IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS, CAPS, AND HAT CASES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
TALBOT TYLER, of the Firm of Messieurs Ashmead and Tyler, of Mount Street,
in the County of Middlesex, Hatter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Talbot Tyler, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Talbot
Tyler, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said John
Talbot Tyler, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HATS, CAPS, AND HAT CASES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John Talbot Tyler, should
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Talbot Tyler, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed (that is to say) :-
Firstly, my said Invention, in so far as it regards hats, consists in making
them in the crown of a more curvilineal and therefore more convenient and
better wearing shape than usual, and of such an articulate or jointed struc-
tcre, both in the crown and brim, that they can be readily folded flat or
re-expanded into their original shape, as required, but always in the same
fixed lines only. The shape which I give to the crown is that of a helmet,
as shewn in the front elevation, Figure 1, side elevation, Figure 2, and in
perspective, Fig. 2, the obvious advantages of which are, that it is free in
front and at back from the angular edges common to all cylindrical and conical
hat crowns with flat tops, and therefore less liable to injurious collisions and
unequal wear. To construct the hat so that it shall fold up in those lines only
which are the most proper for the purpose, and always in the same fixed lines,
I proceed as follows (in technical language this is called "forming the
crose")-If the fabric is felt or beaver, I either stop or leave out the
stiffening composition (usually a solution of shell-lac) from the parts where the
folds or "croses" should be (indicated by the letters a, a, in Figure 1), or I
afterwards discharge the stiffening composition from these parts, in both of
which cases the unstiffened parts serve as so many joints or articulations. In
the latter case a hot solution of salts of tartar, borax, or some other chemical
equivalent is applied to the parts a, a, which discharges the shell-lac, and
leaves these parts soft and yielding. The body is then ready to be roughed;
that is, the napping put on, and then blocked in the form required, and after-
wards dyed and finished. As the brim of the hat in front and at back would
be left unduly weak from the three unstiffened parts a¹, a³, a³, which converge
towards and meet at these parts, I stiffen the whole of the brim with the
exception of the crose a', and then cut through the brim obliquely in the lines
indicated by a and a³, meeting in a point with a', and I edge each of the side
parts or joints a' and a³ with a strip of whalebone or metal or some other
rigid material covered with silk, as indicated in Figure 1. To form the joints
or croses in plated or silk hats, I cut the body quite through in the lines of the
intended folds, and then connect the edges by laying over and cementing to
them a thin strip of india rubber, cotton, or other like suitable material,
taking care to apply the strip so as to leave the edges a small distance apart,

page_text: in order that they may not on the folding of the hat rub against or cut
through the strip.
Secondly, my Invention, in so far as it regards caps, has relation to felt
caps, and consists in forming them on the same block as the hats, and of one
single piece, articulated or jointed so as to suit any desired form, and to fold up
flat when required. The cap may be of the same helmet form as the hats,
and as represented at Figures 3 and 4, or of any other desired form. The
articulating or jointing I effect by leaving out or discharging the stiffening
composition from all those parts where the folds should be, in the same way
as in the case of the hats before described.
Thirdly, my Invention, in so far as it relates to hat cases, has relation to
square or oblong travelling hat cases, and consists in adapting them to a
As these hat cases are now com-
greater variety of uses than heretofore.
monly constructed, a place is provided for the hat only, and a considerable
space between the crown of the hat and under the brim is left vacant. Now
my improvements consist in turning the said vacant space to useful account
as a repository for articles required in travelling, and in forming also similar
repositories in the sides, bottom, and top of the case, without materially
encreasing its general size.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of my improved case when closed; Figure 6,
a sectional elevation; and Figure 7, a top plan. A, A, is the outer case,
formed of leather, gutta percha, or other suitable material; and B, B, an
inner case, which rests on a false bottom C, between which and the real bottom
of the outer case, there is a space C', which forms a secret recess for papers
and other articles of value. The inner case is secured to the sides of the
outer case by bolts b, b, which are concealed from view by flaps c, c, so that
the secret recess C¹ can only be reached by undoing these bolts, and lifting
the inner case altogether out of the other. The inner case is divided interiorly
into a central compartment d for receiving the crown of the hat; two side
compartments e, e, for holding boxes E, E, which have lids to them, and are
removable at pleasure, and three open spaces f.f.f. G is a tray, of a hat
form (except that the rim is square instead of round), which, after the hat has
been put in its place in the case, fits into and over the hat, and rests by two
projecting metal pieces h, h, on the top edges of the outer case, so as not to
press upon or crush the hat beneath. H is a lid to the central portion of the
tray G. There is a space left between the backs of the outer and inner cases
for holding a portfolio K. L is the top or lid of the case, which is made
hollow in the manner usual with travelling trunks, and has a separate lid of
its own (M), secured by a bolt 1, and hasps m, m.

page_text: And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements which
I claim as constituting my said Invention are as follows:-
First, I claim the making of hats of the helmet form, whether folding
or not.
Second, I claim the making of every description of hats with folding joints
or articulations, as before described.
Third, I claim the making of caps in one piece, with joints or articulations
similar to the hats, as before described. And,
Fourth, I claim the hat case in the new arrangement and combination of
parts of which the same consists, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Talbot Tyler, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
JOHN TALBOT (L.B.) TYLER.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fifth day of July,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid John Talbot Tyler came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.