IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS, AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN."- A communication from abroad by Eugene Coanet,
of Nancy, France.
Sealed the 16th February 1864, and dated the 18th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald Brooman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th August 1863.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention applies to the manufacture by machinery of hats, caps, and
bonnets, of straw, palm leaf, felt, and tissues of all kinds, for male and female.
To manufacture rapidly and economically I employ a principal apparatus,
which I call a mechanical dresser, and two accessory apparatuses, one of
which is for folding the brim, and the other for shaping the brim. The
dresser is in the form of a strong press. The main shaft is threadel, and
has fixed on it a toothed wheel driven by a long pinion moved by hand or
power. The pinion is long to allow of the toothed wheel moving up and

page_text: down with the shaft of the press. The shaft carries at bottom a movable
pressing plate covered at bottom with felt or other like suitable material. I
place a small steam generator at the side of the press, or introduce steam
from other source into a hollow case, in the top of which the form or matrix
is fitted for the purpose of heating the matrix; this case is set upon wheels,
and runs upon rails to facilitate the placing of the matrix under the pressing
plate, and of removing the articles therefrom. The hat or article to be
dressed is placed in tho matrix, but should it be too large for the particular
article to be dressed, I introduce into the matrix and before placing the article
in it, one or more hollow metal blocks, until the interior of the matrix is
thereby reduced to the size required. The hat or other article being then
placed in the matrix, the body of the hat or other article is filled with a plug
of cork, felt, caoutchouc, or other supple material or composition possessing
elasticity, but I prefer to use the following composition:-I mix flock with
caoutchouc, and add about 6 or 8 per cent. of sulphur, until a homogeneous
composition is formed; I submit it to steam to vulcanize it. The plug being
in the body of the hat, I place on the brim a cushion of a material similar to
that of which the plug is composed. A block having the same curve and
shape as the top of the matrix is attached to the bottom of the pressing
plate, and upon the pressing plate being brought down pressure is exerted
upon the plug, and upon the cushion on
not only printed on the outside with any
carried on the inside of the matrix, but is at
Palm bats dressed by this means may be made to look like ordinary straw
hats. For folding the brim up or down, I place upon a table a form, upon
which the dressed hat is applied. The brim of the hat extends all round
beyond. the flanged edge of the form, and at the side of the form I fit a
grooved roller, into the groove of which the flanged edge of the form enters.
The form may be made to rotato round the roller, or the roller round the
form. The edge of the brim being turned up or down is introduced into
the groove, and the form or the roller being made to rotate, the edge of the
brim of the hat is turned up or down all round. For shaping the brim I
form a shaping instrument of a plate of caoutchouc, or other suitable material,
such for instance as that described for the plug placed inside the hat while
being dressed; upon this plate I fix a crown of similar material, having the
shape of the oval of the brim of the hat; the plate and crown have the form
of a cover of a box. This plate is applied under the presser plate of the
press. To operate I place a metal form, the edges of which have the shape
intended to be given to the brim, under the press, place the hat in the form,
the brim, whereby the hat is
design or pattern engraved or
the same time perfectly dressed.

page_text: and bring down the press, whereupon the brim of the hat and the metal form
enter the box formed by the shaping plate and its crown, which being elastic
is compelled to open with force, and for the same reason tightens upon the
brim and effects the perfect shaping thereof.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Offico
on the 18th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licenco that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Richard Archibald Broonian, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, CAPS,
AND BONNETS, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," (communicated to me from
abroad by Eugene Coanet, of Nancy, France,) upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 naturo
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to bo 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 Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :-

page_text: This Invention applies to the manufacture by machinery of hats, caps, and
bonnets, of straw, palm leaf, felt, hair, wool, cotton, silk, leather, wood, paste-
board, and tissues of all kinds, for male and female. To manufacture rapidly
and economically, I employ a principal apparatus, which I call a mechanical
dresser, and two accessory apparatuses, one of which is for folding the brim,
and the other for shaping the brim. The dresser is in the form of a strong
press, as represented in Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings. The main
shaft T is threaded, and has fixed on it a toothed wheel q, driven by a
long pinion P, moved by a crank handle m, through the intermediation of
bevil pinions X and p; or it may be moved by steam, hydraulic, or other
power. The pinion P is long, to allow of the toothed wheel 9 moving up
and down with the shaft T of the press. The shaft T carries at bottom a
movable pressing plate H, covered at botton with felt or other like suitable
material. I place a small steam generator A at the side of the press, and
introduce steam therefrom by a pipe D, into a hollow case E, in the top of
which the form or matrix l' is fitted, for the purpose of heating the matrix, or
steam may be introduced from any other convenient source; C is a reservoir
containing water to feed the generator A, through the pipe B. The case E
is set upon wheels g, and runs upon rails I, to facilitate the placing of the
matrix under the pressing plate H, and of removing the articles therofrom.
The hat or article to be dressed is placed in the matrix, but should it be too
large for the particular article to be dressed, I introduce into the matrix and
before placing the article in it, one or more hollow metal blocks G, until the
interior of the matrix is thereby reduced to the size required. The hat or
other article being then placed in the matrix, the body of the hat or other
article is filled with a plug K, of cork, felt, caoutchouc, or other supple
material or composition possessing elasticity, but I prefer to use the following
composition:-I mix flock with caoutchouc, and add about 6 or 8 per cent. of
sulphur, until a homogeneous composition is formed; I submit it to steam to
vulcanize it. The plug K being in the body of the hat, I place on the brim
or cushion R, of a material similar to that of which the plug is composed.
A block J, having the same curve and shape as the top of the matrix, is
attached to the bottom of the pressing plate, and upon the pressing plate H,
being brought down pressure is exerted upon the plug and upon the cushion
on the brim, whereby the hat is not only printed on the outside with any
design or pattern engraved or carried on the inside of the matrix, but is at
the same time perfectly dressed. Palm hats dressed by this means may be
made to look like ordinary straw hats. Sometimes I form the plug K
hollow, and fill it with liquid or gas, the pressure of which will cause it to take

page_text: the form of the matrix. For folding the brim up or down, I place upon a
table U, Figure 2, a form M, upon which the dressed hat is applied. The
brim of the hat extends all round beyond the flanged edge of the form M, and
at the side of the form I fit a grooved roller h, furnished with a handle L, into
the groove of which roller the flanged edge of the form enters. The form
may be made to rotate round the roller, or the roller round the form; the
edge of the brim being turned up or down is introduced into the groove,
and the form or the roller being made to rotate, the edge of the brim of the
hat is turned up or down all round. For shaping the brim, I form a shaping
instrument of a plate a, Figure 3, of caoutchouc or other suitable material,
such for instance as that described for the plug placed inside the hat while
being dressed; upon this plate I fix a crown n, of similar material, having
the shape of the oval of the brim of the hat; the plate and crown have the
form of a cover of a box. This plate is applied under the presser plate H, of
the press, Figure 1. To operate I place a metal form, the edges of which
have the shape intended to be given to the brim, under the presser plate H,
place the bat in the form, and bring down the press, whereupon the brim of
the hat and the metal form enter the box formed by the shaping plate a, and
its crown n, which being elastic is compelled to open with force, and for the
same reason tightens upon the brim and effects the perfect shaping thereof.
6, Figure 3, represents a hat before, and c, after the shaping of the brim;
d, shews the position of the different parts during the operation of shaping.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim manufacturing
hats, caps, and bonnets, substantially in manner and by apparatus constructed
and operating as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four