Improvements in Ladies' Fans.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ladies' Fans.
I, EDMUND WILLIAM DAWSON, of 46 Queen Victoria Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
The fan may be made of any suitable material in one piece with ribs preferably
curved to give strength and rigidity at the points where it is folded when not in
use, or it may be made in three or more separate pieces joined or fastened together.
In either case it is capable of being compactly folded up so as to be easily carried
in the pocket of the user. The handle is formed of a strip of suitable substance,
and passes through two or more loops or openings upon the back of the fan, being
capable of sliding up and down, so that when the fan is opened for use it is in the
position for holding the fan, but when the fan is closed it is enclosed within the
folds thereof. To prevent the handle being slipped out of place, a small hook or
catch is affixed at each end thereof, such hook or catch coming against the edge
or loop or loops aforesaid when pulled up or down to its farthest limit.
Dated this 12th day of January 1895.
HUGHES & YOUNG,
23 Coleman Street, London, E.C., Agents for Applicant.
Improvements in Ladies' Fans.
I, EDMUND WILLIAM DAWSON, of 46 Queen Victoria Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, 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 object of my invention is to construct a fan which can be folded up into a
small compass for putting in the pocket when out of use. The fan may be made
of any suitable material in one piece, with ribs to give strength and rigidity at the
points where it is folded when not in use, or it may be made in three or more
separate pieces jointed or otherwise fastened together. In either case it is capable
of being completely folded up for easy conveyance in the pocket of the user.
The
handle is formed of a strip of suitable material, and passes through two or more
loops on the surface of, or slits in the substance of, the fan and is capable of being
slid down to hold the fan by when in use, or slid up out of the way when the fan
is not in use, in which latter event the handle is enclosed within the folds of the
fan. To prevent the handle being withdrawn entirely or slipped in too far, a small
hook or catch is affixed at each end thereof, such hook or catch coming against the
edge of the loop or loops aforesaid when pulled down or pushed up to its fullest
limit.
The fan may be made of any material suitable for the construction of such
articles. For instance the handle may be of wood, metal, ivory, whalebone, cane,
or any other suitable material; the acting part of the fan may be of paper, silk,
T

page_text: textile fabrics, or the like and stamped or otherwise ornamented on its edges or
surfaces, and the ribs may be of metal, whalebone, cane or the like.
In order that my invention may be the more readily understood, I make
reference to the two figures on the accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a front view showing the fan open, and the handle drawn down for use,
Fig. 2 shows also a front view, but with the fan folded up and the handle
pushed in.
Similar letters refer to the same parts in each figure.
a is the fan proper, b c d the three divisions which enable it to be folded up
ef are the ribs. The upper part of the fan at g 9 g is preferably bent out of the
plane of the rest of it, so as to prevent the air flying out at the edge. hi are
loops in which slide the handle j. k is the catch to prevent the handle being drawn
down too far, and the catch to prevent it being pushed in too far. The catch
also serves to keep the fan shut when folded up, by clipping over the folds as
shown in Fig. 2.
I do not confine myself to the particular conformation, relative diminsions, or
disposition of parts as shown in the drawings, as any or all of them may be varied
without departing from the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Constructing ladies' fans so that the acting surface may be folded up, and the
handle thereof pushed within the folds when not required for use, substantially as
and for the purposes described in the above Specification, and exemplified in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 11th day of October 1005
HUGHES & YOUNG,
23 Coleman Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.