IMPROVEMENTS in the Manufacture of BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET."
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edgar Brooks, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS in the Manufacture of
BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edgar Brooks at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th June 1877.
EDGAR BROOKS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER
COVERINGS FOR THE FEET."
My Invention consists in manufacturing boots and shoes and other coverings for
the feet, such, for example, as goloshes, in the manner herein-after described, whereby
great economy in manufacture is effected.
Boots and shoes and other coverings for the feet made according to my Invention
are more durable than boots and shoes and other coverings for the feet of the
ordinary manufacture.
I will describe my Invention as applied to the manufacture of boots and shoes.
In making boots and shoes according to my Invention, I make the upper leather
and the other parts of the boot or shoe, excepting the solo, waist, and heel in the
ordinary way, but I make the sole, waist, and heel in the following way :-I cut
from willow, 'teak, or other wood, layers or sheets of a thickness proper for the sole
waist, or heel of the boots or shoes to be manufactured. The said layers are cut in
planes at right angles to the fibres or grain of the wood, or in planes oblique to the
fibres or grain. I treat the said layers of wood by boiling them several hours in a
strong solution of potash, or soda, or borax. After washing and drying, either by
heat or spontaneously, the said layers are impregnated with india-rubber or gutta
percha. This is effected by steeping them for a time in a solution of india-rubber
in bisulphide of carbon, or a solution of gutta percha in coal naphtha or tar, or a

page_text: solution of asphaltum or other adhesive and waterproof material may be used
instead of the solution of india-rubber or gutta percha.
In some cases, especially when layers of considerable thickness are treated, I
prefer to enclose the layers of wood and solution in a vessel which can be exhausted.
After having by exhaustion removed the greater part of the air from the pores of
the wood, the admission of the atmospheric pressure effectually forces the solution
into the pores of the layers of wood immersed in it. After removal from the solution
and drying, either by spontaneous evaporation or by the heat of a stove, the layers
of wood are fit for use.
The requisite shape may be given to the heel, sole, and waist, either before the
wood is treated with the solution of india-rubber or gutta percha, or the wood may
be treated in large sheets or layers, from which the heels, soles, and waists may be
afterwards cut.
The heels, soles, and waists may be attached to the boot or shoe by cement, or by
sewing, rivetting, or screwing. I prefer to employ an inner sole of thin leather or
canvas, or other fabric, so that in case of accidental fracture of the sole, waist, or
heel, the parts may be held together.
I prefer to make the sole of the whole length of the shoe, so as to constitute the
sole proper, the waist, and the foundation for the heel.
The woods I prefer to employ in carrying my Invention into effect are willow,
sycamore, pine, teak, and hickory, but I do not limit myself thereto.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edgar Brooks in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th December
1877.
EDGAR BROOKS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND OTHER
COVERINGS FOR THE FEET."
My Invention consists in manufacturing boots and shoes and other coverings for
the feet, such, for example, as goloshes, in the manner herein-after described, whereby
great economy in manufacture is effected.
Boots and shoes and other coverings for the feet made according to my Invention
are more durable than boots and shoes and other coverings for the feet of the
ordinary manufacture.
I will describe my Invention as applied to the manufacture of boots and shoes.
In making boots and shoes according to my Invention, I make the upper leather
and the other parts of the boot or shoe, excepting the sole, waist, and heel, in the
ordinary way, but I make the sole, waist, and heel in the following way :--I cut
from willow, beech, teak, or other wood, layers or sheets of a thickness proper for
the sole, waist, or heel of the boots or shoes to be manufactured. The said layers
are cut in planes at right angles to the fibres or grain of the wood, or in planes
oblique to the fibres or grain. I treat the said layers of wood by boiling them
several hours in a strong solution of potash, or soda, or borax. I do not limit myself
to any particular alkaline solution, but I have found in practice that the following

page_text: solution answers well, namely, a solution in water of American potash, of the
strength of about one pound of potash to one gallon of water.
Instead of potash the ordinary washing soda of commerce may be employed, but I
prefer potash. Both the potash and soda solutions may be made caustic by the
addition of quicklime, as is well understood, and the solutions thus made caustic act
more rapidly, but the potash and soda solutions act very well without the addition
of quicklime. A mixture made by adding quicklime to water so as to produce
a liquid having about the consistence of cream answers very well. A solution of
borax, in the proportion of two or three pounds of borax to a gallon of water
answers very well, but owing to its greater cost its use is not economical. I
steep the layers of wood in the alkaline solution, by preference at a high tem-
perature and under pressure. When the layers of wood are treated by the
alkaline solution at a boiling heat and in an open boiler, a treatment of four
or five hours may be necessary, but when the layers of wood are treated in a
digester at a pressure of about forty pounds on the square inch, a treatment of
about an hour and a half is sufficient. The length of time required for the effective
treatment of the layers of wood depends on the thickness of the layers, and the
times I have indicated have reference to layers of about one-eighth of an inch
thick.
By the treatment described the resinous and soluble matters contained in the
wood are removed, and little besides cellulose or woody fibre is left. When removed
from the alkaline solution the layers of wood are thoroughly washed and dried.
After washing and drying, either by heat or spontaneously, the said layers are
impregnated with india-rubber or gutta percha. This is effected by steeping them
for a time in a solution of india-rubber, in coal naphtha, or bisulphide of carbon, or
other solvent of india-rubber, or a solution of gutta percha in coal naphtha, or other
solvent in gutta percha may be employed. Or tar, or a solution of asphaltum, or
other adhesive and waterproof material may be used instead of the solution of india-
rubber or gutta percha.
In some cases, especially when layers of considerable thickness are treated, I
prefer to enclose the layers of wood and solution in a vessel which can be exhausted.
After having by exhaustion removed the greater part of the air from the pores of
the wood, the admission of the atmospheric pressure effectually forces the solution
into the pores of the layers of wood immersed in it. After removal from the solution
and drying, either by spontaneous evaporation or by the heat of a stove, the layers
of wood are fit for use. I prefer, however, to subject the layers of wood to pressure
between a pair of dies worked by a press in the ordinary way. I prefer to make
the lower die of a box form, so that the upper die when acting upon the layer of
wood shall be surrounded by the sides of the lower die, and the layer of wood be
thus protected at its edges. I prefer to make a series of crossing grooves or depres-
sions on the under surface of the lower die, by the action of which crossing
raised lines or ridges are produced on the layer of wood. The action of the dies is
facilitated by warming them. I prefer to subject the layers of wood to the action
of the dies during twenty or thirty minutes, or where the dies have been warmed
until they have cooled, or nearly cooled. The under surface of the upper die may
also carry a series of pegs, by which holes are pierced in the layer of wood. In order
to prevent inconvenience from the accidental breaking of the layer of wood or sole
when attached to the boot or shoe, I sometimes attach a thin layer of gutta percha
thereto. In this case the gutta percha is applied by pressure and heat, and the
softened gutta percha is forced into the holes in the layers of wood or sole, and is
thereby firmly attached thereto. By the action of the dies the wood is compressed
and made more dense as well as more flexible. The waterproofing solution is at the
same time distributed more uniformly through every part of the wood.
Instead of compressing the layers of wood by means of dies and pressure, the
same effect may be produced by the action of rolls. When a solution of india-
rubber has been employed, the india-rubber after the evaporation of the solvent may
be vulcanized in the ordinary way, or by immersing the layer of wood for two
05,

page_text: three minutes in a mixture of one part by weight of chloride of sulphur, and fifty
parts by weight of bisulphide of carbon. The completion of the vulcanizing process
is effected by the exposure of the layers of wood to a temperature of about three
hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
The layers of wood may be treated by the india-rubber or gutta percha solutions
by introducing the solution and layers of wood into a vessel which can be closed air-
tight, and by the use of high-pressure steam the temperature of the solution is
raised, and pressure at the same time applied.
When thin layers of prepared wood are to be impregnated with gutta percha, the
gutta percha may be conveniently applied by coating one side of the layer with a
strong solution of gutta percha in mineral naphtha or bisulphide of carbon, and after
the evaporation of the greater part of the naphtha or bisulphide of carbon, subjecting
the layer to pressure, by which treatment the gutta percha is forced into the pores
of the wood.
When thick layers or soles are required I prefer to make them by the use of
several thin layers, treated as already described, and connected together by gutta
percha or other cement.
The requisite shape may be given to the layers of wood from which the heel, solo,
and waist are to be made before the wood is treated with the solution of india-
rubber or gutta percha, or the wood may be treated in large sheets or layers from
which the soles, waists, and foundation of the heel may be afterwards cut. It will
be understood that in every caso the wood is treated by an alkaline solution,
washed and dried before the application of the india-rubber, gutta percha, or other
waterproofing solution.
The heels, soles, and waists may be attached to the boot or shoe by cement, or
by sewing, nailing, rivetting, or screwing. When the layer of gutta percha herein-
before referred to is not attached to the sole, I employ an inner sole of thin leather
or canvas, or other fabric, attached by a solution of gutta percha, so that in case of
accidental fracture of the sole, waist, or heel, the parts may be held together.
I prefer to make the sole of the whole length of the shoe so as to constitute the
sole proper, the waist, and the foundation for the heel.
Soles and heels made according to my Invention may be applied to boots and
shoes the other parts of which are manufactured in the ordinary way, and can
consequently be employed in the rapairing of boots and shoes.
A continuous layer of india-rubber, gutta percha, or cork, or sheet metal may be 3
employed on the inner side of the sole, and to this layer the sole, waist, and heel
may be attached by marine glue or other waterproof adhesive composition.
In order to prevent injury to the edge of the sole or heel, I prefer to make the
wooden sole somewhat less than the bottom of the boot or shoe, and surround
the said sole with a fillet band or framing of leather, gutta percha, vulcanized 4
hard india-rubber, or other hard substance. This fillet is secured in its place by
gutta percha or marine glue, or otherwise, and protects the edge of the sole from
injury.
Soles, waists, and heels of boots and shoes and other coverings for the feet
made according to my 'Invention are very economical, and resist wear better than 4
leather.
The woods I prefer to employ in carrying my Invention into effect are willow,
sycamore, pine, teak, beech, and hickory, but I do not limit myself thereto.
For the soles and waists of boots and shoes where great flexibility is required, I
prefer to employ willow, sycamore, and pine; and for the heels, where toughness 5
rather than flexibility is required, I prefer to employ teak and hickory.
The application of my Invention to coverings for the feet other than boots and
shoes, such, for example, as goloshes, slippers, and the like, differs in no respect from
its application to boots and shoes, as herein described.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the 5
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention
of improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes and other coverings for the

page_text: feet, making the soles,. waists, and heels of boots and shoes and other coverings for
the feet, of layers of wood cut at right angles to or oblique to the fibres of the wood,
the said layers of wood being treated first by an alkaline solution and afterwards
by a solution of india-rubber, gutta percha, or other waterproof solution, substan-
tially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edgar Brooks, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
EDGAR BROOKS. (L.s.)