AN IMPROVEMENT IN MAKING WAISTBANDS, OR UMBELICAL, VENTRAL, LUMBAR, AND SPINAL BANDAGES OR SUPPORTERS TO BE ATTACHED TO COATS, WAISTCOATS, BREECHES, PANTALOONS, AND TROWSERS, TO BE EITHER PERMANENTLY FIXED OR OCCASIONALLY ATTACHED AND SUPPLIED
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY.
ADCOCK, of Summer Hill Terrace, in the Parish of Birmingham and County
of Warwick, Gilt Toy Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth did,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-four, in the fifth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Adcock, my exors, adññors, and assigns, His especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Henry Adcock, my exors,
admors, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
MAKING WAISTBANDS, OR UMBELICAL, VENTRAL, LUMBAR, AND SPINAL BANDAGES OR
SUPPORTERS TO BE ATTACHED TO COATS, WAISTCOATS, BREECHES, PANTALOONS, AND
TROWSERS, TO BE EITHER PERMANENTLY FIXED OR OCCASIONALLY ATTACHED AND
SUPPLIED;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if I,
the said Henry Adcock, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the
same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters

page_text: Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages
whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and become void,
as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Adcock, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):-
My said Invention of an Improvement in Making Waistbands or Umbelical,
Veritral, Lumbar, and Spinal Bandages, or Supporters, to be attached to Coats,
Waistcoats, Breeches, Pantaloons, and Trowsers, and to be either Permanently
Fixed or Occasionally Attached and Supplied, consists in the adaptation and
application thereto of certain combinations or sets of elastic wire helical
springs, which have not hitherto, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
been applied to such purposes, and I hereby claim every application thereof to
these purposes as my Invention and improvement. As, however, it is desirable
that I should afford some examples of methods of carrying my said Invention
into effect, I shall proceed to do so as follows:-In making the elastic wire
springs I generally use the finest quality of brass wire, but they may be made
of gold, silver, plated, dipping, or any other metal that will retain its elasticity
when wound, or steel, iron, tinned steel, tinned iron, tinned brass, or of any
other metals that possess the quality required, and whether silvered, lacquered,
or coated with varnish. If I use steel I take care that it is properly tempered
down after it is hardened. The wire for the springs, of whatever metal I use,
is properly annealed, and I reduce it through draw plates to the strength and
sizes required; when I have reduced it sufficiently, I put a hank or ring of it
on a reel. If I wind it by the machine, I put the wire spindle F, in Drawing
No. 2, through the centre hole of the chuck E, and bring it back through the
top hole; I then turn the end of the wire spindle up, to prevent its coming
out of the hole in the chuck E; I then run the wire which I wish to wind
into springs through the loop of the peg K, and fasten it to the end of the
wire spindle F near to the chuck E; I hold the peg K in my left hand whilst
I turn the wheel with the right. I let the wire run between my first and
second fingers, and the wire spindle rests at the same time on my thumb;
when it is wound as far as the rest G, I lift it over. Observe, the wire is
steadied by running close to the left pin of the peg K, and the wire spindle
bears on the opposite pin of the peg K, which, as before mentioned, is held in
my left hand; I then bring the wire spindle F, which rests on my arm, nearer

page_text: to the machine, and wind the wire until it reaches the end of the wire
spindle; I unfasten the wound wire next to the rest G at the top, close by the
turned-up part of the wire spindle F, and slip it off. The length of the wire
spindle or winder I generally use is about 4 feet long, and it is made of the
roundest brass wire I can procure, it must be exceeding well tempered, and be
free from any indent; the surface must be very smooth and even, or the springs
will be waived and irregular. If I use the lathe for. winding, I fix the
clamps B, Fig. 1, in Drawing No. 1, into the lathe mandrel A, and fasten the
wire spindle C (which I generally form of brass. wire very round and smooth
and of an equal surface) into the clamps B, and I run the other end through
the iron or wooden rest D, which steadies and supports it; I then take one
end of the hank or ring of wire, which is hung on the reel, and run it through
holes made in the clamps B to fasten it; I then turn the lathe round quickly,
holding the spindle as I wind tight between my left thumb and first finger,
and steady the wire as it runs off the reel with my right hand; when it is
wound to the end of the spindle next the rest D, I cut the end which I
fastened to the clamps, and slide it off through the hole of the rest d, which
is sufficiently wide to admit of my doing it. When the springs are thus
wound I cut them off to the lengths they are wanted, I then open the two
rings at each end of them with a knife, and turn them in with plyers to
secure them. I have adopted this method in order to prevent the ends of
the wire from drawing out when the leathers are fixed in them. I
draw narrow slips of wash leather, about an inch and half long, through
turned-in ends of the springs or loops, and stitch them close to the loops
double. In making the elastic wire bands for waistbands or the backs of
waistcoats, similar to Fig. 2 of Drawing No. 1, I cut pieces of cloth, leather,
or any other fabric I may want to use, to the sizes required. 1 then rule or
mark lines on them horizontally at given distances, according to the sizes of
the elastic wire springs. I serge the top and bottom of the two pieces of
leather, cloth, or other material which are cut of the same size. I then stitch
them together along each marked line. I then take a round, straight wire,
fixed in a wood handle, and with its end rounded, and push it through between
the lines, which are stitched to allow the elastic wire springs to be drawn
through with ease. After the whole of the springs are drawn through in this
manner, I prick or stitch down the ends of the leather, cloth, or other
material through the doubled slips of wash leather, which are sewn or fastened
together through the loops of the springs which were opened and turned in, as
described above. In fixing the elastic wire bands after they are made into
the waistbands of pantaloons, &c., (see Fig. 5, Drawing No. 1,) I cut the

page_text: waistband in the usual manner, except that the cloth or other material is about
half an inch wider than the elastic bands, to admit of a seam being made, by
which it is fastened to the pantaloons, &c. The elastic bands are then sewn
to the waistband, one on each side, as close to the back as they can be, to
allow of the puff in the middle with the eyelet holes C, through which laces
are inserted, which may be tightened or loosened.at pleasure. I prefer fixing
the elastic bands over each hip, and I make the springs sufficiently long to clip
the sides, which supports and strengthens them. I do not confine myself to
one method of fixing on the elastic wire bands, but am guided by circum-
stances. I sometimes place them at the back, according to the wish or fancy
of the wearers. I make the elastic bands so that they can be put on or
removed at pleasure, in which case they are fastened by buttons, laces, or any
other mode to the waistbands. I take care that the buttons or other fastenings
are placed at a proper distance, so that the elastic bands, when the springs are
expanded to their full extent, will act properly, and sit close to the body with-
out puckering the waistband. In using the elastic wire springs as supporters
for the bowels (which I term fronts (see Figs. 3 and 4, in Drawing No. 1), I
cut two pieces of leather, cloth, or other material I choose to use, into
different shapes and sizes to fit the abdomen. I serge and sew the pieces
together, as described in Fig. 2, Drawing No. 1. I then fix in the springs
in the manner before described. If they are long fronts, similar to Figure 3,
I bind them round the top and bottom with silk or any other material. I cut
each side of the fronts sufficiently low to fit the groin, so as to admit of the
wearers walking with ease; they are buttoned or fastened together in the
front or middle of the abdomen, but may be made to cover the whole of the
abdomen without buttoning or opening in front, namely, to fasten the breeches
behind, at the sides, or in any other way I may think proper, and are attached
to the pantaloons, &c. by buttons, as represented, or by any other mode I
choose; see letter E, Fig. 3. The eylet holes, marked F, are for the purpose
of inserting laces, the use of which is to contract or extend the fronts at
pleasure. If I make short fronts resembling Fig. 4, Drawing No. 1, they are
manufactured in the same way, but are cut short to fix into drawers by means
of buttons or other fastenings (just over the hip bone on each side), which
can be taken off and changed at pleasure. I do not confine myself in the
manufacture of these articles specified to any particular mode or way of
application or of materials, and I fix the elastic wire springs into the backs
of waistcoats either by sewing them in or by other methods of fastening, and
also into coats.

page_text: Drawing No. 1, Fig. 1, represents the lathe used in winding the wire for
the elastic springs. A, the lathe head; B, the clamps which hold fast the
spindle or wire spit; C, the brass wire spindle, with its end run through the
iron rest D; D, the iron rest, in which is a circular hole for the wire spindle to
run through; E, the iron screw used to fasten the top part of the rest D.
Fig. 2 represents an elastic wire band, either for waistbands or waistcoat
backs. A, the elastic springs fastened into cloth, leather, or other fabrics ;
B, B, the ends of the leather made sufficiently wide to be buttoned or sewn
on; C, C, the button holes for fastening the band on with.
Figure 3rd represents one side of the long fronts used to compress the bowels:
and to reduce corpulency. A, the elastic wire springs sewn into leather, cloth,
or other fabrics, and which come down on each side to the bottom of the
abdomen and bear up the bowels; the buttons which are in front; C, C,
the under part of the bandage; D, the upper part of the bandage which is
attached to the bottom part of the waistband, either with buttons or by being
sewn to it; E, holes for buttons when they are used; F, the eyelet holes
through which laces are drawn.
Figure 4 represents one side of a short front. A, the elastic wire springs
sewn into leather, cloth, or other fabrics, which come down on each side to the
bottom of the abdomen, and bear up and support the bowels; B, the top part
of the cloth, leather, or other fabrics, into which the springs are fastened; C,
the back part of it;. D, the bottom part of the springs; E, the button holes by
which the short fronts are fixed or attached to the drawers; F, the buttons in
front; G, the button hole, which buttons to the bottom part of the waistband.
Figure 5 represents a pair of elastic wire waistbands ready to be attached to
pantaloons, &c. A, A, the elastic wire springs, sewn into the cloth waistband;
B, B, the cloth waistband, cut a little wider than the springs to admit of a
seam being made in it; C, C, the puff at the back of the waistband with a
double row of eyelet holes, through which laces are drawn, to be slackened or
tightened at pleasure; D, bottom of the puff, tapered off to a point.
Drawing No. 2 represents the machine for winding wire springs. A, the
frame of the machine; B, the wheel; C, the frame of the machine head; D,
the machine head, similar to a turning lathe head; E, the iron chuck, screwed
into the head, with the end of the wire spindle, spit, or winder turned up and
inserted into a loop in the chuck. F, the brass wire spit or spindle 4 feet
long, which is run through the centre hole or loop of the chuck, and also
through a hole at the top afterwards when the end of the spindle is turned up.

page_text: Observe, the spindle is brought back through the top hole. G, the iron rest
which is fixed into the frame C; it is covered on the top about three inches
deep with wash leather to prevent the friction from injuring the wire and
spindle. It is placed so that the curved part comes into a horizontal line with
the chuck E, at about 5 inches distance from it. H, temporary platform or
I, the reel, with the bank
stand on which the reel is fixed on an iron spindle.
of wire on it. K, a wooden peg, with a round tin plate at the top of it, and an
iron loop in the centre of it for the wire to run through off the reel. Two iron
pins are also fastened into the peg opposite each other, and are each about
inch long; the one on the right side for the spindle to lodge against for
the purpose of steadying it, and the other on the left for the wire to run
against as it is being wound on the spindle.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Adcock, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-four