AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF SPUR
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF SPUR."-A
communication.
Sealed the 29th June 1855, and dated the 7th February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th February 1855.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF SPUR" to be
as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to permit of spurs fitting on to boot heels of
various sizes. For this purpose, the arms, which form the clasp of the spur,
are jointed to a central stem, and they are provided with ears or projections on.
their rear end to receive the pressure of a conical nut or a hollow button,
which is tapped to work upon a thread cut on the central stem that carries
the rowel of the spur. By adjusting this nut or button upon its stem, the
span of the arms which clasp the heel of the boot may be contracted or

page_text: expanded, and the arms, being provided on their inner face with suitable
jags pins, will, when pressed against the boot heel (by means of the nut or
button), take a firm hold thereof.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Oflico
on the 7th August 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, sond greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to timo
and at all times thereafter 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 "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF SPUR," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of tho said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and causo the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Offico within six calendar months next and imine-
diately after the date of the said Letters l'atent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is so to construct spurs as to permit of their
being fitted on to boot heels of various diameters. For this purpose, the clasp

page_text: of the spur is constructed of two arms, which are jointed to a central threaded
stem that carries the rowel of the spur. By the pressure on the inner ends
of the arms of a nut or button which works upon the thread on this stem, the
span of the arms is contracted, and the firm attachment of the spur to the
heel of the boot is effected.
In the accompanying Drawing two modes of carrying out this Invention
are shown..
Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of a spur constructed with jointed
arms for clipping the boot heel, and Fig. 2 is a sectional edge view of the
same; Figures 3 shew, in side and plan view, the arms detached; and Fig. 4,
the stem, which carries the rowel. a, a, are the arms, made of steel or other
suitable metal, and of such a form as to fit most heels. Their inner faces are
provided with jags or pins, for piercing the leather of the heel and taking a
firm hold therein. b is the stem, to which the arms a are jointed by pins c,
in such a manner as to permit of their moving freely upon the pins c. On the
stem b a screw thread d is formed, to receive a hollow button or nut e, which
bears against the inner ends of the arms a, a, for the purpose of retaining
them in position when embracing the heel of a boot or shoe. This nut is made
concave on its inner face, in order that it may bear upon the arms a, a, without
coming in contact with the ears, which project laterally from the inner end of
the stem 6 to receive the joint pins c. f is the rowel of the spur, mounted as
usual at the end of the stem b.
In applying the spur to a boot, the nut e is first raised to permit of the
expansion of the arms by turning on their joint pins c; the arms are then
caused to embrace the boot heel, and the nut is brought down to press upon
their inner ends. This pressure of the nut will cause the arms to bind tightly
against the boot heel, whatever may be its diameter, and the firm attachment
of the spur will therefore be ensured.
Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly in section, shewing a somewhat different mode
of carrying out the Invention, and Figures 6 are side and plan views, shewing
the expanding arms detached. In this arrangement it will be seen that the
arms are furnished with ears a*, so shaped as to form a cone seat for a threaded
cone or wedge g, which works on the threaded stem b like the nut e of Fig. 1,
and in its descent presses laterally against the ears a, and thereby causes the
arms to grip any size of boot heel to which the spur may be applied.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent I claim the construction of a spur having hinged or jointed arms a, a,
for embracing the heel of the boot or shoe.
1 also claim the mode of sustaining the jointed arms a, a, either as constructed,
by having the nut e with its bearing outside of the hinge, or as sustained by
means of the cone or wedge g, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L8.)