Heel Lifting for Boots and shoes
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 20th July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 19th Oct., 1888
DANIEL WILKINS FESSEY 1 Worship Street London E.C. Machinery Salesman
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Heel Lifting for Boots and shoes.
Leather is the substance principally used for making them.
or
To lessen the cost and retain the special advantages leather posesses for the purpose,
I cut strips of leather of any required width and by mechanical pressure and glue
other adhesive I form these strips into the required shapes and sizes of heel lifts,
leaving the centres open-or, they may be filled with less costly substances.
Dated this 20th day of October 1887.

page_text: I, DANIEL WILKINS FESSEY, of 1 Worship Street, London, Machinery Salesman,
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:
My invention relates to the manufacture of heel-lifts for boots and shoes.
It has been customary hitherto to make heel-lifts by cutting pieces of the required
shape out of leather. This is a costly method of cutting heel-lifts, as a considerable
quantity of leather is required in each lift and there is considerable waste in the
cutting of the leather.
The object of my invention is to lessen the cost of manufacture of heel-lifts for
boots and shoes and at the same time retain the special advantages afforded by leather
heel-lifts as heretofore made. For this purpose I make the lifts of curved strips of
leather of any desired width, with or without a central portion or filling of any
suitable composition or material of lower cost than leather.
In carrying my said invention into practice, I prefer to cut a straight strip of
leather of any suitable width and to form the said strip, by bending and by pressure,
into the required shape and size for a heel-lift, leaving the centre of the said heel-lift
open or filling it with a less costly material than leather. I sometimes apply glue or
other adhesive substance to retain the filling-piece in position within the curved strip
of leather.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown how my said invention can be con-
veniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a plan showing one form of my improved heel-lift.
Figure 2 is a section on the line a, a, Figure 1.
Figures 3 to 5 are views showing details of construction hereinafter described.
Figure 6 is a plan, and
Figure 7 a side elevation showing another form or modification of my heel-lift.
Figure 8 is a plan.
Figure 9 a side elevation, and,
Figure 10 a front elevation showing a further modification thereof.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
a (Figure 3) is a straight strip of leather, the edge al of which is cut to any
required bevel. This strip a is brought to a suitable shape for the heel-lift of a boot
or shoe (as shown in Figure 1) by bending and by pressure in a dic or otherwise.
bis a piece for filling in the space in the centre of the lift. The filling-piece b is
made of less costly material than the strip a. It is formed with a bevel edge b¹ to
correspond with the edge a¹ of the strip a and is secured to the said strip by means of
glue or other adhesive material, suitable pressure being applied if necessary to ensure
the adherence of the parts. Or if desired the parts are united by pressure without
the use of adhesive material. I sometimes subject the bevel edge 6 of the said
filling-piece to the action of a milling-tool as indicated at 63 before uniting the
two parts.

page_text: Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a modification of my said invention wherein the filling-
piece is provided with lateral extensions 63 which are suitably bevelled and are
caused to adhere to corresponding bevelled portions of the strip a.
Figures 8, 9 and 10 show a further modification in which a second filling-piece or
cross-piece c is employed, which may be of leather if preferred. The piece c is
provided with grooves or recesses c¹ and which fits into corresponding grooves or
recesses & in the strip a, so that the said piece c is flush with the piece a and a strong
joint is formed between them.
C
I sometimes combine, with the heel-lift above described, an ordinary heel-lift as
shown by dotted lines at d Figure 2. These two lifts are united by means of adhesive
material so as to form a duplex heel-lift.
It is obvious that I can further modify the construction of my improved heel-lift
without departing from the nature of my said invention. For instance I can dispense
with the grooves or recesses in the second filling piece c and I can bevel the
extremities of the said filling piece, and corresponding portions of the strip a.
over I sometimes unite the two ends of the curved strip of leather by means of a
straight strip or cross-piece of the same or other suitable material, leaving the
centre void.
More-
The said filling-pieces may be bevelled to fit the bevels on the inside of the leather
strips, or left plain on the edge and, in the process of manufacture, forced on to the
strips; a close-fitting joint where the filling-pieces and leather meet not being necessary
in all the various forms of lifts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it understood
that I claim :—
First. A heel-lift consisting of a curved strip of leather, with or without a cross-
piece of leather or other suitable material and with or without a central portion or
filling-piece of less costly material, substantially as described.
Second. The manufacture of a heel-lift from a straight strip of leather by bending
and pressing the said strip substantially as described and then, if desired, combining
with it a central portion or filling-piece of less costly material, as above specified.
Third. A duplex heel-lift consisting of a curved strip of leather, with or without a
filling-piece of less costly material, and combined with an ordinary hoel-lift as above
specified.
Fourth. A boot or shoe made with one or more of my improved heel-lifts.