AN IMPROVED MODE OF MAKING UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS
Year: 1809

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PHILLIS
BOWN THOMASON, wife of Edward Thomason, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of April, in
the forty-ninth year of His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Phillis
Bown Thomason, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial
licence that I, the said Phillis Bown Thomason, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, during the the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
MAKING UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS;" in which Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Phillis Bown Thomason, under my hand and
seal, to cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in His
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one calendar month next and
immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with and agreeable to the true
intent and meaning of the said proviso in the said Letters Patent contained,
I, the said Phillis Bown Thomason, do hereby declare that the following is a

page_text: particular description of the nature of my said Invention and methods and
improvements in the mechanism of umbrellars and parasols, both in respect to
principle and means in which the same may be performed, that is to say:―
With respect to principle, I cause a part of the walking stick or cane, the
umbrageous part, the stretchers, and other parts of the mechanism of the umbrella
or parasol, to be concealed or hid by three, four, or a greater or less number
of tubes, which said three or four, or a greater or less number of tubes
slide conveniently upon each other, and when drawn to their greatest
or most convenient extent cover the aforesaid parts of the walking stick, the
umbrageous part, the stretchers, and other parts of the mechanism, and
thereby assume the appearance of a walking stick or walking cane (and
which I call the "ad libitum" umbrella or parasol); and when I want to
prepare the umbrella or parasol for expansion I move or slide the aforesaid
three or four or a greater or lesser number of tubes or cases upon each other
towards the ferrule, thereby giving the stretchers full liberty to act and expand
the umbrella or parasol.
Now, I do hereby declare the above-mentioned principle comprehends the
real object of my Invention; and in order for the better comprehension and
understanding how the aforesaid may be reduced to practical use, I do
hereby further declare, that although I vary the mode of construction by a
variation of circumstances to produce the same effects and maintain the main
purpose intended, that is to say, of concealing the appearance of an umbrella
or parasol from the eye when the same is not wanted for use as an umbrella
or parasol, but as a walking stick or cane, yet I principally adhere to the
methods herein described, as being fully answerable to what is required and
best calculated to be understood from the Drawings and description thereof;
and the same is described in the six Drawings and five sections represented in
the margin of these Presents, and the alphabetical letters in the five sections
refer to their respective parts in the Drawings.
Drawing No. 1 represents the umbrella or parasol in a quiescent state, or
after it has been used and shut up, the umbrageous part, the stretchers, part of
the stick, and other mechanism being concealed within the three or four, or a
greater or lesser number of tubes, thereby assuming the appearance of walking
stick or cane.
Drawing No. 2 represents the umbrella or parasol when the three or four
or a greater or lesser number of tubes or cases are slided over each other
towards the ferrule, the umbrageous parts not being expanded.
Drawing No. 3 represents the umbrella or parasol when the three or four or
a greater or lesser number of tubes or cases are slided over each other towards

page_text: the ferrule, and the umbrageous parts being expanded fit for use as an umbrella
or parasol. Section. No. 1 is the bottom part of the stick or tube. A-is a
ferrule. B, a tube attached to A. C, a rod or tube considerably less than B,
passing down the centre of the tube B, and is attached to A. Section No. 2
is the other part of the stick. D, D, D, being a long tube which slides upon
the rod C. E is a runner to which the stretchers are attached. F is the
handle of the stick or tube, and attached to D, D, D. Section No. 3 is the
umbrageous part, ribs, and stretchers, and attached to the notched piece G
(by the ribs) in section No. 2, and to the runner E by the stretchers in section
No. 2 also. Section No. 4 are three tubes H, I, K, extended at their most
convenient length, and form the covering or outward case of the umbrageous
parts, part of the stick, the stretchers and ribs, and thereby causing the
assumed appearance of a walking stick or cane. Section No. 5 are the tubes
H, I, K, of section No. 4, when they are slided from off the umbrageous part.
Drawing No. 4 shews the appearance of the umbrella or parasol when
section No. 5 is completely drawn off or slided off.
Drawing No. 5 represents the same thing as Drawing No. 1, but adapted
as a ladies' riding cane, parasol, or whip; and
Drawing No. 6 exhibits the same thing with one of the tubes partly slided
down.
And I do hereby further declare that the tube parts of these umbrellas
or parasols may be made of any kind or kinds of metal, such as iron, steel,
copper, brass, tin, zink, gold, silver, or any other metal or composition of
metals, or any kinds of wood, bone, ivory, tortoishell, horn, leather, paper,
parchment, silk, cotton, linnen, stuff, woollen, oil case, or any other substance
or composition of substances whatever, and that any of the other parts and
umbrageous parts of these umbrellas and parasols may be be made of silk,
cotton, stuff, linnen, woollen, hair, oil silk, or any other composition or
substance, and that the stretchers, ribs, and any other part or parts of the
necessary machinery may be made of any of the before-mentioned substances
or composition of substances, provided they may be found sufficiently strong
and proper for the purpose or purposes of manufacturing these umbrellas or
parasols.
In witness whereof, I, the said Phillis Bown Thomason, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and nine.
Witness, SAMUEL BOLTON.
PHILLIS BOWN (L.S.) THOMASON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Sixth day of May, in the
year above mentioned, the aforesaid Phillis Bown Thomason came before
our Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.