevation
an adjustable fastening constructed according to my Invention applied
to a purse, the said purse being represented unfastened.
Figure 3 represents in vertical section the said fastening and part
of the purse drawn double the full size, and exhibits the manner in
which the hooked end or head of the stem on the flap of the purse is
engaged with the fastening for securing the said flap.
Figure 4 represents a front clevation of the fastening with the
front plate removed, the said Figure 4 being also double the full
size.
Figure 5 represents in back elevation, side elevation, and front
elevation, one part of the fastening detached; and Figure 6 represents
in side clevation and back elevation the other part of the fastening
detached.
The same letters of reference indicate the samo parts in the several
Figures of the Drawing.
The part of the fastening fixed on the flap a of the purse consists
of a disk or plate 6 on the outer side of the said flap, having a stem c
near its middle, which stem is passed through the said flap. The
plate or disk b is fixed to the flap by the clinching or closing of
the pins or ears d, d, on the inner side of the flap. The stem c
has at its end a hooked or expanded part c. The part of the fastening
which is secured to the body e of the purse consists of a box or
case fg, having longitudinal slots-h, h, at front-and-back. In this
box or caso-a-series-of-small-parallel-rollers ii-is placed, the-said-
rollers crossing the said slots h, h, at right angles. Tho said rollers i, i,
--

page_text: are retained in their places by the sides and edges of the box or case
f, g, and are pressed together so that they aro in close contact by
a spring at each end of the series of rollers. The box or case f, g,
consists of a back part or box proper 9, and a front or covering plate f,
which said plate is exposed on the outer side of the pursc. The box or
case containing the series of rollers i, i, and springs k, k, is secured
to the purse by rivetting it thereto.
To fasten the flap a of the purse the hooked stem c, c², is passed
through the front slot in the box or case f, g, and pressed forcibly
between two of the rollers i, i, of the series. The said two rollers
are thereby separated and the two springs k, k, compressed. When
the hook or expanded head c of the stem c which has been forced
between the rollers has passed to the opposite side of the said rollers
the latter close by the action of the springs h, k, and engago with
the stem c, c³, (one of the said rollers snapping behind the hooked
or expanded head c* of the said stem,) and effect the fastening of
the purse, as illustrated in Figure 3, where the hooked end of of the
stem is represented retained by one of the rollers engaging with its
expanded head c. By lifting the flap a with sufficient force from
the plate f of the fastening the pair of rollers i, i, between which
the stem c, c³, is situated are separated, and the said stem may be
withdrawn from between them and the purse unfastened. The hooked
or expanded and c² of the stem c is bevilled or curved both on its
inner and outer sides for the purpose of forcing back or separating
the rollers i, i, when it is either pressed forcibly inwards or forcibly :
withdrawn from between the said rollers. The hooked stem c, c²;
may be passed between any pair of the rollers i, i, according to the
expanded or collapsed state of the purse. The fastening is thus capable
of accomodating itself to the varying bulk or thickness of the purse,
the extent of the adjustment being equal to the length of the slot h
in the front plate of the fastening on the body of the purse.
Instead of pressing the rollers i, i, together by means of coiled
springs at top and bottom acting directly upon the top and bottom
rollers, as before described, pressure bars at top and bottom of the
rollers, pressed together by coiled springs at the sides of the rollers, g
may be employed. This modification of my Invention is illustrated
in Figure 4, where, ³, are the pressure bars at the top and
bottom of the series of rollers i, i, and ³, 1, are the side springs

page_text: pressing together the bars, and through them the scrics of
rollers i, i.
I apply my Invention to pocket books, bags, garters, braces, and
other articles substantially in the manner described and represented
with respect to its application to a purse, that is, the part of the
fastening containing the series of spring rollers i, i, is attached to the
body, or to one end of the article to be fastened, and the stem part
c, c, is attached to the flap, or to the other end of the article to bo
fastened.
Figure 7 represents in section and front elevation ono part of a
solitairo or sleeve link, or other liko article, and Figure 8 represents
the other part of the solitaire or article, the said parts being provided
with a fastening constructed according to my Invention.
Figure 9 represents in section the two parts of the solitaire or sleove
link fastened together. In this fastening a pair of rollers i, i, pressed
together by the springs k, k, are contained in the box or case p² fixed
on the inner face of the part p of the solitaire, and on the middle
of the other part 2 of the solitaire is a hooked stem " having a collar 70º
on it. The two parts p, q, of the solitaire are fastened together by
the engagement of the spring rollers i, i, with the hooked end of the
stem », as seen in Figure 9, the collar on the stem when the two
parts are fastened together bearing against the box p³ of the part pand
steadying the said part q.
Figure 10 represents in section a solitaire in which a single roller i
pressed upon by the spring & is used in conjunction with a fixed
edge l. The action of this fastening is essentially the same as when
a pair of rollers is used.
Although ordinarily in solitaires, sleeve links, and like articles no
adjustment in the fastening is required, and a pair of rollers or a
single roller and a fixed edge are only necessary, yet a series of rollers
may if required be used in the construction of fastenings for solitaires
and like articles.
I prefer to apply the hooked stem to that part of the solitaire or
sleeve link which constitutes the back, and the spring rollers or spring
roller and fixed edge to the front part of the solitaire; but I do not
limit myself thereto, as the positions of the parts of the fastening may
be reversed with the same effect.

page_text: Instead of the coiled springs represented for pressing the rollers
together, bow springs or other metallic springs, or springs made of
india-rubber, may be used with like effect.
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 illus-
trated, as the same may be varied with departing from tho nature
of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention the improvements
in fastenings for purses, pocket books, bags, garters, braces, and other
articles herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, making one part of an adjustable fastening
of a series of -rollers: pressed..together by springs, and made to cross
a slot in the box, case, or frame containing the rollers and springs,
and making the other part of the fastening of a hooked stem, the
fastening of the hooked stem being effected by forcing apart or separating
any two of the said rollers, and the snapping or closing of the said rollers
upon the hooked end or behind the head of the stem, substantially as
described and illustrated; or when no adjustment in the fastening is
required making one part of the fastening of two spring rollers. or one
spring roller, and a fixed edge for engaging with the hooked end of tho
stem, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Charles Hathaway,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of
December, in the year of Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-four.
i
Witness,
FREDERICK CHARLES HATHAWAY. (L.S.)
ISAIAH S. REEVES,
Walsall.
H-
11