Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Feb., 1889
Specification Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1889
A communication from abroad by WILLIAM MATTHEW DUCKER, of the City, County
and State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer.
.
I WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster & 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The invention relates to corset fastenings devices which will hold the parts securely
in position against the ordinary pressure or strain to which a corset is usually
subjected, so that it cannot become unfastened by any of the ordinary movements of
the body of the wearer, by the use of which the corset can be quickly fastened and
unfastened, which are simple and can be cheaply made and readily applied to corset,
steels of the kind commonly in use, which will project but little beyond the steels,.
and which can be readily covered to present a neat appearance by the usual coverings
employed for such purpose. .
Referring to the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a front view of corset steels uncovered showing the fastenings applied
and engaged to hold the parts together.
Figure 2 is a similar view, with the fastenings disengaged.
Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the catch b.
Figure 4 is a section on the line of Figure 3, and a side view of the catch e.
Figure 5 is a plan view of the catch c, also enlarged.
Figure 6 is a front view of part of a corset, showing the improvement applied,
and the steels covered.
Figure 7 is an edge view of the side G of the corset, showing the openings for
receiving the engaging ends of the catches e.
Figure 8 is a section showing the position of the parts to disengage the catch c.

page_text: Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the drawings.
A, B, are corset steels of any ordinary kind.in use.. .On the steel A; receiving
catches b, and C₁ are secured, and on the steel B, engaging catches de are secured
in any well known manner, as by suitable rivets.
a,
The receiving catch a consists of a flat piece of metal provided with an opening ¹,
which is directly riveted to the steel A, and in order to permit the opening to be
abundantly large for the reception of the hook part d', without having the part a
project unnecessarily beyond the steel A, that steel may be recessed slightly at the
opening a as indicated in Figure 2. The engaging catch is provided at its end
with a hook d formed by turning its end back upon itself, and this hook d¹ is of
suitable length to make secure engagement in the hole a', with the part a.
The engaging catches e, e, are all alike and are made by bending up at a right
angle the ends of the catch piece e, as shown clearly in Figure 4.
The receiving caich c consists of two parts; the upper slotted part c, which is
made of spring metal, has a suitable slot c¹ to take in the bent up end e¹. Under
this, and between it and the steel A, a guide plate g is secured which consists of a
thin piece of metal conveniently secured in place by the rivets that fasten the piece c.
to the steel A. This guide plate g, is provided with a bent over end, between which
end and the steel A, the edge of the covering corset cloth is inserted, and this end f
prevents the edge of the corset cloth working into the channel or guide way provided
for the entrance of the engaging end of the catch e. The edges g', gl, of the part g
are bent up on each side, and upon these bent up parts rests the spring catch c, and
thus a channel or guide way is formed between them for the ready insertion of the
end e¹ of the catch e.
The receiving catch b, is similar to the catch c, but instead of having a slot c¹
enclosed on four sides, it is provided with a slot c², open at the bottom, the upper
spring piece being cut away rounding, as clearly shown at i, in the drawings. In
this catch the lower upturned part of the guide piece g, is made flaring downward as
indicated at g, and allows the part e¹ of the hook e, engaging therewith, to be dis-
engaged on being pulled downward and outward, passing between the raised part g2
and the rounded edge i of the spring piece b. In sewing the corset coverings on to
the steels, the seam must be so adjusted that no part of the cloth will come into the
way of the ends e' of the engaging hooks e, the seams terminating on each side of
the receiving catches, as clearly shown in Figure 7.
•
The
By this arrangement of the catches very important advantages are secured. In the
first place, the cloth covering can be readily secured over the steels in a proper
manner, as the outer edges of the parts a, e, and the upper edge of the part b, and
flaring shoulder g², of the central catches, form distinct guides for the sewers.
engaging surfaces do not chafe upon the cloth of the covering, as the engaging pieces e,
which are required to pass under the covering cloth, pass into a metal guide way
consisting of the under side of the upper spring catches, the guide plate g, and side
shoulders g¹ g¹, or g', g². By this arrangement of the parts the corset steels can also
be neatly covered, leaving only smail portions of the fastenings projecting.
The operation of the invention is as follows:
The hook is first caught into the eye a', when that is done it is only necessary
to bring the lower parts of the steels together, as the engaging parts e, e', readily pass
into the channels provided for them and snap into their respective slots. In disen-
gaging the corset the upper and lower catches are first disengaged, the lower catch by
slightly turning the outer edges of the steels A, B, towards each other outwardly, as
shown in Figure 8, which will force up the outer edge of the spring plate e and
disengage the catch el from the slot c¹, the upper catch by twisting the hook d' out of
the eye a, and when these two catches are disengaged a slight downward pull of the
steel B, will bring the catch parts e¹, e¹, of the intermediate fastenings b, b, opposite
the rounded portions i, i, of their spring catches b, b, when the pressure of the body of
the wearer within the corset will separate the parts, the portions e', e', disengaging
from their respective catches by moving outward between the flaring shoulders g2 and
the rounded portions.i.
"

page_text: It will be apparent that the catches b, b, may also be disengaged by turning the
outer edges of the steels A, B, towards each other outwardly, in like manner as in the
case of the catch c as shown in Figure 8, but as catches b, b, afe applied to that portion
of the corset which sustains the greatest pressure from the body of the wearer, the
provision of the open slot in them by means of which disengagement can be effected
by a slight downward pull, is a very material improvement.
Two of the open slotted catches have been shown disposed between the end catches,
and this number has been found most convenient for general use, as this form of
catch is used to advantage on that part of the steel where the greatest pressure is
exerted by the body of the wearer, when the corset is in use, but my correspondent
does not limit himself to any particular number of such open slot catches in any
corset.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of the corset steels A, B, provided with the eye a and book d
catch at one extremity, the closed slot c and engaging piece e catch at the other
extremity, and having between such catches one or more catches consisting of an
engaging part e and spring piece 6 having an open slot c³, a rounded cut away part i,
a guide plate g, with turned under part f, shoulder g', and downward flaring
shoulder g, adapted to permit the engaging part e, to be withdrawn by a downward
and outward movement, substantially as described and shown.
2. The corset fastening described consisting of the spring catch piece c, provided
with a slot c', the guide plate.g, with turned under part f, and shoulders g', y', sup-
porting the spring piece c, adapted to be carried by one corset steel, and a stiff catch
part as e having a bent up end e adapted to be attached to the other corset steel,
substantially as described and shown.
3. The modified form of corset fastening, constructed as a whole, substantially as
described and shown in Figures 3 and 4.
Dated this 18th day of February 1889.