AN IMPROVED FASTENING FOR WEARING APPAREL, AND WHICH MAY ALSO BE APPLIED AS A FASTENING TO PORTMANTEAUS, BAGS, BOXES, BOOKS, AND OTHER THINGS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL
THOMAS, of Cheapside, in the City of London, Merchant, send greeting.
ILLIAM
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixth day of September, in the seventh year of Iler reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Thomas, Her especial licence, full powe, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Thomas, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said William Thomas, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Ier Majesty's Colonies and Plan-
tations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and
Man, an Invention of "AN IMPROVED FASTENING FOR WEARING APPAREL, AND
WHICH MAY ALSO BE APPLIED AS A FASTENING TO PORTMANTEAUS, BAGS, BOXES,
BOOKS, AND OTHER THINGS," being a communication from a foreigner residing
abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the
said William Thomas, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Thomas, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention and
the manner in which the same is to be performed is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say)
:-
The Invention which which has been communicated to me by my corre-
spondent abroad consists of an improved fastening of a peculiar construction,
whereby the various parts of dress or other articles to which it is applied may
be easily, quickly, and simultaneously detached from one another. The im-
proved fastening is susceptible of considerable modification in its external
appearance, according to the particular purpose for which it is intended to be
employed. For instance, it will be at once obvious that the same fastening
cannot, without some modification, be applied to the three distinct uses of
forming a fastening for a ladies dress, a portmanteau, and a boot strap; a
similarity of principle may, however, be retained in all three instances. The
object proposed by the Inventor is, to produce a fastening which presents great
facility for detaching or unloosing it when required, and in so arranging
the parts that when any number of fastenings are ranged one above another
in a row they may all be simultaneously detached when required, instead of
being obliged to unloose them singly, as is now the case with most of the
fastenings for apparel with which am acquainted. The principle upon which
the improved fastening is constructed, and the object intended to be effected
thereby will be best seen in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1
represents a front view, and Fig. 2 an edge view of a fastening intended to bo
applied to the back or front of a ladies dress or stays; Fig. 3 represents the
two parts of the fastening detached in order that their construction may be
more clearly seen. a, a, Figs. 1 and 3, is a thin blade of steel or other metal
or suitable substance, carrying three small flat boxes b, b, b, into which the
tongues c, c, c, of the blade d, d, are inserted, when the fastening is intended
to hold two parts of a dress together. The tongues c, c, c, have small springs
or projections formed on their under side, as seen in the back view, Fig. 4, and
edge view, Fig. 5, and cross sectional view, Fig. 6. Another thin and narrow
blade e, e, is connected to the blade a, a, and passes through the boxes b, b, b, as
seen in Figures 1 and 3, and shewn detached at Fig. 7, in which latter Figure
it will be seen that the blade e, e, has also catches or proportions e*, *, *,
formed thereon, and corresponding to the projections on the under side of the

page_text: tongues c, c, c, as seen in Figures 4, 5, and 6. The blade e, e, is held in its
proper position by a small spring placed in the uppermost box * of the metal
blade a, a, but which yet allows the blade e, e, to slide on the blade a when
required. When in a state of rest the projections or spring catches on the
blade e are opposite the openings in the boxes b, b, b, into which the tongues
c, c, c, of the other blade d are inserted, therefore, when the tongues are
inserted, the projections or small spring catches on their under side catch
against the projections on the sliding blade e, e, and retain the two blades a, a,
and d, d, in connection. When it is desired to unloose the fastening, all that
is required to be done is to overcome the force of the spring in the box 6*
above (which keeps the sliding blade e in its place) by drawing this blade
down so as to bring a plain part of the blade e opposite the projections or
catches on the tongues c, c, c; this being done, the tongues may be easily
withdrawn, and the parts of the dress thereby detached from each other. If
thought more convenient or desirable the tongues c, c, c, may be fastened on
to the dress without the blade d, d, as also may the boxes b, b, b, without the
blade a, a, but the sliding blade e, e, must still be retained, and may be
worked as easily without as with the blades a and d, which only act as carriers
or supporters for the tongues c, c, and boxes b, b, which latter, when the blades
are dispensed with, are connected to the dress in a similar manner to that
adopted with hooks and eyes. Sometimes in place of the sliding blade e, e, a
wire or thin metal rod is employed; this wire or metal rod must be prepared in
such a manner at those parts where the tongues c, c, c, come in contact with
it, that it will act as a catch to retain the tongues in their places. In order
to do this, those parts of the rod are flattened out, and an edge turned up so
as to form a sort of catch. A modification of the above fastening as applied
to the busk of ladies' stays is represented in Figs. 8, 8, 9, and 10; Fig. 8 is
a plan or top view of the two blades detached from one another (similar to
Fig. 3) in order that their construction may be more clearly understood;
Fig. 8* represents the two blades in connection; Fig. 9 is an edge view of
Figs. 8 and 8, and Fig. 10 is a cross section of the same.
In these Figures,
in place of affixing or connecting the boxes b, b, b, to one of the blades as in
Figures 1, 2, and 3, these boxes are formed by stamping or punching up part
of the blade, as seen in Figures 8, 8, 9, and 10; then a longitudinal slit is
made in the outer side of the box thus formed for the purpose of receiving
the tongues of the opposite blade, and a transverse slit is made in each end
of the box to admit the sliding rod e, which is furnished with catches or pro-
jections as in the former Figures, and as seen in Fig. 7. The sliding rod e
is also kept in its place by a spring placed at and connected to its upper end, as

page_text: in Figures 1, 2, and 3. The tongues also of the blade a, a, are constructed as
already explained in reference to the before-mentioned Figures, or may be made
in any other convenient manner, if thought moro desirable. In order to unloose
or detach the two blades a, a, and d, d, from each other, the sliding blade or
rode is pulled down, in order to bring a plain part thereof opposite the catches
of the tongues c, c, c, which are then easily removed. Figures 11, 12, and 13
represent a modification of the two previously described fastenings, which are
much simplified, the sliding blade or rod e in this instance being ‹lispensed
with. The fastenings are arranged one above another, as in the former
instances, and may be simultaneously detached like them. Fig. 11 represents
a plan view of the blades a, a, and d, d, disconnected. Fig. 12 is a similar
representation of the blades in connection; and Fig. 13 is a cross section of
Fig. 12. The tongues c, c, c, in these Figures are furnished at their under
side with projecting pieces or catches, which hook into longitudinal slits made
in the opposite blade, and which slits are covered with spring pieces f, ƒ, ƒ,
that are rivetted on to the blade a, a, as seen in the Drawing. It will now be
understood that when the tongues, with their projecting pieces, are brought into
contact with the opposite blade a, a, between the blade itself and the spring
pieces fff, that it forces up these pieces, and the projections on the under
side of the tongues c, c, c, fall or drop into the longitudinal slits of the blade
a, a, and are retained therein by the said spring pieces. In order to detach or
unloose the fastening, it is only necessary to bend up the two blades a, a, and d, d,
so as to form an obtuse angle with each other, and the tongues then press back
the spring picces f, f, f, and allow the catches or projections on the former to
escape from their confinement. If thought more desirable, the tongues, instead
of having catches on their under side, may be furnished with longitudinal slits,
as seen in Fig. 14, and a portion of the blade a, a, is punched up from beneath
so as to form projecting catches to look on to the slits of the opposite blade;
these catches are covered with spring pieces ff. f, as in Figs. 11, 12, and 13,
which act in precisely the same manner as has been already described in
reference to these Figures. In Figures 8 and 12 it will be seen that the
blades a, a, and d, d, are brought flush up against each other, the edges being
parallel and in contact, or nearly so, and by this means the fastening is
made very flat and thin, and has not a clumsy appearance. Figures 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, and 20 represent different views of the improved fastening applied to
a boot or trouser strap. Fig. 15 is an external side view of the fastening com-
plete, and as s applied to a trouser and strap. Fig. 16 is a cross section of the
fastening. Fig. 17 is a side view detached of that part of the fastening which
is connected to the trouser and which answers to the blade d, d, referred to in

page_text: explanation of Figures 1, 3, 4, 8, and 8*, as it carries the tongues c, c, with
their spring catches. Fig. 18 is a longitudinal section of the box part of the
fastening, shewing the sliding blade e. Fig. 19 is an edge view, and Fig. 20 a
front view of the sliding blade e detached, and shewing the projecting catches
i, i, formed thereon or attached thereto for the purpose of retaining or holding
in the tongues c, c, of the blade a, a. The sliding blade e is furnished with a
spring h for the purpose of bringing it back again into its original position
when it has been drawn outwards to allow the tongues c, c, to be withdrawn.
Figures 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 represent various views of the improved
fastening adapted to a carpet bag. In this adaptation of the Invention the
sliding blade or rod e, which is employed, is thrown or forced back by means
of a key. The various parts are constructed and arranged very much in the
same manner as has been described in the other Figures. Fig. 21 represents
plan or top view of the fastening, in which the two sides or flaps are seen
connected together as when the bag is closed. Fig. 22 is a similar view to
Fig. 21, except that the parts are shewn separated. Fig. 23 is a side view of
one of the flaps or wings which forms the framing of the upper part of the
carpet bag; b, b, b, are the boxes in which the sliding blade or rod e moves.
This sliding rod or blade is seen detached in Fig. 24, which represents an edge
and plan view thereof. The lock, by means of which the sliding rod is moved.
is seen in Fig. 23 at k, and the spring whereby it is drawn back into its
original position at l. The boxes b, b, b, are furnished with longitudinal slits
or openings at their outer side, for the purpose of admitting the tongues of the
opposite wing or flap of the bag. It will also be seen that the sliding rod e has
catches or projections formed on its under side, whereby the tongues of the
opposite wing are retained in their place until the sliding rod e is drawn on one
side, so as to present a plain surface. Fig. 25 represents a cross section of the
carpet bag fastening, closed, and the dotted lines in this Figure represents the
wing or flap which carries the tongues as withdrawn from the catches when
the bag is open.
It will be obvious to any intelligent person that this description of lock
fastening, made with very little modification, be also applied to portmanteaus,
trunks, and other similar purposes, its principle advantage being that any
moderate length may be secured by one sliding rod, furnished with as many
fastenings or catches as may be thought necessary.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that I lay no claim to any of the parts herein described which may have been
used or known before the date of my Letters Patent; but what I claim as

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Sixth day of March in the
year above mentioned, the aforesaid William Thomas came before our Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made and provided.
T1111