CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Gardner and James Russell, trading
under the Firm of "Gardner and Russell," Manufacturers, of the
City of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, for the
Invention of ½ CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS.”
Sealed the 16th May 1871, and dated the 22nd November 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Gardner and
James Russell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 22nd November 1870.
We, WILLIAM GARDNER and JAMES RUSSELL, trading under the Firm
of "Gardner and Russell," Manufacturers, of the City of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for " CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS," to be as
follows, that is to say :-
The nature of our said Invention substantially consists in making the
usual woollen and "union" shirts, known as Crimean and Galibaldian
shirts, and much used for outer wear, or as an only shirt, or it may
be in some cases the usual outer dress shirts, with the breasts or fronts

page_text: and the back body parts between the neck and waist double, or of two
plies or thicknesses of fabric. These said new or improved second or
additional thicknesses of the body parts, when applied to woollen and
"union" shirts, for the extra covering and protecting of the breast
and back part of the chest of the wearer, are made of woollen or union
fabric, by preference either the same or of the like material as the shirt
itself, and sewed or otherwise attached to the inside or it may be the
outside of the shirts; and when applied to dress shirts they are attached
to the inside so as to be next the skin. The said extra front pro-
tecting piece is, by preference, placed inside and stitched to the one side
of the breast of the shirt, having the other side loose and buttoned or
hooked to the breast, passing across the central opening so as to make
all close and comfortable and yet admit of the shirt being easily put
off and on in the usual manner. But this improved construction of shirt
may also have the opening at the one side (as some double-breasted
waistcoats have), and so have the new extra thickness passed loose quite
across below the usual breast of the shirt, in this case without the usual
central opening.
Another improvement consists in some cases in making the new back
piece to come quite up to the collar, with two side shoulder parts on
éach side brought quite over the shoulders so as to be sewed to the front
part a little below the collar bone, and thus do instead of the usual
yoke" or shoulder strap, giving all the strength and advantages
thereof without the disadvantageous rough hard seams and overlays,
which hurt the shoulders below the pressure of the braces. The extreme
side and lower edges of these back projecting pieces may be so cut and
stitched to the body of the shirt in the form of a shield or other neat
device as to give ornamentation and elegance to the back of the shirt,
analogous to that given to the outline sewing of the front or breast of
the better class of woollen shirts at present.
The purpose
and advantages of this our said Invention are that
outside shirts so made with these improvements also serve for (or instead
of) the usual inner flannel or woollen shirts, thus answering the double
purpose, and giving the greater comfort of the said ordinary inner and
outer shirts combined in one, and at but little more expense than the
one shirt has heretofore cost.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Gardner and James Russell in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 22nd May 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
GARDNER and JAMES RUSSELL, trading under the Firm of "Gardner
and Russell," Manufacturers, of the City of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said William Gardner and James Russell,
Her special licence that we, the said William Gardner and James
Russell, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said William Gardner and James Russell, our executors, admi-
nistrators, 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, excrcise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHIRTS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Gardner and James Russell, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said William Gardner and James
Russell, do hereby declare the nature of our 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, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The nature of our said Invention substantially consists in making the
usual woollen and "union" shirts, known as Crimean and Garibaldian

page_text: shirts, and much used for outer wear, or as an only shirt, or it may be
in some cases the usual outer dress shirts with the breast or front and
the back body parts between the neck and waist double, or of two
plies or thicknesses of fabric. These said new or improved second or
additional thicknesses of the breast and back body parts, when applied
to woollen and "union" shirts for the extra covering and protecting
of the breast and back part of the chest of the wearer, are made of
woollen or "union" fabric (by preference) either of the same or of the
like material as the said shirt itself, and sewed or otherwise attached to
the inside or it may be the outside of the body of the shirt itself; and
when applied to dress shirts they are made of woollen or "union"
fabric and attached to the inside, so as to be next the skin. The said
extra front protecting piece is, by preference, placed inside in either.
case, and stitched to the one side of the breast of the shirt, having the
other side loose and buttoned or hooked to the breast, specially at the
upper part, passing across the central opening so as to make all close
and comfortable and yet admit of the shirt being easily put off and on
in the usual manner. But this improved construction of shirt may also
have the opening at the one side (as some double-breasted waistcoats
have), and so have the new extra thickness passed loose quite across
below the usual breast of the shirt, in this case without the usual
central opening.
Another improvement of our said Invention consists, in some cases,
in making the new back piece to come quite up to the collar, with two
side shoulder parts on each side brought quite over the shoulders, so as
to be sewed to the front part a little below the collar bone, and thus do
instead of the usual "yoke" or shoulder strap, giving all the strength
and advantages thereof without the disadvantageous rough hard seams
and overlays which hurt the shoulders below the pressure of the braces.
The extreme side and lower edges of these back protecting pieces may
be so cut and stitched to the body of the shirt in the form of a shield
or other neat device as to give ornamentation and elegance to the
back of the shirt analogous to that given to the outline sewing of the
front or breast of the better class of woollen shirts at present.
The purpose and advantages of this our said Invention are, that
outside shirts so made with these improvements also serve for (or
instead of) the usual inner flannel or woollen shirts, thus answering the
double purpose, and giving the greater comfort of the said ordinary

page_text: inner and outer shirts combined in one, and at but little more expense
than the one shirt has heretofore cost.
Having so far described the nature of our said Invention, we shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the Sheet
of Drawings, which we have hercunto appended for the purpose of
showing the best modes and means we are at present aware of for
carrying our said Invention into effect or practice, the same reference
letters being employed to indicate the same or like parts in all the
Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 are a front and a back view respectively of a woollen
shirt (or what is known as a "Crimean" shirt) constructed in accordance
with, or embodying and illustrative of one modification of our said
Invention, shown to a small scale as on the figure or body of a person.
Figures 3 and 4 are corresponding front and back views respectively of
the shirt to Figures 1 and 2, but to a larger scale, as laid out nearly
flat to show the details of form and construction more clearly than in
the said Figures 1 and 2. Figure 5 is an inside view of the front or
breast of the same shirt (as turned outside in, corresponding to Figure 3)
for the purpose of showing the mode of attaching the new breast piece.
Figures 6 and 7 are detached views of the back and front parts A, B,
as ready for being attached and sewed to the body of the shirt, by
preference before it is sewed up the two sides a', which is afterwards
done; as well as that of the collar c, which is sewed on to both
thicknesses of fabric at the same operation, the sleeves a* being secured
to both, also at the top or shoulder part, when sewing the side seams a¹.
Figure 8 is a front view of a substantially similar improved con-
struction of shirt to that shown in Figures 3 and 4, with the new
back A, the same as shown in the latter, and having the equivalent
improved double breast B, shown in the former Figure, formed by
overlapping its two sides D, D', across each other in the centre of the
chest, so as to open at the sides, the inner one D₁ forming the
additional covering in this case (as B of the former), the outer breast D
having the buttons & and rows of stitching up the centre piece d,
in imitation of the ordinary form or construction and mode of opening
at the centre. The lower ends of the body and sleeves are not shown in
any of the Figures, as my said Invention makes no improvement or
alteration in these parts.

page_text: "
"
Referring to Figures 1 to 5 the main ordinary body a, a, a, sleeves a*,
and collar c of the shirt are or may all be cut, run together, or basted"
and stitched or put together in the manner and sequence all sub-
stantially as these parts of such shirts have been heretofore; our said
new back and front parts A, B, or improvements being applicable
to the various constructions and modes of forming or putting these
parts a, a, c, together, these parts being common to the old and new
constructions of such shirts. In this case, however, as shown in these
said Figures 1 to 7, the new back and front parts A, B, Figures 6 and 7,
are cut out in great numbers at a time by laying the cloth in numerous
plies over each other to the whole depth or thickness of one or two
inches, through the whole of which the cutters can be passed at one
operation. A back piece A (as shown in Figure 6) is loosely or
temporarily sewed or "basted" on to the outside of the back and upper
shoulder parts of the ordinary main body a, a, of the shirt in proper
central position, and a new front or breast part B, as shown at Figure 7,
is likewise "run
ΟΙ "basted" in proper central position, to the inside
of the front of the body a, a, along with the usual central vertical
strap & secured on the outside, which in this case requires only to be
made of a single thickness of cloth, as it has both the thickness of the
body a, a, and new piece B behind it to hold the front rows of stitching
and button holes, except that the lower loose end is made double as
usual with a button hole for fastening and holding down the breast of
the shirt to the trousers. The two new parts A, B, are then stitched
all round the outer edges (by the sewing machine or otherwise) to the
body a, a, and front strap d, as shown in the several Figures 3, 4, and 5,
having the upper right hand corner B¹ left loose or unstitched to the
body, the ornamental sewing at this part being passed through a cotton
tape B on the inside, as shown at Figures 3 and 5, to support the
sewing, having a button and button hole B2 for fixing the loose part B¹
up across the centre of the chest, as seen at Figure 3, so as to make all
close and comfortable at the opening c¹ for enabling the shirt to be
easily put off and on in the usual manner. The stitching round the
back and front parts A, B, is made so as to form an ornamental
outline of the form of a shield (or it might be other ornamental figure),
the upper part of the back piece A being by preference secured by
a row of stitching A¹ across the front, a little below the position
of the collar bone, as seen in Figure 3, thus giving all the strength
and advantages of a double thickness of cloth at A2 on each side over
•

page_text: the shoulders equivalent to the usual " yoke" or shoulder straps
without the disadvantage of the rough hard seams and overlays of
these, which hurt the shoulders below the pressure of the braces. When
however it is desired to apply the improved back A to shirts with the
ordinary "yokes" or shoulder straps they may be stitched along the
top of the back to these, as indicated by the red dotted line A", in
Figures 4 and 6, thus in this case doing away with the parts A² (for
passing over the shoulders, seen in Figure 6). After the two parts A, B,
have been stitched on to the body a, a, of the shirt, as described, the hole
and slit c¹, c¹¹, are cut through both plies of the cloth a, A, (as indicated
in Figure 6,) for the collar c, which, as previously prepared, is then
stitched to these edges of the cloth and whole as usual. ·
For these improved shirts the collar c, as indicated in the. Figures,
is preferred to be made of plain cotton or linen to retain them and the
neck parts in their original shape and size, even after much use and
washing; but the collars of these shirts may when preferred be made of
the same cloth as the shirt.
Although the new and additional back part A. has been shown and
described as sewed on the outside of the body a, a, of the shirt it may
when preferred be sewed on the inside, and especially so when applied to
cotton, linen, and dressed shirts, as they may also be when desired, and
when the ornamental and shield form of the pieces A, B, and their
stitching are not desired their side edges may be extended out to the
same width as the body a, a, of the shirt (as shown dotted in in red
lines at a³, a³, b³, 63, in the Figures 6 and 7), and then sewed in with the
same stitching or main side seams a¹, a¹, of the shirt body a, a.
Referring to Figure 8, instead of making the new or improved double-
breast B in one piece, as described in reference to the former Figures,
and having the shirt to open up the centre c¹ of the breast d, d³, its two
sides a, a, at the front are made wider or have the two breasts D, D',
sewed on to them to make them overlap each other across the chest,
and be opened up and closed by a few buttons or hooks at the side
edges C, C¹, C², C", (like some kinds of double-breasted waistcoats), thus
forming another simple modification of our new or improved double
breasts to shirts across the chest, as shown in Figure 8, where it will be
seen that the new right hand or outer opening side, as D, of the
breast d", ", is buttoned down on the outside of the body a", a¹¹, at
C, O¹, and the new inner loose part, as D', is buttoned through below

page_text: button holes in the front a", d", at C", the buttons being seen in front
in Figure 8, the front strap & being simply stitched on the front a", d¹¹,
of the body a, a, without the usual slit or opening c¹ down close to it,
the buttons d² being merely sewed on the outside.
The purpose and advantages of our said Invention are that outside
shirts so made with these new or improved backs and fronts, indicated
by the letters A, B, C, D, in the several Figures, can serve for (or
instead of) the usual inner flannel or woollen shirts also, thus answering
the double purpose, and giving the great comfort of an ordinary inner
and outer shirt at the same time or of two woollen shirts combined in
one, and at but little more expense than that of one ordinary shirt as
heretofore made, which makes this improved construction of shirt par-
ticularly applicable to variable and cold climates, so that we have
given it the name of "The Canadian Shirt," or "Shirt and under-vest
combined."
Having thus particularly described the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is or may be performed, we have to
state that what we consider novel and original, and therefore claim as
the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the making of woollen and other shirts with new or improved
additional or double backs and fronts, substantially in the new or
improved manner herein described and shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Gardner and James
Russell, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eighteenth
day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-one.
Witness,
W. R. M. THOMSON,
Patent Agent,
20, Buchanan Street,
Glasgow.
WILLIAM GARDNER. (L.S.)
JAMES RUSSELL.
(L.S.)