IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HEELS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING THE SAME
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HEELS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE
MODE OF ATTACHING THE SAME." -A communication from abroad by
Louis Désiré Jeandron-Ferry, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
Sealed the 10th June 1878, and dated the 8th April 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th April 1878.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
5 of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HEELS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES, AND
IN THE MODE OF ATTACHING THE SAME," a communication to me from abroad
by Louis Désiré Jeandron-Ferry, of Paris, in the Republic of France,
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in metallic heels for
high-heeled boots and shoes, whether for ordinary or for military use,
and to the means for attaching the same.

page_text: The improved metallic heels are made hollow from cast or stamped
metal of any suitable description, and are made either in one piece, or
in two or more parts, brazed together. The external surface of the heel
may be plated, engraved, inlaid, polished, varnished, or otherwise
ornamented by coverings of leather or fabric according to taste.
The heel is formed in some cases with a plain or dentated inner flange
round its upper edge to facilitate its attachment to the sole by points,
screws, or rivets, or in lieu of a flange the entire upper surface of the
hollow metal heel may be covered by a plate which serves to attach it
to the boot, and which should project forward more or less, so as to 1
strengthen the waist of the boot, as is also the case when a flange is
employed.
In most cases the improved hollow metallic heel is secured to a plate
situate inside the sole by a central vertical screw, the head of which is
countersunk into the said plate, whilst the lower screwed end passes 1
through the bottom plate of the heel, and is secured by a nut let into
a recess in the said bottom plate, or in the facing or bearing piece of
the heel.
The facing or bearing piece of the heel, which may be of leather, is
secured by screws, rivets, or points, to the metal bottom of the heel, a
which may be either plain or recessed, to receive it.
When attaching points are used for securing the heel to the sole they
are fixed in the heel and a tool is used for puncturing the leather, so as
to receive the several points, which are afterwards rivetted down. This
mode of attachment is applicable to wooden heels covered with skin or :
fabric.
In some cases the upper part of the hollow metallic heel may be filled
in with wood, and be attached by two or more screws inserted from the
interior of the boot.
For strong military boots a metal heel tip may be secured by rivets,
screws, or otherwise, to the bottom of the metallic heel itself, which
may be ribbed on the surface, or the tip may be secured to the leather

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC HEELS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE MODE OF
ATTACHING THE SAME," a communication to me from abroad by Louis
Désiré Jeandron-Ferry, of Paris, in the Republic of France, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent.
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:
The said Invention relates to certain improvements in metallic heels
fas high heeled hosts and shoes whathex fox anding or for militaar HAA

page_text: The improved metallic heels are made hollow from cast or stamped
metal of any suitable description, and are made either in one piece or in
two or more parts brazed together. The external surface of the heel may
be plated, engraved, inlaid, polished, varnished, or otherwise ornamented
by coverings of leather or fabric, according to taste.
-
The heel is formed in some cases with a plain or dentated inner
flange round its upper edge to facilitate its attachment to the sole by
points, screws, or rivets; or; in lieu of a flange, the entire upper surface
of the hollow metal heel may be covered by a plate, which serves to
attach it to the boot, and which should project forward more or less, so
as to strengthen the waist of the boot, as is also the case when a flange
is employed.
In most cases the improved hollow metallic heel is secured to a plate
situate inside the sole by a central vertical screw, the head of which is
countersunk into the said plate, whilst the lower screwed end passes
through the bottom plate of the heel, and is secured by a nut let into a
recess in the said bottom plate or in the facing or bearing piece of the
heel.
The facing or bearing piece of the heel, which may be of leather, is
secured by screws, rivets, or points to the metal bottom of the heel,
which may be either plain or recessed to receive it.
When attaching points are used for securing the heel to the sole, they
are fixed in the heel, and a tool is used for puncturing the leather so as
to receive the several points, which are afterwards revitted down. This
mode of attachment is applicable to wooden heels covered with skin or
fabric.
In some cases the upper part of the hollow metallic heel may be filled
in with wood, and be attached by two or more screws inserted from the
interior of the boot.
For strong military boots a metal heel tip may be secured by rivets,
screws, or otherwise to the bottom of the metallic heel itself, which may
be ribbed on the surface, or the tip may be secured to the leather or
other facing of the heel.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the accompanying two Sheets of

page_text: Drawings, which shew various specimens of heels, the form of which
vary according to the description of boot or shoe to which they are
applied. The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the Figures.
The mode of attaching the heels shewn on Sheet 1 consists in the
employment of a species of bolt, the head of which is lodged in the
centre of a metal plate disposed in the interior of the boot or shoe, and
the nut of which bears against the lower face of the heel.
On Sheet 2 the attachment is effected by means of a species of metal
frame provided with pins or points, such frame being brazed or soldered
to the upper part of the heels.
It will be understood that the various arrangements of the details of
the heels shewn on Sheets 1 and 2 are independent of the mode of
attachment employed.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) is a side elevation of a portion of a boot or shoe
having a Louis XV. heel applied thereto, constructed according to this.
Invention.
Figures 2 and 3 are respectively a plan and vertical section of the
metal plate and fastening.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section of the heel completo.
Figure 5 is a plan of the heel detached, and Figures 6 and 7 are
respectively under and upper side plans of portions of the bottom of the
heel.
The heel is formed of an external portion a, beaten up and brazed or
soldered on the one hand to the curved internal piece 6, and on the other
to the bottom d; the piece a terminates in an extended portion o,
intended to enter between the sole and the inner sole in order to
strengthen the bend and to firmly and strongly unite the heel to the
boot or shoe. The upper edge of the piece a is moreover beaten up or
curved inwards, so as to present a circular surface on which the boot or
shoe rests, the leather of which cannot in this way be cut by the sharp
edge of the metal.
The heel is secured to the boot or shoe by means of a bolt e, provided
with an oblique head having a spur, which head is inserted in about the
centre of the plate f. The plate fassumes the form of the upper part of

page_text: the heel, and is intended to be placed in the interior of the boot or shoe,
and it is covered either with the inner sole divided or with a thin heel
piece of leather in order to prevent its hurting the foot. The screw e is
thus in a position sensibly perpendicular to the bottom d of the heel,
through which it passes, and its screwed end receives a nut g, which
presses on a copper plate h, bearing against the bottom d, the outer edge
of such plate / remaining visible in order to ornament or set off the boot
or shoe. This nut moreover, after it has been put in its place, is main-
tained by a slight rivetting of the screw e, which prevents it from
unscrewing. The nut 9 is enclosed in a square or flat sided recess
formed by stamping in the centre of the plate h, and the metal sur-
rounding this recess is inserted in a hole of the same shape formed in
the bottom d, in order to centre and prevent any motion of the plate h.
The tread piece is fitted on to this plate, to which it is secured by pins or
points j, which pass through it, and the heads of which bear against the
bottom d. The pins or points ; may also be screwed into the bottom d
of the heel; they then maintain perfectly the plate h, which may be
also entirely dispensed with, the tread piece then being secured to the
bottom d in the manner just described. In this case the bottom should
have a recess or cavity stamped or beaten out to contain the nut, which
serves to secure the heel to the boot or shoe.
Figures 8, 9, and 10 (which are respectively a longitudinal vertical
section, top and under side plan of a heel) shew a method of previously
attaching to the tread piece a metal plate perforated with a tapped
hole, which plate is screwed on to the end of the screw e extending
beyond the nut g, which serves to secure the heel to the boot or shoe.
The internal portion 6 (Figure 4) of the heel carries two rows of
unrivetted pins or points in the plate itself, which pins or points
serve to secure the divided sole thereto at this part, in order that no
trace of rivetting may appear outside.
In order to ornament the boot or shoe a quilting 7 may also be
formed on the periphery of the heel, such quilting being obtained by
a machine on a thin piece of leather of such a form that being turned
up on itself the quilting fits exactly the periphery of the heel, where
it is secured between the face b and the sole, and between the bottom d
and the plate h. The heel thus made may also be simply applied to
the sole of the finished boot or shoe, the extended portion c is then
dispensed with, as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 5, together with the

page_text: pins or points of the piece b, which is covered on the outside with an
enamel or with a color varnish.
The fitting of these heels is both simple and economical since it is
merely necessary to place in the boot or shoe a plate carrying the
screw e, and to screw up the nut on its end. This system of attach-
ment may also be applied to wooden heels covered with cloth or other
fabric, by fitting in the boot or shoe a plato f, the screw e of which
receives a nut which is lodged in a recess or cavity formed in the heel
and covered by the tread piece.
I would observe that in the case of the Louis XV. pattern of heel,
as in that of the other patterns which I am about to describe, the
smooth plate may be replaced by a plate provided with pins or
points set up in the metal, which plate bears on the exterior of the
sole, and carries the screw e which serves to secure the heel. In this
case it is simply necessary to puncture the boot or shoe by means of
a special tool opposite to each of the pins or points, which are then
clenched on the inside, and any projections that may exist are covered by
means of the inner sole divided, or by a thin heel piece.
Figures 8, 9, and 10 (herein-before referred to) shew a pattern of
heel for ladies' boots or shoes, such heel being formed either in a single
piece beaten up or in two pieces a, b, brazed or soldered the one on
to the other; the bottom d is beaten up with the heel, or brazed or
soldered at its lower part; it is provided with a recess or cavity stamped
therein for the reception of the nut g, in order that the tread piece i of
leather may be readily applied thereto. The internal portion 6 of the
heel is curved outside for the purpose of consolidating the bend, and
remains visible in order to obviate any labour in the putting the parts
together; this heel fits directly on to the sole of the finished boot or
shoe, and it only remains to secure the tread piece by means of pins or
points screwed into the bottom d.
The heel for men, shewn in Figures 11, 12, and 13 (which are
respectively a longitudinal vertical section, horizontal section, and
under side plan) is similar to the preceding and may be beaten up
in one piece, and united to the boot or shoe by a screw e passing
entirely through the heel, and maintained in a plate f similar to the
preceding, whilst the nut g, screwed at its lower end, may be enclosed
in the bottom d or (as shewn) in the thickness of the tread piece i,
which is secured to the heel by means of screws.

page_text: In the case of very strong working boots and shoes a tip m may be
rivetted or screwed on to the bottom d, as shewn in Figure 16, such tip
completely surrounding the leather tread piece, in order to increase the
strength of the boot or shoe.
Figure 14 is a longitudinal vertical section, and Figures 15 and 16 are
respectively top and under side plans of a pattern of heel of great strength
and simplicity especially intended for military boots and shoes, which
heel may be beaten up in one piece or manufactured in several parts
brazed or soldered together. It is composed of a periphery n closed on
the inside by a plate p hollowed out so as to adapt itself perfectly to the
bend. The bottom o of this heel is of metal which may be striated but
which in all cases should remain in its rough state in order to obviate
the necessity for a leather tread piece, a tip m is fitted thereto which
together with the other arrangements renders the heel exceedingly firm
and strong; this tip is secured by means of slightly conical pegs rivetted
on the inside of the heel, which admits of its being replaced when
deteriorated by use. This heel is attached by means of a screw e
maintained in a plate finserted in the interior of the boot or shoe, the
screwed portion of such screw receiving a circular nut q which is
enclosed in a similar recess or cavity r formed by beating in the
bottom o. This nut is provided with two recesses which serve to screw
it up by means of a suitable key, and a slight hammering of the screw e
maintains it invariably after it has been put in its place. This description
of heel may be blacked like the rest of the boot or shoe, or it may be
polished and kept in order like the metal portion of the accoutrements.
Independently of the advantages which this description of heel offers
for military boots and shoes, it admits of some saving being effected in
the leather of the sole which is not required to entirely cover the heel,
and which is sufficiently replaced at that part by the counter plate f.
The spurs for cavalry may also be secured to the heel simply by rivetting
or in any other manner with the greatest strength.
I shall now proceed to describe several modifications which are shewn
on Sheet 2 of the various patterns of heels herein-before described, as
also a peculiar mode of attachment which serves to secure them to boots
and shoes.
The Louis XV. heel shewn in Figures 17, 18, and 19 (Sheet 2),
(which are respectively a longitudinal vertical section, plan, and

page_text: horizontal section), is also composed of two pieces a and b and of a
bottom d. On the interior of this heel a flange s is brazed or soldered
to which the boot or shoe is secured, which flange may be solid, as shewn
in the modification Figures 23, 24, and 25, or be recessed, as shewn in
Figures 17 and 20. This portion of the heel is provided with pins or
points either applied and soldered or welded thereto, or, which is more
simple, formed by means of the metal itself cut out for this purpose, as
shewn in Figures 17, 18, 20, and 21. These pins or points are clenched
or rivetted into the back portion of the boot or shoe holes having by
a suitable tool been previously formed therein exactly corresponding to
the position of those points. This mode of attachment is novel and con-
stitutes one of the points of this Invention. It is equally applicable to
wooden heels covered with leather or fabric to such heels; a piece may be
easily secured similar to the flange 8, and provided with pins or points
which are rivetted on to the sole called the inner sole.
Figure 20 is a longitudinal vertical section, and Figures 21 and 22
are respectively upper and under side plans of a metal heel for ladies'´
boots and shoes constructed according to this Invention. In this arrange-
ments the flange s is provided with a projection t intended to support the
bend, and to consolidate the attachment of the heel to the sole. The
leather which forms the tread piece is attached to the bottom of the
heel either by means of pins or points, as shown in Figure 17, or by
means of screws which admit of its being readily replaced when worn,
as shewn in Figures 20 and 23. This mode of attaching the tread piece,
which remains the same whether it is attached to the flat bottom of the
heel or is set in a slightly projecting metal part beaten up, adds to the
elegance of the boot or shoe at the same time that it increases its
strength and firmness.

page_text: wood or other material, and also be covered with a fabric, leather, or any
other material,capable of decorating it.
':
In the modification shewn in horizontal section in Figure 81, the
flanges in lieu of being provided with pins or points is denticulated for
the reception of screws which are introduced from the inside of a boot-5
or shoe, and the countersunk head of which screws is secured at the part.
of the sole termed the inner sole.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used.
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider 1
to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,...
First. The novel description of hollow heel composed of metal beaten
up or cast and polished or enamelled in all colors, bronzed, gilded,
silvered, or ornamented in any manner whatever, heren -before described. 1
and illustrated by the accompanying Drawings,
Second. The various systems of attachment which serve to secure the
said metallic heels to boots and shoes, as herein-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings.
Third. The application of the various descriptions of hollow metallic 2
heels, herein before described; to all kinds of boots and shoes.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Seventh day.
of October One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
J HENRY JOHNSON Gal
0