CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN A MACHINE FOR SEWING AND POINTING LEATHER GLOVES WITH NEATNESS AND STRENGTH, MUCH SUPERIOR TO THAT WHICH IS EFFECTED BY MANUAL LABOUR,
Year: 1821

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WINTER, of Stokes-under-Hamdon, in the County of Somerset, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I, the said James Winter, did, by my Petition, humbly repre-
sent to His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth that I
had, after much study and expence, found out and invented "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN A MACHINE FOR SEWING AND POINTING LEATHER GLOVES WITH
NEATNESS AND STRENGTH, MUCH SUPERIOR TO THAT WHICH IS EFFECTED BY MANUAL
LABOUR," and that in regard that I, the said James Winter, was the first and
true Inventor thereof, and that the same were entirely new, and had not been
practised or used by any other person or persons, to the best of my knowledge
and belief, I humbly prayed His said Majesty to grant unto me, my exors,
adñiors, and assigns, His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of His
United Kingdom for the sole use, benefit, and advantage of my said Invention
within that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years, pursuant to the Statute in that
case made and provided, and His said Majesty being willing to give en-
couragement to all arts and inventions which might be for the publick
good, was graciously pleased to condescend to my request, and therefore,
by His Royal Letters Patent, bearing date at Westminster, the Nine-
teenth day of December, in the second year of His reign, of His especial
grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, did give and grant unto me, the
said James Winter, my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Winter, my
exors, admiors, and assigns, and every of us, by myself and themselves, or

page_text: by my and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I,
the said James Winter, my exors, adñors, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend my said Invention within that part of His said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as to me, the
said James Winter, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or any of us, should in my
or their discretions seem meet, and that I, the said James Winter, my exors,
adiors, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and enjoy the whole
profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage from time to time coming, growing,
accruing, and arising by reason of the said Invention, for and during the term
of years therein mentioned; to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said licence,
powers, privileges, and advantages therein-before granted or mentioned to be
granted unto me, the said James Winter, my exors, admors, and assigns, for
and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years from the date of
the said Presents next and immediately ensuing and fully to be complete and
ended according to the Statute in such case made and provided; in which
said Letters Patent is (amongst other things) contained a proviso that if I,
the said James Winter, should not particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to
be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that
then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever
thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, anything
therein-before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding, as
in and by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had, may more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Winter, do hereby declare that my said Invention consists of Improve-
ments in the Construction of a Machine for Sewing and Pointing Leather
Gloves with Neatness and Strength, much Superior to what is Effected by
Manual Labour, for which last-mentioned machine a Patent was granted to
me, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the forty-seventh year of
the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third. And I further declare
that my said Invention, and the application and use thereof, are described as
follows (that is to say):-
The Drawing Figure 1, delineated in the margin to these Presents, repre-
sents a pedestal, on which the instrument called the jaws, Figure 2, is placed.

page_text: Instead of the jaws opening and closing by a circular movement on a joint in
one of such jaws, as in my former machine above referred to, I substitute a
parallel horizontal movement for opening and closing the jaws, which I effect
by the means following (that is to say) :-
Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the jaws, which I call the fixed
jaw, which may be made of one piece of metal or other proper material, in
which A is a tenon to be inserted in the mortise B. of the pedestal, Figure 1,
by which the jaws in use may be removed at pleasure, and another pair of
jaws placed in their stead, so as greatly to expedite the operation of work-
ing, by enabling one person to prepare and fix the leather whilst another is
sewing.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the other jaw, which I call the moveable
jaw, which may also be of one piece of metal or other proper material. The
fixed jaw and the moveable jaw being placed together in the manner repre-
sented in Figure 2, the moveable jaw traverses backwards and forwards on
two parallel horizontal bars, the form of which bars may be as represented in
Figure 5, and which bars are made respectively to pass through and fit with
the greatest exactness the holes a, b, c, d, e, f, in Figures 3 and 4 respectively,
and to screw or be otherwise fastened into the holes g and h in Figure 3.
These jaws, when the index herein-after described is fixed on, are kept closed
by a spring placed between the perpendicular plates C and D in Figure 2, of
a convenient form, of which spring Figure 6 represents a front view, and
Figure 7 its curvature. The openings i and k at the ends of Figure 6 are to
permit the parallel horizontal bars to pass through when the spring is placed in
its proper situation.
.
Figure 8 represents a thumb screw, which may be inserted through the hole
7 in Figure 3, and made to screw into the hole m in Figure 4, in the situation
represented at E in Figure 2, for the purpose of tightening the jaws and
holding the leather firmly in the index whilst being sewn; this screw, how-
ever, will seldom, if ever, be necessary if the spring above described be
sufficiently strong.
Figure 9 represents a ring or eye, which is screwed or rivetted in the center
of the lower part of the back of the moveable jaw, as represented at F,
Figure 2, and which ring or eye, when the jaws are together and the tenon
A, Figure 3, is placed in the mortise B, Figure 1, falls over the crank G,
Figure 1, and which crank, communicating by a wire or string with the
treadle H, Figure 1, on the treadle being pressed down with the right foot as
the person sits at work, forces the moveable jaw outwards, and opens the
index sufficiently to permit the insertion and removal of the leather. The
openings n, o, p, q, in Figures 3 and 4 respectively, are intended for screws to

page_text: be passed through them to fix the index to the jaws, and these screws which
have large heads being a little loosened, allow the corresponding sides of the
index to be moved either laterally or vertically; and thus to be adjusted with
the greatest exactness.
In addition to the index in my former machine, which is applicable to
what is called round seam sewing only, and which permits the leather to
expand but in one direction when the needle is passed through it, namely,
upwards, I make indexes of two different constructions, one of which I call
the receding index, and the other the longitudinally grooved index, and which
are described as follows (that is to say) :-
Figure 10 represents an end view, and Figure 11 a top view of the receding
index, which is particularly adapted for what are called drawn sewing and
prick-seam sewing. This index, instead of biting to the top, being so rounded
off in the inside from the bottom of the cross grooves as to permit the needles,
by being passed backwards and forwards, to carry the silk on each side of the
leather without passing over it.
Figure 12 represents an end view of the longitudinally grooved index,
partly opened to shew the section of the groove more distinctly; and Figure 13
represents an inside view of one side of the same index, in which the longi-
tudinal groove is shewn passing from I to K. This index is more particularly
adapted to round-seam sewing, and permits the leather to expand in every
direction when the needle is passed through it, by which the leather is less
strained, and the sewing consequently rendered much stronger.
Figure 14 is a perspective view of the machine on its pedestal.
The chief novelties which I claim in this Invention are, the parallel horizon-
tal movement of the jaws, by which they always preserve their exact relative
positions; the making the jaws removeable from the pedestal at pleasure,
instead of being fixed, by which the labour of working may be divided, and
the operation consequently greatly facilitated; the receding index and the
longitudinally grooved index, the peculiar advantages of which respectively
have been above explained. It is obvious that the parallel horizontal move-
ment may be effected by other mechanical means than those which I have
adoped as at present appearing to me the most convenient; and the chief
novelty which I claim with respect to that movement is its application to the
purpose of carrying the index used in sewing and pointing leather gloves.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set and affixed my hand and seal,
the Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-two.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Ninth day of February, in
the year of our Lord 1822, the aforesaid James Winter came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.