A MODE OR MODES OF INSERTING GLASS OR OTHER TRANSPARENT PLATES IN THE FABRIC OF UMBRELLAS OR IN OTHER PLIANT FABRICS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "A MODE OR
MODES OF INSERTING GLASS OR OTHER TRANSPARENT PLATES IN THE FABRIC OF
UMBRELLAS OR IN OTHER PLIANT FABRICS."-A communication from abroad
by Erasmus Allington Pond, Mark Staples Richardson, and Edmund
Alonzo Morse, all of Rutland, in the State of Vermont, United States of
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 8th November 1865, 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 "A MODE OR MODES
OF INSERTING GLASS OR OTHER TRANSPARENT PLATES IN THE FABRIC OF UMBRELLA
OR IN OTHER PLIANT FABRICS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to graut unto
[Price 8d.]

page_text: me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for
the same, and have made solemn Declaration that the said Invention is
communicated to me from abroad by Erasmus Allington Pond, Mark Staples
Richardson, and Edmund Alonzo Morse, all of Rutland, in the State of
Vermont, 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
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 :—
The inconvenience and embarrassing incidents attending the use of
umbrellas, particularly in driving rain, first suggested the idea of using in
combination with the fabric of the umbrella, and inserted at convenient
heights from the border, windows or glasses, whereby the objects which other-
wise would be shut out from view by the interposition of the umbrella could
be espied, and collision or other accidents avoided.
To carry this Invention into effect it was found difficult to insert in the
flexible, and often very thin, material of the umbrella, such as silk, or rigid
glass plate of whatsoever form without using complicated and costly devices,
thus more than neutralizing the advantages accruing from the Invention.
The object of this Invention therefore is twofold:-First, the production of
a new article of manufacture, consisting in the application to and combination
with umbrellas aud other articles of windows made of glass or other trans-
parent plates. The method of inserting such glass or other transparent plate
in flexible materials, such as silk, cotton, linen, leather, and the like.
It is unnecessary to particularly described the construction of an umbrella to
which this Invention is applied,it will suffice to say that windows or plates of
glass a, as shewn in Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings, of a round,
oval, elliptical, or other form may be inserted in one or more or all the
leaves, that is, in the fabric between the ribs of the umbrella. They may be
centrally placed at a distance above the border, according to the taste or
judgment of the user. Several glasses are above the other may be inserted in
one and the same leaf, so that observations through the umbrella may be
made at various inclinations of the umbrella.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is an elevation of an umbrella constructed in
accordance with this Invention. In Figs. 2 & 3 I have shewn one of the
modes of inserting the glass in silk or other fabric. It is effected in the
following manner:-Upon the fabric and in the required position is placed the

page_text: plate a, the fabric being stretched over the plate on the opposite side, so as to
sharply define the edges of the plate. Around the edges thus covered with
the fabric a grooved clasp band bis placed so as to snugly frame the plate.
The ends of the clasp band may be secured together in different ways. If the
band be of an elastic or springy nature a loop c may be formed on one end,
the other end being slightly curved outwards, so that on engaging or
hooking the curved end into the loop it will firmly clasp and hold the fabric
on to the glass. In lieu of this attachment small lugs or cars f, as shown in
Figures 4 and 5, may be formed on both ends of the clasp, and a screws may
be screwed through tapped holes in the ears to bring the ends of the clasp
together, thus affording the means of tightening the clasp around the edge of
the plate. After the clasp is securely adjusted on to the plate the fabric
stretched over the plate and between the clasp is removed or cut away by
means of scissors or knives. In this way the hole in the fabric is made after
the insertion of the glass therein.
A very cheap and expedition mode of inserting and securing the glass
plate into the fabric is shown in Figures 6 and 7. The plate in this case is
made expressly for the purpose of this Invention grooved at the periphery.
The fabric is applied and stretched over it in the manner before described
with reference to the square or convex edged plate, and in lieu of a grooved
clasp, as in the former cases, a simple brass or other wire w is passed round
the edge of the plate and tightened upon it by twisting the ends together. In
this manner the wire will be forced into the groove or channel of the plate
coufining the fabric. The binding force of the wire. The fabric covering
the plate is then removed in the same way as before described.
From the above it will be seen that this Invention is susceptible of many
modifications without departure from the principle thereof. I have described
those which on experimenting have been found to answer the purpose well.
I do not wish to confine myself to the application of the mode of inserting
glass in fabrics or leather as described to umbrellas, as there are many
occasions or articles in which this Invention may be used; thus for carriage
tops, masks, and other purposes, it may be employed with advantage.
For umbrellas or other articles I prefer sometimes to use glass plates with
platinized surfaces, which are both transparent and reflecting like ordinary
mirrors, so that while one can see through them (from within the umbrella,
for instance,) they will only reflect the image from without.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my 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

page_text: original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the method of inserting glass or other transparent plate in flexible or
pliant fabrics or materials, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
described.
Second, the manufacture of umbrellas provided with windows made of glass
or other transparent plate, substantially as herein-before described and shown
by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of November,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)