IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Palliser, of 14, Cromwell Place, South
Kensington, in the County of Middlesex, late a Major in the Army,
for the Invention of an "IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES."
Sealed the 18th May 1872, and dated the 14th March 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Palliser at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th March 1872.
1, WILLIAM PALLISER, of 14, Cromwell Place, South Kensington,
in the County of Middlesex, late a Major in the Army, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES,"
to be as follows:-
In machine made boots and shoes as at present constructed the sole is
sewed on to the upper leather and to an inner sole by stitches passing
through all of them, and the interior loops of those stitches and the
heads of rivets used to hold the upper leather on the last previous to

page_text: stitching are covered by an internal sock pasted on the inner sole. When
the outer soles of such boots or shoes wear there is a difficulty of
repairing them, except by the use either of sewing machinery or of rivets
and iron lasts. Also, the inner sock is liable to be loosened, shifted, and
buckled by moisture, and when it is removed the stitch loops and rivet
heads wear out stockings, and occasion pain to the feet of the wearer.
Further, when hobnails are used for soles of boots and shoes they are
liable to become loose and drop out, owing to the action of rust and other
causes.
My Invention has for its object the construction of machine made
boots and shoes in such a manner as to avoid the defects above named.
For this purpose I make use of what may be termed a middle sole, which
I stitch to the upper leather and inner sole, making the stitches farther
from the edge than usual so as to leave the middle sole with a soled
border projecting beyond the upper leather in the manner of a welt; I
then stitch on the outer sole. From this construction it will be seen
that when the outer sole is worn it may be entirely removed, leaving the
middle sole complete and available for farther wear, or a new outer sole
may be stitched by hand or by machine to the subsisting border of the
middle sole.
After the outer sole has been fixed the sock or interior lining is pasted
in and sewed in its place with a light thread, which by preference is
not served with cobbler's wax, or it may be sewed at some places, as
round the heel, before the outer heel is fixed, or at the toe. It is thus
retained in its proper position even when the pasting ceases to make it
adhere.
When hobnails are to be used on the sole they are driven into the
outer sole and riveted therein before it is fixed, sufficient border being
left for the stitching beyond the nail heads. The hobnails thus riveted
are retained in the sole notwithstanding any loosening to which they
may be afterwards subjected. The outer sole may either extend over
the whole length of the foot, or may be as a clump sole, covering only
the front part; in this case it is stitched across the sole at the edge of its
back termination.

page_text: UL the Letters I atent,
filed by the said William Palliser in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th September 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PALLISER, of 14, Cromwell Place, South Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex, late a Major in the Army, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Palliser, Her special
licence that I, the said William Palliser, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Palliser, my executors,
administrators, and 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 "IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND
SHOES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Palliser, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, 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 William Palliser, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say:
In machine made boots and shoes as at present constructed, the solc
is sewed on to the upper leather and to an inner sole by stitches passing
through all of them, and the interior loops of those stitches and the heads
of rivets used to hold the upper leather on the last previous to stitching

page_text: purpose beyond the outer row of nails. The hobnails thus rivetted are
retained in the sole notwithstanding any loosening to which they
may be afterwards subjected. The outer sole may either extend over
the whole length of the foot or may be as a clump sole covering only
the front part. In this case it may be stitched or secured by screws.
across the sole at the edge of its back termination.
When an outer clump sole is used which covers only the front part of
the sole and which is attached by screws, I prefer to employ two rows
of stitches to secure the middle sole, one row to be by preference under
the inner lining or sock, the other over it and securing it.

page_text: The sock or inner lining I, Fig. 3, being pasted in the boot, is sewed
in its place by stitching i, i, all round, or else at the toe and at the heel
or at any other points, as before described; when the stitching extends
all round the boot the same stitches that secure the outer sole serve to
secure the sock in its place.
The outer sole D may either extend the whole length of the foot, as
at Figs. 1 and 2, or it may be a clump sole terminating at a point D¹
as in Figs. 6 and 7, it being in this case stitched or screwed across the
sole at its back termination; in this case the middle sole is attached
by preference by two rows of stitches, i.e., it is double sewn. Also the
middle sole may either extend the whole length of the foot, or (when
the outer sole extends the whole length) it may consist of a piece of
thicker leather C for the front part, and a piece of thinner leather C¹
for the back part, as shewn at Fig. 5.
At Figures 1 and 2 my present Invention is shewn as applied to the
construction of Wellington boots, for which Letters Patent were granted
to me on the 29th May 1871, No. 1433, but it is equally applicable to
any other form of boot or shoe.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, what I claim is,―
First. Making boots and shoes with a middle sole which is sewn
separately to the upper leather and inner sole, in combination with an
outer sole which is stitched or screwed to the inner and middle soles,
substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The stitching of the inner lining or sock to the sole of the 1
boot or shoe for the purposes herein-before set forth.
Third. The rivetting of hobnails to the outer sole before it is fixed to
the solid leather middle sole, substantially as described.
Fourth. The combinations in boots and shoes of a soft leather sock
or interior lining stitched upon the sole, a solid leather middle sole a
stitched to the upper and insole with one or two rows of stitches,
and a clump or outer sole studded with rivetted hobnails and attached
to the middle sole by screws or stitches, substantially as herein
described.
Fifth. The combination in boots and shoes of a soft leather sock or 3

page_text: interior lining stitched upon the sole, a solid leather middle sole
stitched to the upper and insole, and an outer sole extending over the
whole of the foot, studded with rivetted hobnails and attached to the
middle sole by screws or stitches, or both, substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Palliser, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.