AN IMPROVED COLLAR FOR HORSES OR OTHER ANIMALS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Hill Williams, of Pontypridd, in the
County of Glamorgan, Saddler, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
COLLAR FOR HORSES OR OTHER ANIMALS."
Scaled the 23rd Junc 1874, and dated the 31st December 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Hill Williams
.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 31st December 1873.
I, GEORGE HILL WILLIAMS, of Pontypridd, in the County of
Glamorgan, Saddler, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED COLLAR FOR HORSES OR OTHER ANIMALS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved and more simple construction
of horse collar than those as hitherto made, the object being the attain-.
ment of great saving in material, great simplicity in construction,
combined with durability and the non-liability of the collar losing its
original or true shape, and this improved collar I propose to call or
designate the Cambrian block collar,"
6

page_text: In making this collar I entirely dispense with the usual hames and
the ring of the ordinary collar, and in lieu thereof I make a frame (of
the requisite size and shape for the kind of collar required) by preference
of malleable or wrought iron, or it may be made of wood plated with
iron or other metal. This framework I term the "block," to which I
fix or secure the "draft" fittings or appliances, which fittings will be as
now of iron or other metal, according to the description of collar
required.
The body of the collar I make hollow, and across it and the framework
I strain or draw a suitable quantity of webs or webbing, such as that
used in straining saddles, the effect of which will be to give greater ease
to the animal. The inside of the collar, or that which presses on the
animal's neck or shoulders, will be lined and padded with hair, wool,
flock, flannel, or other suitable yielding material. The collar outside
the webbing will be covered with leather or other suitable durable
material, and no straw will be used in tho making of this collar.
The collar is intended to be made in size, form, and strength according
to the animal it is required for, and besides being found of advantage
to horses or animals used above ground it will be found of especial
benefit to all such animals as are used under ground in collieries or
mines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Hill Williams in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE 2
HILL WILLIAMS, of Pontypridd, in the County of Glamorgan, Saddler,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the a
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,.
give and grant unto me, the said George Hill Williams, Her special
licence that I, the said George Hill Williams, my executors, admin-
istrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Hill
Williams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time a

page_text: 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 "AN IMPROVED COLLAR FOR HORSES OR OTHER ANIMALS,"
upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Hill Williams,
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
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 George Hill Williams, 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 in writing, and on reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the construction of collars for horses or other
animals, and the Invention has for its main objects the lessening of the
quantity of material required, the simplifying of the construction,
increasing the durability and the production of a collar not liable to lose
its true or original shape, and to distinguish collars made according to
this Invention from those made according to other methods I propose
to designate my improved collars by the name of "the Cambrian block
'collar."
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in order
that the same may be distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto
one Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, the illustrations of which arc
drawn to different scales, and have marked the same with Figures of
reference corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof,
that is to say :-
In making collars of the description above mentioned according to
this Invention I entirely dispense with the usual frames and the ring of
the ordinary collar, and in licu thereof I make a frame or "block" 1
(of the proper size and shape for the kind of collar required) by pre-

page_text: ference of malleable or wrought iron, or of wood plated with iron or
other metal, or I stamp or press it out of thin sheet iron, and to this
frame I affix or secure the usual draft fittings or appliances 2, which as
hitherto are made of iron or other suitable metal. To lighten the said
frame I leave or make holes or apertures 3 in it at various parts, as
shewn in Figure 1.
I make the block by preference citber in one solid piece or with a
joint, which I make too loose for the purpose of putting the collar on
the neck of the horse (if required), and in such case I secure it when on
by means of a screw or bolt at the bottom of the collar. This said frame
forms the framework or body of the collar, and is made hollow or of a
curved or
cross section, and around it and across its open hollowed
part I strain or draw a quantity of webs or webbing 4 (see the cross
section, Figure 2), such as that used in straining saddles, and in some
modifications I fill the cavity of the frame with straw 5 or some other
suitable material. Upon the inside of the said covered block, and so as
to form that part of the collar which presses on or against the animal's
neck, I stitch a flannel or other suitable yielding cover 7, between which
and the said covered block I enclose a thick lining or padding of hair,
wool, flock, flannel, or other suitable yielding material 8, which is thus
bound over the straw or cavity of the frame, and has the effect of giving
great case to the animal, no straw or other hard substance being used in
the making of any part of the collar which bears against the animal.
The outer or front side of the webbing and frame I cover with leather
or other suitable durable material 6, see Fig. 3.
The "block" and the collar as a whole are made in size, form, and
strength according to the animal the collar is required for, and besides
being of great advantage to horses or other animals used above ground
the improved collar is of especial benefit to all such animals as are used
under ground in collicries or mines. The block being of iron the top
of the collar will not be liable to get worn through by coming in contact
with the lowness of the mines, which will be of great advantage over
the ordinary collar.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and
object of my said Invention, together with the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I
would remark in conclusion that I claim as my Invention, the above

page_text: described improvements in the construction of collars for horses and
other animals, and especially the use of the metal or combined wood
and metal block in the manufacture of such collars, substantially as
herein described and as illustrated on the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Hill Williams, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
GEORGE HILL WILLIAMS. (L.S.)