IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF FELT
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Vero, of Atherstone, in the County of
Warwick, Hat Manufacturer, and James Everitt, of Atherstone, afore-
said, Hat Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF HATS AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD, A PART OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF FELT."
Sealed the 7th January 1859, and dated the 1st November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Vero and James
Everitt at the Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with their Petition,
on the 1st November 1858.
We, CHARLES VERO, of Atherstone, in the County of Warwick, Hat
Manufacturer, and JAMES EVERITT, of Atherstone, aforesaid, Hat Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS.
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD, A PART OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF FELT," to be
as follows:-
Our Invention relates to the manufacture of hats, and such other coverings
for the head as are or may be made after the manner of making hats.
Our said Invention consists, firstly, in the following method of making hats
and other head coverings, that is to say, we pass the sliver of wool as it comes
from the carding machine on to a roller of somewhat larger diameter. and two
or three times as long as the hat body to be made. The said sliver is coiled, in
[Price 8d.1

page_text: the form of a hollow cylinder or tube upon the roller. The said roller has a
motion of rotation on its axis, and a sliding reciprocating motion in the line of
its axis. The former motion is given to it by a second roller, on which the
first rests; the latter motion is communicated by a cam or otherwise from the
bottom roller, or the driving power. We heat the second or bottom roller
with steam or otherwise. The sliver of wool as it passes between the rollers
is partially felted. the fibres being matted or interlaced by the pressure, and
the compound. motion of the upper roller and the heat of the lower roller.
The wool may be used in a damp state. When the requisitc amount of wool
has run on the top roller. the said roller is lifted from its position, and the
tube of matted wool slipped off. The cylinder is divided into two or more
lengths, if necessary, and we then crop the separate portions into bats, after
which they are basined into hais in the ordinary way; or we draw the cylinder
of wool, or cones or blocks heated or cold, and harden the hat out. The hat
is then rendy for planking in the usual manner. In making hats where stuff
or fur is used we place the basined or partially basined felt body on a perforated
cone and exhaust the air underneath, as is well understood, and blow on the
required quantity of fur. We then partially basin it or not, as required, and
turn the body inside out, place it on a cone with a metal cap, and blow on the
fur for the under side of the ring; or we place in the cone a flat piece of metal
or wood, so as to prevent the fur blowing on what is to be the inside of the hat
where it is not required.
Our Invention consists, further, in the application of a flexible waterproofing
composition or material to the interior of hats made of palm leaf, chip, straw,
or other similar plaited materials. The coating of the interior of the said hats
with the said flexible waterproofing material not only makes them waterfroof,
but preserves their shape, by cementing the plaited fibres together, and pre-
venting them sliding over one another. The materials or compositions which
we prefer to employ in carrying this part of our Invention into effect are
india-rubber and gutta percha, and mixtures composed mainly of these
substances.
Our Invention consists, further, in the manufacture of the brims of hats and
pokes or peaks of head coverings in general by cementing together alternate
layers of cork and linen or other textile fabric. The cement we employ
consists essentially of india-rubber and gutta percha. This part of our Inven-
tion is applicable to hats and head coverings made of felt, straw, or other
materials.
Our Invention consists, further, in covering palm leaf, chip, or straw hats
with a cover of felt whether the said cover of felt be stuck to the hat or not.

page_text: Although for convenience of description, we have principally described our
Invention with reference to hats, yet we wish it to be understood that our
Invention is applicable to all such head coverings as resemble hats or are made
after the manner of making hats.
That part of our Invention herein first described may be applied to the manu-
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Vero and James Everitt in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
VERO, of Atherstone, in the County of Warwick, Hat Manufacturer, and JAMES
EVERITT, of Atherstone, aforesaid, Hat Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
ns. the said Charles Vero and James Everitt, Her special licence that. we,
the said Charles Vero and James, our executors. administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Everitt, our executors, administrators, and
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
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS AND OTHER COVERINGS
FOR THE BLAD, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE
MANUFACTURE OF FELT," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Charles Vero and James Everitt, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 we, the said Charles Vero and James Everitt.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
Our Invention relates to the manufacture of hats, and such other coverings
for the head as are or may be made after the manner of making hats.
Our Invention consists, firstly, of the following method of making hats and
other head coverings. The machinery employed for carrying this part of our
Invention into effect is represented in the accompanying Drawing: Figure 1
being a side elevation, Figure 2 an end elevation, and Figure 3 a plan;
Figure 4 represents a side elevation taken from the side opposite to that
represented in Figure 1.
That part of the machinery supported upon the framing a consists of an
ordinary carding machine, the construction and action of which is well under-
stood, and we, therefore, do not think it necessary to describe the said carding
machine.
, as it
is of a
The said
We pass the sliver of wool. or mixture of wool and fur marked
comes from the carding machine on to a roller c, which said roller
diameter somewhat larger than that of the hat. body to be made.
roller we prefer to make two or three times as long as the hat body to be
made. The said sliver of wool bis coiled in the form of a hollow cylinder or
tube upon the roller c. The motion of the said roller c is effected by the roller d,
upon which the said roller rests by its own weight. Motion is communicated
to the roller d from the carding machine, by means of the bevil gearing c. shaft/.
and bevil gearing g. One of the bevil wheels g is fixed on the axis h, and the
rolatory motion of the said axis is transmitted by the hand i to the axis of
the roller d. In addition to the rotatory motion of the rollers c and d the said
rollers have a sliding reciprocatory motion in the line of their axes, which said
motion is effected in the following manner
is a lever turning upon a joint
. engages in the groove in the
said lever . engages between
at ; a pin on the lower end of the said lever
box cam m, and a pin on the upper end of the
the flanges of the pulley.n on the axis of the roller d. The box cam m is fixed
on the axis h. and by the rotation of the said axis the lever k is made to turn
upon its centre 1, and communicate a reciprocating sliding motion to the
roller d. Flanges. as represented on the ends of the roller d. transmit the
reciprocating sliding motion to the roller c. The, roller d may be heated by
steam or otherwise. We prefer the use of steam, which we introduce into the
interior of the roller d through its axis, which is hollow.. The end of the
hollow axis of the roller d enters the end of the steam pipe o, and perforins
both a rotatory and a reciprocating motion in the said pipe.
The sliver of wool b as it passes between the rollers c and d is partly felted,

page_text: the fibres being matted or interlaced by the pressure of the upper roller upon
the lower one, the felting being promoted by the compound motion of the
rollers and the heat of the lower roller. We sometimes damp the wool by
which the felting is further promoted. When the requisite amount of wool has
run on the roller c, the said roller is lifted from the machine, and the tube of
matted wool slipped off. The said tube or cylinder is divided into two or
more lengths, if necessary, and we then crop the separate portions into bats,
after which we basin the hats in the ordinary manner; or we draw the cylinder
of wool on cones or blocks, either heated or cold, and harden the hat out. The
hat is then ready for planking in the usual manner.
'
In making hats where stuff or fur is used we place the basined or partially
basined felt body on a perforated cone, and exhaust the air underneath, as is
well understood, and blow on the required quantity of fur; we then partially
basin it or not, as required, and turn the body inside out, place it on a cone
with a metal cap, and blow on the fur for the under side of the rim or we
place in the cone a flat piece of meial or wood, so as to prevent the fur blowing
on what is to be the inside of the hat where the said fur is not required.
The machinery herein-before described, and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing may be applied to the manufacture of felt.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in the application of a flexible water-
proofing composition or material to the interior or exterior, or both, of hats and
other head coverings made of palm leaf, chip, straw, or other similar plaited
materials. The coating of the interior of the said hats and head coverings with
the said flexible waterproofing material not only makes them waterproof, but
preserves their shape, by cementing the plaited fibres together, and preventing
them sliding over one another. The materials or compositions which we
prefer to employ in carrying this part of our Invention into effect are solutions
of india-rubber and gutta percha, and mixtures composed mainly of these
substances in solution.
Our Invention consists, thirdly, in the manufacture of the brims of hats
and pokes or peaks of head coverings made of felt, straw, or other
materials, by cementing together altermite layers of cork alternating with
layers of felt, chip, or plaited vegetable fibre or textile fabrics; or we make
the said brims, peaks, or pokes of layers of fell, or layers of chip, or layers of
plaited vegetable fibre or textile fabrics cemented together. We cement
together the layers, whether of different or of the same material, with a flexible
waterproof cement. We also apply brims of felt either covered or not on their
top side with silk to hats and head coverings, the crowns of which are made of
gossamer, covered with silk. We prefer to attach the said felt brims to the crown

page_text: by stitching and by the use of a flexible adhesive waterproofing composition.
We also cover with felt. helmets and such other head coverings as are made of
leather, the said covering of felt being attached to the leather, by preference,
by means of a flexible adhesive waterproofing composition. We apply the felt
in successive layers, the first or under layers being of coarse felt, and the
upper or outer layers being of fine felt. We sometimes cover the coarse felt
with woven fabric instead of fine felt. The said covering and composition
prevent the leather being injured by rain, besides giving strength to the head
covering. The said felt also acting as a non-conductor of heat, prevents the
heating of the head of the wearer. We also cover head coverings, the bodies
or crowns of which are made of wool, with a covering of fine felt or woven
fabric applied by means of a flexible cement. The adhesive composition we
prefer to employ in carrying this part of our Invention into effect, consists of
solutions of india-rubber and gutta percha, or other mixtures consisting essen-
tially of these ingredients.
Our Invention consists, fourthly, in covering palm leaf, ship, or straw hats
or other head coverings with a cover of felt or woven fabric, whether the said
covering be made to adhere to the hat over its whole surface, or otherwise.
Although, for convenience of description, we have principally described our
Invention with reference to hats, yet we wish it to be understood that our
Invention is applicable to all such head coverings as resemble hats, or are
made after the manner of making hats.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of our Invention; but we
claim as our invention,―
Firstly, the improvement in the manufacture of hats and other head cover-
ings, herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 1. 2, 3, and 4, of the
accompanying Drawing, and the application of the machinery represented in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the manufacture of felt.
Secondly, applying a flexible waterproofing composition or material to
the interior or exterior, or both interior and exterior of hats and other
coverings for the head, made of palm leaf, chip, straw, or other similar plaited
materials.
Thirdly, making the brims of hats and pokes or peaks of head coverings in
general by cementing together alternate layers of cork and linen, or layers of
plaited, felted, or textile fabric. whether the said layers alternate with each
other or are used separately.

page_text: Fourthly, applying brims of felt, or felt covered on its upper side with silk
to the crowns of hats made of gossamer covered with silk.
Fifthly, covering helmets and other head coverings made of leather with a
covering of felt or woven fabric, attached by a flexible waterproofing or other
adhesive material.
Sixthly, covering hats and other head coverings, the bodies or crowns of
which are made of wool, with a covering of fine felt or woven fabric applied
by means of a flexible cement.
Seventhly, covering palm leaf, chip. or straw head coverings, or head cover-
ings made of plaited materials, with a cover of felt. or woven fabric, whether
the said cover of felt or fabric be made to adhere to the head covering over its
whole surface, or otherwise.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Vero, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
CHARLES VERO.
(U.S.)