IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward John Scott, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Shoe Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward John Scott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
May 1858.
I, EDWARD JOHN SCOTT, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Shoe Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES," to be as follows,
that is to say:
This Invention relates to improvements in attaching soles to "uppers" and
"insoles" in the manufacture of boots and shoes. In carrying it out, holes
are punched or formed in the part of the upper overlapping the insole, and in
the insole if desired, and when the sole consists of gutta percha it is pressed
upon the upper and insole in such a way as to cause portions of it to enter the
holes, whereby a firm attachment is obtained; or the holes may be separately
filled or charged with gutta percha, and the sole be made to adhere by heat,
with or without the aid of gutta percha or other adhesive solution, the gutta
percha in the holes causing the soles to adhere more firmly than when it is
applied to a surface entirely of different material. When the sole consists of
leather it may be attached to the insole and upper, previously perforated and

page_text: charged with gutta percha; or perforations may be made in the sole as well
as in the upper and insole, and the whole may be held together by gutta
percha pegs formed by pressing gutta percha into the perforations.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward John Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
JOHN SCOTT, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Shoe
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Edward John Scott, Her special licence that I, the said Edward John Scott,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
John Scott, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Edward John Scott, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Edward John Scott, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to improvements in attaching soles to "uppers"
and "insoles" in the manufacture of boots and shoes, and is more particularly
applicable when gutta percha soles are used, although it may also be adopted
in the case of leather soles. The Invention consists in effecting the attach-
ment of the sole by means of gutta percha pegs, which are, by preference,

page_text: shaped like screws to give them sufficient hold. In practising the Invention,
in what I find to be the best way in the case of gutta percha soles, the incom-
plete boot or shoe having the edges of the upper turned over and attached to
the insole, and having the surface to which the sole is to be attached covered
with suitable adhesive matter, such as "gutta percha solution," is placed upon
a small last with a loose piece of gutta percha inside it, between the insole
and the last. A common punch is then used to form holes through the
overlapping portions of the upper and the edges of the insole, the edge of
the punch being prevented by the loose piece of gutta percha inside from
coming in contact with the surface of the metal last. The holes thus punched
are made to assume the form of internal screws by means of a screw tap,
which may be conveniently actuated by a brace, the operator applying the tool
to each hole, and screwing it two or three turns in, and as many out. The
boot or shoe is then taken from the last, and the loose piece of gutta percha
being removed, the gutta percha sole is moulded upon it in the usual way,
that is to say, the softened gutta percha being placed in the metal sole mould,
the boot or shoe is screwed down upon it, and the sole is moulded and
attached at the same time, portions of the softened gutta percha being forced
by the pressure into the holes and assuming the shape of screws, so as when
cold and hard to give the sole a very firm hold upon the upper and insole.
The process just described may be modified in various ways. Thus, the
screwed perforations may be formed in the overlapping portions of the upper
before these are permanently turned down upon the insole, the latter being
unperforated, in which case gutta percha solution or other adhesive matter
may be introduced between the insole and the overlapping portions of the
upper. According to another modification the screwed perforations may be
separately filled or charged with gutta percha, the sole being made to adhere
by heat with or without the aid of gutta percha solution or other adhesive
matter. The gutta percha in the holes will unite with the material of the sole
and cause the latter to adhere more firmly than when it is applied to a surface
entirely of a different material like leather.
When the sole consists of leather it may be attached to the insole and
upper previously perforated and charged with gutta percha; or perforations
may be made in the leather sole as well as in the upper and insole, and the
whole may be held together by gutta percha pegs or screws, formed by
pressing gutta percha in a soft state into the perforations.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I must observe that I
do not restrict myself to the precise details herein-before described or referred

page_text: to, but that what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as
the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent, is,
The system or mode of attaching gutta percha soles to boots and shoes
wherein the material of the sole is forced into screw-shaped perforations in the
upper or upper and insole, as herein-before described; and the system or
mode of attaching leather soles to boots and shoes by means of formed
pegs
by forcing gutta percha into perforations or holes formed in the upper or in
the upper and insole, and in the sole or in the former only, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward John Scott, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, S. Enoch Square, Glasgow.
E. J. SCOTT. (L.S.).