1895 Patent Application by Ernest Runting
This document dates from 10th January, 1895. Runting was one of the founders of the College of Podiatry and the author of several books relating to chiropody. The patent application in question was submitted by Runting for ‘An Improved Appliance for the Protection of Bunions and Enlarged Joints on the Feet’ and is numbered 625.This particular application consists of a small four page pamphlet with detailed descriptions of the purpose of the proposed appliance followed by step– by–step instructions on how to construct the item and with what materials. The final page consists of a diagram illustrating the construction and fitting of the appliance.
Runting stated that “the object of this my invention is to provide a very simple and cheap but extremely convenient and efficient appliance for the protection of bunions and enlarged joints of the feet.” For the construction of this device he suggested the use of “any suitable soft and flexible material preferably perhaps a piece of soft, thin leather.”
The document also provides additional, incidental information; such as Runting’s address at the time of the application (West Kensington), the price of the patent document (8d) and the length of time it took for the application to be accepted (11 months).
We are not currently aware of any further references to this particular invention in the archive but Runting does provide a description and drawing of a bunion strapping on page 46 of his 1918 text ‘Battalion Chiropody.’
