Improvement in Hat and Bonnet Pins.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Aug., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th June, 1895-Accepted, 17th Aug., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Hat and Bonnet Pins.
We JOHN EMPSON, JOHN HEWITT, trading as Wilkins and Wright of
58, Graham Street in the City of Birmingham, Manufacturers, and FRANCIS
ROBERT BAKER of Wellington Road Harborne in the County of Stafford,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to pins for use in securing ladies' hats, bonnets
and the like, the object of the invention being to provide a fastener for the hat
or other head dress which will not necessitate any sewing or other attachment
to be made permanently to the head dress or hat, in order that it may be
effectually employed to retain the hat, bonnet or the like in position by engaging
with the hair of the wearer.
In carrying our invention into effect, we construct our fasteners as pins having
duplex legs and we provide the head or other knob at the end of the legs or duplex
pins, the knob being shaped or fashioned to suit any particular style of ornament
which it may be desired to use upon the hat or bonnet.
We make the pins of steel wire preferably, and we cause them sometimes to be
made from a split wire or half round section wire, so that when the two limbs or
legs are brought together, they form one complete circular piece of wire, which
can conveniently pass through one hole in the hat.
We insert the wire when held together to form a complete round section
through the one side of the hat or head dress, and then pass it through the hair
of the wearer and twist the pin round, so as to cause the hair to be more
securely engaged by the two wires of the pin, and we then push the pin wires
through the opposite side of the bat, thus making a secure attachment both sides
of the hat or head dress, with the hair between slightly wound upon the legs or
pins which are thus secured at each side of the hat. To withdraw the fastener
from contact with the hat, on the one side, we simply slightly pull the pin and upon
releasing it from the far side of the hat, the wires twist back and allow the hair
to be released by simply drawing the knob of the pin, thus taking the wires from
the other side of the hat.
By this arrangement of fastening, we make an attachment to a hat or bonnet
both sides by causing the hair between the points of contact of the pin with the
bonnet or hat to be rolled or twisted about the pin legs and thus a better attach-
ment to be made than is possible with a single pin, and a more ready attachment
to be made to the hat than is possible with the existing teeth-like fasteners at
present in use, which require to be sewn or otherwise permanently secured to the
bat, necessitating one fastener to be employed for one hat, while our pins are
capable of use upon any hat or other article of head dress.
We do not limit the application of our invention to any particular form of wire
for constructing our pins or fasteners, although we conveniently employ the half
round section in order that the two legs may take up as little space as possible
when passing through the material of the hat or bonnet. We form our pins from
one piece of wire or strip of metal, which we bend over to form a bow or loop at
the end, and upon this bow or loop we mount a knob or other manipulating ornament
of any desired shape, or instead of making an independent knob upon the bent over
end of, the wire, we sometimes make the ornament by fashioning or bending. the

page_text: wire itself into a large loop, bow or other device suitable for manipulation, the
inner portion of the loop being twisted preferably, so as to prevent the ends from
opening out. We make our knobs or ornaments of any suitable metal or material,
sometimes by dipping the bowed end of the wires into the material to form the knob,
or attaching beads of glass or other compositions to the bow ends in any ordinary
manner now employed for attaching knobs to ordinary wire pins. We sometimes
make our wires in two pieces, instead of turning them over, in which case we
attach the ends or knobs to the two ends by moulding the material onto the ends of
the wires, or by attaching the knob thereto in any ordinary manner now employed
for making attachments upon single pins. Instead of making our wires straight,
we sometimes wave them.
Dated this 60th 1
A1001
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings; Chancery Lane, London, and at
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.
We, JOHN EMPSON and JOHN HEWITT, trading as Wilkins and Wright, of
58 Graham Street, in the City of Birmingham, Manufacturers, and FRANCIS
ROBERT BAKER, of Wellington Road, Harborne, in the County of Stafford,
Engineer, 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 :-
This invention has reference to pins for use in securing ladies' hats, bonnets and
the like, the object of the invention being to provide a fastener for the hat or other
head dress which will not necessitate any sewing or other attachment to be made
permanently to the head dress or hat, in order that it may be effectually employed
to retain the hat, bonnet or the like in position by engaging with the hair of the
wearer.
In the accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings-
Figure 1 is a plan of one form of our pin when in the eyelet.
Figure 2 is a side elevation and Figure 3 an end elevation of the eyelet.
Figure 4 is a plan of our pin when twisted as it should be for holding the hair.
In carrying our invention into effect, we construct our fasteners as pins having
duplex legs A A¹ and we provide the head or other knob B at the ends of the legs
or duplex pins, the knob being shaped or fashioned to suit any particular style of
ornament which it may be desired to use upon the hat or bonnet.
We make the pius of steel wire preferably and we sometimes cause them to be
made from a split wire or half round section wire, so that when the two limbs or
legs are brought together, they form one complete circular piece of wire, which can
conveniently pass through one hole in the hat. We may however employ any other
suitable section of wire for the pin.
We insert the wire when held together by the pin knob and the binding loop or
band C through the one side of the hat or head dress, or through an eyelet D
which we use in combination with our improved hat pin and which we insert into
the hat and then pass it through the hair of the wearer and twist the pin round, as
shown in Figure 3 so as to cause the hair to be more securely engaged between the
two wires of the pin, and we then push the pin wires through the opposite side of
the hat, thus making a secure attachment to both sides of the hat or head dress,
with the hair between slightly wound upon the legs or pins which are thus secured
at each side of the hat. To withdraw the fastener from contact with the hat, on

page_text: the one side, we simply slightly pull the pin knob and upon releasing it from the
opposite side of the hat, the wires twist back and allow the hair to be released and
the pin to be withdrawn by simply drawing the knob of the pin.
By this arrangement of fastening, we make an attachment to a hat or bonnet on
both sides by causing the hair between the points of contact of the pin with the
bonnet or hat to be rolled or twisted about or between the pin legs, and thus a
better attachment is made than is possible with a single pin. By this duplex pin
attachment the existing teeth-like fasteners at present in use which require to be
sewn or otherwise permanently secured to the hat, are dispensed with and one.
fastener can be employed upon any hat or other article of head dress.
We do not limit the application of our invention to any particular form of wire
for constructing our pins or fasteners, although we conveniently employ the half
round section in order that the two legs may take up as little space as possible when.
passing through the material of the hat or bonnet. We may form our pins from
one piece of wire or strip of metal, which we bend over to form a bow or loop at
the end, and upon this bow or loop we mount a knob E or other manipulating
ornament of any desired shape, or instead of making an independent knob upon the
bent over end of the wire, we sometimes make the ornament by fashioning or
bending with wire itselt into a large loop, bow or other device suitable for
manipulation, the inner portion of the loop being twisted preferably, so as to
prevent the ends from opening out. We make our knobs or ornaments of any
suitable metal or material, sometimes by dipping the bowed end of the wire into the
material to form the knob, or attaching beads of glass or other compositions to the
bow ends in any ordinary manner now employed for attaching knobs to ordinary
wire pins.
We sometimes make our wires in two pieces, instead of turning them over, in
which case we attach the ends or knobs to the two ends by moulding the material on
to the ends of the wires, or by attaching the knob thereto in any ordinary manner
now employed for making attachments upon single pins. Instead of making our
wires straight, we sometimes wave them."
We secure our wires together and prevent any undue strain coming upon the
knobs by means of a clip or band C which we pass over the wires as shown in
Figures 1 and 4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is―
1. The construction and arrangement of a duplex or double wire pin having one
common end, knob or head, for use as a hat, cap, or bonnet fastener, substantially
as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. The improvements in hat, cap and bonnet fasteners substantially as herein-
before described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In hat, cap, and bonnet fasteners the use of a duplex or double wire pin for
engaging with or twisting within the hair substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 28th day of June 1895.
MARKS & CLERK,
18 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.