IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOTS AND SHOES."-A communi-
cation from abroad by William Fredrick Prusha and Elisha
Linfield Wales, both of Marlboro', Massachusetts, United States of
America.
Sealed the 13th June 1871, and dated the 22nd April 1871.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 22nd April 1871, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BOOTS AND SHOES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for
the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has been com.

page_text: municated to me from abroad by William Fredrick Prusha and Elisha
Linfield Wales, both of Marlboro', Massachusetts, United States of
America.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing
forming a part of this Specification :-
The objects of this Invention are to cheapen the manufacture of boots:
and shoes, and at the same time to produce a superior article, and the
said Invention consists in moulding or striking up” a leather sole
with a projecting portion to which the "upper" is secured by rivets,
stitching, or otherwise, the sole being finished, and together with the
projecting portion perfectly shaped to fit the foot at the time it is
moulded, and a crease or indentation simultaneously formed to represent
the division between the "upper" and the sole of an ordinary boot or
shoe, by which construction the inner šole is dispensed with, together
with the operation of "lasting," and also the labour of trimming and
finishing the edge of the outer sole while the boot is pliable and easy to
the foot.
66
The said Invention also consists in forming a leather tip or protector
at the toe of a boot or shoe by moulding or striking it up" in onc and
the same piece with the sole, the crease to represent the division between
the upper and the sole being formed at the same time.
The said Invention also consists in moulding or "striking up" a
leather heel shell in one and the same piece with the sole, the hollow
heel so formed being afterward filled with any suitable material.
And the said Invention furthermore consists in extending the pro-
jecting portion of the sole up at the heel, whereby I am enabled to
dispense with the counter or stiffening usually employed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe made in accordance with the
said Invention; Figure 2 is a central vertical section through the same;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the sole and its projecting portion, the
heel being formed in one piece therewith; Figure 4 is a central vertical
section through the same.

page_text: •
A represents the sole of the shoc. This sole is formed of a picce of
leather cut in the proper shape and compressed when wet in a suitable
dic, which gives it the form seen in the Drawing with a projecting
portion turned up all round its edge, the portion 6 and also the sole
being finished and perfectly shaped to fit the foot at the time it is
mounted or "struck up," while a crease or indentation c is also made at
the same operation to represent the division line between the " upper"
and the sole of an ordinary boot or shoe. This crease can be made to
represent on the outside any desired thickness of sole. Previous to
putting the leather in the die the edge which forms the portion b is
skived down so as to leave it of less thickness than the sole. After the
sole has been removed from the die the "upper" B is secured to the pro-
jecting portion by means of rivets, or stitching, or in any other suitable
manner. This operation finishes the shoc, and leaves it as shown in
Figure 1. The inner sole of an ordinary boot or shoe adds nothing
to its wear, but is required in order that the different parts may be
properly secured together, and can only be dispensed with in a "turned"
shoc. This improved construction however enables me to dispense with
the inner sole entirely, thus effecting a saving of stock, while the opera-
tion of "lasting" and the labour of trimming and finishing the edge of
the outer sole are also dispensed with and a considerable saving of
labour is effected. A thin lining d of any suitable material is pasted
upon the inside of the sole A to give the interior of the shoe a neat and
finished appearance. The portion 6 serves to protect the shoc all around
its edge, and when cut so as to extend up at the toe, as seen ate in the
Drawing, it serves as a leather toc tip or protector, which is moulded or
formed in one and the same piece with the sole A, and with a crease or
indentation to represent the division between the sole and the “
upper."
In Figures 3 and 4 the portion b is cut so as to extend up at the heel, as
seen at f, thereby forming a stiffening and enabling me to dispense with
the separate counter or stiffener usually employed. In Figures 1 and 2
the heel is represented as formed of "lifts" in the ordinary manner,
but in the shoe represented in Figures 3 and 4 it is formed by being
" struck up
or moulded in one and the same piece with the sole A,
the hollow heel c thus formed being afterward filled with some suitable
cheap material.
It is evident that instead of "striking up" the
portion & entirely around the sole it may be formed to extend up from
one or more portions only of the sole, for instance, at the toe to form a
tip, or at the heel to form a stiffener, or both, the upper being secured
"

page_text: to the remaining portion of the sole by pegs or stitching in the ordinary
manner; in such case, however, an inner sole would be required.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I claim,-
"
A leather sole with a projecting portion "struck up" having a crease
or indentation c, and to which the "upper is secured, substantially in
the manner and for the purpose described.
Also, a leather toe tip or protector "struck up" in one and the same
piece with the sole, and with a crease or indentation c, substantially as
set forth.
Also, a leather heel shell "struck up" in one and the same piece
with the sole, substantially as set forth.
Also, the leather heel stiffener ƒ when "struck up" in one and the
same piece with the sole, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto 1
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-onc.
DANTna
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