IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC FRONTS, SIDES, AND BACKS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Cartwright, of No. 20, Tavistock Street,
Covent Garden, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC FRONTS, SIDES, AND BACKS FOR BOOTS AND
SHOES."
Sealed the 10th April 1866, and dated the 13th October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Cartwright,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 13th October 1865.
I, MATTHEW CARTWRIGHT, of No. 20, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELASTIC FRONTS, SIDES, AND BACKS FOR BOOTS
AND SHOES," to be as follows:-
My said improvements relate to a peculiar method of constructing
springs of india-rubber, or other material composed partly of india-rubber,
for the sides, fronts, and backs of boots and shoes, by which method the
said springs can be produced at a less cost than heretofore, can be more
easily, and conveniently attached to the boot or shoe, and their durability
is greatly increased. The said springs have heretofore been constructed
of cords or threads of india-rubber interwoven with threads of silk or other
Abre; springs so made are costly of manufacture, and wear out long before
the other portions of the boot or shoe. The cords or threads of india-
rubber are soon broken and become detached from the silk fibre with

page_text: which they are united, whereby an unsightly appearance is presented, and
the elasticity of the springs is greatly impaired or altogether destroyed.
In manufacturing springs by my improved method, I take sheets of
prepared or hardened india-rubber of the proper thickness for the required
strength of the spring. These sheets are cut into pieces of the desired
shape and size to form the said spring, with an additional border or margin
for stitching to the boot or shoe. This border or margin is strengthened
by a lining or covering of canvass or other woven fabric of suitable strength
to render it capable of being securely held by the stitching with which it
is secured to the boot or shoe. The contiguous surfaces of the rubber
and the canvass are covered with a solution composed of india-rubber
dissolved in naptha or other solvent, pressure being applied to insure the
two substances being closely and securely united. The canvass border
may be on the exterior on one or both sides of the india-rubber forming
the said spring, which may consist of one or more pieces of india-rubber,
or the canvass margin may be inserted between the said pieces... Instead
of canvass or other woven fabric, gutta percha or a composition of gutta
percha and india-rubber may be employed for the stitching border or
margin. This may be united to the india-rubber and stitched in the boot
or shoe in the same manner as the canvass border. Instead of using a
piece or pieces formed of sheets of india-rubber and uniting them to the
fabric by cementing and pressing them together, as above described, the
springs may be formed by casting the required thickness of india-rubber
or other substance upon the canvass. For this purpose the canvass is
placed in a pan or tray of the required size and shape. The solution of
india-rubber is then poured into the tray over the canvass till the proper
thickness of the spring is obtained; or a certain quantity of rubber may
be poured into the pan or tray, and the stitching margin or border of
canvass or other material may be placed on the sheet of rubber so formed,
and then another quantity of rubber is poured in, thereby enclosing the
stitching border of canvass between the two thicknesses of india-rubber;
or the required thickness of india-rubber may be produced by successive
layers of the solution applied by means of a brush.
Another method of constructing the springs consist in covering the
surface of the india-rubber on one or both sides thereof with an elástic
woven fabric, which is so united to the india-rubber as to strengthen it
without impairing its elasticity. If more than one thickness of india-
rubber is employed, the elastic woven fabric may be inserted between the
same.
The stitching border of the spring is made of the required

page_text: strength by the addition of other fibres or by being united to a border of
gutta percha. By thus combining one or more layers of india-rubber
with sheets of woven fabric the spring is greatly strengthened and its
durability still further increased, as the substance of the india-rubber is
prevented from splitting or tearing, and is relieved from the friction arising
between the surface of the spring and the foot of the wearer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said Matthew Cartwright in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
CARTWRIGHT, of No. 20, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Matthew Cartwright, Her special licence that I,
the said Matthew Cartwright, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Matthew Cartwright, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 ELASTIC FRONTS, SIDES, AND BACKS
FOR BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Matthew Cartwright, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly 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 1, the said Matthew Cartwright, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings:

page_text: My said improvements relate to a peculiar method of constructing
springs of india-rubber, or other material composed partly of india-rubber,
for the fronts, sides, and backs of boots and shoes, by which method the
said springs can be produced at a less cost than heretofore, can be more
easily and conveniently attached to the boot or shoe, while their durability
is greatly increased. These springs have heretofore been constructed of
cords or threads of india-rubber interwoven with threads of silk or other
fibre. Springs so made are costly in their manufacture and wear out long
before the other portions of the boot or shoe. The cords or threads of
india-rubber are soon broken and become detached from the silk fibre with
which they are united, whereby an unsightly appearance is presented, and
the elasticity of the springs is greatly impaired or altogether destroyed.
By my construction these objections are entirely obviated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a boot with my improved side springs; Figure 2
represents one of these springs detached; Figure 3 represents a front spring
for boots and shoes detached; Figure 4 is an enlarged section of my im-
proved springs; Figure 5, an enlarged section of the said spring of a modi-
fied form. Like letters refer to corresponding parts in the several Figures.
In manufacturing springs according to my Invention I preferably form
sheets or pieces of prepared india-rubber by casting or spreading the dis-
solved material into the desired shape. These pieces or sheets are cast or
made of sufficient thickness to secure the required strength for the spring.
Each piece may be cast of the proper size and shape for a spring, or the
sheets may be cut into springs. The spring A, shewn in the several
Figures, is cast or otherwise formed of sufficient size to leave a margin a,
through which the stitches pass to secure the same to the boot or shoe B,
Figure 1. The margin a is strengthened and rendered non-elastic, in order
to hold the stitches and prevent the thread from cutting the india-rubber
of which the spring is composed by a lining or covering b; Figures 4 and 5.
This covering or lining may be of any suitable woven fabric or fibrous
material, the object being to give the required strength to the said margin
to hold the stitches by means of which the spring is secured to the boot
or shoe. The contiguous surfaces of the india-rubber and the woven
fabric
or fibrous material are covered with a solution composed of india-
rubber dissolved in naptha or other solvent, and then the two materials
are closely united by means of pressure. When a simply adhesive material
is employed to unite the india-rubber and the fabric or fibrous material,

page_text: may
be
there is, I find, danger of the spring giving way at the stitching when there
is a great strain upon the said spring. To obviate this difficulty, I employ
in connection with the dissolved india-rubber, gutta percha, asphaltum, or
other gummy material capable of hardening the rubber on the border of
the spring, which prevents its stretching, and thereby gives firmness and
security to the stitching. The border b, of canvass or other material, is
secured upon the exterior of the india-rubber spring and upon one or both
sides of the same, as may be desired. In Figure 3 this border is shewn on
one side, but in Figure 4 it is shewn upon both sides. The border b
cast or embedded in the dissolved rubber while the spring is being formed,
or the spring may be composed of two sheets of india-rubber united firmly
together, the canvass or other material employed for the border being first
inserted between the said sheets, but the use of two sheets increases the
expense and produces an inferior article. Gutta percha, asphaltum, or
other gummy material capable of hardening the india-rubber may be
employed alone to give the required properties to the margin a, but I
prefer to use one or more of these solutions in connection with canvass or
other woven fabric. Thin leather or leather shavings may be substituted
for the woven fabric, and the gutta percha in its solid state may be secured
to the rubber by means of any suitable cement or gum and pressure; the
said spring being in this case stitched to the boot or shoe in the same
manner as when the canvass or other woven fabric is employed.
Instead of uniting the strengthening material 6 to the margin a by means
of cement or gum and pressure, as herein-before mentioned, the woven
fabric, gutta percha, or other material employed may be cast on the surface
or in the margin a. The said fabric or fibrous material being placed in the
proper position in a pan or tray of the required size and shape, the solution
of india-rubber is poured over the said material in sufficient quantities to
give the requisite thickness and strength to the spring; or a portion of
india-rubber may be poured into the pan, and the border b, of canvass or
other material, may be placed on the layer of rubber thus formed, and then
another quantity of india-rubber may be poured over the first, thereby
enclosing the stitching border 6 between the two layers or thicknesses of
india-rubber; or the required thickness of india-rubber may be produced
5 by successive layers of solution being applied by means of a brush. The
surface of the india-rubber springs may be covered by an elastic woven
fabric, which may be placed upon one or both sides of the said springs, and
so united to the same as to strengthen without imparing the elasticity of
the spring. This elastic fabric may be cast or otherwise embedded in the

page_text: india-rubber spring.. This combination, however, will not usually be found
desirable, as it increases the cost of production, and the spring has been
found durable and sufficiently strong to resist any ordinary strain.
Having thus fully described my improvements, and shewn how the same
may be conveniently and advantageously, carried into practice, I wish it
understood I do not limit myself to the exact details described and illustrated
in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings; and I am also aware that elastic
springs for the purposes herein mentioned have been previously invented
in which the border for holding the stitching is strengthened by inserting a
woven fabric between two sheets of india-rubber; but I claim as my
Invention an india-rubber spring for the front, sides, and backs of boots
and shoes, the border of which is hardened and rendered non-elastic;
whereby the same is prevented from breaking away from the stitching by
the use of a woven or fibrous material in combination with gutta percha,
asphaltum, shellac, or other similar substance, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Cartwright, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
MATTHEW CARTWRIGHT. (L.S.)"
1
Witness,
GEORGE HASELTINE,
International Patent Office,"
8, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.