AN IMPROVED MECHANICAL HAIR BRUSH
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Neat, of the Town and County of the
Town of Southampton, Cabinet Maker, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MECHANICAL HAIR BRUSH."
Sealed the 26th May 1865, and dated the 1st December 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Neat, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1864.
I, JOSEPH NEAT, of the Town and County of the Town of Southampton,
Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MECHANICAL HAIR BRUSH," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is the production of an elastic and expanding
brush, capable of brushing freely ladies' long back hair, the mechanical brushes
hitherto in use being adapted only for the purpose of brushing the hair of men
or comparatively short hair.
I fix a pair of standards to the floor of a room and under the front standard
I fit a treadle, by which I give motion to the brush (but I may use bydraulic
or other power for this purpose,) the top of this front standard may be made
as a toilet table with lid, which when raised, presents an incline for supporting
the long hair, the rail of the chair on which the lady sits and against which her
head reclines, meeting the upper edge of said lid. On the other or back

page_text: standard is a cylinder or drum over which passes the brush, which is made on
an endless band of india-rubber or other suitable elastic material. Again,
within this band is placed another and smaller cylinder or drum (which I will
term the operating drum) fitted with two handles, forming part of the spindle
on which it revolves, and with guide pieces to prevent the brush leaving its
outer periphery. To one of these guides are attached (at both its extremities)
two india-rubber or other elastic springs, which centre and gear with two
other springs of similar material, the one being fitted to one end of a metal
rod, the other end of which is attached to the ceiling of the room, and the
other spring to one end of a second metal rod, the other end of which is
attached to the wall, both rods being placed in the position the most convenient
for the operator.
The operation is as follows:-The lady being seated, the hairdresser draws
back her hair and places it over the inclined plane, he then grasps the
operating drum and placing his foot upon the treadle (or by other power) sets
in motion the drum on the back standard, and by its friction the endless brush
is made to revolve. The brush being on an elastic foundation the hairdresser
can lengthen it several inches if the lady be somewhat taller than usual, and
this elasticity of the brush combined with that of the india-rubber springs on
the rods above-mentioned will permit him to incline this endless band brush
so as to pass it over either side of the head without difficulty, and the length
of the brush band and that of the inclined plane exceeding that of the lady's
hair, every part of the back hair will be operated upon by the brush at one
and the same time. A guide piece near the drum on the back standard
carries a comb, by which the brush is constantly cleansed as it revolves. The
smaller or operating cylinder or drum may be fixed by its handles, so that the
brush may continue to revolve and brush the back hair, while the hairdresser
is engaged elsewhere.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Neat, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
81st May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
NEAT, of the Town and County of the Town of Southampton, Cabinet Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year of our Lord

page_text: time
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,.
the said Joseph Neat, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Neat, my:
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
Neat, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any 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 Invention for "AN IMPROVED MECHANICAL
HAIR BRUSH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph
Neat, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, 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 I, the said Joseph Neat, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawing, on
which Figure 1 represents my improved brush, working by itself and Figure 2,
the same guided by the hairdresser, Figure 3 shewing different arrangement
of driving gear to that shewn Figures 1 and 2, similar parts being indicated by
similar letters in each of the Figures respectively.
The object of my Invention is the production of an elastic and expanding
brush, capable of brushing freely a lady's hair, the mechanical brushes hitherto
used being adapted only for the purpose of brushing mens' or comparatively
short hair.
At Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed Drawing a indicates a standard
fixed to the floor of a room and carrying a driving wheel 6, worked either by a
handle c, or band d; hand, hydraulic, or any other available power being used.
The driving-wheel 6, by means of a toothed wheel e, and pinion f, sets in
motion the grooved cylinder, drum, or pulley 9, carried on a shaft or spindle,
supported by the standard a, as shewn; on the cylinder or drum 9 I place the
endless band brush h, the band or foundation carrying the bristles being in.
preference of vulcanized india-rubber, but any suitable elastic material may be
used; within this brush band I introduce the pulley or operating drum i,
which revolves freely round a fixed spindle, terminating at each end in a handle

page_text: k, this spindle further carries guide pieces 1, 11, 111, which prevent the brush
band leaving the outer periphery of the operating drum i. To the guide piece
7 are attached two springs or cords, m, m¹ made of india-rubber or other
suitable elastic material, these springs meeting at the point n, and being
attached to two other springs of similar nature o, o¹, the spring o being
fastened to a metal rod p extending forward and fixed to the ceiling of the
room, and the spring o¹ to a metal rod, p¹ extending backward, and also
fastened to the ceiling or wall; g is an inclined plane, upon which the lady's
hair is spread; r upright supporting same; s, standard, assisting in retaining
the brush h in its proper position, and t is a loop (there is one on each side)
by which the operating drum may be fixed in position to brush the hair while
the hairdresser is occupied elsewhere.
.
At Figure 3 it will be observed that I have adapted a different driving gear
to that shewn Figures 1 and 2. The driving gear here shewn permits me to
dispense with the cog wheels e and f, (Figures 1 and 2,) and thus cause my
brush to rotate without any unpleasant noise. The standard a is here lengthened
and carries near its top the fly wheel b, which carries a driving pulley c, the
band from which passes to another pulley d, on the same axle as the cylinder
or drum g, thus the movement given by hand or otherwise to the fly wheel is
communicated to the drum carrying the brush without the intervention of any
toothed gearing. To steady the standard or guide s I have found it desirable
to secure it on the standard a; u indicates combs, placed in a box beneath the
drum for the purpose of cleansing the brush as it revolves, and if desired,
sponges may also be placed in the same box to assist in the cleansing; or this
operation may be effected by combs and sponges placed in any other
convenient position.
The method of operating is as follows:-The lady being seated.in a chair,
and the upper edge of the hand rail of the chair or the cushion against which
her head reclines being brought against the upper edge of the inclined plane q
(either by raising or lowering the said rail or pad, or by raising or lowering the
inclined plane,) the hairdresser draws back her hair, spreading it over the
said inclined plane q, as at Figures 1 and 2, and by means of the driving gear
sets the grooved pulley or drum g, and consequently the endless band brush h
in motion. He then grasps the handles and by means of the operating
lady's hair, (see Figure 2,) the
drum i brings the endless brush against the
arrangement of the springs, m, m', o, o¹, and rods p, p, in combination with
the elasticity of the band brush itself, permitting him to pass the brush with-
out the slightest difficulty on one side or the other, and over every part of the

page_text: lady's head, and the length of the brush much exceeding that of any lady's back
hair, every part of this hair will be operated upon by the brush at one time.
While the hairdresser is completing the dressing of one lady's hair he may fix
the operating drum i by means of the loops t (as at Figure 1) so that the
brush may continue to operate upon another lady's back hair, until he is pre-
pared to complete the dressing, the inclined plane q may be formed by raising
the lid of a sort of toilet table, placed behind the chair in which the lady is
seated; further, the supports of this table may be made sufficiently strong to
carry a treadle and pulley, from which a driving band may pass to another
pulley on the shaft of the drum g, the whole being set in motion by the foot of
the hairdresser; or again, and especially in private families, where any other
than manual power would prove an inconvenience, a treadle may be placed so
as to come beneath the chair and under the lady's foot, so that she may her-
self set and keep the endless band brush in motion, and thus brush her hair
without assistance, the expanding power of the brush enabling her by passing
her hands over her shoulders to bring the operating drum i forward, and to pass
the brush over her front as well as her back hair. It will be evident that
men's or short hair may also be brushed by the same apparatus better than by
the cylindrical brushes now used, which, unless of very large and inconvenient
diameter cannot brush even a man's hair if slightly longer than usually worn
without curling it from time to time partly round the cylinder and subjecting
him to very unpleasant tugs.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and in what manner
I carry the same into practical effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the use of any particular motive-power, or to any special
gearing for communicating motion to my endless band brush, as many
mechanical devices may be employed for this purpose, and such gearing forms
but an accessary part of my Invention, and various modifications may also be
made in other accessary parts without any essential departure from those parts
which I declare to be of my Invention and of which I claim the exclusive use
when employed for the purposes of this Invention, such parts being-
Firstly, the endless elastic expanding band brush herein-before described
and indicated by the letter h on the accompanying Sheet of Drawing.
Secondly, the combination and arrangement of the springs m, m³, o, o³, rods
p, p', and operating drum i, by which, combined with the elasticity of the
endless band brush, the said brush may be passed over every part of the
head.
Thirdly, an inclined plane for supporting the hair during the operation.

page_text: The whole substantially as herein-before described and illustrated on the
accompanying Sheet of Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Neat, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOSEPH NEAT. (L.S.)