Improvements in the Means Employed for Retaining Hats or the like Head Coverings on the Head in all States of the Weather.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 25th Apr., 1891-Accepted, 25th July, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Means Employed for Retaining Hats or the
like Head Coverings on the Head in all States of the Weather.
I, ARTHUR MARSDEN, of 10, Templar Street, Stockton-on-Tees, in the County
of Durham, Draper, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
My invention relates to means employed for retaining hats or similar head
coverings on the head in all states of the weather, and is applicable to the hats or
similar head coverings in ordinary use, but is more especially applicable to the hats
worn by ladies of fashion.
Hats and other similar head coverings as at present constructed are constantly
liable to be blown off in windy weather to prevent which an elastic band passing
under the chin or behind the back of the head and fastened to opposite parts of the
brim is employed in the case of ladies' or children's hats, or as a substitute for this
the back part of the crown of the hat is pierced by a pin or spear shaped wire
which passes through the intervening hair skewer fashion.
The object of my invention is to supersede these modes of retaining the hat on
the head by substituting securing devices or attachments fitted to the hat and.
engaging with the hair in such a manner that their grip on the hair is increased by
the effort of the wind to blow the hat off. The said devices or attachments can
nevertheless be readily withdrawn by the wearer to remove the hat or other similar
head covering.
In carrying my invention into effect, I vary the securing devices or attachments
in certain details of construction to adapt my said invention to the condition of the
Where
hair available for the said securing devices or attachments to engage with.
the hair available for this purpose is plentiful and tightly folded as is usually the
case with ladies of fashion, I provide at opposite parts of the hat wire frames bent
to form fingers or prongs to engage with the hair by penetrating it in an upward
direction by sliding up inside the hat from which they are withdrawn by the fingers
when the hat is to be free for removal from the head; these wire frames slide in
and out of the hat through eyelets or apertures provided at the lower part of the
hat, their position being adjusted by the fingers.
In applying my invention where the hair is too thin or short to receive the
fingers or prongs of the above described wire frames, I provide spring clips which
when inserted into the hair grip a tuft thereof, which grip does not become relaxed
except by operating the spring of the clip by the fingers. A retaining wire is
rigidly connected to the clip by which it can slide up into the hat or be withdrawn
therefrom, but is connected thereto by the said retaining wire passing through au
eyelet or aperture fixed in the lower part of the hat.
Dated this 26th day of July 1890.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in the Means Employed for Retaining Hats or the
like Head Coverings on the Head in all States of the Weather.
I ARTHUR MARSDEN, late of 10 Templar Street, Stockton-on-Tees in the
County of Durham and now of Picton in the County of York, Draper, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to means employed for retaining hats or similar head
coverings.on the head in all states of the weather and to prevent them from being
removed by accident and is applicable to the hats or similar head coverings in
ordinary use but is more especially applicable to the light and airy hats worn by
ladies of fashion.
Such hats or other similar head coverings as at present constructed are constantly
liable to be blown off in windy weather to prevent which various devices have been
adopted such as the well known clastic band passing under the chin or behind the
head and fastened to opposite parts of the brim which is considered to be in-
convenient and unsightly, or as a substitute for this the back part of the crown of
the hat is pierced by a pin or spear shaped wire which passes through the hair
skewer fashion. But in doing so the hat is damaged and spoiled by the holes made
through it from time to time in inserting the pin through fresh places.
The object of my invention is to obviate these defects and difficulties in the mode
of retaining the hat on the head by substituting devices or attachments fitted to the
hat and engaging with the hair in such a manner that any tendency to remove the
hat from the head such as the effort of the wind to blow the hat off increases
the grip on the hair of the securing devices or holdfasts which securing devices or
holdfasts are adjustable by the wearer and can be readily withdrawn for the
purpose of removing the hat or other similar head covering. The securing devices
or holdfasts are secured to the hat and cannot be lost, and may be either altogether
invisible or have ornamental ends exposed to view.
So far as the invention described in my Provisional Specification relates to the
use of spring clips to grip a tuft of hair, where the hair is thin or short. I have since
come to the conclusion that the utility of such a device would be found to be very
limited on account of the discomfort which such clips might cause to the wearer
and as I do not attach importance to its use in consequence of this defect I desire
to discard it and to confine my present invention to the use and construction of the
securing devices or holdfasts which engage with the hair without the use of such
spring clips and which I will now proceed to describe with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
In the drawings
Figures 1 and 2 may be taken as representative of hats or head coverings
generally to which my invention is advantageously applicable.
Figures 3 to 7 represent my securing devices or holdfasts in detail with their
means of attachment to the hat.
each
A single two wired prong a illustrated in Figure 3 or of a combination of two
such wired prongs as illustrated in Figure 4 is a convenient form of securing device
or hold fast for the purposes of my invention for the following reasons;
prong a which is curved to conform to the shape of the head is formed with a
round or blunt end a' which is preferable to the single wire prongs which come to
a point as illustrated in Figure 5 as the round end avoids all risk of wounding the
skin or causing discomfort to the wearer when pushed into the hair; added to
which the mutual support which the two wires forming a prong afford each other
when united in the form of a loop or inverted hair pin imparts strength and
elasticity to the securing device or hold fast as a whole and increases its grip on the
hair but although I prefer the double wired prongs as described with reference to

page_text: Figures 3 and 4 my invention includes single wired prongs as illustrated in
Figure 5 or a metal strip as illustrated in Figure 7 or any mere modifications of
the securing devices as illustrated in the Figures 3 to 7. Where the hair is
plentiful and tightly folded as is usually the case with ladies of fashion, I provide
my improved securing devices or holdfasts at opposite parts of the hat to engage
with the hair by penetrating it in an upward direction, which securing devices
extend their full length inside the hat from which they are withdrawn by the
fingers when the hat is to be free for removal from the head.
:
These securing devices or holdfasts which are always curved to conform to the
head and may be turned back at the point if desirable slide in and out of the hat
through eyelets or apertures provided at the sides of the hat as illustrated in
Figure 1 or at the lower part of the inside of the hat as illustrated in Figure 2,
their position being adjusted by the fingers. When the prongs a of the securing
device or holdfast pass through the sides of the hat the cuds are always exposed
to view and are preferably ornamental, but where the prongs of the securing device
or holdfast pass up the inside of the hat as illustrated in Figure 2, the ends can be
pushed up out of sight and are preferably simple and of small size. In Figure 1
eyelet plates c are secured to the sides of the hat to sustain the prongs of the
securing device or holdfast and to prevent damage to the material of which the hat
is constructed these eyelet plates are flush, countersunk or of any approved form
which will admit of convenient attachment to the sides of the hat, and not be
detrimental to its appearance. In Figure 2 the eyelet plates care attached to the
inside of the hat and may be of the form illustrated in Figure 4 or of the form
illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 or of other equivalent form which can be conveniently
attached to the internal lining of the hat. It is essential that when the prongs are
inserted into the hair they do not come out too easily but can be nevertheless
withdrawn at will by the fingers of the wearer of the various devices which can
be used to effect this purpose a simple one is shown in the drawings which consists
in the expansion of the wires or prongs at d so that the compression of the wires
which takes place in withdrawing the prongs from the hair affords sufficient
resistance to sustain the securing device or holdfast in position in the hair until
intentionally withdrawn by the wearer; where a metal strip is used a similar slight
expanding curvature will effect the same purpose if the strip be slotted in the
manner shown in Figure 7 otherwise any spring attachment of any suitable con-
struction may be substituted therefor.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
Firstly The use of the hereinbefore described securing devices or holdfasts in
combination with hats or the like head coverings for retaining them on the head
substantially in the manner and for the purpose as hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Secondly-The use and construction of the securing devices or holdfasts with
double wired prongs a and rounded ends a' and with or without the expansions
at d as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the accom-
panying drawings.
Thirdly The use and construction of the securing devices or holdfasts with
single wired prongs a or metal strips with or without expansions at d as herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 5 6, and 7 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 27th dor of April 1801
G. J. CLARKSON,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the said A. Marsden.