Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 24th July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 7th Sept., 1888
I, HENRY HARINGTON LEIGH, F. Inst. P.A., practising as Phillips & Leigh, at
No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineers and Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention as
the same has been communicated to me by Jefferson J. Muller, of New York City,
in the United States of America, Manufacturer, to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the construction of dress stands cither
for skirts, bodies, or costumes.
In carrying it into effect, a pair of collars, adjustable upon the central vertical rod,
are provided to which are connected stretchers, and these are flexible in virtue of
knuckle joints formed therein.
The ribs are, preferably, of wire drawn from spring steel, but may be of any
suitable spring metal, and may be of one continuous wire led up and down.
In each bight is inserted a piece of metal, or other suitable substance, grooved
along its edges to receive the ribs, which are held to it by a suitable band.
The knuckle-joints of the stretchers above mentioned are jointed to a second set of
inserted pieces, and a set of lower stretchers are connected by their outer ends to the
lower set of inserted pieces, and by their inner ends to a third adjustable collar upon
the central rod.
The ribs are therefore carried by the stretchers, but a further connection between
them and the central rod may be established, if desirable for the purpose of imparting
rigidity to the stand.
At the top of each rib an eye is formed through which is led a graduated tape.
A second tape may be attached to the ribs in a similar way half way down.
The body may be inade in the same way as the skirt, or without the inserted pieces
and bands, and is attached to the central rod by knuckle-joint stretchers. It is provided
with a suitable tape in the zone of the bosom.

page_text: The shoulder plates and collar piece are adjustable by being made in two pieces, and
graduated to facilitate their adjustment.
Each shoulder-plate is hinged to the collar-piece and is provided with a suitable
stretcher and detent.
All the body ribs are connected by their upper extremities to the shoulder stretchers,
excepting the two outer ones which are connected to the shoulder-plates. They
connect with the skirt in any convenient way.
All the above mentioned stretchers are, preferably, made of wire and in two pieces,
the inner end of each embracing the other piece by means of an eye formed at said
end. A sliding wedge is provided for the purpose of locking the stretcher in any
adjusted position.
Dated this 21st day of Octalior 1007

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Dress Stands.
I, HENRY HARINGTON LEIGH, Fel. Inst. P.A., Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., practising as
Phillips & Leigh, of No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of dress stands and in
order that it and the best means for carrying it into practical effect may be thoroughly
understood I will now describe it in detail referring in so doing to the accompanying
figures which are to be taken as part of this specification and read therewith.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved dress-form. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional
view of a part of the waist portion. Fig. 3 is a plan of the shoulder-plates of one
shoulder. Fig. 4 is a view of the collar-piece.
a is the standard, supported by the pedestal b. are tho skirt-ribs, rendered
expansible and contractible by the stretchers c, at the lower portion, which extend
from the plates e upon the ribs to the sliding hub f, supported by the sliding rest, g,
whose position upon the standard is determined by a set-screw. Double stretchers
extend from similar plates, e, secured to the upper portions of the skirt-ribs, to
similar hubs f, supported by blocks g. Measuring tapes 62 are applied to the skirt-
ribs, and secured thereto in any convenient manner. Each of the stretchers c
consists of two pieces of wire, one extending from the rib and the other from the
hub upon the standard, and each piece is provided with a loop, c', at its unsecured
end, which loop catches over the other wire, thus enabling them to slide by each other.
(See Fig. 2.)
Upon one of each pair of wires forming a stretcher is a piece of metal sliding upon
it, and usually in the form of a coil, d. This sliding coil, when midway between the
two loops c, allows the wires of the stretcher c to slide by each other, but when pushed
near either loop holds them by friction. Thus the stretcher is locked in any desired
position. These stretchers may be used in any part of the dress form.
k is a spring encircling the standard between the two hubs f of the double stretchers,
near the upper portion of the skirt-form. The object is to assist in starting the two
hubs apart when they are near together and are inclined to stick, even after being
released by the set-screws.
7 is the collar-piece, rendered adjustable by means of the short front-piece, m, whose
buttons m' (see Fig. 4) lie in the slots in the piece 7 thus rendering it adjustable as
to size.
np are the shoulder-plates on each side. Each plate n is hinged by means of two
looped wires, n', to buttons 12 on the collar-piece, and the plates n p are connected and
enabled to slide by each other, thus lengthening and shortening the shoulder by means
of the looped wires r, as shown in Fig. 2, which wires catch in each other in manner
similar to the wires of the stretchers c. A spring, s, extends from plate n under

page_text: plate p, and a pin, s¹, extends upward from it through one of the perforations pl in
plate p, thus preventing the plates from slipping. To lengthen or shorten the shoulder,
press down the springs and let its pin s¹ fly into the proper hole. A scale upon plate p
indicates the length.
tt are the waist-ribs. With the exception of the two end ones on each side, they
ali hang from the wires r. The two end ones are hinged directly to the plates pp.
These ribs t are provided with stretchers c, arranged like the stretchers e on the skirt-
ribs, and extend down below the upper end of the skirt-form. Each rib may be free
at its lower end, or two ribs may be connected, as shown in Fig. 2, by looping the
wires around each other, so that they can slide upon each other, if one is contracted
more than the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Dated this 23rd day of July 1888.
H. H. L