IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET OR LEGS
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Josiah Griswold at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd December 1878. A communication
from abroad by Joseph Bond, junior, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America.
HENRY JOSIAH GRISWOLD, Managing Director of the Company Griswold and
Hainworth (Limited), of Charterhouse Square, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES AND OTHER
COVERINGS FOR THE FEET OR LEGS." [A communication from abroad by Joseph
Bond, junior, of the City and State of New York, United States of America.]
The said Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of waterproof
boots and shoes and other like articles, such as gaiters or leggings, and is designed
to provide means for rendering these and other coverings for the feet or legs effectually
impervious to moisture or dampness.
The said Invention comprises the employment of a material not heretofore used
in the manufacture of the uppers of boots and shoes; also the use of this material
in the manufacture of leggings, gaiters, and other like articles. It also comprises a
novel manner of strengthening or stiffening, and at the same time giving elasticity
to the instep of a boot or shoe whose upper is formed of india rubber or the like;
also an improved manner of forming india-rubber taps or half soles to ensure the
secure and permanent attachment of the same upon the boot or shoe.
In the manufacture of the improved uppers for boots or shoes according to my
Invention I use a material consisting of two layers or sheets of cloth or other fibrous
material, enclosing between them and held together by a thin layer or sheet of
india-rubber. The india-rubber should be properly vulcanized or mineralized, and
caused to adhere closely to the webs or sheets of fibrous material. The fibrous
material used in the formation of these improved uppers may be any suitable cloth
or fabric, and may be the same both inside and outside of the upper; or I may use
one kind of cloth or fabric on the outside, and another kind on the inside of the
upper. In some instances I may use felt or flannel or the like on the inside as a lining
to give substance and warmth to the upper. This material when used in the
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page_text: manufacture of gaiters, leggings, and the like affords a very advantageous substitute
for the material ordinarily used in the manufacture of these articles.
For strengthening or stiffening and at the same time giving elasticity to the
upper I apply to the top of the instep a stiffening piece formed of vulcanized india-
rubber or other suitable elastic material, and which is placed in and incorporated
with the upper in such a manner as to give to the boot or shoe the required strength
and elasticity and a very neat appearance. This stiffening piece is formed to extend
from the top of the instep upward and downward and on both sides of the boot or
shoe; its widest part is at or near the top of the instep, and it tapers or becomes
gradually narrow towards its extremities.
This form gives to the boot or shoe the required strength and elasticity at this
part, and obviates the inconvenience arising from the cracking and breaking of
india-rubber boots or shoes at the top of the instep, which occurs frequently with
those heretofore made.
In boots or shoes with taps or half soles of india-rubber or similar materials great
inconvenience has heretofore been occasioned by the coming off or detachment of
the same. The ordinary manner of forming these taps is to make them with their
inner edge square or straight or nearly so, and their loosening and detachment
commence at this inner edge, and extend therefrom toward the toe; but I obviate
this inconvenience by forming my improved taps or half soles with a pointed or
wedge-shaped or V-shaped inner edge, that is to say, I make the said inner edge
taper or bevelled so that it terminates at or nearly at the centre laterally of the
sole under the instep; or I form the said inner edge with a notch or division so
that it terminates in two points at the sides of the said sole. This manner of forming
the inner edge of the tap or half sole allows it to be cemented very tenaciously and
securely upon the sole to which it is applied, and entirely obviates the difficulty
heretofore experienced with india-rubber soles as above specified.