IMPROVE- MENTS IN SHIELDS OR TIPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SHIELDS OR TIPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES."-A communication
from abroad by Horace Bearce, of Boston, in the United States of
America.
Sealed the 14th June 1864, and dated the 23rd December 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd December 1863.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIELDS OR TIPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES," a commu-
nication to me from abroad by Horace Bearce, of Boston, in the United
States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in that description of shield or tip
for boots and shoes wherein the toe of the upper leather only is protected or
covered, and consists in combining with the guard or shield of the upper
leather a central flange or plate intended to fit in between the upper leather
and the sole and a guard plate which fits against the under side of the sole at

page_text: the toe, thereby protecting the sole and affording a means of attachment to
the boot or shoe by the aid of nails, rivets, or otherwise. It will thus be seen
that this improved shield or tip protects both the toe of the sole and the toe
of the upper leather, whilst the central flange affords increased support and
security to the tip, rendering it less liable to get out of place. The peculiar
shields or tips above described may be made either of metal, vulcanized india-
rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable material. When made of metal they
may be swaged in two parts from sheets of any sufficiently ductile metal,
such as iron, brass, or copper, or they may be cast in moulds from any easily
fusible metal or alloy, preference being given to an alloy composed of tin, lead,
and bismuth, in any suitable proportions. When made of vulcanized india-
rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable plastic material, they may be moulded
in the manner well known in the manufacture of articles from such
substances.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December, 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 John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or
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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIELDS OR TIPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES," a communi-
cation to me from abroad by Horace Bearce, of Boston, in the United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing. under
my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should

page_text: 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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to improvements in that description of shield or
tip for boots and shoes, wherein the toe of the upper leather only is protected
or covered, and consists in combining with the guard or shield of the upper
leather a central flange or plate intended to fit in between the upper leather
and the sole, and a guard plate which fits against the under side of the sole at
the toe, thereby protecting the sole and affording a means of attachment to
the boot or shoe by the aid of nails, rivets, or otherwise. It will thus be scen
that this improved shield or tip protects both the toe of the sole and the toe
of the upper leather, whilst the central flange affords increased support and
security to the tip, rendering it less liable to get out of place. The peculiar
shields or tips above described may be made either of metal, vulcanized india;
rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable material. When made by metal
they may be swaged into two parts from sheets of any sufficiently ductile
metal, such as iron, brass, or copper, or they may be cast in moulds from any
easily fusible metal or alloy, preference being given to an alloy composed of
tin, lead, and bismuth, in any suitable proportions. When made of vulcanized
india-rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable plastic material, they may be
moulded in the manner well known in the manufacture of articles from such
substances.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose 1
shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings bereunto_annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a boot with the improved shield or tip
attached; Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the improved shield or
tip detached; Figure 3 is a corresponding plan of the upper surface of the
same; Figure 4 is a back end view of the tip; and Figure 5 is a corre-
sponding plan of the under surface of the tip.

page_text: This improved tip consists of a raised shield or guard A, which fits over the
upper leather of the toe of a boot or shoe, as shewn in Figure 1, combined
with which shield or guard there is a plate B and a mid or central flange or
plate C. The plate B is intended to fit externally on to the sole so as to com-
pletely cover the toe of the sole, whilst the central flange or plate C fits in
between the upper leather and the sole and serves to maintain the tip more
securely in its place. The tip may be secured to the boot or shoe by screws,
nails, rivets, or otherwise, holes being made either in the flange C or plate B,
or in both, for the reception of such fastenings. These tips may be made by
casting them in moulds of the proper form, and may be composed of any
suitable metal or alloy, preference being given to an alloy consisting of tin,
lead, and bismuth in any suitable proportions according to the degree of
hardness required, or they may be swaged from thin metal plates, which may
be effected by cutting the metal into the proper size and shape and by
doubling the same about midway, and then by the use of swages and dies it
is pressed into the desired form. That portion which covers over the upper
leather of the shoe will be of two thicknesses of the said plate, and below that
one portion or thickness forms the flange C, which passes between the inner
and outer sole or between the upper and the sole, and the other part of the
said plate extends over the end of the outer sole sufficient to be nailed or
otherwise attached; or, if preferred, these tips may be made of hard india-
rubber or of gutta percha, or other suitable plastic material, by the aid of
moulds in any well-known manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the peculiar construction of shield or tip provided with a plate or
guard B and central flange or plate C, to be applied to the toes of boots and
shoes, as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Second, the manufacture of the peculiar shield or tip herein-before
referred to from sheet metal by means of swages and dies, as herein-before
described.
Third, the manufacture of the peculiar shield or tip herein-before referred
to from an alloy of tin, lead, and bismuth, or other fusible metal or alloy, by
casting in moulds, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the manufacture of the peculiar shield or tip herein-before referred

page_text: to from india-rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable plastic material, as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
J. HENRY. JOHNSON. (L.S.)