Im- PROVEMENTS IN BUSKS FOR STAYS, CORSETS, AND ANALOGOUS ARTICLES.
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Alexander Lyman, of Cheapsido, in the
City of London, Manufacturer, and Robert Stokes, of Bow, in
the County of Middlesex, Metal Worker, for the Invention of “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN BUSKS FOR STAYS, CORSETS, AND ANALOGOUS ARTICLES.
Sealed the 3rd November 1874, and dated the 7th August 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Alexander
Lyman and Robert Stokes at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 7th August 1874.
WC, HENRY ALEXANDER LYMAN, of Cheapside, in the City of
London, Manufacturer, and ROBERT STOKES, of Bow, in the County of
Middlesex, Metal Worker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUSKS FOR STAYS, CORSETS, AND ANALOGOUS
ARTICLES," to be as follows:-

page_text: made of steel, whalebone, horn, or other material, is formed as usual of
two parts, which when in use are connected together by suitable
fastenings, the several parts of which are secured to the busk by clips
instead of by rivets which which pierce and thereby weaken the busk.
Both parts of these fastenings are made with arched sockets or guides to 5
receive a narrow band of steel which lics flat on the central part of cach
half of the busk, so that it is free to move longitudinally when the busk
is bent. In order to secure these steel bands in place their ends are
inserted in sockets secured to the two ends of the busk, so that although
the steel bands are securely held in their places on the busk, and their 1
ends aro prevented from rising, the bands have perfect freedom of motion
within the limits of their sockets. By the use of these additional steel
bands the strength of the busk is materially increased without adding
necessarily to its weight; and moreover by the use of these additional
bands we are enabled to make busks of whalebone, horn, and other 1
materials, which would not (when unassisted by the steel bands) be
capable of resisting the strains to which they are liable to be subjected,
and which, when combined with the steel bands, will possess the
requisite stiffness and elasticity.
When the busk is made of steel and is not covered with a textile
fabric, as is sometimes the case, it is to be coated with tin to prevent it
from rusting, or the steel parts may be coated with copper or brass by
the electro-plating process. When the busk is made of whalebone or
horn the steel band alone will require protection from rust.
If desired the two parts of the busk, and also the additional steel 2
bands, may be coated with a non-oxidisable metal, and the busk may be
covered with paper or a textilo fabric in the usual manner, while the
protected steel band will be placed outside the covered busk.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Alexander Lyman and Robert Stokes in the 30
Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th February 1875.

page_text: and ROBERT STOKES, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Metal
Worker, 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-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Henry Alexander Lyman and Robert
Stokes, Her special licence that we, the said Henry Alexander Lyman
and Robert Stokes, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Henry Alexander Lyman and Robert Stokes, our
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 "In-
PROVEMENTS IN BUSKS FOR STAYS, CORSETS, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS ARTICLES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry Alexander
Lyman and Robert Stokes, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 Henry. Alexander Lyman and
Robert Stokes, 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, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and.
figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to construct busks in such a manner
that they will not be so liable to break as those constructed in the
ordinary manner. In carrying out the Invention the busk, whether
made of steel, whalebone, horn, or other material; is formed as usual of
two parts, which when in use are connected together by suitable fastenings,-
the several parts of which are secured to the busk by clips instead of by
rivets, which pierce and thereby weaken the busk. Both parts of these
fastenings are made with arched sockets or guides to receive a narrow

page_text: band of steel which lies flat on the central part of each half of the busk;
so that it is free to move longitudinally when the busk is bent. In
order to secure these steel bands in place their ends are inserted in
sockets secured to the two ends of the busk, so that although the steel
bands are securely held in their places on the busk, and their ends are 5
prevented from rising, the bands have perfect freedom of motion witliin
the limits of their sockets.
"}
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a front view of a busk con-
structed according to our Invention and composed principally of
whalebone; Fig. 2 is a similar busk mado of steel; Fig. 3 is the same 1
as Fig. 2, but having the steel covered with textile fabric as a.
preservative.
In Fig. 1 the two halves of the busks are composed principally of two
pieces of whalebone a, down the centre of each of which runs a thin
piece of steel b, secured to the whalebone by means of the metal clips c. 1
which carry the studs and eyelet fastenings d, de, employed for con-
necting the two halves of the busks.together. The extremities of cachi
half of the busk.are provided with sockets e, the top of which is arched
to receive the extremities of the thin piece of steel b, so that when the
busk is bent the piece of steel 6 will be able to slide up and down in the 2
sockets e, and thereby prevent any undue rigidity being imparted to the
busk. The under side of the metal clips c¨are formed with a groove or
channel (as shewn in Fig. 4), so as to retain the piece of steel b in its
place and yet to permit it to slide in the clips as the busk is bent. The
construction of the busk, shewn in Figures 2 and 3, is precisely similar to 2
that shewn in Fig. 1, save that the material used to form the busk is
steel instead of whalebone; Fig. 5 shews the form of the blank from
which the sockets e are struck up, as will be seen by the dotted lines in
Fig. 5. By the use of these additional steel bands the strength of
the busk is materially increased without adding necessarily to its weight; 8
and moreover by the use of theso additional bands we are enabled to
make busks of whalebone, horn, and other materials, which would not
(when unassisted by the steel bands) be capable of resisting the strains
to which they are liable to be subjected, but when combined with the
steel bands will possess the requisite stiffness and elasticity.
'
°
When the busk is made of steel, and is not covered with textile fabric
(as shewn at Fig. 3), it should be coated with tin to prevent it from
3

page_text: rusting, or the steel parts may be coated with copper or other metal by
the electro-plating process. When the busk is made of whalebone or
horn the steel band alone will require protection from rust.
If desired, the two parts of the busk and also the additional steel
bands may be coated with a non-oxidizable metal, and the busk may
be covered with paper or a textile fabric in the usual manner, while the
protected steel band will be placed outside the covered busk.
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in Busks
for Stays, Corsets, and other Analogous Articles," and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, we claim as our Invention
the combination with the steel, whalebone, horn, or other plates a of the
thin steel or metal strips b, which are secured thereto by clips and
sockets in such a manner that the narrow steel or metal strips 6 are free
to move longitudinally on the plates a, a, as and for the purposes herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Alexander Lyman and
Robert Stokes, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Third
day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.