AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOTHES AND OTHER BRUSHES
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
OLDFIELD WARD, of Camberwell, in the County of Surry, Medical Student,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twentieth day of January, in the first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Frederick Oldfield Ward, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Frederick Oldfield Ward, my exors, admors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederick Oldfield Ward, my exors,
adiňors, 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 expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOTHES AND OTHER BRUSHES;" in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso that I, the said Frederick Oldfield Ward, shall cause
a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited 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
Frederick Oldfield Ward, do hereby declare that the nature of my said

page_text: Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in applying to clothes and other brushes a sliding
apparatus, in combination with mechanical provisions for limiting the extent
of its motion, and for occasionally fixing it at a distance or at distances from
the backboard of the brush, to the end that the quality called hardness
or stiffness may be increased or diminished in such improved brushes from
time to time as occasion may require, by changing the relative position of the
sliding apparatus and of the backboard of the brush. My improvement is
applicable to brushes which are made with a system of separate tufts of hair,
whalebone, or other like material, and in which an occasional change of the
quality called hardness or stiffness may be desirable and useful. The essential
feature of the sliding apparatus which I employ is, that some of its parts pass
between or among the hairs, whalebone, or other material of which the tufts
of the brush consist; and it is the combination of such a sliding apparatus with
a provision or provisions for limiting the extent to which it can be separated
from the backboard of the brush, and for occasionally fixing it at a distance or
at distances according to the construction of a particular brush from the
backboard of the brush, so as to render it available to the end and purpose
above mentioned, that I claim as my Invention. And I would be understood
expressly to disclaim the Invention of the separate parts of my improved
brushes, and only to claim the combination of the separate parts, so as to
render them subservient to the aforesaid purpose. And whereas certain
hearth brushes are made with a sliding box or cylinder, into which the
bristles, hairs, or other material of the brush may be retracted, I hereby
disclaim the Invention of such sliding box or cylinder, which differs from the
sliding apparatus I employ, insomuch as that none of its parts pass between or
among the bristles, hairs, or other material of which the tufts of the brush
consist, but it simply surrounds the whole quantity of hairs, bristles, or other
such material of which the tufts consist. And whereas I am informed that
there are in use certain brushes called chair-makers' brushes, in which the
back is made of two stout perforated plates of wood, through both of which the
bristles are drawn, so that when the bristles are worn down to a certain extent,
the front plate may be drawn off or removed, and a new length of bristles
brought into action, I hereby disclaim the application to brushes of such
perforated board uncombined with provisions for limiting its motion, and
fixing it occasionally at a distance from the backboard of the brush as aforesaid.

page_text: Having thus defined my Invention, I proceed to describe what I consider to
be the cheapest and most effectual method of performing it. Figure 1 repre-
sents a side view in perspective of a clothes brush, with my improvements.
A, A, is the backboard. B, B, B, B, are the tufts of bristles. C, C, is the
sliding apparatus, formed of a plate of satin wood perforated with holes
through which the tufts B, B, B, B, pass. D is a prop, formed by bending
up the extremities of a German silver wire, which passes through the back-
board in the direction shown by the dotted lines d, d; a similar prop is
formed at the other side by bending up the other end of the same wire. This
wire may be turned in the hole so that the props may either stand in the
position shown in Figure 1, or lie in the position represented at D, Figure 2.
These two props, together with certain strings which will be presently
described, serve to maintain the sliding plate C, C, in the position shown
in Figure 1, when it is wished to make the brush harder. E is a notch cut
in the backboard A, A, to receive the prop D occasionally. F is the
extremity of a steel wire, which in brushes that are intended to bear frequent
washing I pass through the sliding plate C, C, from one side to the other, in
order to strengthen it; the direction of this wire is shewn in plan by the
dotted lines F, F, in Figure 5. G, Fig. 1, is a curved vacant space' on the
surface of the sliding plate C, C, intended to receive the thumb when in the
act of pressing the sliding plate C, C, and the backboard A, A, towards each
other; when the sliding plate C, C, is in the relative position represented in
Figure 1, it renders the brush hard, by diminishing for the time being the
length of the acting part of the bristles. The sliding plate may be brought
into this relative position either by holding the backboard still, and drawing
the sliding plate from it, or by holding the sliding plate still, and drawing the
backboard from it.
Figure 2 represents the same view of the same brush, with the prop D
lying in the notch E, and the sliding plate C, C, pressed down, so as to be
nearly or quite in contact with the backboard. A, A; when the sliding plate
C, C, is in this position, the brush is soft, because the bristles are allowed
to play freely in their whole length.
Figure 3 represents a section of the brush taken at either of the dotted
lines q, q, Figure 5, and with the sliding plate C, C, and the backboard A,.A,
separated from each other, as shewn in Figure 1. H, I, L,.K, is a string
which is passed through the hole a in the backboard A, A, then through. the
hole 6 in the sliding plate C, C, and then through. the holes c, d, e, fi
gh, in succession, as shewn in the Figure. This string, together with
B similar one in, a corresponding position on the other side of the brushr

page_text: allows the sliding plate C, C, a certain extent of motion, but prevents it
from being separated beyond a certain distance from the backboard A, A.
This string must be of such length that when the sliding plate is drawn as far
from the backboard as the string will permit, the prop D may be able to
stand in the position shewn in Figure 1. To prevent this string from
slipping, a knot is tied in each end, as shewn at h and a, Figure 3, and a
little brass tack is driven into each of the holes c, g, and d, Figue 3. If it is
desired that the sliding plate may move obliquely, so that when it is separated
from the backboard, as shown in Fig. 1, the bristles may all have a set or
inclination in one direction, the string must be so adjusted that the part K
may be longer than the part L, or the part L longer than the part K. The
grooves shewn in section in the neighbourhood of the holes a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h,
are to receive those parts of the string which would otherwise project.
F represents a section of the strengthening wire, the end of which is shewn at
F, Figure 1. G represents a section of the wire, the ends of which when
bent up form the props shewn at D, D, Figure 14.
Figure 4 represents the same section of the brush as is shewn in
Figure 3, but with the sliding plate C, C, in the position shewn in Figure 2.
u, u, u, u, u, u, represents a space between the backboard A, A, and the
sliding plate C, C, formed by cutting in the sliding plate two grooves, shewn in s
plan at F, F, F, F, F, F, Figure 6, and by cutting in the backboard two cor-
responding grooves, shewn in perspective at F, F, F, F, F, F, Figure 14. This
space receives the string H, I, K, L, Figure 3, when the sliding plate and back-
board are brought together. These grooves should be a little enlarged at each
end, as shewn in Figure 6. In handle cloth brushes I only put one such string,
as has been described, and that occupies the middle of the brush, lying imme-
diately under the dotted line X, Z, Figure 18. In such brushes, therefore, only
one pair of grooves is required for the reception of the string.
Figure 5 is a plan of the upper surface of the sliding plate C, C, shewing
the course of the wire F, F, the vacant spaces G, G, the string holes m, n,
o, p, c, b, f, g, and the little grooves in their neighbourhood, before described.
B, B, B, B, represent the holes through which the tufts of bristles pass dis-
posed in a suitable pattern for a clothes brush, with my improvements.
Figure 6 is a plan of the under surface of the sliding plate C, C, shewing the
grooves F, F, F, F, F, F, before described; on each side is a smaller groove k, h,
for the reception of the end of the prop D, Figure 14; the deepest part of
the groove is at the end K, as shewn in section at h, k, Figure 15. In clothes
brushes, which are not intended to bear washing, I generally insert a little steel
box into each of these grooves, to sustain the pressure of the prop D. One of

page_text: these steel boxes is shewn in perspective in Figure 7, and in section fixed in
its place in Figure 8. In brushes to which these boxes are applied, I do not
pass the strengthening wire F, Figure 1, through the sliding plate.
Figure 8 represents a section of part of a brush taken along the dotted
line X, X, Figure 1, and Figure 6, A, A, is part of the backboard; C, C, part
of the sliding plate; G, a section of the steel box fixed in the groove by the
tack h, i K is a bent tounge or spring connected with and contained in the
steel box, and serving to retain the prop D in the box, unless it is pressed with a
sufficient force to overcome the elasticity of the spring. Figure 15 represents the
same section as Figure 8, in a brush not furnished with steel boxes. In such
brushes the groove must be made long enough to allow the prop D to stand
at an angle with the backboard A, A, as represented in Figure. The holes
in the sliding plate C, C, must exactly correspond in position with those in the
backboard A, A, and they should be about half as large again as those in the
backboard A, A. Those holes in the sliding plate C, C, that give passage to.
perpendicular tufts of bristles are round at both ends and of equal diameter.
throughout. Those that transmit inclined or spreading tufts present a round
extremity on the upper surface of the sliding plate, but a larger orifice of an.
ovoid shape on the lower surface of the sliding plate. A hole for a spreading
tuft is shown in section at a, Figure 11, and the ovoid shape of its lower
extremity is shewn in plan at L, L, L, L, Figure 6. The method of boring
the sliding plate is as follows:-It is laid on the backboard and both are bored
together in the usual way with a brushmaker's bit. Then the holes in the
sliding plate are re-bored with a bit about half as large again as the one first
employed. In boring those holes which give passage to slanting or spreading
tufts the second time, care must be taken not only to enlarge the hole, but to
make it spread or slant a little more. The holes which give passage to
spreading or slanting tufts will not allow the bristles to slide freely unless they
are bored a third time with a bit in a position perpendicular to the surface of
the sliding plate.
Figures 9, 10, and 11, each represent a section of a part of the sliding
plate; a, Figure 9, represents a spreading hole as first bored; a, Figure 10,
represents the same hole after being re-bored with a larger bit, and made
more spreading (the dotted lines shew the original size and direction of the
hole); a, Figure 11, represents the same hole after being bored a third time
with the bit in a perpendicular direction.
In Figures 12 and 18, A, A, represents a portion of the backboard C, C,
of the sliding platte, B, B, two spreading and D, D, two upright, tafts of hair.
The holes in the sliding plate C, C, which transmit the inclined or spreading

page_text: tufts B, B, are seen to be larger below than above; those that transmit the
upright tufts are shewn of equal diameter throughout.
Figure 14 is a perspective view of the backboard A, A. The dotted lines
b, b, b, represent the wire passing through the backboard, and D, D, the props
formed by bending up its extremities, as above mentioned. The props D, D,
must be longer or shorter, as it is intended to communicate a greater or less
degree of stiffness to the brush, when the sliding plate and its props raised are
into the position shewn in Figure 1. G represents the notch for the occa-
sional reception of the prop. In the best clothes brushes I line the side h of
this notch with a metallic plate of German silver, the shape of which is shewn
in Figure 20. The end R of this plate is pointed, and the end S is perforated
with a hole for the passage of the wire b, b, b, Figure 14. It is fixed by
inserting its pointed end in a slit made for the purpose at the end of the
groove marked R, Figure 14, and passing the wire b, b, b, through the hole in
its other extremity. I never put these plates to brushes intended to bear
frequent washing. E represents a curved depression in the edge of the back-
board, shewn in plan at E, E, Figure 19. This depression, and its fellow on
the opposite side allow the fingers to be brought underneath the prop D for
the purpose of raising it out of the notch into the position shewn in Figure 1.
F, F, F, F, F, F, shew the grooves, before described, enlarged and perforated
with the string holes at each end. The materials I prefer for my brushes are
as follows:-For the sliding plate of brushes intended to bear washing, East
India satin wood, strengthened by a steel wire, in the manner described above.
For the sliding plate of clothes brushes, mahogany or chesnut. For the props,
steel in clothes brushes, German silver in brushes intended to wash. For the
string, Dutch flax. The order to be observed in making my brushes is as
follows: The sliding plate is first prepared and worked to the shape shewn in
the Drawings, or to any other required pattern, then if it is intended to bear
washing, the hole for the strengthening wire is made. The sliding plate is
next laid on the backboard, and the two are bored together in the usual way.
Then the sliding plate is re-bored separately, in the manner that has been
described, the grooves F, F, F, and k, h, Figure 6, are cut out, and if it is in-
tended to bear washing, the strengthening wire F, E, Figure 5, put in; if it is
not intended to bear washing and has no strengthening wire, the steel boxes,
shewn at Figures 7 and 8, are now fixed in the grooves k, h, Figures 6. Then
the backboard is worked to the pattern required, and the holes for the wire
b, b, b, Figure 14, made. Next are made the grooves F, F, F, Figure 14,
the notches G, G, Figure 14, and the curved depressions, shewn in plan at

page_text: E, E, Figure 19. If the brush is fitted with side plates (see Figure 20), these
must next be fixed. Then the wire b, b, b, is passed through the backboard and
its ends bent up to form the props D, D, Figure 14. These props are cut to
the required length and their ends rounded. Then the sliding plate is laid on
the backboard, so that the holes in one exactly correspond with those in the
other, and the small holes for the strings are bored through both at once.
Then the grooves, shewn in Figure 3, in the neighbourhood of those holes, to
receive the portions of the string which would otherwise project, are cut, and
then the sliding plate and backboard are strung together, and the string fixed
in the manner already described. Then the sliding plate and backboard are
agnin laid in contact and adjusted so that the holes in one exactly correspond
with those in the other, and the tufts of bristles are drawn through both at
once, and fixed in the backboard in the usual manner. Care must be taken that
none of the bristles are shorter than the interval between the sliding plate and
the backboard when separated as far as the string will permit. The brush is
veneered, and finished in the usual way. If a sliding apparatus capable of
being adjusted at various distances from the backboard is required, the wooden
screws, represented at M, M, Figure 16, may be employed to move and retain
the sliding apparatus; and in order to limit its motion and enable the screws to
draw it back towards the backboard, the flat headed nails N, N, may be driven
into the ends of the screws through holes in the sliding plate large enough to
allow them to turn round freely. A circular depression, wide and deep enough
to receive the head of the nail, should be made in the sliding plate, as repre-
sented in the Figure. In such a brush, the wire props and the strings, before
described, are necessary. If it is desired that the sliding plate shall make one
end of the brush harder than the other, this may be effected by connecting the
sliding plate and the backboard at one end by a hinge, as shewn in Figure 17,
where P represents the hinge, and C, C, the sliding plate, raised only at one
end. The string I would be sufficient in such a brush to limit the motion of
the sliding plate, and it might be fixed in its position by the wire props, already
described.
I have hitherto described a brush without a handle, but a handle may
be made either to the backboard or to the sliding plate. I prefer to make a
handle to the backboard, as shewn in Figure 18.
I do not confine myself to the use of the materials herein-before mentioned,
nor to the particular method of performing my Invention herein-before set
forth, but I claim the right of effecting my improvement in brushes by any
apparatus or combination of apparatus which presents the essential features

page_text: herein-before mentioned, as distinguishing the Invention to which I lay
claim.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Oldfield Ward, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
FREDERICK OLDFIELD (L.S.) WARD.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of July, in the year
of our Lord 1838, the aforesaid Frederick Oldfield Ward came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twentieth dox of Tule in the vent of our Lord One
HAZIA