AN IMPROVEMENT IN HAT BRIMS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Woolf, of Houndsditch, in the City
London, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN HAT BRIMS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Woolf at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th September 1869.
I, HENRY WOOLF, of Houndsditch, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN HAT
BRIMS," to be as follows:-
My improvement is applicable to hats made of felt, cloth, silk, and
other felted or woven materials having curled brims which are liable
to become limp and lose their shape after but little wear or exposure
to wet.
According to my Invention I introduce an elastic flat wire or wires
of metal in the thickness of the material of which the hat brim is
composed (or the wire may be simply applied on the upper surface and
covered with a ribbon) in such manner that the brim will be retained in
shape until the remainder of the hat is worn ont, instead of being the

page_text: first to give as hitherto, at same time that a soft crowned hat may be
bent or folded without injury to the brim. I first curve or bend the
wire laterally (edgewise) at intervals in a machine and unite the ends
by rivotting or otherwise so as to form a circle, and then apply it edge-
wise around the brim at or near the bend formed by the curled edge,
which latter is bent over the wire. If desired said wire (or wires in the
case of more than one being employed) may encircle the brim at a point
ncaror the inner edge. The wire is secured in the brim by sewing or
otherwise, and being previously bent laterally as before mentioned will
slightly depress the front and back and raise the sides of the brim so as
to impart thereto the curved form desired, which as well as the
curled edge at the sides will be permanently retained by the aid of the
wire.
I am aware that wire has been applied to the extreme outer edge of
hat brims for the purpose of stiffening the same, but my improvement
is designed for application to those kinds of hat brims which have
hitherto been unsupported and readily lose their original shape from the
causes before mentioned. Further, such wires did not retain the brim
in shape after being folded or otherwise deformed, as is the case with the
elastic wire applied as above described.
Another advantage resulting from the employment of the elastic
retaining wire is that the hat brim may be made less rigid than usual
without having any tendency to get out of shape.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Woolf in the Great Seal Patent Office on 2
the 30th March 1870..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WOOLF, of Houndsditch, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the year &
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me,. the said Henry Woolf, Her special licence that I,
the said Henry Woolf, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or

page_text: such others as I, the said Henry Woolf, my executors, administrators,
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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN HAT BRIMS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Woolf, 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 Henry Woolf, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
My improvement is applicable to hats made of felt, cloth, silk, and
other felted or woven materials having curled brims which are liable to
become limp and lose their shape after but little wear or exposure to
wet.
According to my Invention I introduce an elastic flat wire or wires of
metal (or it may be whalebone) in the thickness of the material of
which the hat brim is composed (or the wire may be simply applied to
the upper surface and covered with a ribbon) in such manner that the
brim will be retained in shape until the remainder of the hat is worn out
instead of being the first to give as hitherto, at the same time that a soft
crowned hat may be bent or folded without injury to the brim. I first
curve or bend the wire laterally (edgewise) at intervals in a machine and
unite the ends by rivetting or otherwise so as to form a circle, and then
apply it edgewise around the brim at or near the bend formed by the
curled edge, which latter is bent over the wire. If desired said wire (or
wires in the case of more than one being employed) may encircle the
brim at a point nearer the inner edge. The wire is secured in the brim
by sewing or otherwise, and being previously bent laterally as before
mentioned will slightly depress the front and back and raise the sides of

page_text: the brim so as to impart thereto the curved form desired, which as well
as the curled edge at the sides will be permanently retained by the aid of
the wire.
I am aware that wire has been applied to the extreme outer edge of
hat brims for the purpose of stiffening the same, but such brims readily 5
lose their original shape from the causes before mentioned. Further,
such wire did not retain the brim in shape after being folded or
otherwise deformed as is the case with the elastic wire applied as above
described.
By my Invention hats (such as silk hats for instance) the brims of 1
which have hitherto been made rigid may be made with soft or flexible
brims, thus ensuring a more perfect fit with increased comfort to the
wearer without any liability of the hat losing its shape in consequence.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
The method of introducing the wire or wires into the brim of a hat 1
according to my Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings,
in which Figure 1 is a plan of a finished hat, the position of the wire ar
wires or whalebone being shown by the red lines by which it will be seen
that the wire or wires is placed at a distance from the extreme edge of
the brim all round. Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 a transverse 2
section of the brim before being applied to the body or crown of the
hat with the wire in position on said brim, while Figure 4 shows the
manner in which the wire is applied to the brim in the first instance.
The process of applying the wire is as follows:-a is the wire, which
has been previously bent edgewise in a machine and formed into a circle,
the ends being secured by rivets or in any other convenient manner. The
material 6 forming part of the foundation of the brim having been
shaped as in Figure 2 the position which the wire is to occupy is first
marked thereon by a line forming a figure more or less oval, as seen. A
portion of the foundation 6 is then folded at said line and the fold
applied to the inner surface of the wire (as shown in Figure 4), which
is then attached thereto by sewing. In this position the wire is at the
extreme edge of the folded or double material, and when the whole of
the wire is so secured the under half of the material 6 is flattened
or brought out to the position shown in red lines, Figure 4, with the
wire on the upper surface of the material 6 in a position at right angles
thereto, as seen in Figure 3. On the upper surface of this material 6

page_text: another thickness of material is now applied so as to enclose the wire
between the two materials, which are securely attached together by a
line of sewing close to either side of the wire, the latter being thus firmly
secured in position. The usual waterproof material may now be applied
to either surface of the brim, which is then covered in the usual manner
by the fabric intended to form the outer surface of the same. The brim
is now in the flattened form shown in Figure 2, when it is ready to be
attached to the crown or body of the hat. It will be seen that the outer
portion c of the brim is left entirely free to be curled, as shown in
Figure 1 and in red lines in Figure 3, or in any other suitable form.
The operation of curling the edge of the brim is thus performed last, and
after the insertion of the wire as above described. The wire being thus
enclosed in the thickness of the material of which the brim is composed
it is impossible for it to be displaced or work its way through the brim,
which moreover effectually prevents its being doubled and broken.
When more than one wire is to be inserted in the brim the inner circlo
of wire is first secured by the preliminary sewing above described, the
outer wire or wires being then similarly secured and the manufacture
completed as before.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim
to the application of an elastic wire in hat brims, as such is well known;
but what I do claim as my Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is, disposing an elastic wire or wires
in a hat brim at a distance from the outer edge thereof in the manner
shown and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Woolf, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
HENRY WOOLF
HENRY WOOLF
(re)