A Portable and Collapsing Skirt or Stand for Displaying Costumes and the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Aug., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 29th May, 1890-Accepted, 26th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Portable and Collapsing Skirt or Stand for Displaying Costumes
and the like.
We, EDWARD HEATH and FREDERICK HEATH, Wire Figure Makers of 50 Staple
Street, London, S.E. in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
A portable and collapsing skirt or stand for the use of dressmakers and others, and
for the displaying of mantles, costumes, and other articles of dress.
This skirt or stand can be made of various materials, but for immediate purposes is
composed of wire, and mainly consists of rings connected one with the other by wire
check hinges revolving on the said rings by means of loops or other contrivances.
These wire check hinges are made to fold inwards and thus draw the rings down,
compressing the skirt after the manner of an opera hat, into the small compass of a
few inches.
This is a great advantage in packing and for many other purposes, and is not
possessed by the old kind of skirt or stand.
As for example a skirt stand 42 inches in height can be compressed or collapsed
into the space of 4 inches, and yet when expanded, on account of its being made in
one piece, will be perfectly rigid and retain its proper shape.
We further claim for our skirt stand that being inade in one piece we are enabled
to dispense altogether with any wood support and thus effect a great economy not
possible with any collapsing skirt or stand yet made.
Dotad this 20th day of July 1889.
EDWARD HEATH.
FREDERICK HEATH.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Portable and Collapsing Skirt or Stand for Displaying Costumes
and the like.
EDWARD HEATH and FREDERICK HEATH 50 Staple Street London S.E. Wire
Figure Makers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
A portable & collapsing skirt or stand for the use of dressmakers & others, and for
the displaying of mantles, costumes and other articles of dress. This skirt or stand
can be made of various materials but for immediate purposes is composed of wire &
mainly consists of rings connected one with the other by wire check hinges revolving
on the said rings by means of loops or other contrivances. These wire check hinges
are made to fold inwards & thus draw the rings down, compressing the skirt after the
manner of an opera hat into the small compass of a few inches. This is a great
advantage in packing and for many other purposes, and is not possessed by the old kind
of skirt or stand. As for example a skirt stand 42 inches in height can be compressed
or collapsed into the space of 4 inches, and yet when expanded on account of its being
We further claim
made in one piece will be perfectly rigid & retain its proper shape.
for our skirt stand that being made in one piece we are enabled to dispense altogether
with any wood supports and thus effect a great economy not possible with any
collapsing skirt or stand yet made.
A in the Drawings is a wire skirt for dress stands, with tin band for waist, showing
the rounded hips & extended to its full height, to be used with or without wood

page_text: upright & can be used with or without body, very strong & rigid being extended by
the check hinge of each member.
'
B shows the same skirt half closed by pressing the members inwards in rotation
with the hands, the upper part of the members folding inside the lower.
C shows the skirt closed for packing from 44 inches down to 4 inches with little
downward pressure.
D shows 1 of the members opened from the centre, turning on the bars or rings,
the check hinge will double inwards but not outwards. This hinge will fold if bent in
a curve. D. folded is shown in E.
For this wire check hinge used in making the collapsing dress stand, we claim to be
the sole Inventors.
Having now particularly discribed and ascertained the nature of our Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is the first manufacture of
1. The improved collapsing dress stand skirt in its various shapes as needed in the
manufacture of dress stands & the like.
2. And the use in manufacture, of the wire check hinge, it being our own Invention
and used for making our dress stands very portable.
3. And that it retains its shape for the purpose without getting out of shape by
folding.
1000
EDWARD HEATH.
FREDERICK HEATH.