IMPROVE- MENTS IN BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BOOTS AND SHOES."-A communication from abroad by Edward
Heaton, of Newhaven, Connecticut, United States of America...
aled the 7th January 1868, and dated the 11th July 1867.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration
on the 11th July 1867, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO, ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,.
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BOOTS AND SHOES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the
same, and have made solemn Declaration that the said Invention is com-
municated to me from abroad by Edward Heaton, of Newhaven, Connecticut,
United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, 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 :—
This Invention relates to certain improvements in boots and shoes, and has
for its object the supporting or holding up the "shank or "waist of the
soles of boots and shoes.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to combine a tempered steel
blade spring with a plate or strip of untempered steel or other suitable metal,
the steel spring being secured at its centre by a rivet which passes through
the metal strip, leaving the ends of the spring free to play upon the surface of
the plate or strip when deflected by the bending of the sole. This combined
plate and spring is inserted into the interior of the sole at the "shank"
"waist," and secured at the ends by nails or pegs introduced through holes
made for that purpose in the ends of the metal plate. The plate being of
untempered steel or of flexible metal may be shaped to the sole without
liability to fracture.
ог
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a sectional elevation of a boot with
the said improvements adopted thereto; Figure 2 is a detail elevation and
plan of the combined spring and metal plate detached as adapted for right
and left boots or shoes, the plate being curved laterally to suit the curvature
of the sole; and Figure 3 is a plan of the same intended for straight boots
or shoes.
A is the metal tongue or strip (by preference) of untempered steel, it is
curved to suit the shape of the sole at the time of inserting it, and is secured
in its place by nails or pegs driven through the perforations at the ends into
the inner sole a (see Figure 1); B is the tempered steel blade spring secured
to the upper surface of the plate A by a rivet 6 passing through the middle of
the spring. In inserting this combined plate and spring into a sole it is laid
with the spring against the insole, is then covered with a strip of common
leather, and then nailed or pegged to the inner sole at the ends, pegs or nails
being also inserted round the fore end of the plate A. The rear end of the
spring B should project slightly beyond the front of the heel when adjusting
the plate on to the sole, as shown in Figure 1. The outer sole c is finally put
on and secured in the usual manner.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the application and use to and in the "shanks" or "waists" of the
soles of boots and shoes of a steel blade spring combined with a metal plate
of untempered steel or other suitable metal, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before described.
Second, the combination of two metal blades or tongues of different degrees
of elasticity, and their application to the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of
July, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.