IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK HATS (CYLINDERS OR OTHER COVERED HATS) AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frank Wirth, of the Firm of Wirth & Co., Patent Agency,
of Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the Empire of Germany, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK HATS (CYLINDERS OR OTHER
COVERED HATS) AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR." A. communication from
Charles Bortfeldt, residing at Bremen, in the Empire of Germany.
Scaled the 5th January 1877, and dated the 13th July 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frank Wirth at the Office
of the Cominissioners of Patents on the 13th July 1876.
FRANK WIRTH, of the Firm of Wirth & Co., Patent Agency, of Frankfort-on-the-
Main, in the Empire of Germany. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK
HATS (CYLINDERS OR OTHER COVERED HATS) AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
communication.
A
The present Invention gives to a silk hat (cylinder or other covered hat) the
property of adjusting itself to the head as pliantly as a soft felt hat without
detracting from its elegance, lightness, and durability.
This result is attained by a body of felt, which though felted in one piece presents
in the brim the firm and clastic structure of a well wrought soft felt hat, but is
at the same time light and porous in the crown, and which being coloured with a
bright hue inside, and black on the underpart of the brim, requires (except the
leather) no lining whatever, either inside or on the brim. These qualities allow the
brim and the crown to be stiffened in such manner that one part remains free from
stiffening and therefore can adjust itself perfectly to the head without affecting
the shape of the hat.
Felt bodies have indeed been used for 40 years past for silt hats, but although the
brim is more massive, still they have the same structure in the brim as in the crown,
and in order to attain the necessary firmness they require a stiffening which makes
the covering of the brim and the lining of the crown absolutely indispensable.
The frequent complaints about the hardness of the silk hat as compared with the
soft or partially stiffened felt hat led to the following investigation, that is to say:-
If a method could be found by which two different colours could be given to a felt
without depriving it of its original elasticity, then all that would be wanting would be
to find a mode of felting the brim of a felt body firmly and closely, at the same time
leaving the crown thin and porous.

page_text: By the method of dyeing herein-after described I can dye the inside of a felt body
with any colour pleasing to the eye, green, red, brown, blue, or other colour, and
thereby save the lining and make the brim black, thereby saving the covering. It
This object I
only remains to impart to the brim the quality above mentioned.
attain by using for that part of the hat, that when felted forms the crown, fur which
has very little capability of felting, such as white rabbit, Swedish hare, or the like,
and on the other hand for that part which is intended for the brim such kinds as
have a very great capability of felting, as highly dressed German hare skins, and
Scotch wild rabbit.
In practising my Invention the proceedure comprises:-First. Blowing and felting.
Second. Dyeing. Third. Stiffening. Fourth. Dressing of the body and covering of
the same.
First. Blowing and Felting.-After what has been said above it is only necessary
to add that that part of the blowing which when the felting is completed forms the
edge of the tip must receive rather more fur, as the mode of strengthening hitherto
usual by stifl' shirting pasted on is inadmissible.
Second. Dyeing. Although in my process any of the dye stuffs hitherto in use,
except aniline soluble in spirit, may be employed, yet that which is essentially new
and peculiar in my process consists in my applying them in a very highly con-
centrated state, and in increasing their consistency by the addition of dextrine,
gum tragacanth, or the like, to such a degree that they can be laid on the felt with
a brush in the form of a thick paste cold, then easily impressed with a small roller,
and afterwards perfectly fixed in the steam bath. The colour is best applied to the
brim on a slowly rotating disc, and to the crown on a slowly rotating cylindrical form ;
the felts after being dried and put one into another, so that only the same colours
The colours
are in contact, are then placed for an hour or two in the steam bath.
It should be
are then fixed and the felts are cleansed by rinsing in running water.
observed that before the colour is applied to the felts they must be freed from any
acid arising from the felting, and that in the steam bath drops of water must be
guarded against.
Third. Stiffening.-The brim is stiffened in the manner usually pursued in
making felt hats, except that one part is left free. The crown turned inside out
and placed on a form is uniformly saturated with thin stiffening, and when half
dried is placed in the steam. It is better, however, to employ my apparatus, which
not only absorbs again the greater part of the spirit used for the solution of the
This apparatus has a
stiffening, but also keeps the inner side of the body cleaner.
cylinder of sheet iron or copper, which can be raised into a double walled be ll.
Both of these parts are heated by steam.
There are several cylinders of very thin metal which fit easily upon the first-
named cylinder. Upon one of these the body is drawn as above described, supplied
with a thin coating of stiffening (shellac and other guns dissolved in spirit) and
placed upon the first cylinder. The stiffened body is then in such a high temperature
that the spirit evaporates, passes into a condenser and drips into a receiver."
Fourth. Dressing of the Body and Covering of the same. The bodies heated by
steam are place on the form, the crown is ironed like that of an ordinary felt body;
the brim if it is intended to remain uncovered above and below is treated quite in
the same way as the brim of a waterproof stiffened felt hat; if the under part of
the brim only is to remain uncovered the upper part of the brim as well as the
crown is furnished with an insulating layer in order to prevent the absorption of
the glutinous matter, such as resin dissolved in spirit or turpentine oil, caoutchouc,
or the like. For this purpose gelatine and resin saponified with caustic ammonia
are generally used. I have employed a watery solution of albumen as an insulating
layer, applying it after beating it up to a froth; it thus forms a thin layer through
which the glutenous matter does not penetrate. When the hat is ironed the albumen
coagulates and becomes perfectly insoluble.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frank Wirth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th January
1877.
FRANK WIRTH, of the Firm of Wirth and Co., Patent Agency, of Frankfort-on-
the-Main, in the Empire of Germany. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SILK HATS (CYLINDERS OR OTHER COVERED HATS) AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
A communication from Charles Borfeldt, residing at Bremen, in the Empire of
Germany.
The present Invention gives to a silk hat (cylinder or other covered hat) the
property of adjusting itself to the head as pliantly as a soft felt hat without
detracting from its elegance, lightness, and durability.
This result is attained by a body of felt, which though felted in one piece pre-
sents in the brim the firm and elastic structure of a well wrought soft felt hat, but
is at the same time light and porous in the crown, and which being colored with a
bright hue inside and black on the under part of the brim requires (except the
leather) no lining whatever either inside or on the brim. These qualities allow the
brim and the crown to be stiffened in such manner that the part a, b, in Figure 1,
remains free from stiffening, and therefore can adjust itself perfectly to the head
without affecting the shape of the hat.
Felt bodies have indeed been used for 40 years past for silk hats, but although
the brim is more massive still they have the same structure in the brim as in the
crown, and in order to attain the necessary firmness they require a stiffening,
which makes the covering of the brim and the lining of the crown absolutely
indispensable.
The frequent complaints about the hardness of the silk hat as compared with the
soft or partially stiffened felt hat led to the following investigation, that is to say :-
If a method could be found by which two different colors could be given to a felt
without depriving it of its original elasticity, then all that would be wanting would
be to find a mode of felting the brim of a felt body firmly and closely, at the same
time leaving the crown thin and porous.
By the method of dyeing herein-after described I cau dye the inside of a felt
body with any color pleasing to the eye, green, red, brown, blue, or other color, and
thereby save the lining and make the brim black, thereby saving the covering. It
only remains to impart to the brim the quality above mentioned. This object I
attain by using for that part of the hat, which when felted forms the crown, fur
which has very little capability of felting, such as white rabbit, Swedish hare, or
the like, and on the other hand for that part which is intended for the brin, such
kinds as have a very great capability of felting, as highly dressed German hare skins
and Scotch wild rabbit.
In practising my Invention the procedure comprises:-I. Blowing and felting.
II. Dyeing. III. Stiffening. IV. Dressing of the body and covering of the same.
I. Blowing and Felting. After what has been said above it is only necessary to
add that that part of the blowing which when the felting is completed forms the
edge of the tip must receive rather more fur, as the mode of strengthening hitherto
usual by stiff shirting pasted on is inadmissable.
II. Dyeing. Although in my process any of the dye stuff's hitherto in use, except
aniline soluble in spirit, may be employed, yet that which is essentially new and
peculiar in my process consists in my applying them in a very highly concentrated
state, and in increasing their consistency by the addition of dextrine, gum tragacanth,
or the like, to such a degree that they can be laid on the felt with a brush in the
form of a thick paste cold, then easily impressed with a small roller, and afterwards
perfectly fixed in the steam bath. The color is best applied to the brim on a slowly
rotating disc; to the crown on a slowly rotating cylindrical form; the felts after
being dried and put one into another, so that only the same colors are in contact,
are then placed for an hour or two in the steam bath.
and the felts are cleansed by rinsing in running water.
The colors are then fixed
It should be observed that

page_text: before the color is applied to the felts they must be freed from any acid arising from
the felting, and that in the steam bath drops of water must be guarded against.
III. Stiffening.-The brim is stiffened in the manner usually pursued in making
felt hats, except that the part a, b, in Figure 1, is left free. The crown turned inside
out and placed on a form is uniformly saturated with thin stiffening, and when
half dried is placed in the steam. It is better, however, to employ my apparatus
shown in Figure 3, which not only absorbs the greater part of the spirit used for
the solution of the stiffening, but also keeps the inner side of the body clean. This
apparatus has a cylinder A of sheet iron or copper, which can be placed in the
double walled bell B. Both of these parts A and B are heated by steam which enters
at c and d.
There are several cylinders of very thin metal which fit easily upon the cylinder
A. Upon one of these the body is drawn, as above described, supplied with a thin
coating of stiffening (shellac and other gum dissolved in spirit) and placed upon the
cylinder A in the bell B, as shown in Figure 3. The stiffened body is then exposed
to such a high temperature that the spirit evaporates and passes through a pipe e
into the condenser F and drips into the receiver G.
Figure 2 shews the shape of the body before being brought to the shape at the
line a, b, that is to say, the part which is turned up for the brim of the hat, see
Figure 1.
IV. Dressing of the Body and Covering of the same. The bodies heated by steam
are placed on the form, the crown is ironed like that of an ordinary felt body; the
brim if it is intended to remain uncovered above and below is treated quite in the
same way as the brim of a waterproof stiffened felt hat; if the under part of
the brim only is to remain uncovered the upper part of the brim as well as the
crown is furnished with an insulating layer in order to prevent the absorption of
the glutinous matter, such as resin dissolved in spirit or turpentine oil, caoutchouc,
or the like. For this purpose gelatine and resin saponified with caustic ammoniac
are generally used. I employ a watery solution of albumen as an insulating layer
applying it after beating it up to a froth; it thus forms a thin layer through which
the glutinous matter does not penetrate. When the hat is ironed the albumen
coagulates and becomes perfectly insoluble.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim―
First. The selection and arrangement of the fur or hair in the manner above
described in blowing and felting by which the brim is rendered close, firm, and fine,
and the crown light and porous.
Second. The mode of dyeing felt hats and felt hat bodies, as above set forth, by
which not only the original strength and clasticity of the felt are preserved, but
which also admits of giving a hat different colors at the same time.
Third. The stiffening of the crown of the felt body in such manner that the inner
side of the latter remains clean, as above described.
Fourth. The use of albumen for the production of an insoluble yet very light
insulating layer on felt bodies.
Fifth. The employment of bodies thus prepared for silk hats and other covered
hats.
Sixth. The apparatus above described for stiffening felt bodies and felt hats.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frank Wirth, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Second day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
FRANK WIRTH. (L.S.)