IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF BOOTS AND SHOES, APPLICABLE ALSO IN PART TO BOOTS AND SHOES OF OTHER KINDS, AND TO OTHER OUTER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET
Year: 1857

page_text: Sealed the 2nd October 1857, and dated the 6th April 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Goodyear at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th April 1857.
I, CHARLES GOODYEAR, of Leicester Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WATERPROOF BOOTS AND SHOES, APPLICABLE ALSO
IN PART TO BOOTS AND SHOES OF OTHER KINDS, AND TO OTHER OUTER COVERINGS FOR
THE FEET," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in the manufacture of
waterproof "uppers" for shoes and boots, the object being to provide at small
cost a waterproof material, which when cut up will form "uppers" having the
appearance of a compound of cloth and glazed leather, the glazed portion
being intended to take the place of the tips, heel, and side pieces, now applied
to cloth or stuff boots,
In carrying out this part of my Invention I use perforated sheet india-
rubber, made according to the well-known process, or according to a new
process, for which I am now soliciting Letters Patent, and upon the face of

page_text: this fabric I apply sheet rubber in pieces, corresponding in form to the pieces
of leather now applied to or forming part of the uppers of cloth boots, or in
any other desired form, and I cement them on to the sheet, and submit the
sheet to pressure between dies, one of which is grooved on its face, so as to
form corrugations on the inner face of the fabric, which corrugations (when
the material is made up) will assist the ventilation of a boot or shoe by reason
of the channels becoming air ducts. I next submit the sheet to the vul-
canizing process, and it is then ready to be cut up into pieces, suitable for
use as uppers in manufacturing waterproof boots and shoes.
The Invention relates, secondly, to the manufacture of boot and shoe heels
and soles, the object being to ensure greater durability in those parts, and
greatly to reduce their cost. The heel I mould of hard india-rubber, making
the same hollow to receive a filling piece of vulcanized india-rubber, india-
rubber sponge, or other clastic or yielding substance, which projects somewhat
beyond the edge of the enclosing case, so as to form a cushion or buffer for
easing the blow of the heel when it strikes upon the ground. The soles I
make on the same principle, but I find it desirable to apply a lining of steel
or other metal around the cavity formed to receive the spongy or elastic
material. I also propose to apply a perforated plate of metal, coated with
india-rubber, to the inner face of the outer soles of boots and shoes to prevent
the hard compound of which the sole is mainly composed from cracking.
As a modification in the manufacture of the soles, and to obtain extreme
lightness with great strength, I mould the sole in the form of a closed shell,
with metal partitions contained in it extending across and dividing the interior
into cells; I then cut away portions of this shell, and fill up the cells so opened
out with spongy rubber or other elastic substance, as above explained.
The soles and heels I apply either by means of screws or by cement.
When making boots and shoes of this improved construction at india-rubber
mills, it will be preferable to use india-rubber cement, and to vulcanize the
goods when so put together.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Goodyear, Her special license that I, the said Charles Good-
year, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Charles Goodyear, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 WATERPROOF BOOTS AND SHOES, APPLICABLE ALSO IN PART TO.
BOOTS AND SHOES OF OTHER KINDS, AND TO OTHER OUTER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Goodycar, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Goodyear, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say)
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in the manufacture of
waterproof uppers" for boots, shoes, and slippers, the object being to provide
at small cost a waterproof material, which when cut up will form uppers having.
the appearance of a compound of cloth and glazed leather, the glazed portion
being intended to take the place of the varnished or other leather tips, heel,.
and side pieces, now applied to cloth or stuff boots.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I use perforated sheet india-
rubber, made according to the well-known process, or any analogous process.
that may be hereafter devised, and upon the face of this fabric, when cut into
the form of "uppers," I apply vulcanized sheet rubber in its plastic state, in
pieces corresponding in form to the pieces of leather now applied to or form-
ing part of the "uppers" of cloth boots, or in any other desired form, and I
cement them on to the pieces of the fabric thus cut, and submit the uppers so
completed to pressure between pairs of dies or plates, one of which is grooved.

page_text: on its face so as to form corrugations on the inner face of the fabric, which
corrugations, when the material is made up, will assist the ventilation of a boot
or shoe, by reason of the channels becoming air ducts. In order to give a
lustrous surface to the tip, heel, and side pieces, I polish the portions of the
die or plate corresponding thereto. When the uppers are placed between
the dies or plates, they are submitted to heat in the well-known way for tho
purpose of completing the vulcanizing process. In place of using perforated
sheet rubber as the base for receiving the tips, heel, and side pieces, these
may be cemented to any description of stuffs, such as are commonly used for
manufacturing uppers for shoes, or I use unperforated sheet india-rubber
or india-rubber cloth, which may be afterwards perforated or not, as thought
desirable.
Instead of producing the corrugations in the india-rubber fabrics, as above
mentioned, I may use a stuff woven with cords on one side like " corduroy,"
to the plain side of which I apply the tips, heel pieces, &c., as before
described. This fabric is particularly applicable as a lining to the india-
rubber goloshes.
The Invention relates, secondly, to the manufacture of boot, shoc, and clog
heels and soles, the object being to ensure greater durability in those parts,
and greatly to reduce their cost.
The heel I mould of hard india-rubber, making the same hollow to receive
a filling piece of vulcanized india-rubber, india-rubber sponge, or other elastic
or yielding substance, which projects somewhat beyond the edge of the enclos-
ing case, so as to form a cushion or buffer for easing the blow of the heel when
it strikes upon the ground.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 shews in side view, and Fig. 2, in
vertical section, a boot heel constructed according to this part of my Inven-
tion. The part a is moulded of what is known as hard rubber compound,
and the hollow space formed therein is filled with a cushion 6 of porous or
soft vulcanized rubber, which fits tightly in the part a, or is secured thereto
by cement. Where greater durability is required, I sometimes use for the
cushion vulcanized india-rubber compounds, that is, india-rubber mixed with
sand, fibre, &c., or I fill the cavity in the moulded heel with pieces of cork,
leather, or pressed leather scraps, and I line the cavity of the part a with
a slip of steel, as shewn at Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the latter figure being a per-
spective view.
The soles I make on the same principle as the heel above described. I
find it desirable in most cases to apply a lining of steel or other metal,

page_text: following the line of the edge of the sole, and nails, may be moulded in
or around the cavity formed to receive the spongy or elastic material, or other
substance.
Fig. 4* shews a plan view of the underside of this sole; and Fig. 5 is a
longitudinal section of the same. In these Figures a, a, is the moulded hard
rubber. In the under face of the sole cavities are formed to receive the
cushions b, b, composed of spongy rubber or other suitable elastic material.
In the moulded rubber while in a soft state I insert strips of steel c, c, for the
purpose of increasing the durability of the rubber, and in addition thereto
nails may be moulded in the rubber, as shewn at Fig. 4*. I also propose to
apply a perforated plate of metal d, coated with india-rubber, to the inner
face of the outer soles of boots and shoes to prevent the hard compound of
which the sole is mainly composed from cracking. This application is shewn
in the cross section, Fig. 6, as a modification in the manufacture of the soles,
and to obtain extreme lightness with great strength, I mould the sole in the
form of a closed shell, as shewn in the longitudinal section Fig. 7, by the well-
known process of moulding hollow articles. This shell may contain metal or
hard rubber partitions, extending across and dividing the interior into a
number of cells of any desired form (see Figs. 7 and 8); in which case I cut
away portions of the shell, and fill up the cells so opened out with spongy
rubber, or other elastic substance, as above explained. When the partitions
are made of metal I prefer to cover them with hard rubber compound in a
plastic state, so that they will adhere to both sides of the sole.
The soles and heels I generally mould separately, but if moulded together
I prefer to connect them by a perforated sheet of metal covered with hard
rubber compound on both sides, and moulded to the form of the hollow of the
foot. The soles and heels when used in conjunction with my improved uppers
I secure in place by means of cement, but when applying them to ordinary
boots and shoes I attach them to the leather inner sole, by preference, by
means of screws.
When making boots or shoes of this improved construction at india-rubber
mills, it is preferable to vulcanize the goods after the attachment of the soles
and heels.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
the Manufacture of Waterproof Boots and Shoes, applicable also in part to
Boots and Shoes of other Kinds, and to other Outer Coverings for the Feet,"
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that, under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim,-

page_text: First, applying tips, heels, and side pieces, to the uppers of boots, shoes, and
slippers, so as to produce a compound fabric, as above described.
Secondly, corrugating the inner surface of waterproof uppers for the purpose
of assisting ventilation in boots and shoes.
Thirdly, I claim moulding the heels and soles of boots, shoes, and clogs, of
hard rubber, and applying thereto cushions or pads of elastic rubber, or its
equivalent, in the manner and for the purpose above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Goodyear, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
T. NOLAN,
66, Chancery Lane.
CHAS GOODYEAR. (L.S.)