IMPROVEMENTS IN SADDLERY, HARNESS, DRIVING STRAFD, AND DIRINAL ARCHED
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Billingsley, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Saddler, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SADDLERY, HARNESS, DRIVING STRAFD, AND DIRINAL ARCHED
Sealed the 15th August 1863, and dated the 20th February 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Billingsley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th February 1863.
I, CHARLES BILLINGSLEY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Saddler, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SADDLERY, HARNESS, DRIVING STRAPS, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, first, of an improved fastener, intended as a
substitute for the ordinary buckle. The strap, band, belt, or other article has
at one end a number of holes for lengthening or shortening, and near the part
where it is required to be fastened I fix a clip of leather, metal, or other
material, and also a metal plate having one or more fixed or moveable studs
projecting from it. The fastener is used in the following manner:-The

page_text: perforated end is passed through or round the article to which it has to be
attached, and then passed through the clip, and afterwards one or more of the
holes are passed over the stud or studs, by which means the strap, band, belt,
or other article is effectually fastened without the use of a buckle. A loop of
leather or other material is provided for retaining the end of the strap in a
proper position.
Secondly, in an improved mode of attaching the stirrup leather to the saddle.
I employ a single strap with a loop at the end to fit on the spring bar of the
saddle, which arrangement prevents the necessity of several thicknesses of
strap and buckle, and consequent inconvenience to the rider.
I attach the stirrup to the stirrup leather by the improved fastener described
in the first part of my Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Billingsley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
BILLINGSLEY, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Saddler,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Billingsley, Her special license, that I, the said Charles Billingsley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Billingsley, 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
SADDLERY, HARNESS, DRIVING STRAPS, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Billingsley, my executors or admi-
nistrators, 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

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Billingsley, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
:-
This Invention consists, first, in an improved fastener intended as a
substitute for the ordinary buckle, which fastener is applicable to the traces,
kicking straps, crupper straps, tugs, and other parts of harness or saddlery,
and also to the driving straps of machines, or other purposes where buckles
have hitherto been used for uniting the ends of a single piece, or the two ends
of two pieces together. When a stirrup or other article has to be suspended
or fastened to a strap, band, or belt, the said strap, band, or belt has at the
end or other part where it has to be fastened, a number of holes for lengthen-
ing or shortening, and near the part where it is required to be fastened there
is a clip of leather, metal, or other material, and also a metal plate, having
one or more fixed or moveable studs projecting from it; the perforated end is
passed through or round the stirrup or other article, and then passed through
the clip, and afterwards one or more of the holes are passed over the stud or
studs on the fixed metal plate, by which means the strap, band, or belt is
effectually fastened without the use of a buckle, a loop of leather or other
material being provided for retaining the end of the strap in its proper position.
When the two ends of one strap or band, or two ends of two straps or bands
are to be fastened together, one of the ends has a number of perforated holes
for lengthening or shortening, and the other end has fixed to it the clip and
metal plate having one or more studs. The perforated end is passed through
the clip, and then one or more of the holes passed over one or more of the
studs, and the extreme end has a loop or clip passed over it, by which means
the two ends are secured or fastened without the use of a buckle.
Secondly, in an improved mode of attaching the stirrup leather to the saddle.
I employ a single strap with a loop at the end to fit on the spring bar of the
saddle, which arrangement prevents the necessity of several thicknesses of
strap and buckle, and consequent inconvenience to the rider, and great
disfigurement of the saddle.
I attach the stirrup to the stirrup leather by the improved fastener described
in the first part of my Invention.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2

page_text: are front and side views of my improved stirrup leather, the upper part being
adapted to fit the spring bar of the saddle, and the lower or bottom part for
having the stirrup fastened to it by my improved fastener, which lower part
is suitable for all articles or purposes requiring a similar fastening; Fig. 3 is
a front view of the ends of two straps or bands, or the two ends of one strap or
band, adapted for having the two ends fastened together, but having the ends
shewn apart from each other; Fig. 4 a front view of the same, with the two
ends fastened together; and Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged views of the metal
plate, with a single stud.
In Figs. 1 and 2 the strap is shewn at a; it has at the lower end a number
of holes b, and near the part where the stirrup or other article is intended to
be fastened there is a fixed clip c, and a fixed metal plate d, having a stud e.
When it is required to suspend the stirrup and fasten the strap, the perforated
end is passed through the fixed clip c, and one of the holes is passed over the
stud e, which is thereby made to project through the strap, and by that means
the two parts are held firmly together, the extreme end f being prevented
from shifting by means of a loose or fixed clip g. The metal plate d is rivetted
to the strap, or otherwise fixed in any desired manner.
In Figs. 3 and 4, representing the application of my improved fastener to
the two ends of two straps or to the two ends of one strap, the two ends are
shewn at h, i, the end h is perforated with a number of holes k, for lengthening
or shortening, and the end i has fixed to it the clip, and the metal plate m,
carrying the fixed stud n. The two ends are fastened together by passing the
perforated end through the clip 1, and then passing one of the holes over the
stud n until the stud projects through the strap, and holds the two parts
together, and then the extreme end o is enclosed in the loose or fixed loop p.
My improved mode of attaching the stirrup leather to the saddle is shewn
in Figs. 1 and 2. The strap a is single, and has at the top a loop q to fit on
the spring bar of the saddle, which arrangement prevents the necessity of
several thicknesses of strap and consequent inconvenience to the rider, and
great disfigurement of the saddle.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I claim,-
First, the method of fastening straps used for harness, driving bands, and
other similar articles by means of the improved fastener intended as a substitute
for the ordinary buckle.
And, secondly, the improved mode of attaching the stirrup leather to the

page_text: saddle, as such improvements are herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Billingsley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
CHARLES BILLINGSLEY. (LS.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the within-named Charles Bil-
lingsley, in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.