US334561A - Chaeles h - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

C* H' BUCHANAN.

SHOEl i A No. 334,561..

lisa/y yIlNiTnD STATES PATENT trice.

CHARLES H. BUCHANAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,561, dated January 19, 1886.

Application tiled August 7,1885. Serial No. 173,861. (No model.)

To all whom it' may concern:

Beit known that I, Canaries H. BUCHANAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lImprovements in Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification, in

Vwhich the figure is a perspective view of my improved shoe.

My invention has for its object to produce a new article of foot-wear-to wit, a shoe, slipper, or boot-composed of material not hitherto used for this 4,purpose, said article being constructed in a novel and peculiar manner.

My invention consists of a shoe, boot, slipper, or equivalent piece of foot-wear, the upper of which is composed of straw braid or grass, said upper being constructed as hereinafter fully described, and attached to a sole of different material, such as leather.

The accompanying drawing represents a shoe embodying my invention, and for convenience of description and brevity I shall use the term shoe77 as embracing all articles of footwear, such as slippers, boots, gaiters, &c.

In carrying my invention into effect I take straw braid plaited or braided in the manner in which it is usually employed for straw goods, and stitch or fasten strands or layers thereof together in such manner as to produce an upper (by upper7 meaning all that part of the article above the sole) of any desired style, size, and shape. This upper may and is designed to be lined as shoes ordinarily are, and it is stitched or otherwise properly secured to a suitable sole of leather or other appropriate material. Any straw or grass braid may be employed, according to the fancy or wish of the manufacturer-for example, Leghorn, Panama, Manila, or palm-leaf straw braid, or Ceylon or other grass. The material suggested, being very light, will make a shoevbetter adapted for summer wear than any shoe heretofore produced. Where such material is used in the form of an upper composed of braids, said upper will b'e more thoroughly ventilated than ordinary uppers are, the joints or laps of the braid affording passages for the admission of fresh air to and the escape of heated air, Ste., from the foot.

Hence my invention consists not merely in the application of material to a new use, but in the construction of a shoe in a novel manner-to wit, of strands or layers of straw braid which lap on one another, and are fashioned or attached by stitching to form an upper which is attached to a sole of suitable material. This construction affords opportunity for varying the appearance of the shoe, and by using different grades or classes of straw or'grass a great variety of styles and weights of shoes may be produced.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents a shoe embodying my improvements.

B is the upper or portion above the sole, said upper being composed of strands of straw braid or grass braid, which are united to each other by stitching, the strands overlapping each other,'and being so disposed relatively to each other as to produce the necessary shape and the opening for the insertion of the foot. Said upper is lined, if desired, with any suitable material, and is preferably bound around its upper edges.

C is the sole, to which the upper is secured in the manner usually followed in 'fastening uppers to soles, and said sole is made of leather or any other suitable material.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to use straw braid in shoes, and hence I do not broadly claim the same. In one such case it was proposed to make the upper and sole of straw braid, which would produce an article with inadequately-durable sole. In the other case it was proposed to cut out braided or plaited straw and attach it to a leather sole, but this would not make as nea-t an article as in my construction, where the straws are overlapped in such relation as to give the required shape to the upper, the latter being stitched or fastened to a sole after being so fashioned or shaped; hence with my invention I make, in the first place, a complete-fashioned upper without cutting, the shape being imparted in stitching the strands or layers together, and the'sole being subsequently secured'to said upper.

I have suggested straw braid as the mate- ICO rial composing` the upper of my invention; but imitation braid or tape or strands or strips of other material than straw or grass may be substituted for the latter, the construction described being otherwise preserved.

Vhat claim as my invention is- 1. A shoe or slipper the upper of which is made of straw braid or braided vegetable liber, said braids being overlapped and stitched together and of different lengths, the longer braids completely surrounding the body ot' the shoe, While the shorter braids, or some of them, terminate at the sole7 substantially as described.

2. A shoe or slipper the upper of which is made of straw braid or braided vegetable ber, and the solo of leather, the braids being oVer lapping, stitched together, and of different lengths and oi` gradually-varying curvature from the upper portion to the lower or sole portion, substantially as described.

Li. A shoe or slipper upper consisting of 3o strands or strips of braid or braid-like material united to each other in overlapping courses, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of 55 August, 1885.

CITAS. ll. BUCHANAX.

\\"iluesses:

M. D. CoNNoLLY, B. F. TELLER.

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