A NEW MODE OF EMPLOYING SILK OR OTHER MATERIALS IN THE MAKING OF HATS AND BONNETS
Year: 1817

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
BRUNTON, of Bride Lane, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of
July, in the fifty-seventh year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said Frederick Brunton, my exors, adññors, and assigns, His especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Frederick Brunton,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term
of years therein mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A NEW
MODE OF EMPLOYING SILK OR OTHER MATERIALS IN THE MAKING OF HATS AND
BONNETS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if I,
the said Frederick Brunton, should not particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same
to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that
then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever
thereby granted, shall forthwith cease, determine, and become void, as in
and by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large
annar

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following description thereof (that is to say):-
The bonnets and hats are made of silk, linen, or cotton braids or platts,
either platted by hand, by machinery, or wove into platts or braids in the
loom. The silk for this purpose may be used either in the gum or dyed first
to the color, but the best way is to make the bonnets or hats of that in the
gum, and they may be afterwards dyed to any color required, which will
prevent any moisture from the hands in the making up, or in the process of
platting or weaving, injuring the brilliancy of the dye. The bonnets or hats
may be made up in different ways; they are sewed over and over like the
common straw, but in this case the silk must be dyed previous to making up,
or whilst it is in the braid, for being sewed as the straw bonnets when it is
taken out of the dye the braid or platt bags between the sticthes, and although
it may be nearly brought into its original state by blocking and pressing,
still it will not have the regular appearance it had when first made up,
therefore, any bonnet or bat made in this way, and which is to be dyed to
any other color, should first be taken to pieces, and the braid or platt dyed,
then made up to the shape required. The next way of making these
bonnets or hats is by sewing the braids or platt edge to edge, the stitches
close and drawn quite tight. They are sewed different ways edge to edge,
but the best way is to sew them on the wrong side; that is to say, the
stitches to be inside when made up so the texture is remarkably fine, and
much resemble knitted leghorn. The other way is by knitting the braids or
platts into bonnets or bats, as is done with the leghorn and other platts. The
crowns may be either kuitted first, and afterwards the brim, to facilitate the
blocking and pressing, or they may be knitted all in one piece, and with
blocks made for the purpose may be blocked, and pressed in that state.
platts, for they will never
The peculiar advantage of the two last ways of making up the bonnets and
hats is that unless the shape is to be altered, they can be dyed without taking
to pieces, and being blocked look equal to new. These bonnets and hats aro
not like those made of straw, chip, or leghorn
split, and may be made up and altered as often as required without the
least injury, and they will certainly wear a considerable time longer than
anything yet invented. With respect to the mode of stiffening and blocking
these bonnets or hats, they may be stiffened with isinglass, French starch, or
any like substance or composition employed in stiffening straw, chip, or
leghorn bonnets, but great care should be taken that the stiffening is perfectly
clean, and of sufficient consistence not to penetrate through the texture,

page_text: whether applied inside or out, as it will make the color cloudy. Attention should
also be paid to suit it as much as possible to the colors, especially where
they are delicate; the stiffening is applied either inside or out as already
stated, but the inside is best, as there is less chance in that way of taking
off the brightness of the colours. When a honnet is to be blocked it is
put on the block whilst in a damp state, and either pressed with a hot
iron or hot pressed like the leghorns. In most cases, however, the pressing
of them with a hot iron like straw bonnets will be found sufficient. From
the softness of the texture, in pressing, fine paper, fine linen, or something of
a similar nature, should be kept between the iron and the bonnet or hat to
prevent soiling. The crowns may at pleasure be kept in a proper shape by
applying paper to the upper part in the inside, as is done in leghorn bonnets,
and will be found of no inconvenience whatever.
In witness whercof, I, the said Frederick Brunton, have hereunto set my
day of September, in the year of our Lord
hand and seal, this
One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
FREDERICK (L.S.) BRUNTON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of September, in
the year of Lord 1817, the aforesaid Frederick Brunton came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, 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.
Inrolled the Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventeen.