IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR LACING AND BUTTONING BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Sumner Shaw at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
February 1869. A communication from abroad by The Boston
Shoe Stud and Button Company (Incorporated), of Boston,
Massachusetts, United States of America.
I, SUMNER SHAW, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America, now of. No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVICES FOR LACING AND BUTTONING BOOTS
AND SHOES," a communication, to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to studs or catches, which are designed to be so
arranged upon the two sides of the opening of a boot or shoe that a lace
or cord,may be conveniently slipped or looped over them for the purpose
of drawing the sides together; these studs also serve as buttons for boots
and shoes.
The said Invention consists chiefly in the peculiar construction of the
said studs, catches, or buttons whereby they are conveniently and firmly
fixed in the boot or shoe, and form a secure and convenient fastening for
the same.

page_text: The said Invention also consists in providing in combination with the
said studs a catch or other convenient device for holding the lace
or cord in place when the sides of the opening are drawn together.
•
In constructing my improved lacing stud I take a piece of metal of
the proper size and turn a rounded head thercon; below this head I turn
a circumferential groove. I then form a shank or stem of less diameter
than the body of the stud with a shoulder just below the groove, and
this stem I make tubular or hollow and of sufficient length to reach
through the leather, so that when the stud is inserted therein its end may
be turned over on the inside and rivetted in the same manner as an
ordinary metallic eyelet. The flange which is formed by thus turning
down the inner end of the tubular shank or stem serves to hold
the stud securely in place. Instead of being turned the studs may be
formed in dies or by any other suitable means, and they may be
made with one or more circular grooves for the lace or cord and
may be either plain or ornamental as desired. The studs may be attached
to or used in combination with two strips of metal extending the entire
length or nearly so of the opening in the boot or shoe. The studs are
formed or fixed upon the outer edges of these strips, whose inner edges
have small projections through which I pass rivets to secure the strips
in the boot or shoe. When the catch for securing the upper end of
the lace is used I pivot the same upon the upper stud. The said catch
is elbow-shaped, and is so arranged that its lower arm will bear
against the lace or cord when the same is passed over or behind the stud.
The said catch will allow the lace to be drawn up to tighten the boot
or shoe but will not allow the said lace to return or become slack till
the catch is adjusted to release it. The studs may be placed opposite
each other or diagonally along each side of the opening of the boot or
shoc. The lace or cord being secured at its lower end and the boot or
shoe placed on the foot, the said lace or cord is passed across the opening
to and fro and around the studs; it may then be easily drawn tight
and secured with the catch by tying or in any other suitable manner.
When the lacing is at the side of the boot or shoe I prefer to have the
studs connected with the metal strips as these strips keep the sides of
the slit or opening straight and prevent their wrinkling and also keep the
top of the shoe from working down, but when the opening is in the front
of the shoe the strips are not so convenient; I therefore prefer to use
the separate studs for the front of the boot or shoo. It is obvious that

page_text: these studs may be arranged for the use of one or two cords or laces
as desired; when two cords are used the studs should be placed opposite
each other for convenience in lacing.
My improved studs may also be advantageously employed as buttons
for boots and shoes, and will be found greatly superior to the ordinary
buttons hitherto used for the same purpose, as when once secured in the
leather by rivetting down the shank as herein-before described they will
not come off as is so frequently the case with common buttons secured
in the ordinary manner. My improved buttons are also much more
conveniently fastened and unfastened than other buttons. When the
studs are to be used as buttons I prefer to slightly increase the size of
the head.