IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THIMBLES AND FINGER SHIELDS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALPHONSE
LE MIRE DE NORMANDY, of Dalston, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
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 June, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alphonse le Mire de Normandy, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Alphonse le
Mire de Normandy, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alphonse le Mire de Normandy, iny 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THIMBLES AND
FINGER SHIELDS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that
I, the said Alphonse le Mire de Normandy, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will inore fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alphonse le Mire de Normandy, do hereby declare that the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
fully described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
that is to say :-
My Invention consists in using glass, china, or potter's clay, or other such
plastic substances in lieu of metals, and of the other materials hitherto
generally employed for making thimbles or finger shields. The method which
I have found to answer best for manufacturing them is as follows:-
First. I procure a mould of brass, of iron, or of any other suitable material,
though I prefer brass, having the form of the thimble that I wish to make,
but at the internal surface of which little nobs are raised with a chasing tool,
which nobs will correspond to, or will serve to make the holes or depressions
of the thimble. This mould is composed of two parts, a lower one resting on
a press, afterwards described, which lower part has in its centre a depression
in the form of a small cup with raised little nobs, corresponding to the apex of
the thimble; the second part of the mould is divided in three or more parts,
united by joints and scooped, out in the centre, so as to form, when shut, a
conical hole, the internal sides of which are provided with little raised nobs
for the purpose of making the depressions round the thimble, and which
second part of the mould being carefully adjusted to the bottom part, just
described, forms a complete thimble mould; this mould is so made that by
putting all the parts together, a conical hole is formed corresponding exactly
to the dimensions of the thimble to be made, and which is well understood by
mould makers.
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Second. This mould being made with nobs in relief, as just described, all the
parts are to be well bound together in the manner which, being known to glass
mould makers, needs no particular description; it is to be placed under a press
consisting of a straight rod of iron working in a guiding slide, and attached to
a lever in such a way as to move vertically up and down; such a press is
generally used for pressing glass; this rod is terminated by polished mandril,
but less in dimension than the hole of the thimble mould, which is to be so
adjusted that the mandril will fall when depressed by the lever exactly in the
centre of the hole of the mould. Things being thus disposed, a quantity of
melted glass may then be gathered, and a portion thereof is to be poured in
the hole of the thimble mould, and the mandril is then to be immediately
forced down, when it will by taking the room of a quantity of glass equal to
its own volume, which quantity of glass, if in excess, will pour over, and the
result will be on lifting the mandril up a hollow cone of glass, the inside of

page_text: which will be smooth and polished like the mandril, whilst the external
surface having been pressed by the mandril against the sides of the mould will
have taken the impression of the nobs above spoken of, and will be thus
covered with little depressions corresponding thereto; which constitutes a
thimble, the thickness of which is of course dependant upon the thickness;
of the mandril, but which, if too thick, may be reduced by opening it, with,
the glass cutter tools in the same manner as bottles are fitted with glass
stoppers.
Third. When, instead of glass, china or clay is employed, the same mould
may be used, and then it suffices to press in the mould a certain quantity of:
the plastic material and to force the mandril therein, exactly as first described,
and the thimble thus obtained is then to be baked, glazed, and submitted to
the processes usually employed for objects of china, pottery, and such wares.
Fourth. For finger shields, a mould similar in construction to the thimble
mould, just described, is employed, of a suitable form and shape, but the mould
has no nobs raised up so that both the surfaces of the finger shield are smooth
and polished.
Having thus described my Invention, I would observe that I claim as my
Invention the use of glass for the purpose of making thimbles and finger
shields, whatever be the instrument employed for such a manufacture.
Second. With respect to china clay, pottery, and other such plastic sub-
stances, I would remark that I am aware that several attempts have been
made at manufacturing thimbles with these substances, but all have been
exceedingly rude and unserviceable; the thimbles that I have seen made of
these substances had depressions only at the top, but none at the sides, except
one, which had depressions on the side also, but made with the hand armed
with some pointed tool, and by pricking here and there the substance of the
thimble whilst in the plastic state; wherefore that which I claim in reference
to thimbles made of the materials here described, to wit, china clay, and other
such plastic materials, is the mould and press described in this Specification,
whereby I am enabled to make a thimble of the ordinary form and structure.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alphonse le Mire de Normandy, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
ALPHONSE LEMIRE (L.s.) DE NORMANDY.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-sixth day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid Alphonse le Mire de Normandy
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 December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.