IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
VOUILLON, of Princes Street, Hanover Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS. Her. present most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of March, in the twelfth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said François Vouillon, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said François Vouillon, my exors, adñññors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said François Vouillon, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man,
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
François Vouillon, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next, and immediately after the date of the said, in. part. recited.

page_text: Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
François Vouillon, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, referenco
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of Improvements in Making Hats, Caps, and Bonnets, relates
to the manufacture of that description of hats, caps, and bonnets which are
made from felt, leather, or other similar material or fabric, and consists in
the employment of machinery or apparatus of peculiar construction, whereby
the manufacture of these articles will be much facilitated. According to the
ordinary mode of manufacturing these articles, a piece of felt or leather
previously cut to a suitable shape and dimensions, is soaked in water, and
then by hand labor is forced over a block of suitable form, according to the
article intended to be produced, and when the felt has been properly stretched
over the block it is tied or otherwise fastened thereon for a sufficient length of
time to set the shape. It usually requires some time to perform this stretching
operation by hand, and it is in order to facilitate this part of the manufacture
that I propose to employ the machine or apparatus shewn in the accompany-
ing Drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the machine or
apparatus. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same, shewing the
manner of stretching over the shape or block the felted cloth or leather of
which the hat or other article is intended to be made. The apparatus
consists of a cylinder box or case a, a, made of brass, copper, or other suitable
material, and furnished at or near its bottom with a. steam pipe or pipes b,
which admit steam from a boiler to the interior of the case a, and in order
that the steam may issue therein in a divided state and be properly diffused
throughout the box, a disc or plate c is secured by means of a screw to a stud
or block at the bottom, leaving only a narrow space between the disc c and
the bottom of the case. The block or shape upon which the hat or other
article intended to be produced is made as shewn at e, e. It is constructed of
wood covered with sheet copper or of brass, or other suitable materials, and is
furnished with a dovetailed stud or catch piece, whereby it is suspended from
the revolving holder f, as seen best in Fig. 2. This holder f is suspended
from the lower end of a screwed rod 9, 9, which passes through a female
screw h at the upper end of the standard A. A hand wheel i is mounted on
upper end of the screwed rod g, for the purpose of turning the same when
the

page_text: required to raise or lower the shape or block e. In order also to facilitate the
operation a weighted chain or cord j passes from the upper end of the screwed
rod 9 over a pulley not shewn in the Drawing but placed in any convenient
locality. The felted fabric or other material of which it is intended to make a
hat, cap, bonnet, or other similar article is steeped or soaked in water in the
usual manner, and is then strained over the circular brim shape k, shewn in
plan at Fig. 8, and side elevation at Fig. 4. The felted material is secured
on this brim shape by means of a metal band 7 (shewn detached in plan at
Fig. 5), which is made to surround the brim piece k and hold the felt in
contact therewith by means of a tangent screw m, as shewn in Fig. 1, by
tightening which screw the belt is firmly held while the stretching operation
takes place. The felt being thus tightly strained over the brim piece, the
latter is placed (with the felt uppermost) on the upper edges of the steam
box or case a, a groove being made all round the under side of the brim piece
k to receive the edge of the case a, as seen clearly in Fig. 2, so as to allow
the brim piece to be turned round on its edge if required. It will, of course,
be understood that previous to fitting the brim piece in its place on the steam
box or case a the shape e is raised out of the way, as shewn in Fig. 1. The
several parts of the apparatus being in the position shewn in this Figure,
steam is admitted into the case a (by turning a cock on the pipe b) and
allowed to act upon the under side of the felt until it has thoroughly warmed
it; the shape e is then gradually brought down on the strained felt by turning
the hand wheel i, and in its descent, of course, forces the strained felt through
the centre opening of the brim piece k, and causes it to assume the shape
shewn in Figs. 2 and 6. Any condensed steam or water which may be at
the bottom of the case a may be allowed to run out through the pipe 6*.
When the stretching operation is completed, the brim piece k with the felt
and the block e therein is removed from the machine, and a fresh block e and
brim piece k placed therein instead of those just removed. Previous, however,
to removing the brim piece k and block e from the machine they must be
secured together, in order that they may be all taken out at the same time
with the piece of felt stretched between them. In order to connect these
two parts together I employ a cramp or hooked bar n (shewn detached at
Figs. 7 and 8). This cramp is made of galvanized iron (or of brass or other
suitable substance which will not injure the felt by rusting), and by passing
the hooked ends of the bar n under the edges of the brim, the other parts
passing over the upper side of the block: e, as seen at Fig. 2, the block is
prevented either from falling out or being forced out by the elasticity of the
felt, and may therefore be easily removed from the machine. The several

page_text: parts thus connected together, as shewn at Fig. 6, are then left until the felt has
become dry, and the shape properly set. In order that the felted fabric may
not be stained or injured by the rust of iron, the several parts of the apparatus
with which the felt is likely to come in contact is made of some metal or
material that is not liable to be injuriously acted upon by water or damp
articles. I have therefore (in the Drawing) shewn all these parts as made of
brass or copper. I do not, however, intend to confine myself to these
materials, as other materials may doubtless be employed which will answer-
the purpose..
I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not mean or intend to confine
myself rigidly to the precise arrangement or construction of parts herein shewn
and described, nor to the mode of raising and lowering the shape or block e,
as all these parts may doubtless be varied without departing from the naturo
and object of my Invention, which I declare to consist in securing the felt or
other material of which the hat, cap, or bonnet is to be made to a brim shape,
and causing a block to enter the circular opening of the brim shape, and
thereby force or stretch the felt or other material over the same, and thus
produce a shape that may, according to the block that is used, be afterwards
made into a hat, cap, or bonnet, as may be required.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Vouillon, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
FRANÇOIS (L.s.) VOUILLON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid François Vouillon came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.