IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND. OTHER COVERINGS POR THE FEET
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,.
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND.
OTHER COVERINGS POR THE FEET."-A communication.
Sealed the 31st July 1857, and dated the 18th May 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th May 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS; SHOES, AND
OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET," to be as follows:―
This Invention, of improvements in the manufacture of boots, shoes, and
other coverings for the feet, consists in fastening with cement to the inner sole
and welt a vulcanized india-rubber sole and heel made in one piece, the inner
sole and welt being attached in the usual manner by sewing or pegging.. The
filling between the inner and outer soles is composed of scraps or shavings of
leather, india-rubber, or india-rubber fibrous substance, or of any material
with which india-rubber is compounded. The advantage of thus combining a
rubber sole with a leather or cloth "upper" will be apparent, as it not only
materially lessens the cost of construction, sole leather at present commanding
very high prices, but also serves in a great degree the purpose of rubber boots
or overshoes, with none of the disadvantages of the same, as the leather or

page_text: cloth "upper" allows a free circulation of air about the foot, and permits the
perspiration to pass off, as in the ordinary construction of boots, shoes, or
brogans, while at the same time the whole sole is waterproof.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th November 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Edward Newton, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS, SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE
FEET," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Edward Newton, 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, reference being. had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, of "Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots, Shoes, and
other Coverings for the Feet," consists in fastening with cement to the inner
sole and welt, by a process to be herein-after described, a vulcanized india-

page_text: rubber sole and heel made in one piece, the inner sole and welt being attached
in the usual manner by sewing or pegging. The filling between the inner
and outer soles is composed of scraps or shavings of leather, india-rubber, or
india-rubber fibrous substance, or of any material with which india-rubber is
compounded. The advantage of thus combining a rubber sole with a leather
or cloth "upper" will be apparent, as it not only materially lessens the cost of
construction, sole leather at present commanding very high prices, but also
serves in a great degree the purpose of rubber boots or overshoes, and posseses
none of the disadvantages of the latter, as the leather or cloth "upper"
allows a circulation of air about the foot, and permits the perspiration to pass
off, as in the ordinary construction of boots, shoes, or brogans, while at the
same time the whole sole is waterproof.
The improvements are represented in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Fig. 1 represents a sectional view of a portion of a boot with the cloth or
leather upper, inner sole, and other parts made and attached to each other in
the usual manner. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a vulcanized india-rubber
sole and heel made in one piece; Fig. 3 is a sectional view, shewing the
inner sole and welt of the upper united to the rubber sole and heel.
a, a, in Figs. 1 and 2, represent the "upper" of a boot, and 6, 6, the inner
sole; c,
Figs. 2 and 3, represent the sole and heel made (in one piece) of
vulcanized rubber, or of any of the compounds of india-rubber that are
susceptible of being vulcanized. The sole and heel thus formed in one piece
can be made in any desired manner, but the process the Inventor prefers is to
subject the rubber to steam heat, the rubber or rubber compound while thus
heated being pressed into moulds or dies which will give it the desired form,
the steam being conducted around all portions of the moulds or dies which
come in contact with the rubber to be acted upon. The sole and heel thus
formed are then fastened to the inner sole and welt by cementing, the piece
comprising the heel and sole being pressed upon the inner sole and welt.
The cement which is preferred is prepared as herein-after described, but any
cement or compound of india-rubber may be used, it being only essential that
the cement should be of a compound capable of being vulcanized. The
cement is prepared by grinding native rubber between rollers so as to make
it soft and plastic, it is then mixed with sulphur, litharge, plaster of Paris, and
camphine, in the proportion of one pound of rubber, one quarter of a pound of
plaster of Paris, one quarter of a pound of litharge, two ounces of sulphur,
and half a pint of camphine. This cement is to be applied to the piece
comprising the sole and heel in one, two, or three coats, according to the
thickness of the coat, the whole not to be more than the thickness of an

page_text: ordinary wafer; it is then placed in a heater and heated from one to two
hours by heat gradually raised from two hundred and twenty degrees to two
hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, these. degrees of heat being found the
best in working, although I do not limit myself to the range specified, as
higher or lower degrees of heat can be used. The result is that the cement
becomes partially vulcanized, and adheres firmly to the rubber sole c, d, while
the outer surface of it remains tacky and sticky, so that it will adhere very
firmly to cloth, leather, or other surfaces. The sole. c, d, thus coated with
cement is then affixed by pressure to the inner sole and welt b, b, which is
also coated with the same or any other cement, and becomes thoroughly and
rigidly united therewith. Where a thin or pump sole is to be attached and
no welt is used, it will be evident that the rubber sole and heel can be
cemented directly upon the inner sole and "upper." It will also be apparent
that the rubber sole and heel may be applied to a thin outer sole of leather.
I am aware that an india-rubber sole. without the shank or heel. has
heretofore been applied to leather boots and shoes; but attaching the sole,
shank, and heel all in one piece to the inner sole and welt by the expeditious
mode herein-above described, by means of a cement susceptible of vulcanization,
has never before been done, and this makes a very great saving in the manu-
facture of such boots and shoes as are described above, and possesses the other
advantages that I have herein-before stated.
Having now described the "Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots,
Shoes, and other Coverings for the Feet," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect as described by my foreign correspondent, what
I claim as new in the above-described Invention, and desire to secure by
Letters Patent, is, the cementing (by the process herein-above described) to
the inner sole and welt, or to an outer sole, a sole and heel formed in one
entire piece, as set forth, and composed of vulcanized india-rubber or of any
of the compounds of india-rubber that are susceptible of being vulcanized.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)