IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR UNITING AND PREPARING SURFACES of LEATHER AND SIMILAR MATERIALS FOR THIS AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1860

page_text: of London, Commission Agent, and Samuel Middleton, of Essex Street,
Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Cordwainer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE
MEANS AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR UNITING AND PREPARING SURFACES of
LEATHER AND SIMILAR MATERIALS FOR THIS AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 11th June 1861, and dated the 26th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Spendlove Desborough
and Samuel Middleton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 26th December 1860.
We, SPENDLOVE DESBOROUGH, of Noble Street, in the City of London,
Commission Agent, and SAMUEL MIDDLETON, of Essex Street, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, Cordwainer, do hereby declare the nature of the Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE
MEANS AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR UNITING AND PREPARING SURFACES OF
LEATHER AND SIMILAR MATERIALS FOR THIS OTHER PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
The first part of our improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes
relates to improvements in the means or apparatus employed for "pressing,"
"lasting," or turning over the under edges of the "uppers" of boots and
Price 8d.1

page_text: 31
shoes when shaping or making up the same upon the last; and this part of
our Invention is particularly applicable to the lasting of seamless" uppers
made from a flat piece of leather pressed or sunk into a mould or form,
although the apparatus may be employed for lasting uppers" made with
seams by other means. The apparatus we employ for this purpose when
lasting "uppers" without seams consists of a metal box or mould, in which
the edges of a piece of leather for forming the upper of a boot or shoe are
firmly held by a frame or plate (with an opening therein) hinged or bolted to
the upper surface of the box or mould into which the leather is sunk by a
suitable last. Within the box or mould a moveable rim is fitted so as to be
capable of being removed or raised out of the mould when the "upper" with
the last has been sunk or pressed into it and the edges of the leather are
released from the clamping plate, and by lifting out this rim around the last
the horizontal edges of the leather are raised into a vertical position, and the
edges of the "upper" are closed over and pressed down by a die of suitable
form, which first gathers in the edges and then compresses them upon the last,
which is formed in parts so as to be capable of being removed from the
upper.' When removed from the mould, uppers"-with-seams-may be
lasted in a similar manner, and in place of the upper die for closing over the
edges slides or other instruments may be employed to turn the edges of the
"upper" over upon the last.
The second part of our Invention relates to the means employed for firmly
uniting surfaces of leather or similar materials together in the manufacture of
boots and shoes, and for other purposes, and consists in the application ofhern
or the hoofs of animals, bone, vulcanite," or similar materials, to the manu-
facture of pegs suitable for these purposes. Pegs made from horns or hoofs
of animals according to this part of our Invention may be cut into the desired
form by hand, or by suitable machinery, or they may be pressed and moulded
in heated forms, as is well understood in the manufacture of horn buttons and
other articles made of horn, or they may be cut or formed from "vulcanite,"
which is a material manufactured from india-rubber, and well known in the
manufacture of other articles; and such pegs may be of various forms, but
we prefer to form them with jugs or slots, similar to some of those described
in the Specifications of Letters Patent granted to one of us, dated respectively
the 25th February 1858, No. 378, and the 31st August 1859, No. 1983, for
making metal pegs for this purpose; and pegs made according to this part
of our Invention will be much lighter and cheaper than the metal pegs before
referred to, and are not subject to corrosion when exposed to moisture.

page_text: Another of our improvements consists in giving a screw or twisted form
to metal pegs, such as were described in the Specifications of the Patents
before referred to, by which such pegs will be rendered more secure when
employed in the manufacture of boots and shoes, or for uniting surfaces of
leather for other purposes; we also propose to form metal pegs pointed at
each, and then bending them in the middle and causing the two ends to
come together, so as to make a staple, which, when driven into the leather;
will turn out in different directions and thus secure the parts together.
The third part of our Invention consists of improved means of uniting the
edges or surfaces of leather together for the purpose of making tubular
articles, such as scabbards, sword cases, whip handles or sockets. For this
purpose we cut or form the edges of the piece of leather to be connected
together to form a t.bular article with dovetail projections, the projections
of one edge corresponding correctly with the recesses of the other,so as to fit
into each other. Each of the dovetail projections are then pierced edgeways,
so that a strip of steel wire, whalebone, or other suitable flexible material
may be passed through each projection when fitted together, so as to connect
them, the ends being secured in any convenient manner and the joints filled
up
with
any suitable compound; by this means tubular articles of leather
may be very readily formed straight, or tapered suitable for the purposes
before stated. And part of our improvements consists in using leather for
these purposes which has been turned or prepared with the hair thereon,
and which may afterwards be laid down, if desired, and coated with india-
rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable solution, by which increased substance
and firmness is imparted to scabbards, sword cases, or other articles made
therefrom; and this part of our improvements is applicable to scabbards,
sword cases, or other articles made from the tails of animals, which are to
be tanned or prepared with the hair thercon and treated in like manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Spendlove Desborough and Samuel Middleton in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 26th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SPENDLOVE
DESBOROUGH, of Noble Street, in the City of London, Commission Agent,
and SAMUEL MIDDLETON, of Essex Street, Strand, in the Countyof Middlesex,
Cordwainer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Spendlove Desborough and Samuel Middleton, Her special licence that
we, the said Spendlove Desborough and Samuel Middleton, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or suchothers as we, the said Spendlove Desborough
and Samuel Middleton, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after,during the term therein expressed,should and lawfullymight make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS
EMPLOYED POR UNITING AND PREPARING SURFACES OF LEATHER AND SIMILAR MATE-
RIALS FOR THIS AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Spendlove Desborough and Samuel Middleton, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 Spendlove Desborough and Samuel
Middleton, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The first part of our improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes
relates to improvements in the means or apparatus employed for pressing,
"lasting," and turning over the under edges of the "uppers" of boots and
shoes when shaping or making up the same upon the last; and this part of
our Invention is particularly applicable to the pressing and lasting of
"seamless" uppers made from a flat piece of leather pressed or sunk into a
mould or form, although the apparatus may be employed for lasting " uppers"
made with seams by other means. The apparatus we employ for this purpose
when pressing and lasting "uppers" without seams consists of a metal box
or mould, in which the edges of a piece of leather for forming the upper of
a boot or shoe are firmly held by a frame or plate with an opening therein
hinged or bolted to the upper surface of the box or mould, into which the
leather is sunk by a suitable last; within the box or mould a moveable rim is

page_text: fitted, so as to be capable of being removed or raised out of the mould when
the" upper "with the last has been sunk into it, and the edges of the leather
are released from the clampingplate, and by lifting out this rim around the last
the horizontal edges of the leather are raised into a vertical position, and the
edges of the upper are closed over and pressed down by a die of suitable
form, which first gathers in the edges and then compresses them upon the
last, which is formed in parts so as to be capable of being removed from
the uppers when made up and removed from the mould. Uppers" with
seams may be lasted in a similar manner, and in place of the upper die for
closing over the edges slides or other instruments may be employed to turn
the edges of the "uppers" over upon the last.
C
And in order that this part of our Invention may be most fully understood
and readily carried into practice, we will proceed to describe Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, and 6, shewn in Drawing A relating thereto; and as the nature of each
Figure is written thereon it will not be necessary to repeat the same here.
(by Ct, is the box or mould, formed with a hollow recess u' of the shape of the
upper" of the boot or shoe to be formed therein. A flat piece of leather of
suitable size and shape, by preference in the state it is in after being tanned,
but previous to being stretched and finished) is placed over the mould or
recess, with the edges resting on the upper surface of the mould where they
are held down by the clamping plate 6, which forms a kind of lid to the box
or mould being held down by the levers and inclines 64, 61, as shewn; 62 is an
opening through the plate b, of the same shape or outline as the upper edge
of the mould or recess a¹. The last c with the lining and stiffening secured
thereon is placed in an inverted position, or with the sole uppermost in the
opening in the plate b, and the mould is then placed in a suitable press in
the position shewn at Figures 4 and 5, to have the last c pressed down, so as
to sink the leather into the recess a¹ of the mould a, by which the leather is
caused to assume the shape of the mould, which is then removed from the
press, and by raising or removing the metal rim d, the flat edges of the
leather around the moulded or pressed "upper" are raised into a vertical
position, the middle or inner sole is then placed on the last, and the edges
of the upper are tucked down upon the last, or they may be turned down
upon the last by being pressed with the upper die or tool e, as shewn at
Figure 3 of the Drawing A; after which the last with the lasted upper thereon
can be pressed upwards out of the mould a by means of the lever a², which
is caused to press the last and upper out of the mould, the upper being
finished on the last in the ordinary manner.

page_text: 16
Figures 7, 8, and 9 Drawing B, shew another arrangement of apparatus
for forming the uppers "of boots or shoes out of a flat piece of leather, and
similar in principle to that previously described. a is a metal shell (of the form
of the intended boot or shoe.) supported on a suitable bed al of wood, lead, or
other suitable material; the leather is placed over it and held down by a
suitable clamping plate b, as before described, and the leather is sunk into the
shell a by pressure, as before described; the inner sole is then placed on the
last, and the edges of the upper turned over and tacked down, or the edges
may be turned over by placing the shell a (with the last and upper therein
after it leaves the press,) in a frame or die corresponding in size with the
shella. This frame or die c is furnished with a series of slides c¹, so arranged
as to partake of the same form or contour of the sole of the boot or shoe, the
slides care then forced inwards either simultaneously or in succession,and by
acting on the projecting edges of the "upper" in the shell they are caused
to turn over upon the inner sole and the last, when they can be secured by
tacks; after which the upper" is forced out of the shell a by pressure
exerted through the aperture 2 of the sell and finished in the ordinary
manner. Seamed "uppers" may also be lasted, if desired, by employing appa-
ratus similar to-that just described, in which case the bed or die a, and the
metal shell may be formed in two halves longitudinally with a clamping screw
close the die
end and last, the edges of the upper being
upon upper
turned over upon the insole, as before described, or in any other convenient
We would here remark that it has before been proposed to form
the uppers of boots and shoes by pressing the same out from a flat piece of
leather; and a Patent was granted to one of us, dated the 3rd day of
November, No. 2578, for this purpose, but the uppers were not lasted by the
arrangements of apparatus described in the Specification of such Patent, the
uppers being simply forced through a die or plate with an opening therein
of a similar contour, as the upper of the boot or shoe which had there to
go through the operation of lasting in the ordinary manner,
improvements having for their object the pressing, moulding, shaping, and
lasting of the uppers of boots and shoes at one operation.
t"
manner.
the
our
We will now describe the second part of our Invention, which relates to the
means employed for firmly uniting surfaces of leather or similar materials
together in the manufacture of boots an shoes, and for other purposes, and
consists in the application of horn, or the hoofs of animals, bone, "vulcanite,"
or similar materials to the manufacture of pegs suitable for these purposes.
Pegs made of horn or from the licofs of animals a:cording to this part of our

page_text: Invention,may be cut into the desired forms by hand or by suitable machinery,
or they may be pressed or moulded in heated forms, as is well understood in
-the manufacture of horn buttons and other articles, or they may be cut or
formed from "vulcanite," which is a material manufactured from india-
rubber, and wellknown in the manufacture of other articles, and such pegs
may be of various forms suited to the purpose for which they are intended to
be applied; but we prefer to form them with jags or slots similar to some of
those described in the Specification of Patents granted to one of us, dated
respectively the 25th day of February 1858, No. 378, and the 31st day of
August 159, No. 1983, for making metal pegs for similar
purposes, and pegs
made according to this part of our Invention will be much lighter and cheaper
than the metal pegs before referred to, and are not subject to corrision when
exposed to moisture. Pegs made according to this part of our Invention will
be very suitable for uniting surfaces of leather in the manufacture of driving
bands for machinery,and in the construction of harness and other articles made
of leather or similar materials.
Another part of our improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes, and
in uniting surfaces of leather and similar materials for other purposes, consists
in giving a screw or twisted form to metal pegs such as were described in the
Specifications of the Patents before referred to. The screw or twisted form
may be given to pegs of this description by forming them from bayonet, flat,
or other suitably shaped and twisted wire, or the pegs may be screwed or
twisted in suitable dies after being made with jags or slots in the manner
described in the Specification before referred to. Pegs made with a screw or
twist thereon when employed for the purposes of our Invention will be held
very securely, and cannot be withdrawn without difficulty.
We also propose to form metal pegs pointed at each end, then bending them
in the middle and causing the two ends to come together, so as to make a
staple,which when driven into the leather will turn out in different directions,
and thus secure the parts together. By using pegs or fastenings of this
character formed with jags, slots, or barbs, leather may be very firmly united
edge to edge or overlapping each other, or for uniting surfaces of leather
together for driving bands or for other purposes.
The third part of our Invention consists of improved means of uniting the
edges or surfaces of leather together for the purpose of making tubular articles
of leather, such as scabbards, sword cases, whip-handles, or sockets, or for
other articles. For this purpose we cut or form the edges of the piece of
leather to be connected together to form a tubular article with dovetail pro-

page_text: jections, the projections of one edge corresponding correctly with the recesses
of the other edge, so as to fit accurately into each other. Each of the dovetail
projections are then pierced edgeways, so that a flat strip ofsteel, wire, whale-
bone, or other suitable flexible material may be passed through each projection
when fitted together, so as to connect them, the ends being secured in any
convenient inner, and the joint filled up with any suitable compound, such
as solution of gutta percha, india-rubber, shellac, &c.
Figures 10 and 11 shew two examples wherein the edges of the leather are
united or connected together according to this part of our Invention. In one
case a flat piece of metal or other suitable flexible material capable of bending
to and fro is employed to connect the two edges together, and in the other
case one or more wires are employed for this purpose. The piercing or drilling
of the leather edgeways may be readily accomplished whilst held between two
surfaces of metal, the two edges of the leather being previously cut with dove-
tail edges, and laid together as before described; and we would here remark
that we do not claim broadly the piercing of the leather edgeways for the
purpose of forming tubular articles of leather, a mode of doing so having been
described in the Specification of one of the Patents before-referred-to. By
this mode of uniting the edges of leather together tubular articles of leather
may be readily formed straight or tapered suitable for the purposes before
stated; and part ofour presentimprovements consist in using leather for these
purposes which have been tanned or prepared with the hair thereon. The hair,
if desired, being afterwards laid down and coated with solutions of india-
rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable compound, by which increased sub-
stance and firmness is imparted to scabbards, sword cases, or other articles
made therefrom; and this part of our improvements is also applicable to the
manufacture of scabbards, sword cases, and other tubular articles made from
the tails of animals. The tails of animals intended for such purposes being
tanned, prepared, and finished with the hair thereon, and scabbards and other
tubular articles so prepared and manufactured with the hair retained thereon
will be found to possess greater firmness and rigidity than such articles made
from the tails of animals from which the hair was removed in the process
tanning, and for which a Patent was granted to one of us before referred to.
The mode of treating and preparing the tails of calves, oxen, or other animals
for the purpose of carrying out this part of our Invention is in many respects
similar to that described in the Specification of the Patent before ref-rred to,
with the exception that in the process of tanning the skins of the tails care
must be taken in the use of materials liable to injure or remove the hair
of

page_text: therefrom; and we need only remark that we need only remark, that we
prefer to prepare the skins of tails with the hair thereon, in like manner to
that practiced and well understood in the processes of preparing and tanning
the skins of animals with the hair thereon for other purposes.
In witness whereof, we, the said Spendlove Desborough and Samuel
Middleton, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-
sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
SPENDLOVE DESBOROUGH. (L.S.)
SAMUEL MIDDLETON.
(L.S.)
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.