Shoe.

Application filed January 30,1899. Serial No. 703,829. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: ' ^f

Be it known that I, Emilie H. Christensen, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kew York, in the comity of New York and State 5 of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to improvements in io shoes and the like, and more particularly to uppers therefor provided with a folding tongue-piece so arranged that the foot is at all times protected, the said tongue-piece at all times closing the usual opening in the 15 upper.

My object is to so construct the tonguepiece and arrange the same on the upper that the tongue-piece can be readily and easily buttoned to the upper, while the parts will 20 lie neatly and smoothly, giving the shoe a finished appearance and causing no discomfort to the wearer.

To these ends and also to improve generally upon devices of the nature indicated my 25 invention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe constructed in accordance with the present invention; and 30 Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view showing the relation between the upper and the tonguepiece.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the upper of a shoe or 35 the like, having the usual opening 2 therein, and 3 is the tongue-piece.

This tongue-piece comprises rear flaps 8, which are secured upon the inner side of the upper at the sides of the opening 2,each of said 40 flaps extending inwardly—i. e., toward the center of the said opening 2—to a point about midway of said opening. To the contiguous edges of said rear flaps are connected intermediate flaps 9, each of said intermediate 45 flaps extending outwardly from the edges at which they are connected to the rear flap. A front piece, which is preferably constructed of the two parts 5, joined together at the seam 10, is secured to the upper, as at 4, said front piece lying entirely outside of the lipper find 50 having the outer edges of‘the intermediate flaps secured to it at a line within its edges— i. e., each intermediate flap is connected to the front piece at a line some distance back from the edge of the front piece. The effect 55 of this construction is to produce a shoe of the well-known type in which the usual opening in the upper is closed by an extensible front piece which permits the upper to be fully spread to receive the foot of the wearer, 60 but protects the foot from sand, water, &c.

In order to fasten the tongue-piece in place and to give the shoe a neat finished appearance, buttons 6 are provided upon the upper at each side of the opening 2, and buttonholes 65 7 to receive said buttons are formed in the front piece, said buttonholes being located between the edges of the front piece and the lines at which the intermediate flaps are secured to said front piece. This structure pre- 70 sents only one thickness through which to pass the buttons, thus making it easy to button the front piece in place aud at the same time avoiding the appearance of undue bulkiness. When the tongue-piece is thus but- 75 toned in place, the parts lie smoothly and compactly folded upon the lines at which they are secured to each other, whereby the shoe presents a neat and finished appearance and no discomfort is caused the wearer. 80

The present device is cheaply and simply constructed, is efficient in protecting the foot from sand, water, &e., produces a neat article, and enables the tongue-piece to be easily secured in its closed position, the tongue- 85 piece itself and the buttons upon the upper fastening the shoe.