IMPROVEMENTS IN COVERINGS FOR, THE FEET
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Barnabas Daft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
April 1862.
I, THOMAS BARNABAS DAFT, of 2, Queen Square, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the Invention for. "IMPROVEMENTS IN COVERINGS FOR, THE FEET,". to be as
follows:-
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This Invention has for its object improvements in coverings for the feet.
Coverings for the feet have heretofore frequently been made of vulcanized
india-rubber; these usually have been made to cover the whole of the foot as
an ordinary golosh; this has not, however, been invariably the case, as vul-
canized india-rubber overshoes have in some cases been made to cover the
toe part of the foot only. They have in all cases, however, as far as I am
informed, been made on a last to the form, of the foot by applying an insole
to the last, and then placing an upper thereon. The edges of the upper being
then folded over, and cemented or otherwise attached to the insole, an outsole
has then been attached by cementing or otherwise, and afterwards the whole
has been vulcanized. Now, according to my Invention, I make what I call
a vulcanized india-rubber mocassin from two flat pieces of sheet india-rubber
compound, which are connected together at their edges, and then vulcanized.
The joining of the sheets is effected, by preference, by cutting the two sheets
together, so that the joint may not be thicker than any other portion of the
I

page_text: article. In this manner a cap is made suitable for fitting over the front part
of the sole and upper of a shoe or boot; the portion which passes over the
top of the foot is of such a size as to completely protect the front of the upper
of the shoe or boot from wet and dirt, and the portion which passes under the
sole of the shoe or boot extends as far as the waist or centre portion thereof
beyond the tread, and there it fits perfectly close so as to prevent mud
working in between the sole of the shoe or boot and the under surface of the
mocassin. This perfect fit is ensured by making the open end or mouth of
the cap smaller than the part of the foot which it is to fit, so that it may
require stretching in putting it on. Its elasticity allows it to stretch freely,
and causes it also to clasp the foot closely.
The mocassin is secured to the foot by means of strings or straps attached
to it at the centre of the upper part or portion, and which the wearer of the
article ties or buttons round the ankle. When constructed in this manner,
the mocassin when off the foot shuts up flat, and it may be readily rolled up
and packed into a small space; "if preferred, however, the article, when put
together in the manner above described, may be put on to a form or into a
mould and there, vulcanized, by which means a permanent form approximating
to that of the foot may be given to it. The under part of the mocassin may
be thickened by the application of an additional piece or sheet of india-rubber,
but this I do not prefer
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In conclusion I would remark, that 'the colistracting an overshoe of the
sort 'above described, by jointing flat 'pieces of india-rubber compound' without
the process of building up on a last, is an important feature of my Invention,
as is also the so making the article that by its 'elasticity it hips the foot closely
at the waist of the shoe or boot, or beyond the tread, so as 'to exclude mud
and mot
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☐ LONDON:
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Printed by GEORGE EDWARD EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE,
Printers to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty. "1862.
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