CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING HATS OR CAPS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, JOHN
MOLLADY, Junior, of Denton, in the County of Lancaster, Hat Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twelfth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-two, in the fifteenth year of Her reign, and in year One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-two, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Mollady, Her especial license, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Mollady, my exors, admors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said John Mollady, my 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 six calendar months therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England
and Wales and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING HATS OR CAPS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said John
Mollady, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her
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 more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, said John
Mollady, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, that is to say:―
My Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Manufacturing Hats or
Caps relate principally to the manufacture of soft felt "rustic" hats and caps, but
are also applicable to the shaping, rounding, and finishing of hats or caps of
other forms, and having either a felt, silk, stuff, or other surface, whereby the
bodies of the said hats or caps are brought into suitable forms or shapes to
suit the wearer as required. The object is principally obtained by means of a
certain arrangement of apparatus finished with suitable upper and lower
blocks and moulds or dies, which, being heated by means of steam or other-
wise, are brought to bear or press upon the felt body of the hat or cap by the
agency of levers, racks, screws, or any other means of pressure. Such moulds
and blocks being suitably varied in form and size as required, this apparatus
will ensure a perfect regularity in sizes and uniformity in shape hitherto
unattainable by the ordinary hand process of finishing hats. Such being the
nature and object of my said improvements, I will proceed to describe more
in detail the method of carrying the same into practical effect, and in order
more fully to illustrate the same, I have attached to these Presents a Sheet of
Drawings representing several views of my improved apparatus drawn to a
scale of about one inch and a half to a foot. The apparatus is represented in
the Drawing (for the sake of illustration) as adapted to the shaping and
finishing of what are now generally known by the name of "rustics," and
the several views are marked with figures and letters of reference corre-
sponding with those in the following description.
Figure 1 is an end view of the apparatus, Figure 2 is a front elevation,
and Figure 3 a vertical section of the same, taken through about the line
A, B, in Figure 2. a, a, is the horizontal framework of the apparatus,
supported by means of suitable columns b, b, placed upon the stonework c, c.
The framing a, a, supports the lower moulds or dies e, e, which are formed
hollow, and enclosed so as to serve as steam chests (see Fig. 3), and are kept
heated by means of steam admitted through the pipes f. f. 9, 9, are pipes for
conveying away the condensed water. The upper blocks h, h, which I prefer
.to be made of brass, are attached to the lower extremities of vertical sliding
bars i, i, which work through bushes k, k, in the framing a, a, and are
capable of being actuated by means of the levers 1, 1. It will be evident that
when the apparatus is not in use the upper blocks h, h, will rest upon
the lower blocks or dies e, e, by their own gravity, and by that means be kept
heated. The process is as follows -The hollow-conical formed hat bodies as
they are brought from the maker are soaked or steeped in hot water, and
made to fit the block by hand in the usual manner (excepting that the brim is

page_text: not curled), they are then dried in a stove or otherwise. The blocks h, h, being
raised by the levers 1, 1, the "rustics" are then placed in the lower moulds or
dies e, e, of the machine according to their respective sizes and forms. The
upper blocks are then lowered by means of the levers 1, 1, and, if necessary,
suitable weights are hung upon the said levers. The hat bodies are thus
pressed firmly between the two heated surfaces of the moulds, and thus an
uniform shape or size, and a supior surface or finish is imparted to them. The
brims, which should be left a little broader than the requisite finished width, are
then cut by means of a knife, which is run round by hand in the groove m, m.
When the hats have remained in the machine about a minute or so they may
be removed therefrom, and after being bound and lined are again pressed
in the machine to give them a final gloss or finish, and are then ready for the
market.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said improvements,
together with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would
here remark that I am aware that it has been proposed to make hats by
stretching the felt or other material upon a shape, and subjecting the same to
the pressure of peculiarly-shaped blocks; I do not therefore claim as of my
Invention the use of blocks in the manufacture of hats, caps, and bonnets,
but what I do claim is the manufacture of hats and caps (whilst in a dry state or
nearly so) by means of suitable upper and lower dies, blocks, or moulds, heated
by steam or otherwise, whereby the hats and caps are shaped under pressure
between the upper and lower dies, blocks, or moulds, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Molladay, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of August, One thousand eight