A NEW OR IMPROVED RAW HIDE SHOE TIP OR PROTECTOR FOR THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of
Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38,
Southampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, for
the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED RAW HIDE SHOE TIP OR
PROTECTOR FOR THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES."-A communication
from abroad by the National Boot and Shoe Tip Company, of
Boston, County of Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States of
America.
.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-
Brown at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 10th November 1875.
.
I, WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-
5 Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "A NEW AND IMPROVED RAW HIDE SHOE TIP OR
PROTECTOR FOR THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES," to be as follows:-
The Invention relates to a dyed raw hide shoe tip or protector for the

page_text: .
uppers of boots or shoes, the tips being applied to the boots or shoes to
cover or protect the toes of the uppers, or so as to extend for any
suitable or desired distance from the toe back along both sides of the
upper at the junction of the sole and upper, thereby protecting the sides
of the upper as well as the toe. . The tip is dyed a deep permanent black
or other color corresponding with the color of the upper, and when
applied to the upper is not readily distinguishable therefrom, and is hard
and capable of resisting the great wear to which the toe of the upper,
especially in children's shoes, is subjected, the prepared raw hide forming
the tip or protector being capable of resisting very much more wear and
abrasion than the toe of the upper or a leather cap or cover, and being
the color substantially as the upper is not as objectionable, noticeable,
and unsightly as the metal tip commonly used, such metal tip being
looked upon as a badge of poverty. And further, the prepared raw hide
tip is not liable to be indented as the metal tip, and it may be more
readily sewed between the sole and upper during the manufacture of the
shoe. Stiff metal tips when struck a hard blow often cut at their upper
parts into the toe of the upper, causing it to break out easily, and often
the metallic flange cuts the stitches holding the tip in place then the
shoe opens at the toe.. The raw hide from which tips or protectors are
made is unhaired, unfleshed, and rinsed in the usual manner, and after
being removed from the rinsing vat is prepared for coloring by being
run preferably through a lukewarm logwood liquor, made by boiling
logwood in water until the logwood liquor is of sufficient strength, or the
strength of the logwood is extracted.
The hides opened out flat are laid one above the other in a vat
containing enough of this preferably luke warm liquor to cover and
saturate them, as it has been ascertained that the logwood liquor acts
the most rapidly and produces the best results when about lukewarm ;
then the hides so treated are soaked in a dyeing liquor, composed of
logwood liquor, nut galls, blue vitriol, vinegar, and an iron set.
The hides after being properly dyed, the color being preferably a deep
black, and permeated through the entire substance of the. hide, are
stretched and dried and polished. Then to manufacture the tips or
protectors the hide is moistened and cut by dyes into pieces of the form
desired, the pieces are moulded or shaped in moulds and are then dried,
when they may be polished if desired, the hide treated and dyed as

page_text: herein described being capable of taking a deep black, and the tip or
protector when formed will be hard and susceptible of taking a polish
much like hard rubber.
filed by the said William Morgan-Brown in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown,
Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London,
and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Morgan-Brown;
Her special license that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Morgan-Brown, 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 expressed, 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. "A NEW AND IMPROVED RAW HIDE SHOE TIP OR
PROTECTOR FOR THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES," (a communication to mė
from abroad by the National Boot and Shoe Tip Company, of Boston,
County of Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States of America,) upon .the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Morgan-Brown,
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 same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The Invention relates to a dyed raw hide shoe tip or protector for the
uppers of boots or shoes, the tips being applied to the boots or shoes to
cover or protect the toes of the uppers, or so as to extend for any
suitable or desired distance from the toe back along both sides of the
upper at the junction of the sole and upper, thereby protecting the
sides of the upper as well as the toe. The tip is dyed a deep permanent
black or other color corresponding with the color of the upper, and
when applied to the upper is not readily distinguishable therefrom, and
is hard and capable of resisting the great wear to which the toe of the
upper, especially in children's shoes, is subjected, the prepared raw hide
forming the tip or protector being capable of resisting very much more
wear and abrasion than the toe of the upper or a leather cap or cover,
and being the color substantially as the upper is not as objectionable,
noticeable, and unsightly as the metal tip commonly used, such metal
tip being looked upon as a badge of poverty. And further, the prepared
raw hide tip is not liable to be indented as the metal tip, and it may be
more readily sewed between the sole and upper during the manufacture
of the shoe. Stiff metal tips when struck a hard blow often cut at their
upper parts into the toe of the upper causing it to break out easily, and
often the metallic flange cuts the stitches holding the tip in place, then
the shoe opens at the toe. The raw hide from which tips or protectors
are made is unhaired, unfleshed, and rinsed in the usual manner, and
after being removed from the rinsing vat is prepared for coloring by
being run preferably through a lukewarm logwood liquor, made by
boiling logwood in water until the logwood liquor is of sufficient strength
or the strength of the logwood is extracted.
The hides opened out flat are laid one above the other in a vat
containing enough of this preferably lukewarm liquor to cover and
saturate them, as it has been ascertained that the logwood liquor acts
the most rapidly and produces the best results when about lukewarm.
Then the hides so treated are soaked in a dyeing liquor composed of
logwood liquor, nut galls, blue vitriol, vinegar, and an iron set, sub-
stantially as herein-after set forth,

page_text: The hides after being properly dyed, the color being preferably a deep
black, and permeated through the entire substance of the hide are
stretched and dried and polished. Then to manufacture the tips or
protectors the hide is moistened and cut by dies into pieces of the form
desired, the pieces are moulded or shaped in moulds and are then dried,
when they may be polished, if desired, the hide treated and dyed as
herein described being capable of taking a deep black, and the tip or.
protector when formed will be hard and susceptible of taking a polish
much like hard rubber.
Figure 5, a blank to form a tip for the toe alone, and Figure 6, a
section of a tip made by folding or doubling the hide before moulding
the tip.
The shoe a or it may be a boot is of any desired shape, and the tip is
made and shaped to conform to the toe of the upper. This tip is com-
posed of a protecting edge 6 and a flange c, the edge 6 extending about
the toc, fitting the upper closely, and the flange c is adapted to extend
between the toe of the upper and sole d, and receive pegs, nails, screws,
or stitches by which the sole and upper are united, such fastenings
extending through the flange and holding the tip in place. The tip
shown in Figure 2 is adapted for a toe protector only. The tip shown
in Figure 3, has a protecting edge badapted to extend about the toe
and along the sides of the upper at its juncture with the sole (see
also dotted lines Figure 1), and the flange c extends between the upper
and sole.
Instead of the narrow. flange c shown in Figure 3, the material of
the tip or protector may extend from one to the other edge b forming
an inner sole, which will assist in giving body to the boot or shoe, and
also to prevent water or moisture from getting as easily up through
the soles to the foot. In the manufacture of this tip or protector from
raw hide, we prepare the raw hide in the following manner:-
-It being
one way of treating it to thoroughly dye the hide to present a hard and

page_text: durable wearing surface, and one colored throughout its entire sub-
stance, so that as the tip wears away it will not look of a different
color or rusty.
The hides to be colored are unhaired, unfleshed, and rinsed in the
usual manner, and being removed from the rinsing vat are prepared for
coloring by being run preferably through a lukewarm logwood liquor.
This logwood liquor is made by placing a third of a bushel of logwood
in chips or coarse powder in a bag, in which it is boiled in about
12 gallons water until the strength of the logwood is extracted, and a
sufficient quantity of the liquor is made for use as wanted.
The hides are opened and laid flat one above the other in a vat
containing a sufficient quantity of this logwood liquor to easily cover
them, the temperature of the liquor being preferably lukewarm, as
experience demonstrates that at this temperature the hides better absorb
the logwood. This liquor may however be colder than lukewarm, and
in such case the hides must remain longer in the liquor. The hides are
kept in this liquor for two or three days, and are frequently turned in
the liquor until the strength of the liquor is extracted or exhausted and
until the hides are saturated, the action being more complete than it
would be where the hides folded. The hides having been treated or
prepared as above described are then dyed or blacked in a dyeing liquor,
made in the manner herein-after set forth by means of the solutions here
designated for convenience of description as Nos. 1 and 2..
The solution No. 1 is made by boiling together for five or ten minutes,
four ounces each of pulverized nut galls and blue vitriol in a gallon of
hot logwood liquor, and afterwards adding four quarts of vinegar
saturated with iron in any well known way, or the chemical equivalents
of the vinegar and iron may be used.
Solution No. 2 is an iron set made by dissolving iron chips in
aquafortis or other acids, the iron being added until a saturated solution
is obtained.
For the purpose of thoroughly blacking about half a dozen hides or
two or three dozen medium sized skins, place the hides which have been
previously soaked in logwood liquor in about twenty-four gallons of
logwood liquor such as first described, and to which has been added
about two quarts of the solution No. 1, and about one pint of No. 2
solution, the latter solution having a tendency to set the color or cause

page_text: it to penetrate the hides. The hides should be allowed to remain in this
dye liquor from one to three days, according to their thickness, they
being frequently turned to secure a thorough penetration of the dyeing
liquor into the hides.
It may be remarked that the exact quantities above given are not
arbitrary as the ingredients vary in strength, and some hides will take
color more easily than others.
The quantities mentioned will generally be sufficient to thoroughly
black two dozen calf skins or a half dozen kips or light cow hides, but
the heavier hides require to remain longer in the dye liquor.
The dyeing liquor only requires to be replenished as its strength is
exhausted by the addition of fresh material to keep it in substantially
the proportions just described. Maroon and purple colors may be
made by working in the logwood liquor, and finishing by using
aquafortis and tin with solution of logwood instead of the dyeing liquor
above described.
Raw hide after being subjected to this treatment, in which it is only
partially tanned, is rendered a deep and permanent color throughout its
entire substance, is better capable of resisting moisture, and is sus-
ceptible of a high polish, giving it a neat and finished appearance similar
to that of hard black rubber. It can be prepared at exceedingly low.
cost, does not become rusty or discolored by use, but retains it
original neat appearance until completely worn out, and is thus of great
value in the manufacture of tips or shields for the toes of boots and
shoes, and of similar or other articles liable to rough usage.
Logwood has been described as the base from which the solution is
obtained, it is selected because it is the cheapest and most readily
obtained, but it is evident that more expensive materials as nut galls
and other equivalent dyes from wood or vegetables may be used instead
of logwood.
In the preparation of No. 1 solution it was described that the blue
vitriol and nut galls were placed in hot logwood liquor, this is preferred,
but instead of logwood liquor hot water might be used, and the quantity
of nut galls be increased. By this treatment the hide is given a deep
and permanent color, black being the preferred color throughout its
substance giving the material increased durability and neatness of

page_text: appearance, and also rendering it better capable of resisting the ordinary
effects of moisture. After being removed from the dye vat the hide is
partially or wholly dried and polished, when it is ready for any uses for
which the hide or material is applicable.
For the manufacture of shoe tips the hide may be cut up into pieces
of suitable form before the hide is dried or after it is dried, it may be
moistened so as to cut more easily, and then it may be cut by means of
dies into suitable shapes for the tip or protector which it is desired to
make. To make a tip or protector for the toe alone, as in Figures 1
and 2, the hide is cut into blanks of the shape as shown in Figure 5, the
lower or either of the edges being skived if desired, and such blank, it
being soft and pliable, is placed between a male and female mould,
preferably of metal and of the form to which it is desired to make the
tip conform, and the blank is moulded in such form, the protecting edge
being turned away from the flange and properly curved, and the flange
being crimped or moulded as shown. The tip so moulded is then placed
on a holder or form, see Figure 4, to which it is secured or tacked, and
where it is allowed to dry, when it is ready for use, and after being dried
if desired it may be further polished.
If desired the centre portion of the flange may extend backward to
act as a filling to bear against the insole between the edges of the upper.
Instead of forming the tip from a single thickness of prepared hide, it
may be made of two thicknesses as in Figure 6. At any stage of this
process preferably however prior to drying, the tip or hide may be
treated with a suitable waterproofing material to render the hide or tip
impervious to moisture, but it is not really necessary to waterproof the
tips, because by this treatment above described they are left in a hard
state and they absorb moisture but very slowly. Prepared raw hide tips
such as described may be cheaply made, they do not become rusty or
discolored by wear but retain their original neat appearance until worn
out. The tip may be moistened and applied to a last in the process of
making turned shoes, and when the sole is united to the upper the shoe
with the tip on it may be turned. The flange c may be notched before
being moulded or crimped, as shown by dotted lines, Figure 5.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said
Invention and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have
it understood that what I claim is,—

page_text: First. The manufacture of a boot or shoe tip or protector composed of
aw hide preferably dyed substantially as described.
Second. Raw hide prepared, dyed, and moulded, as herein described,
for the purposes set forth substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN. (L.S.)