CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SADDLES AND HARNESS FOR HORSES, AND IN SEATS FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
DAVY, of Fordton, near Crediton, in the County of Devon, Merchant, 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 Thirteenth day of January, in the first year of IIer reign, and
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward
Davy, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Edward Davy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as
I, the said Edward Davy, my executors, administrators, 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, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SADDLES AND
HARNESS FOR HORSES, AND IN SEATS FOR CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Edward Davy, 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
performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months "next and immediately after the date

page_text: of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
And whereas I, the said Edward Davy, did by petition represent to Her
said Majesty's Solicitor-General for the time being, Sir Robert Monsey Rolfe,
Knight, that since obtaining the above named Letters Patent, I had discovered
or had good reason for believing that my improvements, so far as they relate
to "seats for carriages," were not new or useful, or might have been before
used for such purpose, and that I had accordingly been advised to amend the
title of my said Patent, in order to render the same safe and valid in law;
and I therefore prayed leave to alter and amend the title of my said Patent
under the Act of Parliament passed in the fifth and sixth years of His late
Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act to amend the Law touching Letters Patent
for Inventions," by leaving out, disclaiming, or omitting the following words of
my said title, "and in seats for carriages," in order that my said title, when so
altered and amended, might read as follows, "Certain Improvements in Saddles
and Harness for Horses." And whereas Her Majesty's Solicitor-General, after
duly considering the same, was pleased to allow such Disclaimer or Memo-
randum of Alteration of the title of my said Patent, as certified by his fiat,
bearing date at Lincoln's Inn, the Tenth day of this present month of July,
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, the "entry paper" of which
is deposited with the Clerk of the Patents for England, the original being duly
inrolled on the Records of the Office of the Rolls Chapel of Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, contained
in the above in part recited Letters Patent, I, the said Edward Davy, do
hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascertained in
by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
:-
The objects of my improvements in saddles and harness are, first, the pre-
vention of rubbing or friction between the skin or coat of the animal and
certain parts of the saddle or harness which come into contact therewith, such
as the pamels of riding saddles, harness, pads, &c.; secondly, to render these
and other parts of saddles or harness which come into contact with the body
of the animal (such as "collars," " cruppers, ""saddle cloths," "false collars,'
"belly bands," and "girths,") elastic, soft or yielding on pressure, for the
purpose of producing an easy fitting to the body of the animal, and greater
ease or comfort while working; also to prevent such parts from becoming

page_text: stiff or hardened by the perspiration of the animal, which parts will be more
easily cleansed and be more durable than those constructed in the ordinary
way; thirdly, to give greater elasticity to the seat of the saddle, and conse-
quently ease and comfort to the rider; and lastly, to produce better friction or
adhesion of contact between the sole of the boot or shoe of the rider and the
foot-rest of the stirrup, in order to prevent the foot slipping thereon in riding.
These advantages I attain, firstly, by the novel adaptation and application of
sheet or sliced india-rubber or caoutchouc, as linings or coverings for the above-
named parts of saddles or harness which come in contact with the body of the
animal or seat of the rider; and secondly, in the use or application of elastic
woven fabric or india-rubber web (made or constructed according to the Patent
of Mr. R. W. Sievier, or otherwise), in the making or construction of riding
saddles, instead of the rigid or non-elastic cloth or linen web ordinarily used,
and stretched over the saddletree to receive the padding or stuffing in the sent
of the saddle; and lastly, in the application of india-rubber to the stirrup iron
for the purpose of producing friction or adhesion between the same and the
boot or shoe of the rider (that is to say,) I use sheet india-rubber or caout-
chouc (either in its native state or after being prepared in the usual.manner,
and cut into sheets or slices of the required thickness), as linings or coverings
to all the before-named parts of saddles and harness which come into contact
with the body of the animal for the purpose of producing either adhesion or
close contact to its skin or coat, and thereby preventing the slipping or movement
of such parts, or an elastic soft or yielding quality in these parts, and I use and
apply the said elastic woven fabric or web in the construction of riding saddles
to increase the clastic or yielding quality of the saddle as above stated ;. and
lastly, I apply or adapt the said material (caoutchouc) to the stirrup irons for the
purpose of producing friction or adhesion of contact with the soles of the boots
or shoes of the rider, and preventing the feet slipping in the stirrups when riding.
Having thus stated the objects and nature of my said Invention, I will
proceed to describe more particularly the manner in which I propose to carry
my said improvements into effect, referring to the Drawings hereto.annexed to
illustrate the same.
First, in reference to riding saddles.-Fig 1 of the accompanying Draw-
ings is a top view of a complete saddle, with my improvements applied
thereto; Fig. 2 is a representation of the same as seen on the under side.
I first procure a saddletree made in the ordinary manner, but having the
cantle or hinder part a little higher than usual, in order that the elastic
india-rubber web or fabric when used as already mentioned (instead of tho

page_text: ordinary linen web) may be placed sufficiently high, or above the back of the
animal at that part to allow of the elasticity of the said india-rubber web being
brought into action without coming in contact with or pressing thereon as it
yields to the weight of the rider. I strain and nail two or three breadths of the
said elastic india-rubber web on to the tree, after the manner the common linen
web is applied, only remarking that the india-rubber web must not be cut or
split lengthwise. I then proceed in the usual way to pad the sides of the
saddle with the ordinary kind of stuffing, so as to give the proper shape to the
seat, and I then strain serge or woollen cloth over the seat, as usual, and stuff
it with wool, hair, or other suitable material combined with some fine shavings
or cuttings of india-rubber; I then strain over the covering of serge or woollen
cloth a piece of undressed linen or cotton cloth, fastening it at the edges in the
way in which serge is usually secured; I then cover the said linen or cotton
cloth with two coatings of thick solution of indian-rubber, as commonly
prepared, by dissolving it in spirits of turpentine or other solvent, which solution
may be laid on either with the hand or with a brush; the first coating being
allowed to set or dry before the second is applied; a piece of stout leather is then
to be nailed to the back of the cantle at a, a, (see Fig. 2) against the edges of
which the upper covering of sheet indian-rubber b, b, is attached, as shewn in
the Drawing. The sheet indian-rubber forming such covering is to be of
about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, or more if required, and is cut with a
knife dipped in water, to the proper shape for the seat of the saddle, as shewn
in Figure 1. The said covering should be a little larger than what is seen in
the Drawing, for the purpose of allowing the edges thereof to be covered with
the leather skirts c, c, and the edging h at the pommel. If one sheet of india-
rubber cannot be procured sufficiently large for the purpose, two or more
pieces may be easily joined together by cutting their edges oven and applying to
them a little of the before-named solution and bringing them into close contact
with each other; when the solution is dry or set they will be firmly united.
When the sheet of indian-rubber is prepared to the required shape, I apply on
the under side thereof a thin coating of the solution and place the sheet smoothly
on to the seat of the saddle, before the last coating of solution on the linen cr
cotton cloth is quite dry or set, and by pressing over the sheet of indian-rubber
with the hand it becomes firmly attached to the linen cloth. The seat of the
saddle may remain in this state with the naked indian-rubber outwards, as
shewn in Figure 1, which would prevent the rider slipping on his saddle, and
consequently give firmness to his seat, or it may be covered with thin leather, or
ladies' saddles may be covered with kid, buckskin, or other leather, plain or

page_text: ornamented, or any other plain or ornamental covering, as silk, velvet, cloth,
&c., all or any of which materials may be firmly united to the sheet indian-
rubber by means of the solution before described, and thus produce a novel
and elegant appearance. The edges of the covering of sheet indian-rubber b, b,
are to be pared or bevilled off to allow the leather skirts c, c, and flaps d, d,
to be joined to and lie smoothly over the said edges; I then nail on to the
saddletree the under flaps e, e, and place against the under part of the tree a
pannel or stuffing covered with linen or cotton cloth, which may extend
as far over the under flaps e, e, as may be thought desirable; I then place
a sheet of indian-rubber, about one-eighth of an inch thick (or thicker if
desired) over the said pannels or flaps, as seen at f, f, Fig. 2, and attach
The
the same thereto by the solution of indian-rubber before named.
surface of the lining or covering of sheet indian-rubber is to be left plain
or naked, in order to produce one of the advantages named in the former part
of this Specification, (viz.,) adhesion or close contact with the skin or coat of
the animal, to prevent the saddle slipping or moving out of its proper place.
The skirts c, c, are to be prepared for fastening on by paring down, smoothing,
or bevilling off neatly their under edges, which are placed nearest the seat of
the saddle, and having laid on the edges so prepared one or more coatings of
solution, I attach them carefully to the indian-rubber b, b, securing the skirts
with the nails g, 9, as usual. An edging of leather h is placed in front of the
pommel, and thin leather maybe used to cover the joints at the back
of the saddle between the parts a and b. Whenever leather is attached
by solution the parts of contact should be well scraped, in order to ensure
more perfect adhesion; or saddles may be made without any tree by placing
a piece of linen cloth between two sheets of india-rubber of sufficient thickness
to form the seat, uniting the same thereto by means of solution, which saddles
are to be raised by padding at the pommel and cantle. The cloth must be
sufficiently large to extend over the leather flaps, for the purpose of holding
the several parts firmly together. The flaps may be attached to the cloth by
means of the solution, and the under ones covered with indian-rubber, as
before described. The stirrup and girth straps may be made to pass over the
back of the animal, and to rest on and be attached to the indian-rubber
forming the seat. These stirrup leathers and girth straps are to be covered
with a thin sheet of indian-rubber, for the sake of appearance.
And, lastly, as regards riding saddles, I would remark that any suitable
knee padding may be placed as at i, i, in Fig. 1, and coated with sheet
indian-rubber, which may be left naked or covered with other materials, as
desired

page_text: Next, as to Harness.-The saddle or pad may also be constructed either with
or without a tree, in a similar mode to that described for riding saddles, the under
side being covered with sheet india-rubber; but in these saddles or pads there
is no occasion for placing indian-rubber on the upper part. The crupper is
another part of harness to which my improvements apply; that is, the part which
is placed immediately under the tail of the animal. It is made or constructed
by rolling sheet indian-rubber around an elastic or other strong cord. Fig. 3
is a representation of a crupper with its buckles attached thereto; Figure 4
is a section taken through the clastic or yielding part a, a, which is placed
under the tail of the animal; b, b, are the buckles and straps for connecting it
to the harness. The joints and edges of the sheet indian-rubber are secured
by the application of the solution before mentioned in reference to saddles,
and the buckle straps are fastened both by solution and strong stitching
through the indian-rubber and internal cord.
My improved collars are formed or constructed in the ordinary manner,
stuffed with straw or reed, and are similar in external appearance to ordinary
collars, except that over the portion of the straw or reed stuffing which comes
next the neck and shoulders of the animal, I prefer placing a piece of strong
linen cloth, and stitching it down firmly, to prevent the straw or reed from
getting loose, and over this linen cloth to fasten a piece of leather, with the
rough side outwards, large enough to admit a sufficient quantity of padding
or stuffing of wool, hair, or other suitable materials, combined with shavings
or cuttings of india rubber, to render the collar softer and more pliable in
these parts. I then lay on this outer leather a coating of india-rubber
solution, and cover it with sheet india-rubber of about one quarter of an
inch thick, which forms the lining, as shewn in the Drawing; Fig. 5
is a front view of a collar with my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 6
is an inside representation of the same. a, a, is the front or ordinary
outer leather covering of the collar; b, b, the inside or shect india-rubber
lining, which may be left naked or covered with bronze powder, or any
suitablo varnish, if thought desirable. In adapting my improvements to saddlo
girths or belly bands, I tako such as are commonly used, and having applied
to them the said india-rubber solution, I cover the same with sheet india-
rubber as before described, carefully securing all the joints or edges thereof.
Having now described my improvements as applied to riding saddles,
harness saddles, or pads and collars, I would remark that some of the same
effects and advantages may be produced by the use and application of india-
rubber in the manufacture of saddle cloths and false collars to be placed
between any saddle or collar and the skin of the animal. These I make or

page_text: manufacture of stout linen, or cotton cloth, or thin leather as the foundation,
and coat or cover the same on one or both sides with sheet india-rubber
secured thereto by the solution of india-rubber before named and described.
Fig. 7 is a front representation of one of my important false collars; Fig. 8 is a
partial edge view, and Fig. 9 a transverse section of the false collar. a, a, is the
internal cloth, or foundation; b, b, the outer coverings of india-rubber; c, c, is
a binding of cane, or other fit substance, placed around the inner edge of the
false collar for the purpose of keeping it in its proper shape and in place when
used under the collar. The covering or lining of india-rubber may be
bronzed or varnished in the manner before stated either on one or both of
the sides, if thought desirable.
And lastly, my improvements as applied to stirrups for the purpose of
producing friction of contact, and preventing the foot from slipping, as before
named, consist in placing india-rubber within the stirrup iron upon which the
feet are to be placed in riding; these pieces of india-rubber may be fastened
on to the stirrup iron in any convenient manner; for instance, by sewing,
rivetting, countersinking, or otherwise fastening the same on to the stirrup iron.
Fig. 10 is a side representation of a stirrup iron with the piece or block of india-
rubber applied thereto. Fig. 11 is a section of the same; a is the ordinary
stirrup iron; the plate or foot-rest 6 in this instance being formed of a dished
figure with a projecting rim or edge c, c, around the outside of the plate or
foot-rest for the purpose of retaining the piece or block of india-rubber d in
its proper place, but which may be secured by one, two, or more rivets passed
through holes formed in the india-rubber and the foot-rest, or by any other
suitable mode.
And in conclusion I would remark that, when joining any two surfaces of
leather together by sewing the above-named or any other parts of saddles or
harness, I prefer applying or using the solution of india-rubber above-
mentioned to such surfaces, and pressing them together previous to sewing,
which will make the junction more perfect and prevent the admission of
wet between the parts of leathers so joined, and consequently better preserve
the stitches from decay.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, and
a mode of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do
not mean or intend to claim or confine myself to any particular mode of
manufacturing or putting together the several parts of saddles or harness,
nor the method of employing or combining the several materials described in
the Specification; but that which I do claim as my Invention is, the adaptation
and application of india-rubber in sheets or slices to the various parts of

page_text: saddles or harness above-named for the purpose of attaining the objects and
effects above described and set forth, and also the adaptation and application
of elastic india-rubber web to saddles as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Davy, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.

page_text: In the Matter of a Patent granted to Edward Davy, of Fordton, near
Crediton, in the County of Devon, Merchant, for his Invention of
"CERTAIN INPROVEMENTS IN SADDLES AND HARNESS FOR HORSES, AND IN
SEATS FOR CARRIAGES," bearing date at Westminster, the Thirteenth
day of January, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION entered by the
said Edward Davy with the Clerk of the Patents of England, pursuant
to an Act passed in the fifth and sixth years of His late Majesty's reign,
intituled "An Act to amend the Law touching Letters Patents for
Inventions."
I, the said EDWARD DAVY, do hereby declare that since obtaining the said
Letters Patent I have discovered or have good reasons for believing that my im-
provements so far as they relate to seats for carriages, are not new and useful,
and may have heretofore been used for such purpose; and I have accordingly
been advised to amend the title of my said Patent in order to render the same
safe and valid in law. And for the reason aforesaid, I, the said Edward Davy,
do hereby disclaim and omit such part of the title of my said Patent as relates
to the application of my said Invention to seats for carriages, (that is to say,)
I, the said Edward Davy, do hereby make the following Disclaimer or
Memorandum of Alteration and Omission of part of the title of my said
Patent and Invention, and for this reason (viz'), in order to make the same
consistent with what my Specification will describe my said Invention to be,
when such Disclaimer, Omission, or Memorandum of Alteration as aforesaid
shall have been entered as aforesaid, (that is to say,) I disclaim the words
"and in seats for carriages," in order that the said title, when so altered, may
read as follows:-" Certain improvements in saddles and harness for horses."
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Davy, have hereunto set my hand,
this Fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-eight.