A LIFE-DRESERVING DRESS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Emile Rilioux, of Paliseul, in the Province of
Luxembourg, in the Kingdom of Belgium, for the Invention of
"A LIFE-DRESERVING DRESS
"
Sealed the 4th February 1870, and dated the 6th August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Emile Rihoux at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th August 1869.
I, EMILE RIHOUX, of Paliseul, in the Province of Luxembourg, in
the Kingdom of Belgium, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A LIFE-PRESERVING DRESS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to supply shipwrecked people and
others with a means of keeping themselves afloat, and has the advantage of
overcoming the difficulties at present found in life-preserving dresses
made of india-rubber, gutta percha, or like material, as it does not
impede the movements of the wearer or stop his natural perspiration.
My Invention consists in making waistcoats of india-rubber, gutta
percha, or other waterproof material provided with cushions which form

page_text: receptacles or reservoirs, and which are filled with gases, preferably with the
lightest gases. There is no communication between the receptacles, so that
if by any accident one should be injured the safety of the wearer would
not be jeopardised as the other receptacles would still be sufficient. In
addition to the waistcoat an air-tight box made of the same materials
and on the same principles may be provided and made of such a shape
that if necessary the wearer of the waistcoat may set on it and move
himself about by means of an oar. The waistcoat may be made of india-
rubber, gutta percha, or other waterproof material, and may be provided
in addition to the receptacles or reservoirs mentioned above with pockets
for carrying anything that is necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Emile Rihoux in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EMILE
RIHOUX, of Paliseul, in the Province of Luxembourg, in the Kingdom
of Belgium, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Emile Rihoux, Her special licence that I,
the said Emile Rihoux, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Emile Rihoux, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "A LIFE-PRESERVING DRESS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Emile Rilioux, 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

page_text: Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Emile Rihoux, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the supplying shipwrecked people
and others with a means of keeping themselves afloat, and moreover
has the advantage of overcoming the difficulties at present found in
life-preserving dresses made of india-rubber, gutta percha, or like
material, as it does not impede the movements of the wearer or stop his
natural perspiration.
My Invention consists in making dresses of india-rubber, gutta
percha, or other waterproof material provided with cushions, which form
separate and distinct receptacles or reservoirs, and which are filled with
air, gases, preferably with the lightest gases, and suitably arranged and
adapted to the human figure, there being no communication between
the receptacles, so that if by any accident one should be injured the
safety of the wearer would not be jeopardised, as the other receptacles
would still be sufficient. In addition to the dress an air-tight chamber
or chambers made of the same materials and on the same principles,
that is to say, in separate and distinct compartments, may be provided
and made of such a shape that if necessary the wearer of the dress may
sit on it and move himself about by means of an oar. The dress and
the riding chamber lastly described may be made of india-rubber, gutta
percha, or other waterproof material, and may be provided with pockets
for carrying anything that may be necessary.
The accompanying Drawings will serve to illustrate the Invention,
Figure 1 being a front, and Figure 2 a back view of the life-preserving
dress.
a, b, c, d, e, are separate compartments for the reception of the air
or gases intended to be used, having no communication with one another,
and which are filled and emptied by means of the small cocks i, thus
affording the
person wearing the life-preserving dress a means of altering
his position in the water. f is a wallet for carrying food or for other
purposes, conveniently attached between the shoulders of the wearer,
9, 9, are intended for bottles; h is an oar or paddle, which may be sus-

page_text: pended over the shoulder when not in use. The receptacles or compart-
ments c, d, may be fastened to the body by means of the strap K.
In witness whereof, I, the said Emile Rihoux, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
EMILE RIHOUX. (L.S.)