IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BONNETS AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Delia Avery, of Essex Street, London, for the
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BONNETS AND OTHER
COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Delia Avery at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd June 1856.
I, DELIA AVERY, of Essex Street, London, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BONNETS
AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD," to be as follows, and consists in dispensing
with the wire shape or other stiff' foundation hitherto made use of in the con-
struction of drawn and other bonnets, and thus rendering bonnets & other
such coverings for the head capable of being folded into small compass without
injury; also in the use of crape, areophane, or such like substance having a
rough surface, as a "bonnet protector," that is, to prevent the bonnet, &c.
being soiled by the hair; also, in securing a nice fit by the use of clastic bands
where the bonnet binds around the head, or in any part where such a pro-
vision may be necessary; also, in the use of certain rolls, cords, or other
suitable device to give an elastic character to the bonnets, &c., so that they
shall readily regain their shape & form after having been folded or crushed.
Hats of a novel and useful kind may also be constructe. on the same
principle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Delia Avery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DELIA
AVERY, of Essex Street, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand cight hundred and fifty-six, in the niueteenth year of Iler reign, did,
for Herself, Пer heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Delia
Avery, Ier special licence that I, the said Delia Avery, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Delia Avery, my 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 ex-
pressed, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BONNETS AND
OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE HEAD," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Delia Avery, 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 sanie 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 Delia Avery, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
that is to say-
This Invention consists in dispensing with the ordinary stiff wiry shape
employed in the construction of "drawn" and other such bonnets, and thus
rendering such bonnets and other such coverings for the head easy and flexible,
and capable of being compressed without material injury either to the shape or
substance. In carrying out this portion of my Invention I employ rolls, cords,
or other suitable device, as hereafter described, to give an elastic property to
such coverings for the head, combined with such a degree of firmness as
to keep the whole in shape; and, by preference, I make the rolls or cords of
some soft fibrous flexible substance, such as cotton, wool, wadding, hair, hemp,
or the like, encased in a woven material having some degree of elasticity, such
as muslin, for example; or covered with silk, metal, or other suitable material,

page_text: thus producing a cord or roll having the required qualities to a more efficient
extent than would be the case if those materials were not combined; but the
said materials may be used without combination; for example, the muslin or
other woven material may be rolled or twisted, and thus formed into an elastic
and flexible cord by itself, and thus be employed in the construction of such
coverings for the head, producing a soft, easy, and particularly comfortable
bonnet, possessing all the grace and elegance attainable by the ordinary bonnet
without the stiffness and rigidity of the latter, and much less liable to get out
of shape, as all the materials of which it is composed are flexible and clastic.
The usual ornamental materials can thus be employed with great effect. The
cords or rolls of flexible and elastic materials may either be incorporated with
the materials of which the bonnet is composed or they may be formed sepa-
rately, and then be covered in the same manner as in using the ordinary
shape or foundation.
To ensure a nice fit, I employ elastic bands or webs where the bonnet binds
around the head, or in such parts as may be found convenient and necessary
for the purpose; thus, as strings or ties, I use a piece of clastic webbing or
other suitable clastic substance, to each end of which a sufficient length of
riband is attached, the strings are then cased in a strip of silk or muslin in
such manner that the elastic shall be free to act and bind on the head when
the bonnet is tied on, the casing containing the elastic strings being attached
to the inside of the bonnet. This method I have found most efficient and
practicable. A piece of elastic webbing or other suitable elastic material may
be arranged to allow the bonnet to expand or contract at the back of the head,
so that a certain size of bonnet may fit various sizes of heads, a point of
considerable importance to dealers in ready-made bonnets.
Ilats of a light, convenient, and handsome kind, may be made on the system
herein described, and with the usual ornaments and appendages.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which it may be carried into effect, I claim the application of the system
herein described for making bonnets and other such coverings for the head.
In witness whereof, I, the said Delia Avery, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
וחתנת
זומז---
DELIA AVERY. (..)