IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS. BONNETS. AND CAPS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Riley, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Stamp Distributor and Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS. BONNETS. AND CAPS."
Sealed the 14th May 1859, and dated the 18th November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Riley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th November 1858.
I, SAMUEL RILEY, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Stamp Distributor
and Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, BONNETS, AND CAPS," to be as follows,
and consists in constructing hats, bonnets, or caps of whatever material
they are composed, but more especially the bodies and brims of hats, or the
bodies and brims of the shells of those hats which are commonly covered with
silk or plush, in such a way as to render them more elastic, and thereby more
comfortable to the wearer.
I propose to effect this by the introduction and application of an elastic
fabric or material, either round the entire hat or the brim, or any part of the
bat where it grasps the head; and I place this either internally or externally,
or insert it between the folds or layers of the materials of which the hat or
brim of the hat is composed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Riley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, SAMUEL RILEY,
of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Stamp Distributor and Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Riley, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Riley,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Samuel Riley, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, BONNETS, AND CAPS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Riley, 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 Samuel Riley, 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:-
My Invention consists in the application of any kind of elastic material to
any part of the body or brim, either outside or inside, or between the layers or
folds, or betwixt any opening, cut, slit, or insertion, of either hats, caps,
or bonnets of whatever material the same may be constructed, and whether
they may be covered with beaver, plush, silk, or any other material, or not
covered, but more especially and particularly to those articles the bodies and
brims of which are made of felt of any kind, cotton, linen, paper, parchment,
oilcloth, or anything similar thereto, or made in imitation of the same, and
which are usually covered with silk or other kinds of plush. After preparing

page_text: and finishing a hat in the usual or ordinary manner ready for the trimmer,
tipper, or finisher, I cut or slit the brim either at the front, sides, or back, or
any other part, but I prefer doing so at the back of the hat, as represented by
the red mark in Diagram No. 1, which cut or slit I carry out into the body of
the hat to any depth desired, as shewn in the said diagram, but I prefer not
more than two inches in depth; as soon as this is done, I bind neatly the slit
or cut all round and also the brim, and in doing the latter I commence from
one side of the cut or slit and carry it round to the other side of the cut or
slit, so as to leave it open at the edge of the brim. I then apply elastic
material of any kind whatever to the inside or outside of the hat, or between
the slit or cut, or between the folds or layers of the material of which the hat
is formed, but I prefer to use vulcanized india-rubber, patent elastic cloth
webbing, or silk india-rubber webbing about 4 inches in depth, so as to
extend over the brim or slit; the material may be cut to any pattern, but I
prefer it cut of the form and size or thereabouts as shewn in Diagram No. 3.
After binding the raw edges of the said materials with ribbon or galloon, I
prefer stitching it to the inside and underneath the brim of the hat over the
cut or slit, as shewn in Diagram No. 2. I stitch the said material to the
brim and body of the hat round the edge where the said material is bound,
and also on each side of the cut or slit, as shewn by the red dots in
Diagrams Nos. 2 and 3. I cut and fix the leather or any other material
used in lieu thereof in various forms, so as to leave the elastic in the inside
of the hat bare and exposed to the head, as shewn in Diagram No. 4, or
to any other pattern desirable, but uniting the ends at the lower part
where it is marked with a red X. Additional ease may be imparted by
placing a layer of thin vulcanized india-rubber under the leather at the front;
and in manufacturing ordinary bodies of hats for the application of this
Invention, I invariably put another layer of thin material between the folds or
on the outside of the inner fold where the cut or slit is made, in order to give
extra strength; I prefer it between the folds about 1 or 2 inches or more
in breadth, and about 5 inches in depth. When I place the elastic material
between the folds or layers of which the hat is constructed or between the
cut or slit, I divide the folds (after the hat is completed before trimming)
where I intend to have expansion or elasticity, and insert the elastic material,
(preferably vulcanized india-rubber,) and place a piece of lead or zinc, or other
suitable material about or inch in breadth on each side of the elastic,
across the brim and to the depth required in the body where the cut or slit is
intended to be, as shewn in Diagram No. 5, that I may cut the folds on each
side of the elastic where expansion or elasticity is required without cutting

page_text: the elastic. When cut, the lead, zinc, &c., may be easily withdrawn, and I
then make up the part trim and tip off ready for use; or I place the elastic
material between the folds or layers whilst making the body and brim of
the bat, placing the lead or zinc, or other suitable material on each side of the
elastic material so that the folds or layers may be cut without injuring the
elastic material. Or if not placed between the folds or layers of the bodies or
brims of hats, I lay a piece of elastic material in the inside of the hat and
under side of the brim where expansion or elasticity is required, placing the
lead, zinc, or other suitable material between it and the body of the hat and
brim, and when covered and finished or not, I then cut or slit from the
outside of the hat and brim where the lead, zinc, or other material is placed;
this plan is most applicable for hats made of felt or not constructed of
material in folds or layers. Although elasticity may be accomplished:
effectively by any or all of these processes, I prefer the plan as illustrated by
the Diagrams Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Where elasticity is required in any part of
caps or bonnets, I use the same material and adopt similar plans.
In witness. whereof, I, the said Samuel Riley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of May, in the year One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness to the signature of the said
Samuel Riley,
JOHN E. RILEY,
Lord St., Oldham.
SAMUEL RILEY. (L.S.)