IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Spring Garden, of Piccadilly, in the County
of Middlesex, Army Accoutrement Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Spring Garden
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th November 1855.
I, ROBERT SPRING GARDEN, of Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Army
Accoutrement Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS" to be as follows:-
My said improvements refer to peculiar arrangements for ventilating hats
generally, and also to a mode of strengthening helmets and helmet-shaped or
hunting caps.
I effect the ventilation of hats or caps by inserting between an inner lining
of two inches broad or thereabouts, as may be desired, and the hat itself, cork
or any suitable substance, furnished with apertures to admit the entrance of
the air, which, passing upwards to the interior of the hat or cap, escapes
therefrom at an opening or openings at or near the top or crown, as customary.
The air passages may surround the interior of the hat, but I prefer restricting
them to the portion in front over the forehead of the wearer. These air
passages may also be produced by laying beside each other separate slips of
cork or other light material, leaving openings below or above the rim of the
hat, and may be slightly covered with any porous or perforated fabric.

page_text: My mode of strengthening hats is peculiarly adapted for helmet-shaped caps,
and consists in applying a spring or springs; which may be of a cross or star
shape cut out of sheet metal, secured within the crown of the hat or cap by
studs or like means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Spring Garden in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th May 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
SPRING GARDEN, of Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Army Accoutre-
ment Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Robert Spring Garden, Her special licence that I, the said Robert
Spring Garden, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Robert Spring Garden, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Robert Spring Garden, 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 Inven-
tion, 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 Robert Spring Garden, 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:-
My said improvements refer to peculiar arrangements for ventilating hats
generally, and also to a mode for strengthening helmets, and helmet-shaped or
hunting caps.
And for the better understanding of my said Invention, I will now proceed
to give the details thereof.

page_text: I effect the ventilation of hats or caps by inserting between an inner lining
or band of two inches broad or thereabouts, as may be desired, and the hat
itself, a thin layer of cork or any suitable light substance, furnished with
apertures to admit the entrance of the air, which, passing upwards to the
interior of the hat or cap, pervades the whole interior of the same, and escapes
therefrom at an opening or openings at or near the top or crown, as customary.
The material with air passages may surround the interior of the hat, or be
confined to the back or any other part, but I prefer restricting the same to the
portion in front over the forehead of the wearer, as more favourable for the
ingress of air during the action of walking or riding. These air passages formed
by boring, drilling, pressing, or otherwise, may also be produced by laying
beside each other separate slips of cork or other light material, leaving openings
below or above the brim of the hat, and may be slightly covered with any
porous or perforated fabric. Or I sometimes simply attach to the inside sides
of each hat the two ends of a strip or strips of hat-body or other like material,
leaving a sufficient space between it and the hat itself for ventilation, concealing
external apertures with the silk plush, or other porous or perforated fabric
covering the bottom of the brim. My mode of strengthening hats is peculiarly
adapted for helmet-shaped caps, and consists in applying a spring or springs,
which may be of a cross or star shape cut out of sheet metal, secured within
the crown of the hat or cap by studs or by like means.
Having thus fully described my said improvements, I would observe that I
am aware that various methods have been adopted for the ventilation of hats,
and of a method for forming hats of a double material, and ventilating the
space or partition formed between the two bodies, but the peculiarity of my
said Invention consists in ventilating the whole interior of single-bodied hats
or caps by means affording the ingress and egress of atmospheric air, without
unduly increasing their weight or affecting their usual design or appearance,
and in strengthening the same when required. And what I do claim as my
Invention is, namely, the peculiar methods of ventilating and strengthening
hats, helmets, and helmet-shaped or hunting caps, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Spring Garden, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of May, in the year of our Lord
ROBT S. GARDEN. (L.S.)