IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STAYS AND CORSETS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Sangster, of Cheapside, in the City of
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
STAYS AND CORSETS."*
Sealed the 13th June 1856, and dated the 17th December 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left. by the said William Sangster, at the,
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th.
December 1855.
I, WILLIAM SANGSTER, of Cheapside, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE:
OF STAYS AND CORSETS." to be as follows:-
This Invention: consists of the application of untraversed warp or loop-
made fabrics, and also of knit fabrics, in the manufacture of stays and corsets..
For these purposes the untraversed warp fabrics may be made more elastic:
in some parts than in other. parts, and thus more suitable for making stays and
corsets by the warp threads being caused at parts to lap under a less and
at other parts under. more needles, by which the extent of elasticity of the:
different parts may be varied. In some cases the elasticity of the parts of;
stays and corsets made, of; looped fabric may be varied by applying bands or
portions of elastic or non-elastic fabrics to obtain the various degrees of,
elasticity required, or threads may be introduced into the looped fabrics,
lougitudinally or. transversely to restrain the elasticity of parts of the loop-
made-fabrics.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Sangster in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SANGSTER, of Cheapside, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Sangster, Her special licence that I, the said William Sangster,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Sangster, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no-others, from time to time 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF STAYS AND CORSETS," upon the condition-(amongst others) that I, the
said William Sangster, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 William Sangster, do. hèreby 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 following:
statement thereof, that is to say:
:
...This Invention consists of the application of untraversed warp or loop-made
fabrics, and also of knit fabrics, in the manufacture of stays and corsets... For
these purposes the untraversed warp fabrics may be made more elastic in
some parts than in other parts, and thus be more suitable for making stays and
corsets by the warp threads being caused at partsi to: lap..under a less and at
other parts under more needles, by which the extent of elasticity of the
different parts may be varied. In some cases the elasticity of the parts of
stays and corsets made of looped fabric may be varied by applying bands or
portions of elastic or non-elastic fabrics to obtain the various degrees of:
elasticity required, or threads may be introduced into the looped fabrics

page_text: longitudinally or transversely to restrain the elasticity of parts of the loop-
made fabrics.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed more fully
to describe the manner of performing the same.
In making up stays and corsets, I find it desirable to have the larger portion
of an elastic fabric, in place of having gores or gussets of elastic india-rubber
fabrics, as has been the case heretofore, and I have already secured Letters
Patent for using traverse-warp warp fabrics in making stays and corsets. And
my present improvements consist of using ordinary or straight-down warp or
knitted fabrics. And I prefer to make such fabrics with non-elastic threads
or yarns laid transversely of the fabrics at parts, particularly those parts which
come to the waist of the wearer, by which the fabric, otherwise elastic, are
rendered inelastic to such a width as may be desired. And it should be stated
that the inlaid threads need not pass from selvage to selvage, but may be at
intervals only, according to the parts where the stays or corsets are desired to
be rendered inelastic. Or in place of using such inlaid non-elastic threads
or yarns, or in conjunction therewith, the strengths of the elasticity of parts of
warp fabrics may be varied, as is well understood by causing the warp threads
at parts to lap under a lesser and at other parts under a greater number of
needles. And in addition to such means of rendering the parts of a stay or
corset inelastic at parts, other or inelastic fabrics may be used with loop-made
or elastic fabrics, such inelastic fabrics being combined by sewing on those
parts of the elastic fabric otherwise constituting a stay or corset where they
require to be rendered inelastic, particularly at the waist and over the stomach.
By these means a stay or corset will be made of untraversed elastic loop-made
fabric having parts rendered inelastic, as herein explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Sangster, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
WILLIAM SANGSTER. (L.s.)