Improvements in and relating to Puttees or Leg and other Bandages, and in their Construction or Method of Manufacture.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 18th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 26th July, 1900
Improvements in and relating to Puttees or Leg and other Bandages,
and in their Construction or Method of Manufacture.
I, FRANCIS HUGH Fox, of Tonedale Mills, Wellington, Somerset, Woollen
Manufacturer, (Fox Brothers and Company Limited,) dò hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in and relating to puttees or leg and
other bandages, and in their construction or method of manufacture.
Up to the present time, it has been the universal practice for puttees or leg
bandages and the like to be made of plain straight or parallel strips of cloth or
other suitable material. Considerable difficulty has been experienced in wind-
ing such puttees or bandages neatly and snugly on the leg, which is more or
less taper from the ankle to the calf. This difficulty is but partially obviated by
giving the puttee one or two cross twists when part-way up the leg such winding
requiring much practice and time to obtain a neat finish, and, even then, the
result in comfort and appearance is far from satisfactory as it is invariably
found that it is difficult to cause the bottom edge of the puttee to lie closely
upon the leg without pulling or tightening the top edge so as to render it uncom-
fortable, objectionable and far from neat in appearance.
My invention has for its object the supply of the want thus felt, and the
removal of the difficulties and objections above pointed out the resultant puttee
leg or other bandage produced according to my invention enabling the wearer
to wind same on quickly and neatly thus entirely dispensing with the present
necessity of employing the objectionable turns or twists before referred to;
whilst, the method employed in the manufacture or construction of these band-
ages renders it possible to produce same in quantities cheaply quickly and with-
out waste of material.
The puttees, leg and such like bandages according to my invention are curved,
shaped or formed so as to assume a special configuration in such a manner that
when the aforesaid puttee or leg bandage is wound or rolled round the calf or
other part of the wearer, it will readily conform to the required shape or con-
tour of the limb or body of the wearer adapting itself snugly to the leg or the
like and presenting a very neat appearance without any cross twists or straining
of either edge during the act of winding same in position. I do not confine
myself to any particular shape or number of curves in my improved puttec, leg
or like bandage, as same will necessarily vary according to the requirements of
each particular case. Further my improved puttees may be employed either
alone as leg bandages or same may be suitably combined with spats or other
boot, foot, or leg coverings, and, when desired, for sake of ventilation and cool-
ness, my improved puttee or bandage aforesaid is perforated at frequent intervals
in any convenient manner and to any particular design.
I construct or manufacture these curved or shaped puttees or leg bandages,
herein before more particularly described, in a variety of ways, either by special
means employed for the purpose or by hand. In practice I have found, how-

page_text: ever, it is best to produce the cloth or material of which the puttee or bandage
is composed by suitable machinery employed for the purpose in one continuous
circular piece of cloth or other suitable material which is then cut into the
requisite lengths (in the case of an ordinary leg bandage of about nine feet)
these lengths being then again cut longitudinally to the required curve or shape,
several such lengths being preferably cut at one operation; whilst, I have found
that this method of manufacture renders all waste of material, which would other-
wise occur; entirely unnecessary.
Improvements in and relating to Puttees or Leg and other Bandages,
and in their Construction or Method of Manufacture.
I, FRANCIS HUGH Fox, of Tonedale Mills, Wellington, Somerset, Woollen
Manufacturer (Fox Brothers and Company Limited,) 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 improvements in and relating to puttees or leg band-
ages, and in their construction or method of manufacture.
Up to the present time, it has been the universal practice for puttees or leg
bandages to be made of plain straight or parallel strips of cloth or
other suitable material. Considerable difficulty has been experienced in wind-
ing such puttees or bandages neatly and snugly on the leg, which is more or
less taper from the ankle to the calf. This difficulty is but partially obviated by
giving the puttee one or two cross twists when partway up the leg, such winding
requiring much practice and time to obtain a neat finish, and, even then, the
result in comfort and appearance is far from satisfactory as it is invariably
found that it is difficult to 'cause the bottom edge of the puttee to lie closely
upon the leg without pulling or tightening the top edge so as to render it uncom-
fortable, objectionable and far from neat in appearance.
. My invention has for its object the supply of the want thus felt, and the
removal of the difficulties and objections above pointed out, the resultant puttee
produced according to my invention enabling the wearer to wind same on quickly
and neatly thus entirely dispensing with the present necessity of employing the
objectionable turns or twists before referred to: whilst the method employed in
the manufacture or construction of these puttees renders it possible to produce
same in quantities cheaply, quickly and without waste of material
The puttees or leg bandages according to my invention are curved, shaped or
formed in such a manner that when the aforesaid puttee or leg bandage is wound
or rolled round the leg of the wearer, it will readily conform to the shape of
contour of the limb adapting itself snugly to the leg and presenting a very
neat appearance without any cross twists or straining of either edge during the
act of winding same in position. The exact shape of the curves in my improved
puttee will necessarily vary according to the requirements of each particular

page_text: case. My improved puttees may be employed either alone as leg bandages or
may be suitable combined with spats or other boot, foot or leg coverings, and,
when desired, for sake of ventilation and coolness, my improved puttee may be
perforated at frequent intervals in any convenient manner and to any particular
design.
In order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I have annexed to.
this specification the accompanying two sheets of drawings.
In these drawings Figure 1 illustrates the general contour or configuration of
a puttee constructed in accordance with my invention, and Figure 2 illustrates
the puttee in position on the leg; Figure 3 illustrates the method I prefer to
adopt in cutting out a puttee.
Referring firstly to Figure 1, which represents the contour or configuration of
a puttee A adapted to fit a leg of average development and length, it will be
seen that the puttee consists of a strap of material having parallel sides. By
way of example I would say that experience shows that for a leg of average size
the following dimensions are most suitable:-
Length of puttee (not including tape which may vary in size, etc. as found
most convenient) nine feet and width of puttee 4½ inches, the shape of the
curves being as indicated in full lines in Figure 1. In giving these dimensions
I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to such
dimensions or to the exact contour or configuration shown, as they may be con-
siderably varied, because it is obvious that they are dependent on the size,
development and length of leg of the wearer. If the calf is thinner than normal
a curve such as is indicated in dotted lines may be used. If the calf is thicker
than normal a curve greater than that indicated in full lines should be taken.
If the leg is longer than normal the centre of the greatest curve should be
slightly farther away from the bottom end C of the puttee, and the puttee itself
may be made slightly longer than nine feet. If the leg is shorter than normal
the puttee may be made slightly less than nine feet and the centre of the
greatest curve may be nearer to the bottom end C of the puttee.
In the manufacture of my improved puttee I take a pattern or template and
then either mark out on the material the contour of the puttee and cut out the
same by means of a pair of scissors. or I place the pattern or template over one
or several layers of the material and cut out the puttee by means of a knife.
The material I prefer is made in one continuous cylindrical piece which is cut
off into suitable lengths, say nine feet in the case of the puttee shown in Figure 1.
These lengths are again cut longitudinally to the required shape or contour,
several such lengths being preferably cut at one operation. This method of
manufacture is shown diagrammatically at Figure 3, which illustrates a length
of cylindrical cloth or material from which one puttee has been cut out and the
outline of another parallel thereto, in dotted lines. By proceeding in this
manner I can utilize the whole circumference of the cylindrical fabric without
any waste of material if puttees of the same outline are to be cut therefrom. I
do not however limit my invention to material cut from a cylinder.
A fastening tape D or equivalent is attached to the upper end of the puttee.
In applying a puttee constructed in accordance with my invention to the leg
all that the wearer has to do is to first roll the puttee up with the tape inside.
The free end or lower extremity C is then placed on the ankle or lower portion
of the calf (care being taken that the spiralling will unwind correctly to the
shape of the leg) and such free end is then tightly secured by the succeeding
turns of the puttee, the act of winding the puttee spirally round the leg being
continued from the ankle to the knee, the curved or spiral shape of the puttee
as aforesaid causing it to snugly fit and adapt itself to the varying shape of the
leg from the ankle upwards without any crosstwisting whatsoever. The tape D
is then wound round the leg below the knee like a garter and its end tucked in
as shown in Figure 2. Any other suitable form of fastening may, however, be
employed.

page_text: From the above description it will be seen that no skill or experience is neces-
sary in the application of my puttee and I moreover dispense with the objec-
tionable cross twists herein before referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
The hereinbefore recited improvements in and relating to puttees or leg band-
ages and in their construction and method of manufacture consisting in forming
or shaping the said puttees substantially as described and illustrated to ensure
same being wound upon and accommodating themselves to the legs of the
wearer without any cross twisting, all as herein described and shown and for
the purposes herein set forth.
The Common Seal of T.
affixed hereto in the
T. B. BROWNE LIMITED,
Agents for the Applicant,
163, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.
B. Browne Limited was
presence of
JAMES WANN, Director.
GEO. W. DOVER, Secretary.