AN IMPROVED BOOT OR SHOE WITH LEATHER UPPERS' AND INDIA-RUBBER SOLES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benj". D. Godfrey, of Milford, in the State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED BOOT OR SHOE WITH LEATHER UPPERS' AND INDIA-RUBBER SOLES."
Sealed the 5th September 1861, and dated the 6th June 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benj". D. Godfrey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
June 1861.
I, BENJ". D. GODFREY, of Milford, in the State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN
IMPROVED BOOT OR SHOE WITH LEATHER UPPERS' AND INDIA-RUBBER SOLES," to be
as follows:-
Soles of boots and shoes have been made waterproof by cementing an india-
rubber sole piece to the leather sole, such soles are, however, exceedingly
liable to fail or to become partially detached or separated from the boot,
owing to the imperfect adhesion of the cement to the leather; and wherever
this separation of the india-rubber and the leather takes place, tho water is
admitted to the leather sole.
India-rubber soles have also been secured to leather uppers by means of
nails, but the boots thus made have presented such an unsightly appearance
as to be quite unsaleable.
The present Invention has for its object to remedy these inconveniences,
and to secure the following results :-
First, to produce a waterproof sole and heel.

page_text: Second, to secure such sole and heel firmly and permanently to the boot or
shoe, so that it shall not be detached or torn off therefrom by any force
incapable of destroying it.
Third, to dispense with the expensive stock and labor required where the
boot is first made of leather, and the india-rubber sole is afterwards applied.
The boot is to be made upon a last having an iron or steel plate upon its
sole; an "inner sole" is laid upon this plate, and the upper leather is drawn
the two are then tacked together. An entire sole of india-rubber, or
of some compound, of which india-rubber is the basis, is then nailed to the
upper leather and inner sole.
The brads or nails have heads, which hold securely upon the india-rubber
and pass through the upper leather and inner sole, and rivet or clinch upon
the metallic plate of the last. The sole is thus firmly secured to the boot, the
joint between it and the upper leather being water-tight. This joint may be
rendered still farther secure and tight by a layer of india-rubber cement; but
this, under ordinary circumstances, is not required; the clinching of the nails,
where they are placed near enough to each other (say to of an inch apart,
or thereabouts) being sufficient to draw the sole and upper leather firmly
together, and effectually to seclude moisture from entering between them. A
second sole of india-rubber and a heel of the same material are now secured to.
the middle sole by india-rubber cement, the two-soles of rubber adhering
firmly together, and resisting any force, whether applied by accident or design
to separate them, while the heads of the nails are completely covered and
hidden, and a neat and elegant finish may be given to the boot. In order to
form the two india-rubber soles to the required shape, they are vulcanized in
moulds, so that they shall exactly fit the one upon the other, one of the soles
being adapted to the form of the foot, and the other being formed to the
required shape for the tread of the boot. If desired, the edges of the outer
sole may be formed so as to rise up and cover the edges of the inner sole, the
söles thus appearing as one single sole.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th December 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I; BENJAMIN
DAVENPORT GODFREY, of Milford, in the State of Massachusetts, United States

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of June, A.D. 1861, in the twenty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, Her special license
that I, the said Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, 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 "AN IMPROVED BOOT OR. SHOE WITH LEATHER.
UPPERS' AND INDIA-RUBBER SOLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, 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 Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, 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 thereof, that is to say:―
Fig. 1 is a view of my improved boot; Fig. 2 a longitudinal section through
the same; Fig. 3 a cross section on the line a, x, of Fig..2; Figs. 4, 5, 6, &
7, & 8, details to be referred to.
Soles of boots and shoes have been made partially waterproof by cementing
an india-rubber sole piece to the leather sole; such soles are, however, exceed-
ingly liable to fail, or to become partially detached or separated from the boot,
owing to the imperfect adhesion of the cement to the leather, and wherever this
separation of the india-rubber and the leather takes place the water is admitted:
to the leather sole. India-rubber soles have also been secured to leather
uppers by means of nails, but the boots thus made have presented such an
unsightly appearance as to be quite unsaleable.
The present Invention has for its object to remedy these inconveniences,.
and to secure the following results:-1st, to produce a waterproof sole and
heel; 2d, to secure such sole and heel firmly and permanently to the boot or
shoe, so that it shall not be detached or torn off therefrom by any force :inca-;
pable of destroying the materials; 3d, to dispense with the expensive stock.
and labor required where the boot is first made of leather, and the india-rubber:

page_text: sole is afterwards applied. The boot is to be made upon a last having an iron
or steel plate upon its sole. An "inner sole" is laid upon this plate, and the
upper leather is drawn over it; the two are then tacked together. An entire
sole of india-rubber, or of some compound of which india-rubber is the basis,
is then nailed to the upper leather and inner sole. The brads or nails have
heads, which hold securely upon the india-rubber, and pass through the upper t
leather and inner sole, and rivet or clinch upon the metallic plate of the last.
The sole is thus firmly secured to the boot, the joint between it and the upper
leather being water-tight. This joint may be rendered still further secure and
tight by a layer of india-rubber cement, but this, under ordinary circum-
stances, is not required; the clinching of the nails, where they are placed near-
enough to each other (say, to of an inch apart, or thereabouts) being
sufficient to draw the sole and upper leather firmly together, and effectually
exclude moisture from entering between them. A second sole of india-rubber
and a heel of the same material are now secured to the middle solo by india-
rubber cement; the two soles of rubber adhering firmly together and resisting
any force, whether applied by accident or design to separate them; while the
heads of the nails are completely covered and hidden, and a neat and elegant
finish may be given to the boot.
In Figs. 1, 2, & 3 of the Drawings, A is the upper leather of the boot;
b, the inner sole, which extends the whole length of the boot; and at fare
seen the nails, which pass through the inner sole, the upper leather, and the
india-rubber sole c, and secure them all together. The heel D' and the outer
solo g of india-rubber are now-secured to the sole c by means of india-rubber
cement, and the boot is furnished with a perfectly water-tight sole and heel,
which are capable of receiving any desired degree of finish.
In Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are represented a form of middle and outer sole,
which I sometimes employ. The middle sole H is vulcanized in a mould, being
made somewhat concave upon its upper (d), and convex upon its under
surface (s), the two uniting in a thin edge all around the sole, as seen at i, i;
Fig. 6, which is a section upon y, y, of Fig. 4. This middle sole H is then
nailed to the upper leather and inner sole, as above described. The outer:
sole L is also vulcanized in a mould, its upper surface r being curved, so as
exactly to correspond to the convex lower surfaces of the middle sole, while
the lower surface or tread m of the sole L is flat, or of the form required by
the finish of the boot. It will be observed also that only the outer sole is seen
after the boot is finished; the edges i of the inner sole being entirely covered
and hidden by the edge of the outer sole, which rises up around it, and nearly
touches the upper leather, as seen in Fig. 8, which is a section through a boot -

page_text: having a double vulcanized india-rubber sole. The construction of the boot
may be otherwise varied in several particulars without departing from the
spirit of this Invention, for example, the outer sole 9 may extend the whole
length of the boot, and beneath the heel D, in lieu of covering only that
portion not occupied by the heel, in which case the heel might be subsequently
attached to the outer sole, or it might be made in one piece with the outer
sole, as in the boot represented in section in Fig. 8. It is not necessary in
carrying out this Invention that the heel be made of india-rubber, wooden,
leather, or metallic heels may be employed, and be secured to the boot by nails
passing through and riveting upon the metallic last plate, or by means of screws
or otherwise, in which case a layer of india-rubber cement interposed between
the sole and the heel will assist to hold the latter securely in place, and to
preserve the integrity of the joint between it and the sole. Or, instead of the
upper being made of leather, cloth, lasting, or other suitable material may be
employed.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim a boot or shoe having a sole
composed of two thicknesses of india-rubber, the one being permanently
secured, as described, to the upper leather by nails or otherwise, and the two
being united together by cement, as set forth.
Second, I claim so forming the two soles by vulcanizing them in suitable
moulds, that they shall exactly fit the one upon the other, while one of them
is adapted to the form of the foot, as set forth, and the other has the required
shape for the tread of the foot.
Third, I claim concealing the edge of the middle sole by causing the outer
sole to project up around it, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Davenport Godfrey, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this First day of November, A.D., 1861.
Witness,
THOS. R. ROACH.
B. D. GODFREY. (L.B.)