Improvements in Waterproof Bonnets and Hats.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th July, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 19th Aug., 1887.
Improvements in Waterproof Bonnets and Hats.
I HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide, for ladies' and children's wear, water-proof
bonnets and hats made of and trimmed with materials externally impervious to
moisture, so that such head-coverings may be worn in stormy weather without
wetting through and without injury or discomfort to the wearer.
My invention consists in such bonnets and hats made, as to their external bodies
and the trimmings thereon, of gossamer india rubber fabrics in imitation of the
materials commonly employed in millinery work.
The manufacture of thin rubber-coated fabrics has now reached such a degree
of perfection in respect to lightness, colouring, ornamentation and finsih, as to enable
me to produce impervious bonnets that can scarcely be distinguished, at a short.
distance, from those made of silk or other expensive or dressy materials; and the
prevailing styles of trimming by loops of ribbon and other rich goods I am able to
closely imitate in impervious fabrics.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 represents a bonnet, and
Figure 2 a hat made in accordance with my invention.
A represents the body of the hat or bonnet, made of a thin gossamer fabric,
having, on its outer surface, a film of rubber rendering it water-proof, and finished
any desired colour or pattern.
in
B is the trimming, made of like material, of the same or different colour or pattern,
and, like the hat or bonnet, of such form as taste or fancy dictates. The ribbon-
loop style, shown in the drawing, is effective, readily made, and offers an opportunity
for the display of considerable taste. A ruffled edge or border C and strings D

page_text: By the word trimming I mean to include any form or style of ornamentation
made of gossamer rubber fabrics and applied externally to the bonnet or hat. The
loops B, ruffling C and strings D, shown in the drawing are illustrations.
These bonnets and hats will have the usual frames and foundation of buckram
with lining of lace, or be otherwise constructed internally as desired.
I am aware of the so-called tarpaulia or oiled cloth hats and of the heavy black
untrimmed rubber hats worn by fishermen and sailors, but these are foreign to my
invention. I am also aware of the common practice of wearing removable oiled-
silk coverings over ordinary bonnets, but these coverings, though impervious, form
no part of the bonnet, and do not embrace my improvement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
Ladies' and children's bonnets or hats made externally of and trimmed externally
with gossamer India rubber fabrics, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
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HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.