IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC- TURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE METHOD OF MEASURING THE HUMAN FOOT FOR FITTING THE SAME."
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John George Taylor, of Paris, in the Empire of
France, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE METHOD OF MEASURING THE HUMAN
FOOT FOR FITTING THE SAME."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John George Taylor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th December 1860.
I, JOHN GEORGE TAYLOR, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE METHOD OF MEASURING THE
HUMAN FOOT FOR FITTING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, firstly, in pressing or expanding and ornamenting
the heads of plastic and impressible fastenings, (such as leather or gutta
percha) after they have been inserted into the bottom of the shoe by means
of suitable punches, thereby enlarging the heads and causing them to be fixed
firmly in the shoe.
Secondly, in the employment of reflectors or mirrors, whereby the workman
is enabled more readily to see the various parts of a boot or shoe when lasted
upon a stand, such reflectors or mirrors being so adjusted or arranged that
they will reflect those parts of the work. to the eye of the workman which
could not otherwise be seen without inconvenience, thus enabling the whole of
the parts to be seen at one glance.
Thirdly, in arranging, adjusting, and securing to a piece or foundation
of paper, or other suitable substance (with a view to obtaining a correct
measure of the foot,) one, two, or more tapes, strings, or slits of paper,

page_text: upon which foundation the foot is placed, after which the strings are adjusted
around the parts to be measured; and then secured or fastened as required,
after which the strings or fastenings are cut or marked and slipped off the foot
with the part to which they are attached. The foot having previously been
pressed upon the foundation of paper or other fabric will have the effect of
giving the outline or configuration. For this purpose the foundation may be
laid upon a wet or damp surface, such as a towel or other substance, and the
impression so made will give the desired outline. But in order to obtain an
impression with great nicety I employ an ordinary colored foundation, and
between which colored foundation and the wet material I place a piece of
paper or other suitable substance, such intermediate piece having been pre-
viously prepared with bicarbonate of soda, or any suitable discharging or
coloring substance. To the aforesaid foundations I attach printed scales or
registers, or print such scales or registers upon the foundations. In some
instances I make foundations of gutta percha, or partially so, by uniting the
same with paper or other materials. Or in lieu of the sole or foundation piece,
a sock of any suitable material may be used, such sock being provided or not
with the requisite measuring strings or tapes at the proper parts.
It is further proposed to uso foundations having lines or marks printed or
drawn thereon, which lines or marks are intended to facilitate the ascertaining
of the outlines and dimensions of the foot.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John George Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GEORGE TAYLOR, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth 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 me, the
said John George Taylor, Her special license that I, the said Jobn
George Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John George Taylor, my executors, administrators, or 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

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN: THE
METHOD OF MEASURING THE HUMAN FOOT FOR FITTING THE SAME," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John George Taylor, my exc-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, or under the hand and seal of one of 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 I, the said John George Taylor, 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 accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists, firstly, in pressing or expanding and ornament-
ing the heads of plastic and impressible fastenings, (such as leather or gutta
percha,) after they have been inserted into the bottom of the shoe by means
of suitable punches, thereby enlarging the heads and causing them to be fixed
firmly in the shoe.
Secondly, in the employment of reflectors or mirrors, whereby the workman
is enabled more readily to see the various parts of a boot or shoe when lasted
upon a stand, such reflectors or mirrors being so adjusted or arranged that
they will reflect those parts of the work to the eye of the workman which
could not otherwise be seen without inconvenience, thus enabling the whole of
the parts to be seen at one glance.
Thirdly, in arranging, adjusting, and securing to a piece or foundation of
paper, or other suitable substance (with a view to obtaining a correct measure
of the foot,) one, two, or more tapes, strings, or slits of paper upon which
foundation the foot is placed, after which the strings are adjusted around the
parts to be measured, and then secured or fastened, as required, after which
the strings or fastenings are cut or marked, and slipped off the foot with the
part to which they are attached. The foot having previously been pressed
upon the foundation of paper or other fabric will have the effect of giving the
outline or configuration. For this purpose the foundation may be laid upon a
wet or damp surface, such as a towel or other substance, and the impression
so made will give the desired outline. But in order to obtain an impression
with great nicety I employ an ordinary colored foundation, and between which
colored foundation and the wet material I place a piece of paper, or other

page_text: suitable substance, such intermediate piece having been previously prepared
with bicarbonate of soda, or any suitable discharging or coloring substance.
To the aforesaid foundations I attach printed scales or registers, or print such
scales or registers upon the foundations. In some instances I make founda-
tions of gutta percha, or partially so, by uniting the same with paper or other
materials. Or in lieu of the sole or foundation
suitable
material may be used, such sock being provided or not with the requisite mea-
suring strings or tapes at the proper parts.
of
any
It is further proposed to use foundations having lines or marks printed or
drawn thereon, which lines or marks are intended to facilitate the ascertaining
of the outlines and dimensions of the foot.
Figure 1 is a plan, and Figure 2 a side view, shewing the improved method
of treating shoe fastenings; they are shown inserted in the material. The
result can be obtained and carried into effect by the use and employment
have a
either of the instruments shewn at Figures 3 and 4, and which
shoulder found upon them, to regulate the depth of the impression. Fastening
having been inserted in the sole, the opperative holes the required tool or
instrument over it, and then effects the operation, either by a pressure, or by
supplying a hammer, by which he imparts a blow to the instrument, the effect
of which will be that the head of the fastening will be "finished" or
ornamented, and also expanded and hardened simultaneously. It will appear
that the finish or impression thus imparted to the fastening is slightly indented
in and below the general surface of the sole or other part of the bottom of the
shoe, and this I consider an important
of this part of my Inven-
tion, and which will have the effect of keeping the finished heads of such
fastenings, and even any fractional contract until the boot or shoe is partially
worn. When the bottoms are attached to the other parts by machinery the
hammer or driver may be so shaped and formed that the countersinking result
will be obtained simultaneously with the process of inserting the fastenings;
this can be done by lengthening and shaping the matter, as may be required.
Figure 5 and 6 are a plan and side elevation respectively of a machine or
apparatus shewing the use and application of reflecting surfaces for the
purpose of more clearing showing parts of the boot and shoe while undergoing
the process of lashing or adjusting the uppers or fronts upon the last or stand
employed in their manufacture. The parts A and B are merely for the purpose
of illustrating the practical application of this part of my Invention, and which
will be readily understood by referring to Figures 5 and 6, where C marks
the mirror or reflector, which is secured to the table or stand D, as shown.
The reflector is furnished with a joint or hinge, as shewn, so as to admit of

page_text: "
adjustment at the operator's pleasure, when he places it in a proper position
in relation to the "upper" or "front," which he proceeds to last, the front
part or instep of such upper will be visible to him in the mirror, by which
means he is enabled to regulate the operation, and adjust the parts with the
greatest niceity without the last being in any manner removed from its original
position.
Figures 7 and 8 show the place I adopt for carrying out the third head of
my Invention. Figure 7 shews a foundation, to which the strings 1, 2, and 3
are attached in any convenient manner and at suitable positions for obtaining
the correct measure breadthwise of the foot. When a foot is to be measured
the person places bis foot upon a paper or foundation, Figure 7, and there
tries the cord shewn over the foot. He then places his foot upon a wet or
damp cloth, at the same time pressing his foot upon the cloth until the founda-
tion will have a correct impression or outline of the sole of his foot. He then
marks, cuts, or secures the strings 1, 2, and 3, and allows the foundation to
dry; by this means the exact dimensions of the foot are obtained with great
ease and certainty. By the employment of a coloured or tinted foundation
the damp cloth being slightly impregnated with bicarbonate of soda, or other
suitable discharging agent, as described, the impression or outline of the sole
of the foot can be obtained with more defined lines. Or the foundation may
be of white paper, and the cloth may be damped with some coloured liquid, so
as to leave a coloured outline or impression of the sole of the foot upon the
foundation.
Figure 8 shows another modification of this mode of measuring the foot
breadthwise, and consists of a thin sock, which can easily be drawn over the
foot, the strings 1, 2, and 3 being previously
in the sock in their
proper position in relation to the parts to be measured.
1st, the improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes, and in the
machinery or apparatus employed therein, as herein-before described by my
Drawings.
2nd, the peculiar methods of measuring or taking the configuration of the
human foot, and the means employed therein, as herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
T
A MAXLOD
J. G. TAYLOR.
(L.S.)