A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF MAKING REVOLVING BOOT AND SHOE HEELS AND TIPS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Douglas Norton, of 94, Old Street
Road, E.C., & 6, Roman Road, N., Middlesex, Gentleman, for
the Invention of "A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF MAKING
REVOLVING BOOT AND SHOE HEELS AND TIPS."
Sealed the 18th September 1869, and dated the 1st April 1869.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Douglas Norton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 1st April 1869, pursuant to the 9th Section of the
Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DOUGLAS NORTON, of 94, Old Street Road, E.C., & 6, Roman Road, N.,
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "A NEW AND
IMPROVED METHOD OF MAKING REVOLVING BOOT AND SHOE HEELS AND TIPS,"
and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, and my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and
[Price 8d.]

page_text: have made solemn Declaration that I am the true and first Inventor
thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Douglas Norton, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and
seal fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being made to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
making a part of this my Specifications, and to the figures and letters
of reference mark'd thereon, similar letters of reference denoting
similar parts where such parts appear or may be seen at each of the
Figures respectively.
The object of my Invention is to permit the lower part of the heel
of a boot or shoe to be turned by the grip of the hand to any degree
necessary to preserve the surface of the heel from uneven wear, and
thereby retaining the boot or shoe in its original upright shape.
I am aware that heels upon somewhat and a similar principle have
been adopted into practise both in boots and shoes, but those different
methods where impracticable in their application, being too complicated
and expensive for general use, and the present design is to obviate those
disadvantages.
My propos'd method in the present case in my improv'd adjustable
heel is as follows:-I make a disc of metal (Fig. 2) having a rabbet on
its inside lower edge (a), the purpose of which is to permit a keeper,
made of a circular piece of metal, as shown at (Fig. 3) (c) of a corre-
sponding size to pass the upper orifice of the disc (Fig. 2) (6), and bear
upon the rabbet (a) for the purpose of attaching the disc (b) to its base
upon the boot or shoe, and being thus placed the keeper (Fig. 3) (c)
having screw holes perforating its surface; it is firmly attached to the
boot or shoe by means of screws or nails driven through the holes into
that part of the heel formed upon the sole of the boot, at the same time
permitting the revolving part of the heel (a) (Fig. 1) to be easily turned
by the hand at the pleasure of the wearer. The disc by enlarging the
diameter and increasing its thickness can be further used as a tip (e, e,)
(Fig. 4), securing it to the boot in the same manner as the disc having
the revolving heel attached to it; but when the disc is enlarged and
used as a tip I pack its under surface with a leather washer (a) to give
greater firmness upon the boot or shoe. This washer is secured to the
tip by means of two or more studs (r), (Fig. 4), formed upon the reverse

page_text: side of the tip, which cause the washer to turn by the same means as the
revolving tip to which it is attached. This mode of construction renders
the reheeling of the boots unnecessary during the entire wear of the other
parts, by enabling the wearer to substitute any point of the heel's surface for
that part most worn.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, of the annex'd Sheets illustrates the construction of
a boot heel made according to my Invention, Fig. 1 being a vertical
section through the boot heel; Fig. 2 and 3 detached parts of the same;
Fig. 4 being a vertical section of the disc so enlarged as to form a
revolving tip, having points to secure the leather washer (x).
(a), circular heel, shown at Fig. (1); (b), metal disc, as shown at
Fig. (); (f), screws, as shown at Fig. (1); (d), rabbet on disc, as shown,
Fig. (1 and 2); (c), keeper, as shown at Fig. (3); (e), metal tip with
points (r), as shown at Fig. (4); (a), leather washer, as shown at
Fig. (4).
And having now described the nature of my Invention, and the means
by which I carry it into practical effect, I would have it understood that I
do not confine myself to the exact details herein given, nor to any precise
dementions of the several parts as such may be varied and modified without
departure from my Invention.
What I claim as my Invention is, the disc and the metal plate, sub-
stantially described, or the two figures embodied in one peice of metal;
also the disc enlarged with points for leather washer.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Douglas Norton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this 30 day of March, in the year of our Lord
1869.
CHARLES DOUGLAS NORTON. (L.s.)