IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO LACING OR FASTENING APPARATUS FOR BOOTS, STAYS, GLOVES, AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Phillips Thompson, of the Firm of W. P.
Thompson and Co., Patent Agents, of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, and of 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO
LACING OR FASTENING APPARATUS FOR BOOTS, STAYS, GLOVES, AND OTHER
ARTICLES." A communication from abroad by Henry William Ducker, of the
City, County, and State of New York.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Phillips Thompson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd March 1880.
WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, of the Firm of W. P. Thompson and Co., Patent
Agents, of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
APPERTAINING TO LACING OR FASTENING APPARATUS FOR BOOTS, STAYS, GLOVES,
AND OTHER ARTICLES." A communication from abroad by Henry William Ducker,
of the City, County, and State of New York.
Heretofore gloves have been provided with buttons and button-holes wherewith
to fasten them around the wrist. This has been found unsatisfactory from the
fact that wrists differ considerably in size, some being much larger and some much
smaller than the usual guage of the glove, consequently the button-hole is torn in
Gloves
the former case, and the glove puckers and wrinkles in the latter case.
have also been provided with hooks for lacing purposes, which have been secured
to them by eyelets, which method is also objectionable, firstly, on account of the
heavy metallic appearance given to the wrist; secondly, on account of the curl of
the eyelet and the sharp saw like edge invariably given it, and caused by its being
expanded and pressed into position, which cuts the-glove-and-consequently causes
it to tear out easily with a slight strain; and thirdly, the eyelet has in most cases
a rough and cracked surface produced by the setting, which irritates the wrist and
arm of the wearer.
The object of my Invention is to provide a more perfect fastening for gloves
than heretofore, and which shall have at the same time a neater and more finished
appearance by using less metal in my peculiar construction, and in equalizing the
strain upon the material of the wrist and arm of the glove opening in such a

page_text: manner that the glove when laced will not pucker or wrinkle, neither will the
lacing attachment have any tendency to tilt, as in cases where the stud or eyeleted
hook is used, consequently the glove opening will be held smoothly and evenly
closed.
The nature of my Invention consists in the forming of a hook with two discs
out of a solid piece of metal either by turning or swaging, and in cutting and
shaping the lower disc in such a manner as to form a spiral or inclined lip for the
purpose of guiding the fastening through the puncture necessary to be made in
leather only when that material is used, but the great advantage in this method of
inserting these fastenings is that no hole is necessary when the glove is manu-
factured out of woven fabrics, consequently my device can be inserted in silk,
taffeta, Lisle thread, and other fabric gloves of light texture by simply displacing
without cutting the fibre, and thereby prevents all possibility of ravelling and
consequent tearing out of the fastening.
When the above mentioned fastening has been inserted in position the lip is
pressed flat together with its lower disc against the goods, thereby forming the
neatest possible connection to the glove; and furthermore, the hook being formed
eccentric to the fastening the line of tension between opposite hooks is direct, and
the strain of the lacing cord does not tend to tilt the same as it would with the
stud or eyeleted hook; and lastly, to enable the wearer to fasten and unfasten the
glove with greater facility than other methods now in use, the lacing cord is made
endless, and is affixed to the upper and lower hooks, so that it will not drop from
the glove when it is unlaced, and when laced no tying is necessary.
I do not limit myself to the application of the above described fastening to
gloves solely, as the same can also be used for boot fastenings, corset lacing, and
other analogous purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent fled by
the said William Phillips Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd September 1880.
WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, of the Firm of W. P. Thompson and Co., Patent
Agents, of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and of 323, High
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer..
APPERTAINING TO LACING OR FASTENING APPARATUS FOR BOOTS, STAYS, GLOVES,
AND OTHER ARTICLES." A communication from abroad by Henry William Ducker,
of the City, County, and State of New York.
Fig. 1 represents a glove laced with an ordinary two end lace; Fig. 2. same
unlaced; Fig. 3, side view of lacing hook enlarged; Fig. 4, plan of same;. Fig. 5,
side view of hook closed; Fig. 6, modification of lacing, where one end. only of the
lacing is laced up; Fig. 7, form of open hook used with. same, and the best form
known to me for most purposes. Similar letters relate to corresponding parts in
each Figure.
Gloves
Heretofore gloves have been provided with buttons and button-holes wherewith
to fasten them around the wrist. This has been found unsatisfactory from the
fact that wrists differ considerably in size, some being much larger and some much
smaller than the usual guage of the glove, consequently the button-hole is torn in
the former case, and the glove puckers and wrinkles in the latter case.
have also been provided with hooks for lacing purposes, which have been secured
to them by eyelets, which method is also objectionable, firstly, on account of the
heavy metallic appearance given to the wrist; secondly, on account. of the curl' of
the eyelet and the sharp saw-like edge invariably given it, and caused by its being
expanded and pressed into position, which cuts the glove and consequently causes
it to tear out easily with a slight strain; and thirdly, the eyelet has in most cases
a rough and cracked surface produced by the setting, which irritates the wrist and
arm of the wearer.
The object of my Invention is to provide a more perfect fastening for gloves
than heretofore, and which shall have at the same time a neater and more finished
appearance by using less metal in my peculiar construction, and in equalising the
strain upon the material of the wrist and arm of the glove opening in such.a
manner that the glove when laced will not pucker or wrinkle, neither will the
lacing attachment have any tendency to tilt, as in cases where the stud or eyeleted
hook is used, consequently the glove opening will be held smoothly and evenly
closed.
I form a hook with two discs out of a solid. piece of metal either by turning or
swaging, and cut and shape the lower disc in such a manner as to form a spiral or
inclined lip for the purpose of guiding the fastening through the puncture necessary
to be made in leather only when that material is used, but the great advantage in
this method of inserting these fastenings is that no hole is necessary when. the
glove is manufactured out of woven fabrics, consequently my device can be inserted
in 'silk,' 'taffeta,' 'Lisle thread, and other fabric gloves of light texture by simply
displacing without cutting the fibre, and thereby prevents all danger of ravelling
and subsequent tearing out of the fastening..
When the above mentioned fastening has been inserted in position the lip is
pressed flat together with the lower disc against the goods, thereby forming the
neatest possible connection to the glove; and furthermore, the hook being formed
eccentric to the fastening the line of tension between opposite hooks is direct, and
the strain of the lacing cord does not tend to tilt the same as it would with the
stud or eyeleted hook; and lastly, to enable the wearer to fasten and unfasten

page_text: the glove with greater facility than other methods now in use, the lacing cord
is made endless, and is affixed to the upper and lower hooks, so that it will
not drop from the glove when unlaced, and when laced no tying is necessary.
In Figs. 1 and 2 the glove is represented with a line of five hooks (more or
less) set equi-distant on each side of the wrist opening, the hooks being equally
spaced and set directly opposite each other, so as to allow the strain on the glove
to be equal throughout and around the wrist on the line with each pair of
hooks.
A represents the hook; B represents the neck of the hook, which is inclined
and eccentric to the upper disc C; D represents the shank or stem connecting the
upper and lower discs; E represents the lower disc, which has a slit extending
from its periphery on a line tangential to the stem D. This cut portion is bent
downward, so as to form an inclined or spiral lip F, which serves to guide the
fastening into position through the material, the smallest puncture possible being
necessary in such material as kid or lambskin, and when the above described
device is set in position the lower disc and its spiral portion are both compressed
tightly against the glove, which lies between the two discs. It will thus be seen
that this method of securing the material between two flat surfaces by pressure,
without destroying or cutting the fibre, enables a much stronger hold to be also
obtained on such delicate material as kid, lambskin, silk, taffeta, Lisle thread, and
other fabric gloves of light texture, upon which the stud or eyeleted fastening
cannot be made to hold successfully.
The lacing cord is made endless by knotting or splicing it, and is retained on
the glove by depressing the two upper and lower hooks, and so allowing the wrist
or arm of the glove to be inverted for the convenience of putting it on the hand.
The glove having been put on the wrist is drawn up and laced by drawing the
cord alternately from right to left and from left to right, and catching the same
over opposite hooks, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the strain being even
between each pair of books the glove does not pucker or wrinkle, and the crossing
of the cord between the spaces over the glove opening serves to hold the two edges
compactly in position, and so gives a neat and more finished appearance to the
glove.
I do not limit myself to the application of the above described fastening to
gloves solely, as the same can also be used for boot fastenings, corset lacing, and
other analogous purposes.
Fig. 6 shows a single end fastening I frequently prefer, especially for gloves. In
this the studs are placed diagonally on each side of the opening, one stud less on
the thumb side than the lower side, the lacing cord being knotted, so as to be held
firmly by the lower hook when depressed, and in lacing I simply pass the cord
round each stud from left to right; it will be firmly held by the neck of the last
hook by a knot or metal tip G placed there for the purpose. The tip or cap G is
held by the lacing being knotted in its interior. The peculiar formation of the
back of the hook, shown best in Fig. 7, holds the cord firmly when it is knotted at
the end and at its full tension. As the elasticity of the glove diminishes and its
size increases by wear the cord can be shortened to the fit by knotting a little
higher up, cutting the old knot off, and the cord can be held firmly by depressing
the lower hook a little.
One great point in making my hook is to cut out the neck at its base sufficiently
to incline it towards the periphery; the lace then hugs the lower part of the neck,
and has a tendency to give a parallel pull. Another point to be specially looked
after is to cut it away sufficiently from the centre of the stud to admit the steel
clamps used in clenching the spiral plate all round, so that the plate may be closely
gripped in front and rear, whereas if the neck were in the way of the clamp
entering beyond the centre the uniform tight clenching of the spiral plate would
be almost impossible.
Having now described the Invention in all its details, as communicated to me

page_text: by Mr. Ducker, I wish it to be understood that what I believe to be new and
desire to protect under the herein before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The manufacture of lacing or fastening apparatus for boots, stays, gloves,
and other articles with the hooks, studs, or other fastenings bent over, so as to
form loops or rings on one side the opening to be laced, but those on the other side
open, in combination with the string or lacing arranged so as not to require tying,
substantially as set forth and shown.
Second. The manufacture of studs or fastening apparatus for lacing, consisting
of head (A), eccentric neck (B), preferably sloping toward the periphery, as shown,
disc (C), shank (D), and "spiral" plate (E), so arranged that steel clamps can be
inserted between (A) and (C) sufficiently to easily clench the "spiral" plate (E)
against the material between it and plate (C) with a uniform or nearly uniform
pressure all round, all manufactured and preferably constructed of a single piece of
metal, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Phillips Thompson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
W. P. THOMPSON. (L.S.)