NEW CONSTRUCTED FASTENINGS FOR SHOE BUCKLES, KNEE BUCKLES, STOCK BUCKLES, AND ALL OTHER KIND OF BUCKLES WHATSOEVER, WHICH ARE SO CONSTRUCTED AS TO RENDER THEM STRONGER, CHEAPER, AND OF MORE UTILITY THAN ANY OTHER BUCKLES OR FASTENINGS YET INVENTED
Year: 1783

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STEDMAN, of Princes Street, in the Parish of Saint Ann's, Soho, in the County
of Middlesex, Buckle Maker, send grecting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of December, in the twenty-fourth year of
His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said John Stedman, my exors,
adñiors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and.
authority, that I, the said John Stedman, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, and
every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their deputy and
deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said John Stedman,
my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within that part of His Kingdom of Great Britain called England,
His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"NEW CONSTRUCTED FASTENINGS FOR SHOE BUCKLES, KNEE BUCKLES, STOCK
BUCKLES, AND ALL OTHER KIND OF BUCKLES WHATSOEVER, WHICH ARE SO CONSTRUCTED
AS TO RENDER THEM STRONGER, CHEAPER, AND OF MORE UTILITY THAN ANY OTHER
BUCKLES OR FASTENINGS YET INVENTED," as to me, the said John Stedman, my

page_text: exors, adiñors, or assigns, or any of them, should in their discretion seem
meet, and that I, the said John Stedman, should and lawfully might
have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage, from
time to time coming, growing, and arising by reason of the said Invention,
for and during the term of years therein mentioned, to have and to hold,
exercise and enjoy the said licence, powers, privileges, and advantages therein-
before granted unto me, the said John Stedman, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
for and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years from the date
of the said Letters Patent next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be
compleat and ended, according to the Statute in such case made and provided;
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a provisoe obliging me, the
said John Stedman, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
to cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within four calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by the same, relation
being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said provisoe, I, the said
Jolin Stedman, do hereby declare that my said Invention of New Constructed
Fastenings for Shoe Buckles, Knee Buckles, Stock Buckles, and all other
kind of Buckles whatsoever, is particularly described, and the manner of using
and applying the same, is as follows, videlicet:-
In my shoe buckle fastening for the patent shoe without straps, there is a
bar or plate, of cast or of wrought iron, steel, or brass, or any kind of metal.
This bar or plate crosses the buckle in or near the centre, and is either
screwed, rivitted, or duftailed; in the bridges, near the end of this plate nearest
the instep, either rivetted, braised, or cast with tho plate itself, a piece of iron,
steel, or any kind of metal) obliquely towards the instep, and then extended
and bent conformable to the foot in two arms lengthways of the buckle; from
those arms there are spikes pointing towards the instep; near the end of the
bar or plate, nearest the toe is an arm bent resembling the form of a hook,
and crosses the bar or plate on the under side. From this arm there are
spikes that point towards the toe. To buckle this buckle, the spikes in the
arm nearest the instep must be fixed in the ridge of the shoe, and then the
strap that is fixed on the wire that crosses the shoe must be slid in the arin
nearest the toe, hitched in the spikes and turned under the buckle. To cover
the bar or plate that crosses the buckle, and to resemble a strap, there is a
piece of leather fastened to the end of the buckle by nobs, to prevent it
coming out. A shoe can be buckled in the same manner, either by fixing spikes

page_text: in the bridges of the buckle in the direction as aforesaid, or by an under plate
fixed to the upper plate, with spikes at each end in the direction aforesaid.
My knee buckle has a spike or spikes, cast, soldered, rivitted, screwed, of any
metal, near the outside of the buckle on the chape side, pointing from the
buckle, or hooks on the tong side pointing to the chape side. The chape in
buckles covered over (as rosetes) is made in a half circle or half square, and
is fastened either by a he or she joint, or by a screw or piece of wire. In
buckling, the garter of the breeches passes through the half circle chape, and
is hitched in the spikes or hooks aforesaid. A double chape may be used. In
common buckles they may be made as aforesaid, or instead of spikes or hooks
in the buckles there is a common shoe buckle chape made on the tong side,
with the addition of my half circular chapes on the chape side, which are
fastened by a piece of wire, not crossing the centre of the buckle, but just
through the bridges and the ends of the chapes, and rivitted.
My stock buckle, bridle buckles, coach harness buckles, and other buckles,
are made the same as the knee buckles.
My fastening to prevent the strap from coming out in common buckles, and to
keep the vamp of the shoe from sliding under the buckle:-There is one or more
spikes made in the bridges of the buckles nearest the instep, or a piece of iron,
steel, or any kind of metal made with spikes, and fixed either to the chape or
to the wire that fastens the chape in the buckle or to the bridge of the buckle,
with the spikes pointing towards the instep. These spikes are to be hitched in
a ridge made on the upper part of the vamp of the shoe. To keep the strap from
coming out, there is a piece of wire beat flat, or narrow plate of any kind of
metal, fastened to the bridges of the buckle on the chape side, the form of the
ring of the buckle, projecting about the eighth part of an inch beyond the rim
on the chape side. To fasten the strap it must pass between the rims and
this wire, and then turned round the wire under the buckle.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stedman, have hereunto set his
respective hand and scal, this Sixteenth day of April, in the twenty-
fourth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third,
by the grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland,
Defender of the Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and eighty-four.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of April, in
the year of our Lord 1784, the aforesaid John Stedman came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according to the
tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of April, in
the year of our Lord 1784, the aforesaid John Stedman came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according to the
tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and eighty-four.
Inrolled the Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand seven hundred and eighty-four.