AN IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE WORN ON THE FEET TO FACILITATE SWIMMING, FLOATING, AND WALKING IN WATER
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Jephson Rowley, of Sheffield, in the
County of York, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS TO BE WORN ON THE FEET TO FACILITATE SWIMMING, FLOATING,
AND WALKING IN WATER."
Scaled the 28th January 1876, and dated the 7th August 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Jephson Rowley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th August 1875.
I, JOHN JEPHSON ROWLEY, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE WORN ON THE FEET TO FACILITATE SWIMMING,
FLOATING, AND WALKING IN WATER," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to an apparatus to be worn on the feet to give
support to persons in water, and to facilitate swimming or floating
therein, and to enable the bearer to walk comfortably upon stony or
shingly beaches or bottoms when bathing; the said apparatus will

page_text: emergencies.
My Invention consists in the peculiar construction of the said
apparatus, which comprises a shoe or sandal provided with flaps or
wings, whose operation is somewhat analagous to the foot of an aquatic
bird, that is to say, when the wearer draws bis feet up the said flaps,
wings, or paddles close and present none of their surface or but a very
slight portion thereof to the water, but when the feet are pushed
outward as in the act of swimming, the said flaps open and present their
entire surface to the water and enable the wearer to exert great
propelling force.
I may construct the said apparatus of wood or partly of wood and
metal or partly of metal and partly of waterproof cloth or of any other
suitable materials. The central part or shoe is made of convenient size
and form to fit comfortably on the foot, and it is preferably provided
with a toe cap and heel cover of leather or other suitable material.
also has a strap and buckle or other means for attaching it to the foot.
It
I prefer to form the said shoe with shoulders or flanges under which
are recesses or channels in its sides for the reception of the flaps or
wings, whose hinged or jointed edges fit and enter the said recesses,
and are supported therein when open against the said shoulders or
flanges. I may use hinges of leather or metal or other suitable
material. If they are formed of leather or similar material I prefer to
cover them with brass or other metal to protect and strengthen them.
The flaps or wings are preferable semicircular or curved on their outer
edges. In some instances I provide the said outer edges with a strip of
leather or other flexible material, projecting at the under side of the flaps
And for the same purpose I
to give them a better hold of the water.
sometimes make the said flaps somewhat concave or cup shaped on their
under surface.
.
I prefer that the said flaps should not open so far as to be quite
straight or level with the shoe or fixed portion of the apparatus; I there-
fore so form the hinged or jointed edges of the shoe and flap and
connect them with each other, that the said flaps when fully open and
acting against the water stand at an angle or inclination to the said shoe
ór fixed piece, their inclination being from the said shoe outward.

page_text: When these shoes or foot paddles are properly attached to the feet,
the wearer can enter the water for swimming or other purposes by
walking down into it or otherwise, and when swimming can exert great
propelling force by treading or walking the water. Or he can turn on
his back and float for any desired length of time, and then recommence
swimming with the greatest facility. With this Invention swimming
will be rendered less fatiguing and dangerous, and in case of any
emergency in which any person capable of swimming may be called
upon for assistance, he may put on the said shoes in a very few
moments.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Jephson Rowley in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th February 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
JEPHSON ROWLEY, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Jephson Rowley,
Her special licence that I, the said John Jephson Rowley, my executors;
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Jephson
Rowley, 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 IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE WORN ON THE FEET TO FACILITATE SWIMMING,
FLOATING, AND WALKING IN WATER," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Jephson Rowley, 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

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date-of-the-said-
Letters Patent..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Jephson Rowley, 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 accom-
panying Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
My Invention relates to an apparatus to be worn on the feet to give
support to persons in water, and to facilitate swimming or, floating
therein, and to enable the wearer to walk comfortably upon stony or
shingly beaches or bottoms when bathing; the said apparatus will
moreover be useful for preserving life in shipwrecks and other
emergencies.
My Invention consists in the peculiar construction of the said appa-
ratus, which comprises a shoe provided with flaps or wings wliose
operation is somewhat analogous to the foot of an aquatic bird, that is
to say, when the wearer draws his feet up the said flaps, wings, or.
paddles close and present none of their surface or but a very slight
portion thereof to the water, but when the feet are pushed outward as
in the act of swimming, the said flaps open and present their entire
surface to the water, and enable the wearer to exert great propelling
force.
My improved apparatus is constructed as shewn in the accompanying
Drawing in which Figure 1 is a plan or top view; Figure 2 is a side
view; and Figure 3, an end view of the same.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
I may construct the said apparatus of wood or partly of wood and
metal, or partly of metal and partly of waterproof cloth or of any other
suitable materials. The central part is made of convenient size and
form to fit comfortably on the foot. It is preferably an open shoe or
golosh a formed of india-rubber, cloth, leather, or other suitable material:
secured upon a stock or clog b. It has at the heel a strap c provided
with a buckle d, or is furnished with other means for securing it upon
the foot. The shoe a may be lined with flannel or felt to make it
comfortable for the foot, or it may be made to fit over an ordinary boot
or shoe. The said stock or clog b is formed of wood or other suitable

page_text: material; I prefer that the said stock should have shoulders & under
which are recesses or rebates in its sides for the reception of the flaps or
wings e, whose hinged or jointed edges e¹ fit and enter the said recesses,
and are supported therein when open against the edges 6 of the stock
or clog b. I may use binges formed of a strip or stripsf of leather, or
india-rubber cloth as shewn in the Drawing, or hinges of metal or other
suitable material. If they are formed of leather or similar material, I in
some instances cover them with brass or other metal to protect and
strengthen them. The flaps or wings e which may be of any desired.
size are preferably semicircular or curved on their outer edges, as shewn
in Figure 1. In some instances I provide the said outer edges with a
flange or strip of leather or other flexible material projecting at the
under side of the flaps to give them a better hold of the water;
and for
the same purpose I sometimes make the said flaps somewhat concave or
cup shaped on their under surface.
I prefer that the said flaps when acting against the water should not
present a straight or plane surface to the same; I therefore so form the
hinged or jointed edge ³, e¹, of the stock and flaps and connect them
with each other, that the said flaps when fully open and acting against
the water are at an angle or inclination to the said shoc, their
inclination being from the shoe outward, as shewn in full lines in
Figure 3, their position when the shoe is drawn up or inward being
shewn in dotted lines in the same Figure.
When these propelling shoes or foot paddles are properly attached to
the feet, the wearer can enter the water for swimming or other purposes
by walking down into it or otherwise, and when swimming can exert
great propelling force by treading or walking the water. Or he can
turn on his back and float for any desired length of time, and then
recommence swimming with the greatest facility. With this Invention
swimming will be rendered less fatiguing and less dangerous, and in
case of any emergency in which any person capable of swimming may
be called upon for assistance, he may put on the said shoes or goloshes
in a very few moments.
Having thus fully described my Invention and shown how an appa-
ratus may be constructed for conveniently and advantageously effecting
the object or purpose of the said Invention, I wish it understood that I
claim an apparatus to be attached to or worn on the feet of a person

page_text: swimming, floating, or walking in water, and consisting of a shoe or
golosh provided with hinged or jointed flaps or wings, operating as
herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Jephson Rowley, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.