IMPROVED DEVICES FOR EFFECTING INSTANTANEOUS CHANGES OF COSTUME IN CHARACTER IMPERSONATIONS.
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Morris, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings,
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVED DEVICES FOR EFFECTING
INSTANTANEOUS CHANGES OF COSTUME IN CHARACTER IMPERSONATIONS.´

page_text: without leaving the stage or platform whereon I stand or withdrawing or
concealing myself from the audience, instantaneously change my entire
costume or dress as required to represent the various successive characters
without taking off any article of dress, and without the aid of an assistant
or the use of any apparatus or appliances concealed upon or about the
said stage or platform.
The characters usually represented in my entertainment are partly
male and partly female, and of various ages and classes, and the
costume or attire of each must be appropriate thereto. For instance, I
may come upon the stage in the ordinary evening dress of a gentleman,
and while talking to the audience my dress and appearance will
instantaneously and without any preceptible action on my part be
changed to that of an old man, and again to that of a lady in full
evening dress, and so on. throughout the entire entertainment.
The said Invention is carried into practise by a novel formation of
the garments worn by me during the said entertainment in combination
with peculiarly arranged strings or cords, and pins, loops, buttons, and
other like devices.
The coats and other articles of dress are made in portions, which when
worn are united by pins, and when these pins are taken out the parts of
the garment fall apart. The said pins are attached to strings or cords
fastened to the coat collar or corresponding part of the other garments,
the said cords being passed through loops at the bottom of the sleeves to
prevent them being detached.
When I commence my entertainment I have upon me the whole
series of costumes to be exhibited. To remove the first costume or dress
and expose the one next below it I pull the ends of the said cords,
the pins are thereby drawn out, the parts of the dress separate and
disappear behind me, the dress or costume below which was concealed
behind the first dress and fastened around my waist, being at the same
time caused to assume its proper position, entirely concealing the first
costume. It is obviously very important that the cords and pins and
also the division of these garments should be concealed from the audience,
I therefore have the seams of the sleeves and other portions where the
parts are united by the pins covered by a flap which presents the
appearance of an ordinary seam, and the pins and cords are covered by
these flaps, and in some instances I attach to the under or inner sides

page_text: of these flaps small metal eyes or loops, which are passed through holes
in the other part of the garment, and the pins attached to the cords are
inserted through these eyes or loops. The said eyes or loops allow the
flaps to be kept more closely down upon the seams than the pins
alone.
Low shoes with gaiters are apparently changed or transformed into
Balmoral or similar boots as follows:-The two sides of the gaiters are
secured together by pins as above described, the said pins being attached
to strings or cords which are passed through loops and extended to the
waist. The Balmoral boots are worn under the gaiters but have the
appearance of low shoes, the buckles thereof being attached to the
bottom of the gaiters. When the change of costume is effected
the said strings or cords are pulled, the pins are thereby drawn out, and
the gaiters disappear under the skirt of the dress, the feet and ankles
appearing below the same in the aforesaid Balmoral boots.
The buttons on the coats or other garments are mounted on pivots,
and have their opposite sides or faces differently formed, coloured, or
marked, for instance, they may be black cloth on one side and bright
metal on the other side, strings or cords are attached to the said buttons
or their pivots, and concealed in the texture or folds of the dress; by
pulling these strings in changing the costume the said buttons are
reversed or turned upon their pivots. Epaulettes and other ornaments
or decorations may be changed or reversed in like manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Morris in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd January 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MORRIS, of the City and State of New York, United States of America,
now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said John Morris, Her special licence
that I, the said John Morris, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Morris, 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 "IMPROVED DEVICES FOR
EFFECTING INSTANTANEOUS CHANGES OF COSTUME IN CHARACTER IMPERSONATIONS,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Morris, 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 John Morris, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, forming a part of this Specification:-
The said Invention relates to means whereby in giving an entertain-
ment consisting of the impersonation or represantation of a number of
individuals of more or less diverse character or appearance, I can
without leaving the stage or platform whereon I stand or withdrawing
or concealing myself from the audience, instantaneously change my
costume or dress entirely or partially as required to represent each of
the various, successive characters without actually taking off any article
of dress, and without the aid of an assistant or the use of any apparatus
or appliances concealed upon or about the said stage or platform.
The characters usually represented in my entertainment are partly
niale and partly female and of various ages and classes, and the costume
or attire of each is in every respect appropriate to the character repre-
sented. The various dresses or costumes are by my Invention so
made and packed, or fitted upon me, that when I come upon the
stage and stand and walk about in full view of the audience in
commencing the entertainment in the ordinary evening dress of a

page_text: gentleman, there is no appearance of my having the other garments
under this dress.
The said Invention is carried into practice by a peculiar formation of.
the garments. worn by me during the said entertainment,, in combination
with peculiarly arranged strings or cords, and pins, loops, buttons, and
other like devices arranged upon the garments and manipulated as
herein described.
A coat or other article of dress used in my performance must be made
in portions which when the dresses worn are united by pins, when
these pins are pulled out the said portions of the garment fall apart and
are concealed by portions of the costume or dress of the next character
represented, that is to say, the parts of the dress thus detached are not
removed from the person of the performer, but the dress of each
character as the representation. thereof is finished is concealed under
the dress of the next character represented, and so on throughout the
entire performance. The said pins are attached to strings or cords
fastened to the coat collar or corresponding part of the other garments;
the said cords being passed through loops at the bottom of the sleeves to
prevent their being detached.
When I commence my entertainment I have upon me the whole
series of costumes to be exhibited. To remove the first costume or dress
and expose the one next below it I pull the ends of the said cords, the
pins are thereby drawn out, the parts of the said dress separate and fall
from the shoulders or arms, and the next dress or costume which was
concealed behind the first dress and fastened around my waist is at the
same time caused to assume its proper position, entirely concealing the
first dress. It is obviously very important. that the cords and pins and
also the divisions of these garments should be concealed from the
audience. I therefore have the sleeves and other portions where the
parts are united: by the pins covered by a flap which presents the
appearance of an ordinary seam, and the pins and cords are covered by
these flaps, and. in some instances I attach to the under or inner sides of
these flaps small metal eyes or loops. which are passed through holes in
the other part of the garment, and the pins attached to the cords are
inserted through these eyes or loops; the said eyes or loops allow the
flaps to be kept more closely down upon the seams than if the pins alone
were used.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawing I have illustrated the application of
my Invention to a coat and shoe and stocking, as examples of the
manner in which I carry my said Invention into practice, but I wish it
understood that in giving this illustration of the said Invention I do
not limit myself to any particular shape, style, or fashion of these i
articles, nor to any particular series of garments or dresses.
manner in which I carry my said Invention into practice, but I wish it
understood that in giving this illustration of the said Invention I do
not limit myself to any particular shape, style, or fashion of these
articles, nor to any particular series of garments or dresses.
of
Figure 1 is a front view of the body of a coat made for the
my Invention.
purposes
Figure 2 illustrates the manner of using other articles of dress
according to my Invention.
In Figure 1 A is the body of a coat opening along the line a upon
the outside of the sleeves and at the shoulders. The pins 6 are attached
to a string or strings c permanently fastened to the coat collar, as shown
at c¹. The strings c pass through loops d at the bottom of the sleeves,
which loops prevent their being detached from the coat. Buttons,
tassels, or loops e are attached to the ends of the strings c for con-
venience of manipulating them. By pulling the strings at e the pins b
are detached and drawn out, opening the coat on the shoulders and down
the outsides of the sleeves, and allowing the body of the coat to fall
below the waist, at which point it is caught and retained, at the same
moment a portion of the next garment, say the skirt of a ladies dress,
which hitherto has been concealed under the coat body, and which is
fastened around the waist falls over the said coat body hanging down
and concealing the latter.
In Figure 2 B represents a stocking opening along the line a where
it is held to the leg by pins 6 attached to the string c reaching to the
waist through the loop d. The said stocking comes down over a
Balmoral boot g, the top of which is at g¹; a buckle h is attached to the
bottom of the stocking; another string i is secured to the bottom of the
said stocking, as shown at k, and reaches up to the waist. When
the stocking is fitted to the leg over the said boot the performer appears
to be wearing with the stocking a low cut buckled shoe; but when the
pins are drawn by pulling the string c, and the stocking is lifted to the
waist under the skirt of the dress by the string i, the foot and ankle are
shown fitted with a high Balmoral boot. It will be obvious that instead
of the aforesaid stockings I may use gaiters or leggings secured over the

page_text: boot, and caused to disappear and reveal the boot in the manner above
described.
In Figure 1 m, m, are buttons which are mounted upon wires m¹
acting as pivots. The said buttons are bright upon one side and black
upon the other or reverse side or are otherwise different on their two
faces. Strings c attached to the tops of the said buttons are joined at
the end or button e of the strings. Two rows of buttons are shown in
this Drawing, but I may have one row or two or more rows of such
buttons if desirable. The said buttons may also be placed upon any part of
a dress, being shown in the position indicated for the sake of convenient
illustration. By pulling the strings cat e the buttons m turning upon
the pivots m¹ are reversed and exhibit their opposite surfaces. Epaulettes
and other similar articles are arranged and operated in like manner.
The said buttons m or other articles may be used in connection with the
other features of my Invention or separately, as desired.
In the Drawing the cords or strings and pins appear outside or upon
the surface of the coat and other articles of dress, but in practice I prefer
that these cords or strings and pins shall be concealed by the aforesaid
flaps or by other suitable means, so that the said cords and pins and the
divisions of the dress will not be seen by the audience.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. A coat body or other dress or part of a dress made in parts or
sections, so fitted and secured by pins or otherwise upon the person of
the performer that the required number of dresses may be packed one
under the other, and by the manipulation of cords or strings the parts of
each dress may be detached and separated and covered by another of the
said dresses by an almost imperceptible action of the performer in full
view of the audience, and without removing any of the dresses or
garments from his person as herein set forth.
Second. In a garment or article of dress made in parts or sections as
above described, the pins attached to strings or cords and combined with
the loops at or near the adjacent edges of the said parts or sections, and
arranged in such a manner that by pulling the said cords or strings the
pins are pulled out without detaching the strings or cords from the dress,
and the parts of one garment or dress are detached and separated, while
another dress or part of a dress is unpacked and exposed and caused

page_text: to conceal the first dress as. herein described and for the purpose
specified.
Third. The devices whereby a stocking or gaiter is first worn to
conceal a boot, and then removed and concealed in such a manner as to
expose the said boot by the simple pulling of a cord or string by the
performer, as herein set forth.
Fourth. Forming the parts or sections of the said garments or articles
of dress with flaps for covering and concealing the said cords and pins
and divisions of the dress, as herein set forth.
•
J Fifth. A button, epaulette, or other like article, with its opposits faces
of different colors or otherwise contrasted, hung upon a pivot in such a
manner as to be reversible thereon, and connected with a string or cord,
whereby its reversal is effected as herein described and for the purpose
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Morris, have hereunto set :
my hand and seal, this Second day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
JA³. EDWARDS,
8, Southampton Buildings,
.
-
London.
JOHN MORRIS. (L.S.)