IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING. BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Archer, of Raunds, in the County of Nor-
thampton, Shoemaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING.
BOOTS AND SHOES."
Sealed the 16th April 1862, and dated the 23rd October 1861..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Archer at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd October 1861.
I, GEORGE ARCHER, of Raunds, in the County of Northampton, Shoemaker,.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES," to be as follows:-
After lasting the boot or shoe in the usual manner, I tack the welt
on all round, and pierce the holes for the stitches through the said welt,
the upper and inner sole; I then take out the said last, and turn back
the inner sole; I then take two threads, and begin sewing at the middle.
of the toe, using one of the said threads for sewing one side of the boot
or shoe, and the other for sewing the opposite side, working each of the said
threads alternately until I get to where the heel is placed, I then put in the
said last again, and fill up, and stitch the outer sole on in the usual manner. The
above method of sewing permits the stitches to be examined on the inside of
the boot or shoe, and the quality of the work to be readily ascertained, and

page_text: when repairs are required the upper, the inner sole, the welt, and the outer
sole can be pricked through and sewn together much more easily than
heretofore.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Archer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
ARCHER, of Raunds, in the County of Northampton, Shoemaker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Archer, Her special licence that I, the said George Archer,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Archer, 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 SEWING BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Archer, 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 George Archer, do hereby 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:-
The nature of the said Invention as hath been heretofore intimated in and
by the Provisional Specification left and recorded on application for the said
Letters Patent, consists in this:-After having "lasted" the boot or shoe in
the usual manner, I tack the welt on all round, and pierce upright holes for

page_text: the stitches straight through the said welt, and the upper leather and insoles ;
I then take out the last, and turn back the insole to the toe of the boot or
shoe, and then take two threads, and begin sewing at the middle of the toe, using
one of the said threads for sewing one side of the boot or shoe, and the other
for sewing the opposite side, working each of the said threads alternately until
I get to where the heel is placed, I then put in the said last again, and after-
wards sew the seat, and finish the boot in the usual way. Frequently how-
ever, indeed generally, I prefer instead of "lasting" in the usual way previous
to sewing, to first shape the inner soles for the last, then hole them for sewing
by making upright holes straight through the said insoles, then lasting the tops,
having the tops marked or printed to be holed, and afterwards taken off to be
holed, which is what I substitute for holeing them upon the last in the usual
way; after this the welt is holed, and the-sewing effected as first described, the
boot or shoe being finished in the usual way as before described. There being a
variety of sorts, also various qualities. of leather made into boots and shoes, I
adopt the following way, (in some cases), I cut the insoles down the middle so as
to begin to sew at the waist instead of the toe; but in all cases the sewing is
upright, straight through the welt, the upper and the inner sole, and upright
or nearly so, as illustrated by the Drawings. The above method of sewing
permits the stitches to be examined on the inside of the boot or shoe, and the
quality to be readily inspected as the stitches come through, and can be seen
inside the boot or shoe, and when repairs are required, the upper leather, the
inner soles, the welt, and the outer sole can be pricked through, and sewn
together much more readily than heretofore. When it is required to mend
the boot or shoe, or to put a shoe in the sewing, the same can be done by
sewing through the upper leather, the insole, and the welt, with the ordinary
slanting stitches.
Having thus far described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I now for the better exemplification thereof proceed
to describe the accompanying Drawings by the aid of the figures and letters
following, which will be found marked on the said Drawings; that is to say,-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 a top view of a shoe (with part cut away, shewing that the stitches
A shew themselves inside the shoe; Figure 2, cross section of the shoe, shewing
that the stitches A are upright, and right through the welt B, the upper C,
and the insole D; Figure 3, view of the lower surface of an insole with the
welt B secured thereto by the same upright stitches, as thus

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I
claim in regard thereto the sewing or stitching boots and shoes in manner
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Archer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness to the signature of said
George Archer.
. CORNELIUS STOVIN.
GEORGE ARCHER. (L.S.)