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diff --git a/32677.txt b/32677.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..93c856d --- /dev/null +++ b/32677.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8755 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Invention of the Sewing Machine, by +Grace Rogers Cooper + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Invention of the Sewing Machine + +Author: Grace Rogers Cooper + +Release Date: June 4, 2010 [EBook #32677] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INVENTION OF THE SEWING MACHINE *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Louise Pattison +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION +UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM + +[Illustration] + +BULLETIN 254 + +WASHINGTON, D.C. + +1968 + + +[Illustration] + +THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS + + + + +_The Invention +Of the Sewing Machine_ + +[Illustration] + +_Grace Rogers Cooper_ + +CURATOR OF TEXTILES +MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY + +SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, D.C. 1968 + + + + +_Publications of the United States National Museum_ + + +The scholarly and scientific publications of the United States National +Museum include two series, _Proceedings of the United States National +Museum_ and _United States National Museum Bulletin_. + +In these series, the Museum publishes original articles and monographs +dealing with the collections and work of its constituent museums--The +Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History and +Technology--setting forth newly acquired facts in the fields of +anthropology, biology, history, geology, and technology. Copies of each +publication are distributed to libraries, to cultural and scientific +organizations, and to specialists and others interested in the different +subjects. + +The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in +separate form, of shorter papers from the Museum of Natural History. +These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with the publication date +of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume. + +In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear +longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in +several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related +subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on +the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the +botanical collections of the Museum of Natural History have been +published in the _Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from +the United States National Herbarium_ and, since 1959, in _Bulletins_ +titled "Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology," have +been gathered shorter papers relating to the collections and research of +that Museum. + +This work forms volume 254 of the _Bulletin_ series. + + Frank A. Taylor + _Director, United States National Museum_ + + For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office + Washington, D.C. 20402--Price $2.75 + + + + +_Contents_ + + + Preface vii + + Acknowledgments viii + +1. Early Efforts 1 + +2. Elements of a Successful Machine 17 + +3. The "Sewing-Machine Combination" 39 + +4. Less Expensive Machines 43 + + Appendixes 55 + + I. Notes on the Development and Commercial + Use of the Sewing Machine 57 + + II. American Sewing-Machine Companies of the + 19th Century 65 + + III. Chronological List of U.S. Sewing-Machine + Patent Models in the Smithsonian Collections 125 + + IV. 19th-Century Sewing Machine Leaflets in the + Smithsonian Collections 134 + + V. A Brief History of Cotton Thread 135 + + VI. Biographical Sketches 137 + + Bibliography 144 + + Indexes 147 + + Geographical Index to Companies Listed in Appendix II 149 + + Alphabetical Index to Patentees Listed in Appendix III 151 + + General Index to Chapters 1-4 155 + + + + +_Preface_ + + +It had no instrument panel with push-button controls. It was not +operated electronically or jet-propelled. But to many 19th-century +people the sewing machine was probably as awe-inspiring as a space +capsule is to their 20th-century descendants. It was expensive, but, +considering the work it could do and the time it could save, the cost +was more than justified. The sewing machine became the first widely +advertised consumer appliance, pioneered installment buying and patent +pooling, and revolutionized the ready-made clothing industry. It also +weathered the protests of those who feared the new machine was a threat +to their livelihood. + +The practical sewing machine is not the result of one man's genius, but +rather the culmination of a century of thought, work, trials, failures, +and partial successes of a long list of inventors. History is too quick +to credit one or two men for an important invention and to forget the +work that preceded and prodded each man to contribute his share. It is +no discredit to Howe to state that he _did not invent the sewing +machine_. Howe's work with the sewing machine was important, and he did +patent certain improvements, but his work was one step along the way. It +is for the reader to decide whether it was the turning point. + +Since the sewing machine has been considered by some as one of the most +important inventions of 19th-century America, of equal importance to +this story of the invention is the history of the sewing machine's +development into a practical, popular commodity. Since many new +companies blossomed overnight to manufacture this very salable item, a +catalog list of more than one hundred and fifty of these 19th-century +companies is included in this study. Still, the list is probably +incomplete. Many of the companies remained in business a very short time +or kept their activities a secret to avoid payment of royalties to +patent holders. Evidence of these companies is difficult to find. It is +hoped that additional information will come to light as a result of +this initial attempt to list and date known companies. The dating of +individual machines based on their serial numbers is also a difficult +task. Individual company records of this type have not survived; +however, using the commercial machines in the patent collection, for +which we know one limiting date--the date the machine was deposited at +the patent office--and using the records that have survived, an +estimated date based on the serial number can be established for many of +the better known machines. + + + _Acknowledgments_ + + I am greatly indebted to the late Dr. Frederick Lewton, whose + interest in the history of the sewing machine initiated the + collecting of information about it for the Smithsonian + Institution's Division of Textiles archives and whose out-of-print + booklet "A Servant in the House" prompted the writing of this work. + I would also like to thank Mr. Bogart Thompson of the Singer + Manufacturing Company for his cooperation in arranging for the gift + of an excellent collection of 19th-century sewing machines to the + Smithsonian and for allowing me to use the Singer historical files. + Acknowledgment is also made of the cooperation extended by The + Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village for permitting me to study + their collection of old sewing machines. + + _Grace Rogers Cooper_ + + + + +_Chapter One_ + + +[Illustration: Figure 1.--AFTER ALMOST A CENTURY OF ATTEMPTS TO INVENT A +MACHINE THAT WOULD SEW, the practical sewing machine evolved in the +mid-19th century. This elegant, carpeted salesroom of the 1870s, with +fashionable ladies and gentlemen scanning the latest model sewing +machines, reflects the pinnacle reached by the new industry in just a +few decades. This example, one of many of its type, is the Wheeler and +Wilson sewing-machine offices and salesroom, No. 44 Fourteenth Street, +Union Square, New York City. From _The Daily Graphic_, New York City, +December 29, 1874. (Smithsonian photo 48091-A.)] + + +Early Efforts + +To 1800 + +For thousands of years, the only means of stitching two pieces of fabric +together had been with a common needle and a length of thread. The +thread might be of silk, flax, wool, sinew, or other fibrous material. +The needle, whether of bone, silver, bronze, steel, or some other metal, +was always the same in design--a thin shaft with a point at one end and +a hole or eye for receiving the thread at the other end. Simple as it +was, the common needle (fig. 2) with its thread-carrying eye had been an +ingenious improvement over the sharp bone, stick, or other object used +to pierce a hole through which a lacing then had to be passed.[1] In +addition to utilitarian stitching for such things as the making of +garments and household furnishings, the needle was also used for +decorative stitching, commonly called embroidery. And it was for this +purpose that the needle, the seemingly perfect tool that defied +improvement, was first altered for ease of stitching and to increase +production. + +One of the forms that the needle took in the process of adaptation was +that of the fine steel hook. Called an _aguja_ in Spain, the hook was +used in making a type of lace known as _punto de aguja_. During the 17th +century after the introduction of chainstitch embroideries from India, +this hook was used to produce chainstitch designs on a net ground.[2] +The stitch and the fine hook to make it were especially adaptable to +this work. By the 18th century the hook had been reduced to needle size +and inserted into a handle, and was used to chainstitch-embroider woven +fabrics.[3] In France the hook was called a crochet and was sharpened to +a point for easy entry into the fabric (fig. 3). For stitching, the +fabric was held taut on a drum-shaped frame. The hooked needle pierced +the fabric, caught the thread from below the surface and pulled a loop +to the top. The needle reentered the fabric a stitch-length from the +first entry and caught the thread again, pulling a second loop through +the first to which it became enchained. This method of embroidery +permitted for the first time the use of a continuous length of thread. +At this time the chainstitch was used exclusively for decorative +embroidery, and from the French name for drum--the shape of the frame +that held the fabric--the worked fabric came to be called tambour +embroidery. The crochet[4] or small hooked needle soon became known as +a tambour needle. + +In 1755 a new type of needle was invented for producing embroidery +stitches. This needle had to pass completely through the fabric two +times (a through-and-through motion) for every stitch. The inventor was +Charles F. Weisenthal, a German mechanic living in London who was +granted British patent 701 for a two-pointed needle (fig. 4). The +invention was described in the patent as follows: + + The muslin, being put into a frame, is to be worked with a needle + that has two points, one at the head, and the other point as a + common needle, which is to be worked by holding it with the fingers + in the middle, so as not to require turning. + +It might be argued that Weisenthal had invented the eye-pointed needle, +since he was the first inventor to put a point at the end of the needle +having the eye. But, since his specifically stated use required the +needle to have two points and to be passed completely through the +fabric, Weisenthal had no intention of utilizing the very important +advantage that the eye-pointed needle provided, that of _not_ requiring +the passage of the needle through the fabric as in hand sewing. + +While no records can be found to establish that Weisenthal's patent was +put to any commercial use during the inventor's lifetime, the +two-pointed needle with eye at midpoint appeared in several 19th-century +sewing-machine inventions. + +The earliest of the known mechanical sewing devices produced a chain or +tambour stitch, but by an entirely different principle than that used +with either needle just described. Although the idea was incorporated +into a patent, the machine was entirely overlooked for almost a century +as the patent itself was classed under wearing apparel. It was entitled +"An Entire New Method of Making and Completing Shoes, Boots, +Splatterdashes, Clogs, and Other Articles, by Means of Tools and +Machines also Invented by Me for that Purpose, and of Certain +Compositions of the Nature of Japan or Varnish, which will be very +advantageous in many useful Applications." This portentously titled +British patent 1,764 was issued to an English cabinetmaker, Thomas +Saint, on July 17, 1790. Along with accounts of several processes for +making various varnish compositions, the patent contains descriptions of +three separate machines; the second of these was for "stitching, +quilting, or sewing." Though far from practical, the machine +incorporated several features common to a modern sewing machine. It had +a horizontal cloth plate or table, an overhanging arm carrying a +straight needle, and a continuous supply of thread from a spool. The +motion was derived from the rotation of a hand crank on a shaft, which +activated cams that produced all the actions of the machine. + +[Illustration: Figure 2.--PRIMITIVE NEEDLE. Bronze. Egyptian (Roman +period, 30 B.C.-A.D. 642). (Smithsonian photo 1379-A.)] + +One cam operated the forked needle (fig. 5) that pushed the thread +through a hole made by a preceding thrust of the awl. The thread was +caught by a looper and detained so that it then became enchained in the +next loop of thread. The patent described thread tighteners above and +below the work and an adjustment to vary the stitches for different +kinds of material. Other than the British patent records, no +contemporary reference to Saint's machine has ever been found. The +stitching-machine contents of this patent was happened on by accident in +1873.[5] Using the patent description, a Newton Wilson of London +attempted to build a model of Saint's machine in 1874.[6] Wilson found, +however, that it was necessary to modify the construction before the +machine would stitch at all. + +[Illustration: Figure 3.--TAMBOUR NEEDLE AND FRAME, showing the method +of forming the chainstitch, from the Diderot Encyclopedia of 1763, vol. +II, _Plates Brodeur_, plate II. (Smithsonian photo 43995-C.)] + +This raised the question whether Saint had built even one machine. +Nevertheless, the germ of an idea was there, and had the inventor +followed through the sewing machine might have been classed an +18th-century rather than a 19th-century contribution. + + +1800-1820 + +There is no doubt that the successful late-18th-century improvements in +spinning and weaving methods, resulting in increased production of +fabrics, had a great effect in spurring inventors to ideas of stitching +by machinery. Several efforts were made during the first two decades of +the 19th century to produce such machines. + +On February 14, 1804, a French patent was issued to Thomas Stone and +James Henderson for a "new mechanical principle designed to replace +handwork in joining the edges of all kinds of flexible material, and +particularly applicable to the manufacture of clothing."[7] The machine +used a common needle and made an overcast stitch in the same manner as +hand sewing. A pair of jaws or pincers, imitating the action of the +fingers, alternately seized and released the needle on each side of the +fabric. The pincers were attached to a pair of arms arranged to be moved +backward and forward by "any suitable mechanism."[8] This machine was +capable of making curved or angular as well as straight seams, but it +was limited to carrying a short length of thread, necessitating frequent +rethreading. The machine may have had some limited use, but it was not +commercially successful. + +On May 30 of the same year John Duncan, a Glasgow manufacturer, was +granted British patent 2,769 for "a new and improved method of +tambouring, or raising flowers, figures or other ornaments upon muslins, +lawns and other cottons, cloths, or stuffs." This machine made the +chainstitch, using not one but many hooked needles that operated +simultaneously. The needles, attached to a bar or carrier, were pushed +through the vertically held fabric from the upper right side, which in +this case was also the outer side. After passing through it, they were +supplied with thread from spools by means of peculiarly formed hooks or +thread carriers. The thread was twisted around the needle above the +hook, so as to be caught by it, and drawn through to the outer surface. +The shaft of the needle was grooved on the hook side and fitted with a +slider. This slider closed upon the retraction of the needle from the +fabric, holding the thread in place and preventing the hook from +catching. The fabric was stretched between two rollers set in an upright +frame capable of sliding vertically in a second frame arranged to have +longitudinal motion. The combination of these two motions was sufficient +to produce any required design. The principle developed by Duncan was +used on embroidery machines, in a modified form, for many years. Of +several early attempts, his was the first to realize any form of +success. + +[Illustration: Figure 4.--WEISENTHAL'S two-pointed needle, 1755.] + +[Illustration: Figure 5.--SAINT'S SEWING MACHINE, 1790. (Smithsonian +photo 42490-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 6.--CHAPMAN'S SEWING MACHINE, first eye-pointed +needle, 1807. (Smithsonian photo 33299-K.)] + +A type of rope-stitching machine, which might be considered unimportant +to this study, must be included because of its use of the eye-pointed +needle, the needle that was to play a most important part in the later +development of a practical sewing machine. The earliest reference to the +use of a needle with an eye not being required to be passed completely +through the fabric it was stitching is found in a machine invented by +Edward Walter Chapman, for which he and William Chapman were granted +British patent 3,078 on October 30, 1807. The machine (fig. 6) was +designed to construct belting or flat banding by stitching together +several strands of rope that had been laid side by side. Two needles +were required and used alternately. One needle was threaded and then +forced through the ropes. On the opposite side the thread was removed +from the eye of the first needle before it was withdrawn. The second +needle was threaded and the operation repeated. The needles could also +be used to draw the thread, rather than push it, through the ropes with +the same result. While being stitched, the ropes were held fast and the +sewing frame and supporting carriage were moved manually as each stitch +was made. Such a machine would be applicable only to the work described, +since the necessity of rethreading at every stitch would make it +impractical for any other type of sewing. + +Another early machine reported to have used the eye-pointed needle to +form the chainstitch was invented about 1810 by Balthasar Krems,[9] a +hosiery worker of Mayen, Germany. One knitted article produced there was +a peaked cap, and Krems' machine was devised to stitch the turned edges +of the cap,[10] which was suspended from wire pins on a moving wheel. +The needle of the machine was attached to a horizontal shaft and carried +the thread through the fabric. The loop of thread was retained by a +hook-shaped pin to become enchained with the next loop at the reentry of +the needle. Local history reports that this device may have been used as +early as 1800, but the inventor did not patent his machine and +apparently made no attempt to commercialize it. No contemporary +references to the machine could be found, and use of the machine may +have died with the inventor in 1813. + +[Illustration: Figure 7.--MADERSPERGER'S 1814 SEWING MACHINE. +Illustration from a pamphlet by the inventor entitled _Beschreibung +einer Naehmaschine_, Vienna, ca. 1816. (Smithsonian photo 49373.)] + +About the same time, Josef Madersperger, a tailor in Vienna, Austria, +invented a sewing machine, which was illustrated (fig. 7) and described +in a 15-page pamphlet published about 1816.[11] On May 12, 1817, a +Vienna newspaper wrote of the Madersperger machine: "The approbation +which his machine received everywhere has induced his Royal Imperial +Majesty, in the year 1814, to give to the inventor an exclusive +privilege [patent] which has already been mentioned before in these +papers."[12] Madersperger's 1814 machine stitched straight or curving +lines. His second machine stitched small semicircles, as shown in the +illustration, and also small circles, egg-shaped figures, and angles of +various degrees. The machine, acclaimed by the art experts, must +therefore have been intended for embroidery stitching. From the +contemporary descriptions and the illustration, the machine is judged to +have made a couched stitch--one thread was laid on the surface of the +fabric and stitched in place with a short thread carried by a +two-pointed needle of the type invented by Weisenthal. Two fabrics could +have been stitched together, but not in the manner required for +tailoring. The machine must have had many deficiencies in the tension +adjustment, feed, and related mechanical operations, for despite the +published wishes for success the inventor did not put the machine into +practical operation.[13] Years later Madersperger again attempted to +invent a sewing machine using a different stitch (see p. 13). + +[Illustration: Figure 8.--AN ENGRAVING OF THIMONNIER and his sewing +machine of 1830, from _Sewing Machine News_, 1880. (Smithsonian photo +10569-C.)] + +A story persists that about 1818-1819 a machine that formed a +backstitch, identical to the one used in hand sewing, was invented in +Monkton, Vermont. The earliest record of this machine that this author +has found was in the second or 1867 edition of _Eighty Years of Progress +of the United States_; the machine is not mentioned in the earlier +edition. The writer of the article on sewing machines states that John +Knowles invented and constructed a sewing machine, which used a single +thread and a two-pointed needle with the eye in the middle to form the +backstitch. This information must have come to light after the first +edition was published, but from where and by whom is not known. Other +sources state that two men, Adams and Dodge, produced this machine in +Monkton.[14] While still others credit the Reverend John Adam Dodge, +assisted by a mechanic by the name of John Knowles, with the same +invention in the same location.[15] Vermont historical societies have +been unable to identify the men named or to verify the story of the +invention.[16] The importance of the credibility of this story, if +proved, rests in the fact that it represents the first effort in the +United States to produce a mechanical stitching device. + + +1820-1845 + +American records of this period are incomplete as a result of the Patent +Office fire of 1836, in which most of the specific descriptions of +patents issued to that date were destroyed. Patentees were asked to +provide another description of their patents so that these might be +copied, but comparatively few responded and only a small percentage was +restored. Thus, although the printed index of patents[17] lists Henry +Lye as patenting a machine for "sewing leather, and so forth" on March +10, 1826, no description of the machine has ever been located. Many +patents whose original claim was for only a mechanical awl to pierce +holes in leather or a clamp to hold leather for hand stitching were +claimed as sewing devices once a practical machine had evolved. But no +evidence has ever been found that any of these machines performed the +actual stitching operation. + +[Illustration: Figure 9.--AN ADAPTED DRAWING of Hunt's sewing machine +published by the _Sewing Machine News_, vol. 2, no. 8, 1881, to give +some idea of its construction and operation. "The frame of the machine +(A) rested on a base (B) that was supported by a table. The wheel (C) +worked on a central shaft (E) and was set in motion by hand or foot +power. On the front of the wheel (C) was a raised cam (D) into which the +connecting rod (F) engaged to communicate motion to the vibrating arm +(G) pivoted to the frame at (H) and carrying at the end (g) the curved +needle (I). The take-up (J) served to tighten the thread after each +stitch; it was connected to the vibrating arm by a rod (K). The cloth +(L) was held in a vertical position between the fingers or nippers (M), +which were attached to the frame. The bar (N) was toothed on one side +(n) to mesh with the geared wheel (o). The lever (P) was operated by a +cam (m) upon the periphery of the wheel (C), and carried the vertical +pawl (S) which meshed with the ratchet (T) and moved the cloth as each +stitch was made. The shuttle (U) worked in its race (V); it was operated +by the vibrating lever (W), the upper end of which engaged into a groove +on the face of the wheel (C)." (Smithsonian photo 42554.)] + +The first man known to have put a mechanical sewing device into +commercial operation was Barthelemy Thimonnier,[18] a French tailor. +After several years of fruitless effort he invented a machine for which +he received a French patent in 1830.[19] The machine (fig. 8) made a +chainstitch by means of a barbed or hooked needle. The vertically held +needle worked from an overhanging arm. The needle thrust through the +fabric laid on the horizontal table, caught a thread from the thread +carrier and looper beneath the table, and brought a loop to the surface +of the fabric. When the process was repeated the second loop became +enchained in the first. The needle was moved downward by the depression +of a cord-connected foot treadle and was raised by the action of a +spring. The fabric was fed through the stitching mechanism manually, and +a regular rate of speed had to be maintained by the operator in order to +produce stitches of equal length. A type of retractable thimble or +presser foot was used to hold the fabric down as required. + +The needle, and the entire machine, was basically an attempt to +mechanize tambour embroidery, with which the inventor was quite +familiar. Although this work, which served as the machine's inspiration, +was always used for decorative embroidery, Thimonnier saw the +possibilities of using the stitch for utilitarian purposes. By 1841 he +had 80 machines stitching army clothing in a Paris shop. But a mob of +tailors, fearing that the invention would rob them of a livelihood, +broke into the shop and destroyed the machines. Thimonnier fled Paris, +penniless. Four years later he had obtained new financial help, improved +his machine to produce 200 stitches a minute, and organized the first +French sewing-machine company.[20] The Revolution of 1848, however, +brought this enterprise to an early end. Before new support could be +found other inventors had appeared with better machines, and +Thimonnier's was passed by. In addition to the two French patents +Thimonnier also received a British patent with his associate Jean Marie +Magnin in 1848 and one in the United States in 1850. He achieved no +financial gain from either of these and died a poor man. + +While Thimonnier was developing his chainstitch machine in France, +Walter Hunt,[21] perhaps best described as a Yankee mechanical genius, +was working on a different kind of sewing machine in the United States. +Sometime between 1832 and 1834 he produced at his shop in New York a +machine that made a lockstitch.[22] This stitch was the direct result of +the mechanical method devised to produce the stitching and represented +the first occasion an inventor had not attempted to reproduce a hand +stitch. The lockstitch required two threads, one passing through a loop +in the other and both interlocking in the heart of the seam. At the time +Hunt did not consider the sewing machine any more promising than several +other inventions that he had in mind, and, after demonstrating that the +machine would sew, he sold his interest in it for a small sum and did +not bother to patent it. + +A description--one of few ever published--and sketch of a rebuilt Hunt +machine (fig. 9) appeared in an article in the _Sewing Machine News_ in +1881.[23] The important element in the Hunt invention was an eye-pointed +needle working in combination with a shuttle carrying a second thread. +Future inventors were thus no longer hampered by the erroneous idea that +the sewing machine must imitate the human hands and fingers. Though +Hunt's machine stitched short, straight seams with speed and accuracy, +it could not sew curved or angular work. Its stitching was not +continuous, but had to be reset at the end of a short run. The validity +of Hunt's claim as the inventor of the lockstitch and the prescribed +method of making it was argued many times, especially during the Elias +Howe patent suits of the 1850s. The decision against Hunt was not a +question of invention,[24] but one of right to ownership or control. +Hunt did little to promote his sewing machine and sold it together with +the right to patent to George A. Arrowsmith. + +[Illustration: Figure 10.--MADERSPERGER'S 1839 sewing machine. +Madersperger's machine consisted of two major parts: the frame, which +held the material, and the stitching mechanism, called the hand. The +hand shown here is an original model. (_Photo courtesy of Technisches +Museum fuer Industrie und Gewerbe, Vienna._)] + +For over fifteen years, from the mid-1830s to the early 1850s, the +machine dropped out of sight. When the sewing-machine litigation +developed in the 1850s, the I. M. Singer company searched out the Hunt +machine, had the inventor rebuild one,[25] and attempted to use this to +break the Howe patent. The plan did not work. The Honorable Charles +Mason, Patent Commissioner, reported: + + When the first inventor allows his discovery to slumber for + eighteen years, with no probability of its ever being brought into + useful activity, and when it is only resurrected to supplant and + strangle an invention which has been given to the public, and which + has been made practically useful, all reasonable presumption should + be in favor of the inventor who has been the means of conferring + the real benefit upon the world.[26] + +Hunt's machine was an invention of the 1830s, but only because of the +patent litigation was it ever heard of again. + +During the time that a potentially successful sewing machine was being +invented and forgotten in America, Josef Madersperger of Austria made a +second attempt to solve the mechanical stitching problem. In 1839 he +received a second patent on a machine entirely different from his 1814 +effort. It was similar to Hunt's in that it used an eye-pointed needle +and passed a thread through the loop of the needle-thread--the thread +carried by the needle--to lock the stitch. Madersperger's machine was a +multiple-needle quilting machine. The threaded needles penetrated the +fabric from below and were retracted, leaving the loops on the surface. +A thread was drawn through the loops to produce what the inventor termed +a chain. The first two stitches were twisted before insertion into the +next two, producing a type of twisted lockstitch. The mechanism for +feeding the cloth was faulty, however, and the inventor himself stated +in the specifications that much remained to perfect and simplify it +before its general application. (This machine was illustrated [fig. 10] +in the _Sewing Machine Times_, October 25, 1907, and mistakenly referred +to as the 1814 model.) Madersperger realized no financial gain from +either venture and died in a poorhouse in 1850. + +The first efforts of the 1840s reflected the work of the earlier years. +In England, Edward Newton and Thomas Archbold invented and patented a +machine on May 4, 1841, for tambouring or ornamenting the backs of +gloves. Their machine used a hook on the upper surface to catch the loop +of thread, but an eye-pointed needle from underneath was used to carry +the thread up through the fabric. The machine was designed to use three +needles for three rows of chainstitching, if required. Although the +machine was capable of stitching two fabrics together, it was never +contemplated as a sewing machine in the present use of the term. Their +British patent 8,948 stated it was for "improvements in producing +ornamental or tambour work in the manufacture of gloves." + +The earliest American patent specifically recorded as a sewing machine +was U.S. patent 2,466, issued to John J. Greenough on February 21, 1842. +His machine was a short-thread model that made both the running stitch +and the backstitch. It used the two-pointed needle, with eye at +mid-length, which was passed back and forth through the material by +means of a pair of pincers on each side of the seam. The pincers opened +and closed automatically. The material to be sewn was held in clamps +which moved it forward between the pincers to form a running stitch or +moved it alternately backward and forward to produce a backstitch. The +clamps were attached to a rack that automatically fed the material at a +predetermined rate according to the length of stitch required. Since the +machine was designed for leather or other hard material, the needle was +preceded by an awl, which pierced a hole. The machine had a weight to +draw out the thread and a stop-motion to stop the machinery when a +thread broke or became too short. The needle was threaded with a short +length of thread and required frequent refilling. Only straight seams +could be stitched. The feed was continuous to the length of the rack +bar; then it had to be reset. The motions were all obtained from the +revolution of a crank. It is not believed that any machines, other than +the patent model (fig. 11), were ever made. Little is known of Greenough +other than his name. + +[Illustration: Figure 11.--GREENOUGH'S PATENT MODEL, 1842. (Smithsonian +photo 45525-G.)] + +In the succeeding year, on March 4, 1843, Benjamin W. Bean received the +second American sewing-machine patent, U.S. patent 2,982. Like +Greenough's, this machine made a running stitch, but by a different +method. In Bean's machine the fabric was fed between the teeth of a +series of gears. Held in a groove in the gears was a peculiarly shaped +needle bent in two places to permit it to be held in place by the gears +and with a point at one end and the eye at the opposite end, as in a +common hand needle. The action of the gears caused the fabric to be +forced onto and through the threaded needle. Indefinite straight seams +could be stitched as the fabric was continuously forced off the needle +by the turning gears (fig. 12). A screw clamp held the machine to a +table or other work surface. Machines of this and similar types +reportedly had some limited usage in the dyeing and bleaching mills,[27] +where lengths of fabric were stitched together before processing. +Improved versions of Bean's machine were to be patented in subsequent +years in England and America. The same principle was also used in home +machines two decades later. + +The third sewing-machine patent on record in the United States Patent +Office is patent 3,389 issued on December 27, 1843, to George H. +Corliss, better remembered as the inventor and manufacturer of the +Corliss steam engine. It was his interest in the sewing machine, +however, that eventually directed his attention to the steam engine. + +Corliss had a general store at Greenwich, New York. A customer's +complaint that the boots he had purchased split at the seams made +Corliss wonder why someone had not invented a machine to sew stronger +seams than hand-sewn ones. He considered the problem of sewing leather, +analyzing the steps required to make the saddler's stitch, one popularly +used in boots and shoes. He concluded that a sewing machine to do this +type of work must first perforate the leather, then draw the threads +through the holes, and finally secure the stitches by pulling the +threads tight. The machine Corliss invented (fig. 13) was of the same +general type as Greenough's, except that two two-pointed needles were +required to make the saddler's stitch. This stitch was composed of two +running stitches made simultaneously, one from each side.[28] The +machine used two awls to pierce the holes through which the needles +passed; finger levers approached from opposite sides, seized the +needles, pulled the threads firmly, and passed the needles through to +repeat the operation. The working model that Corliss completed could +unite two pieces of heavy leather at the rate of 20 stitches per minute. + +Corliss, lacking capital, went to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1844 to +secure backers. After months without success, he was forced to abandon +the sewing machine and accept employment as a draftsman and designer. +Though he considered himself a failure, this change of employment placed +him on the threshold of his more rewarding life work, improvement of the +steam engine.[29] + +On July 22, 1844, James Rodgers was granted U.S. patent 3,672, the +fourth American sewing-machine patent. The patent model is not known to +be in existence, but this machine was of minor importance for it offered +only a negligible change in the Bean running-stitch machine. The same +corrugated gears were used but were placed in different positions so +that one bend in the needle was eliminated. When Bean secured a reissue +of his patent in 1849, he had adapted it to use a straight needle. +Rodgers' machine is not known to have had any commercial success, +although this type of machine experienced a brief period of popularity. +By the early 1900s, however, the running-stitch machine was so little +known that when one was illustrated in the _Sewing Machine Times_ in +1907[30] it excited more curiosity than any of the other early types. + +[Illustration: Figure 12.--BEAN'S PATENT MODEL, 1843. (Smithsonian photo +42490-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 13.--CORLISS' PATENT MODEL, 1843. The piece of +wood in the foreground is an enlarged model of the needle. (Smithsonian +photo 42490.)] + +On December 7, 1844, the same year that Rodgers secured his American +patent, John Fisher and James Gibbons were granted British patent 10,424 +for "certain improvements in the manufacture of figured or ornamental +lace, or net, or other fabrics." From this superficial description of +its work, the device might seem to be just another tambouring machine. +It was not. Designed specifically for ornamental stitching, the machine +made a two-thread stitch using an eye-pointed needle and a shuttle.[31] +Several sets of needles and shuttles worked simultaneously. The needles +were secured to a needlebar placed beneath the fabric. The shuttles were +pointed at both ends to pass through each succeeding new loop formed by +the needles. Each shuttle was activated by two vibrating arms worked by +cams. Each needle was curved in the form of a bow, and in addition to +the eye at the point each also had a second eye at the bottom of the +curve. The shape of the needle together with the position of the eyes +permitted the pointed shuttle, carrying the second thread, to pass +freely through the loop in the ascending needle thread. The fabric was +carried by a pair of cloth rollers, capable of sliding in a horizontal +plane in both a lateral and a lengthwise direction. These combined +movements were sufficient to enable the operator to produce almost every +embroidered design. The ornamenting, which might be a yarn, cord, or +gimp, was carried by the shuttle thread. There was no tension on the +shuttle thread, which was held in place by the thread from the needle. +The stitch produced was a form of couching.[32] It was in no sense a +lockstitch. Fisher, who was the inventor, readily admitted at a later +date that he had not had the slightest idea of producing a sewing +machine, in the utilitarian meaning of the term. Although it has not +been established that this machine was ever put into practical +operation, Fisher's invention was to have a far-reaching effect on the +development of the sewing machine in England. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] CHARLES M. KARCH, _Needles: Historical and Descriptive_ (12 Census +U.S., vol. X, 1902), pp. 429-432. + +[2] FLORENCE LEWIS MAY, _Hispanic Lace and Lace Making_ (New York, +1939), pp. 267-271. + +[3] Diderot's _L'Encyclopedie, ou dictionnaire raisonne des sciences, +des arts et des metiers ..._, vol. II (1763), Plates Brodeur, plate II. + +[4] The term "crochet," as used today, became the modern counterpart of +the Spanish _punto de aguja_ about the second quarter of the 19th +century. + +[5] _Sewing Machine News_ (1880), vol. 1, no. 7, p. 2. + +[6] This model of Saint's machine was bequeathed by Mr. Wilson to the +South Kensington Museum, London, England. + +[7] _Sewing Machine News_ (1880), vol. 1, no. 8, p. 2. + +[8] Ibid. + +[9] ERICH LUTH, _Ein Mayener Strumpfwirker, Balthasar Krems, 1760-1813, +Erfinder der Naehmaschine_, p. 10, states that the machine used an +eye-pointed needle. WILHELM RENTERS, _Praktisches Wissen von der +Naehmaschine_, p. 4, states that Krems used a hooked needle. Renters +probably mistook the hooked retaining pin for the needle. + +[10] Dr. Dahmen, Burgermeister of Mayen, stated in a letter of October +8, 1963, that the original Krems machine was turned over to the +officials of Mayen by Krems' descendants about the turn of the century. +He verified that the machine used an eye-pointed needle. About 1920 the +machine was placed in the Eifelmuseum in Genovevaburg; some of the +unessential parts were restored. The machine now at this museum is the +one pictured in Luth's book. A replica of the machine is in the +Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany. + +[11] JOSEF MADERSPERGER, _Beschreibung einer Naehmaschine_ (Vienna, ca. +1816). The exact date of this small booklet is not known. In the booklet +Madersperger reports that he had received a patent in 1814 for his +_first_ machine adapted to straight sewing. However, the machine +described and illustrated in this booklet was one that could stitch +semicircles and small figures. In _Kunst und Gewerbeblatt_, a periodical +(Munich, Germany, 1817, pp. 336-338), reference is made to the +Madersperger machine and a statement to the effect that the inventor had +published a leaflet describing his machine. The leaflet referred to is +believed to be the one under discussion. For this reason it must have +been published between 1814 and 1817, therefore ca. 1816. The only copy +of this booklet known to this author is in the New York Public Library. +It was probably not known to authors Luth and Renters. The author wishes +to thank Miss Rita J. Adrosko of her staff for her important help in +translating these German publications. + +[12] _Sewing Machine Times_ (1907), vol. 26, no. 865, p. 1. + +[13] There are no known models of these early Madersperger machines in +existence. Although the _Sewing Machine Times_ reported in the 1907 +issue that the 1814 sewing machine was then on exhibition in the Museum +of the Vienna Polytechnic, the illustration shown was of Madersperger's +1839 machine. In a letter from the director of the Technisches Museum +fuer Industrie und Gewerbe in Vienna, received in 1962, it was stated +that the original 1814 Madersperger machine was in their museum. The +photographs that were sent, however, were of the 1839 machine. This +machine is entirely different from the 1814-1817 machine, as can readily +be seen by the reader (figs. 7 and 10). + +[14] JOHN P. STAMBAUGH, _A History of the Sewing Machine_ (Hartford, +Conn., 1872), p. 13; _Sewing Machine News_ (July 1880), vol. 1, no. 12, +p. 4. + +[15] "Sewing Machines," _Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia_ (New York, +1878), vol. 4, p. 205. The 1874 edition does not include this reference +to Rev. John Adam Dodge. + +[16] Letters to the author from the Vermont Historical Society (Nov. 13, +1953) and the Bennington Historical Museum and Art Gallery (May 2, +1953). + +[17] EDMUND BURKE. Commissioner of Patents, _List of Patents for +Inventions and Designs Issued by the United States from 1790 to 1847_ +(Washington, 1847). + +[18] See Barthelemy Thimonnier's biographical sketch, p. 137. + +[19] French patent issued to Barthelemy Thimonnier and M. Ferrand (who +was a tutor at l'Ecole des Mines, Saint-Etienne, and helped finance the +patent), July 17, 1830. + +[20] The company was located at Villefranche-sur-Saone, but no name is +recorded. See J. Granger, _Thimonnier et la machine a coudre_ (1943), p. +16. + +[21] See Walter Hunt's biographical sketch, p. 138. + +[22] The earliest known reference in print to Walter Hunt's sewing +machine is in _Sewing by Machinery: An Exposition of the History of +Patentees of Various Sewing Machines and of the Rights of the Public_ +(I. M. Singer & Co., 1853). A more detailed story of Hunt's invention is +in _Sewing Machine News_ (1880-81), vol. 2, no. 2, p. 4; no. 4, p. 5; +and no. 8, pp. 3 and 8. + +[23] Vol. 2, no. 8, p. 3. + +[24] In the opinion and decision of C. Mason, Commissioner of the Patent +Office, offered on May 24, 1854, for the Hunt vs. Howe interference +suit, Mason stated: "He [Hunt] proves that in 1834 or 1835 he contrived +a machine by which he actually effected his purpose of sewing cloth with +considerable success." + +[25] The rebuilt machine, according to a letter to the author from B. F. +Thompson of the Singer company, is believed to have been one of the +machines lost in a Singer factory fire at Elizabethport, N.J., in 1890. + +[26] Op. cit. (footnote 24). + +[27] EDWARD H. KNIGHT, _Sewing Machines_, vol. 3 of _Knight's American +Mechanical Dictionary_. + +[28] A seam using the saddler's stitch appears as a neat line of +touching stitches on both sides. Even when made by hand, it is sometimes +misidentified by the casual observer as the lockstitch because of the +uniformity of both sides. If the saddler's stitch was formed of threads +of two different colors, the even stitches on one side of the seam and +the odd stitches on the reverse side would be of one color, and vice +versa. + +[29] _The Life and Works of George H. Corliss_, privately printed for +Mary Corliss by the American Historical Society, 1930. The Corliss +family records were turned over to the Baker Library, Harvard +University. In a letter addressed to this author by Robert W. Lovett of +the Manuscripts Division on August 2, 1954, it was reported that there +was a record on their Corliss card to the effect that a model of his +sewing machine, received with the collection, was turned over to the +Massachusetts Institute of Technology; however, Mr. Lovett also stated +that from a manuscript memoir of Mr. Corliss that it would seem that he +developed only the one machine--the patent model. In a letter dated +November 15, 1954, Stanley Backer, assistant professor of mechanical +engineering, stated that after extensive inquiries they were unable to +locate the model at M.I.T. In 1964, Dr. Robert Woodbury, of M.I.T., +turned over to the Smithsonian Institution the official copies of the +Corliss drawings and the specifications which had been awarded to the +inventor by the Patent Office. It is possible that this may have been +the material noted on the Harvard University card as having been +transferred to M.I.T. + +[30] _Sewing Machine Times_ (July 10, 1907), vol. 26, no. 858, p. 1. + +[31] This is the earliest known patent using the combination of an +eye-pointed needle and a shuttle to form a stitch. + +[32] In embroidery, couching is the technique of laying a decorative +thread on the surface of the fabric and stitching it into place with a +second less-conspicuous thread. + + + + +_Chapter Two_ + + +[Illustration: Figure 14.--HOWE'S PREPATENT MODEL of 1845, and the box +used by the inventor to carry the machine to England in 1847. +(Smithsonian photo 45506-B.)] + +Elements of a Successful Machine + +The requirements for producing a successful, practical sewing machine +were a support for the cloth, a needle to carry the thread through the +fabric and a combining device to form the stitch, a feeding mechanism to +permit one stitch to follow another, tension controls to provide an even +delivery of thread, and the related mechanism to insure the precise +performance of each operation in its proper sequence. Weisenthal had +added a point to the eye-end of the needle, Saint supported the fabric +by placing it in a horizontal position with a needle entering +vertically, Duncan successfully completed a chainstitch for embroidery +purposes, Chapman used a needle with an eye at its point and did not +pass it completely through the fabric, Krems stitched circular caps with +an eye-pointed needle used with a hook to form a chainstitch, Thimonnier +used the hooked needle to form a chainstitch on a fabric laid +horizontally, and Hunt created a new stitch that was more readily +adapted to sewing by machine than the hand stitches had been, but, +although each may have had the germ of an idea, a successful machine had +not evolved. There were to be hundreds of patents issued in an attempt +to solve these and the numerous minor problems that would ensue. But the +problems were solved. And, in spite of its Old World inception, the +successful sewing machine can be credited as an American invention. + +Although the invention of the practical sewing machine, like most +important inventions, was a many-man project, historians generally give +full credit to Elias Howe, Jr. Though such credit may be overly +generous, Howe's important role in this history cannot be denied. + +Elias Howe, Jr., was born on a farm near Spencer, Massachusetts, but he +left home at an early age to learn the machinist's trade.[33] After +serving an apprenticeship in Lowell, he moved to Boston. In the late +1830s, while employed in the instrument shop of Ari Davis, Howe is +reported to have overheard a discussion concerning the need for a +machine that would sew. In 1843, when illness kept him from his job for +days at a time, he remembered the conversation and the promises of the +rich reward that reputedly awaited the successful inventor. Determined +to invent such a machine, he finally managed to produce sufficient +results to interest George Fisher in buying a one-half interest in his +proposed invention. By April 1845, Howe's machine (fig. 14) was used to +sew all the seams of two woolen suits for men's clothing. He continued +to demonstrate his machine but found that interest was, at best, +indifferent. + +Nevertheless, Howe completed a second machine (fig. 15), which he +submitted with his application for a patent. The fifth United States +patent (No. 4,750) for a sewing machine was issued to him on September +10, 1846. The machine used a grooved and curved eye-pointed needle +carried by a vibrating arm, with the needle supplied with thread from a +spool. Loops of thread from the needle were locked by a thread carried +by a shuttle, which was moved through the loop by means of +reciprocating drivers. The cloth was suspended in a vertical position, +impaled on pins projecting from a baster plate, which moved +intermittently under the needle by means of a toothed wheel. The length +of each stitching operation depended upon the length of the baster +plate, and the seams were necessarily straight. When the end of the +baster plate reached the position of the needle, the machine was +stopped. The cloth was removed from the baster plate, which was moved +back to its original position. The cloth was moved forward on the pins, +and the seam continued. + +In his patent specifications, Howe claimed the following: + + 1. The forming of the seam by carrying a thread through the cloth + by means of a curved needle on the end of a vibrating arm, and the + passing of a shuttle furnished with its bobbin, in the manner set + forth, between the needle and the thread which it carried, under + combination and arrangement of parts substantially the same with + that described. + + 2. The lifting of the thread that passes through the needle-eye by + means of the lifting-rod, for the purpose of forming a loop of + loose thread that is to be subsequently drawn in by the passage of + the shuttle, as herein fully described, said lifting-rod being + furnished with a lifting pin, and governed in its motion by the + guide-pieces and other devices, arranged and operating + substantially as described. + + 3. The holding of the thread that is given out by the shuttle, so + as to prevent its unwinding from the shuttle-bobbin after the + shuttle has passed through the loop, said thread being held by + means of the lever or slipping-piece, as herein made known, or in + any other manner that is substantially the same in its operation + and result. + + 4. The manner of arranging and combining the small lever with the + sliding box, in combination with the spring-piece, for the purpose + of tightening the stitch as the needle is retracted. + + 5. The holding of the cloth to be sewed by the use of a + baster-plate furnished with points for that purpose, and with holes + enabling it to operate as a rack in the manner set forth, thereby + carrying the cloth forward and dispensing altogether with the + necessity of basting the parts together. + +The five claims, which were allowed Howe in his patent, have been quoted +to show that he did not claim the invention of the eye-pointed needle, +for which he has so often been credited. The court judgment[34] that +upheld Howe's claim to his patented right to control the use of the +eye-pointed needle in combination with a shuttle to form a lockstitch +was mistakenly interpreted by some as verifying control of the +eye-pointed needle itself. + +[Illustration: Figure 15.--HOWE'S PATENT MODEL, 1846. (Smithsonian photo +45525-B.)] + +After patenting his invention, Howe spent three discouraging years in +both the United States and in England trying to interest manufacturers +in building his sewing machine, under license. Finally, for L250 +sterling, he sold the British patent rights to William Thomas and +further agreed to adapt the machine to Thomas' manufacture of umbrellas +and corsets.[35] This did not prove to be a financial success for Howe +and by 1849 he was back in the United States, once again without funds. + +[Illustration: Figure 16.--AN ENLARGEMENT of the stitching area. +(Smithsonian photo 45525-B.)] + +On his return, Howe was surprised to find that other inventors were +engaged in the sewing-machine problem and that sewing machines were +being manufactured for sale. The sixth United States sewing-machine +patent (No. 5,942) had been issued to John A. Bradshaw on November 28, +1848, for a machine specifically stated as correcting the defects in the +E. Howe patent. Bradshaw did not purport that his machine was a new +invention. His specifications read: + + The curved needle used in Howe's machine will not by itself form + the loop in the thread, which is necessary for the flying bobbin, + with its case, to pass through, and has, therefore, to be aided in + that operation by a lifting-pin, with the necessary mechanism to + operate it. This is a very bungling device, and is a great + incumbrance to the action of the machine, being an impediment in + the way of introducing the cloth to be sewed, difficult to keep + properly adjusted, and very frequently gets entangled between the + thread and the needle, by which the latter is frequently broken. + This accident happens very often, not withstanding all the + precaution which it is possible for the most careful operator to + exercise; and inasmuch as the delay occasioned thereby is very + considerable, and the needles costly and difficult to replace, it + is therefore very important that their breaking in this manner be + prevented, which in my machine is done in the most effectual manner + by dispensing with the lifting-pin altogether, the loop for the + flying bobbin to pass through being made with certainty and of the + proper form by means of my angular needle moved in a particular + manner just before the flying-bobbin case is thrown. The shuttle + and its bobbin for giving off the thread in Howe's machine are very + defective ... my neat and simple bobbin-case ... gives off its + thread with certainty and uniformity.... The baster-plate in the + Howe machine is very inconvenient and troublesome ... in my machine + ... the clamp ... is a very simple and efficient device.... The + Howe machine is stationary, and the baster-plate or cloth-holder + progressive. The Bradshaw machine is progressive and the + cloth-holder stationary. + +Bradshaw's patent accurately described some of the defects of the Howe +machine, but other inventors were later to offer better solutions to the +problems. + +[Illustration: Figure 17.--MOREY AND JOHNSON sewing machine, 1849. +Below: The machine is marked with the name of its maker, Safford & +Williams. The number 49 is a serial number. Missing parts have been +replaced with plastic. (Smithsonian photo 48400; brass plate: 48400-H.)] + +Although the Bradshaw machine was not in current manufacture, a machine +based on it received the seventh United States sewing-machine patent. +Patent 6,099 was issued to Charles Morey and Joseph B. Johnson on +February 6, 1849. Their machine (fig. 17) was being offered for sale +even before the patent was issued. + +This was the first American patent for a chainstitch machine. The stitch +was made by an eye-pointed needle carrying the thread through the +fabric; the thread was detained by a hook until the loop was enchained +by the succeeding one. The fabric was held vertically by a baster plate +in a manner similar to the Howe machine. Although not claimed in the +patent description, the Morey and Johnson machine also had a bar device +for stripping the cloth from the needle. This bar had a slight motion +causing a yielding pressure to be exerted on the cloth. Although the +patent was not granted until February 6, 1849, the application had been +filed in April of the previous year. The machine was featured in the +_Scientific American_ on January 27, 1849 (fig. 18): + + Morey and Johnson Machine--These machines are very accurately + adjusted in all their parts to work in harmony, without this they + would be of no use. But they are now used in most of the Print + Works and Bleach Works in New England, and especially by the East + Boston Flour Company. It sews about one yard per minute, and we + consider it superior to the London Sewing Machine the specification + of which is in our possession. It [Morey and Johnson] is more + simple--and this is a great deal.... The price of a machine and + right to use $135.[36] + +An improvement in the Morey and Johnson machine was patented by Jotham +S. Conant for which he was issued a patent on May 8, 1849. Conant's +machine offered a slight modification of the cloth bar and of the method +of keeping the cloth taut during the stitching operation. No successful +use of it is known. + +A second improvement of the Morey and Johnson patent was also issued on +May 8, 1849; this United States patent (No. 6,439) was to John Bachelder +for the first continuous, but intermittent, sewing mechanism. As shown +in the patent model (fig. 19), his clothholder consisted of an endless +belt supported by and running around three or any other suitable number +of cylindrical rollers. A series of pointed wires projected from the +surface of the belt near the edge immediately adjacent to the needle. +The wires could be placed at regular or irregular distances as required. +The shaft of one of the cylindrical rollers, which supported the +endless clothholder, carried a ratchet wheel advanced by the action of a +pawl connected to the end of the crankshaft by a small crankpin, whose +position or distance from the axis of rotation of the shaft could be +adjusted. + +[Illustration: Figure 18.--A MOREY AND JOHNSON sewing machine as +illustrated in _Scientific American_, January 27, 1849. (Smithsonian +photo 45771.)] + +By this adjustment the extent of the vertical travel of the impelling +pawl was regulated to control the length of the stitch. A spring catch +kept the ratchet wheel in place at the end of each forward rotation of +the wheel by the pawl. A roller placed over the endless belt at its +middle roller pressed the cloth onto the wire points. A curved piece of +metal was bent over and down upon the top of the belt so that the cloth, +as it was sewed, was carried toward and against the piece by the belt. +The cloth rose upon and over the piece and was separated from the +points. When the machine was in motion the cloth was carried forward, +passed under the needle, was stitched, and finally, passed the separator +and off the belt. A vertically reciprocating, straight, eye-pointed +needle, a horizontal supporting surface, and a yielding cloth presser +were all used, but none were claimed as part of the patent. These were +later specifically claimed in reissues of this patent. Bachelder's one +specific claim, the endless feed belt, was not limited to belt feeding +only. As he explained in the patent, a revolving table or a cylinder +might be substituted. + +[Illustration: Figure 19.--BACHELDER'S PATENT MODEL, 1849. (Smithsonian +photo 45572).] + +Bachelder did not manufacture machines, but his patent was sold in the +mid-1850s to I. M. Singer.[37] It eventually became one of the most +important patents to be contributed to the "Sewing-Machine Combination," +a patent pool, which is discussed in more detail on pages 41 and 42. + +While new ideas and inventors continued to provide the answers to some +of the sewing-machine problems, Elias Howe began a series of patent +suits to sustain the rights that he felt were his. Since his interest +had never been in constructing machines for sale, it was absolutely +essential for Howe to protect his royalty rights in order to realize any +return from his patent. He was reported[38] to have supervised the +construction of 14 sewing machines at a shop[39] on Gold Street in New +York toward the close of 1850. Sworn contemporary testimony indicates +that the machines were of no practical use.[40] Elias stated, in his +application for his patent extension,[41] that he made only one machine +in 1850-51. In 1852 he advertised[42] territorial rights and machines, +but apparently did not realize any financial success until he sold a +half interest in his patent to George Bliss in November 1852.[43] Bliss +later began manufacturing machines that he initially sold as "Howe's +Patent"; however, these machines were substantially different from the +basic Howe machine. + +[Illustration: Figure 20.--BLODGETT & LEROW SEWING MACHINE, 1850, as +manufactured by A. Bartholf, New York; the serial number of the machine +is 19. At right, an original brass plate from the same type of machine +with needle arm and presser foot and arm, serial number 119; the plate, +however, does not fit the machine correctly. (Smithsonian photo 48440-D; +brass plate: 48440-K.)] + +On May 18, 1853, Elias Howe granted his first royalty license to +Wheeler, Wilson & Company. Within a few months licenses were also +granted to Grover & Baker; A. Bartholf; Nichols & Bliss; J. A. Lerow; +Woolridge, Keene, and Moore; and A. B. Howe, the brother of Elias. These +licenses granted the manufacturer the right to use any part of the Howe +patent,[44] but it did not mean that the machines were Elias Howe +machines. When a royalty license was paid, the patent date and sometimes +the name was stamped onto the machine. For this reason, these machines +are sometimes mistakenly thought to be Elias Howe machines. They are +not. + +Howe was also prevented from manufacturing a practical machine unless he +paid a royalty to other inventors. Three of the major manufacturers and +Howe resolved their differences by forming the "Sewing Machine +Combination." Although Howe did not enter the manufacturing competition +for many years, he profited substantially from the royalty terms of the +combination. In 1860, he applied for and received a seven-year extension +on his patent. + +[Illustration: Figure 21.--BLODGETT & LEROW SEWING MACHINE, 1850, +stamped with the legend "Goddard, Rice & Co., Makers, Worcester, Mass." +and the serial number 37. Below: An original brass plate marked "No. +38"; this plate fits the machine perfectly. (Smithsonian photo 48440-E; +brass plate: 48440-J.)] + +There were Howe family machines for sale during this period, but these +were the ones that Amasa Howe had been manufacturing since 1853. The +machine was an excellent one and received the highest medal for sewing +machines, together with many flattering testimonials, at the London +International Exhibition in 1862. After the publication of this award +the demand for (Amasa) Howe sewing machines was greatly increased at +home and abroad. Elias took this opportunity to gain entry into the +manufacturing business by persuading Amasa to let him build a factory at +Bridgeport, Connecticut, and manufacture the (Amasa) Howe machines. Two +years passed before the factory was completed, and Amasa's agents were +discouraged. The loss could have been regained, but the machines +produced at Bridgeport were not of the quality of the earlier machines. +Amasa attempted to rebuild the Bridgeport machines, but finally +abandoned them and resumed manufacturing machines in New York under his +own immediate supervision.[45] Elias formed his own company and +continued to manufacture sewing machines. In 1867 he requested a second +extension of his patent, but the request was refused. Elias Howe died in +October of the same year. + +Meanwhile, another important sewing machine of a different principle had +also been patented in 1849. This was the machine of Sherburne C. +Blodgett, a tailor by trade, who was supported financially by John A. +Lerow. United States patent 6,766 was issued to both men on October 2, +1849. In the patent, the machine was termed as "our new 'Rotary Sewing +Machine'." The shuttle movement was continuous, revolving in a circle, +rather than reciprocating as in the earlier machines. Automatic tension +was initiated, restraining the slack thread from interference with the +point of the needle. + +[Illustration: Figure 22.--WILSON'S PREPATENT MODEL for his +reciprocating-shuttle machine, 1850. (Smithsonian photo 45525-A.)] + +The Blodgett and Lerow machine was built by several shops. One of the +earliest was the shop of Orson C. Phelps on Harvard Place in Boston. +Phelps took the Blodgett and Lerow machine to the sixth exhibition of +the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association in September 1850 and +won a silver medal and this praise, "This machine performed admirably; +it is an exceedingly ingenious and compact machine, able to perform +tailor's sewing beautifully and thoroughly."[46] Although Phelps had won +the earliest known premium for a sewing machine, and although the +machine was produced commercially to a considerable extent (figs. 20 and +21), one outstanding flaw in its operation could not be overlooked. As +the shuttle passed around the six-inch circular shuttle race, it put a +twist in the thread (or took one out if the direction was reversed) at +each revolution. This caused a constant breaking of the thread, a +condition that could not be rectified without changing the principle of +operation. Such required changes were later to lead I. M. Singer, +another well-known name, into the work of improving this machine. + +Also exhibited at the same 1850 mechanics fair was the machine of Allen +B. Wilson. Wilson's machine received only a bronze medal, but his +inventive genius was to have a far greater effect on the development of +the practical sewing machine than the work of Blodgett and Lerow. A. B. +Wilson[47] was one of the ablest of the early inventors in the field of +mechanical stitching, and probably the most original. + +Wilson, a native of Willett, New York, was a young cabinetmaker at +Adrian, Michigan, in 1847 when he first conceived of a machine that +would sew. He was apparently unaware of parallel efforts by inventors in +distant New England. After an illness, he moved to Pittsfield, +Massachusetts, and pursued his idea in earnest. By November 1848 he had +produced the basic drawings for a machine that would make a lockstitch. +The needle, piercing the cloth, left a loop of thread below the seam. A +shuttle carrying a second thread passed through the loop, and as the +tension was adjusted a completed lockstitch was formed (fig. 22). +Wilson's shuttle was pointed on both ends to form a stitch on both its +forward and backward motion, a decided improvement over the shuttles of +Hunt and Howe, which formed stitches in only one direction. After each +stitch the cloth was advanced for the next stitch by a sliding bar +against which the cloth was held by a stationary presser. While the +needle was still in the cloth and holding it, the sliding bar returned +for a fresh grip on the cloth. + +Wilson made a second machine, on the same principle, and applied for a +patent. He was approached by the owners of the Bradshaw 1848 patent, +who claimed control of the double-pointed shuttle. Although this claim +was without justification, as can be seen by examining the Bradshaw +patent specifications, Wilson did not have sufficient funds to fight the +claim. In order to avoid a suit, he relinquished to A. P. Kline and +Edward Lee, a one-half interest in his U.S. patent 7,776 which was +issued on November 12, 1850 (fig. 23). + +[Illustration: Figure 23.--WILSON'S PATENT MODEL, 1850. (Smithsonian +photo 45504-H.)] + +Inventor Wilson had been associated with Kline and Lee (E. Lee & Co.) +for only a few months, when, on November 25, 1850, he agreed to sell his +remaining interest to his partners for $2,000. He retained only limited +rights for New Jersey and for Massachusetts. The sale was fruitless for +the inventor, as no payment was ever made. How much money E. E. Lee & +Co. realized from the Wilson machine is difficult to determine, but they +ran numerous ads in the 1851 and 1852 issues of _Scientific American_. A +typical one reads: + + A. B. Wilson's Sewing Machine, justly allowed to be the cheapest + and best now in use, patented November 12, 1850; can be seen on + exhibition at 195 and 197 Broadway (formerly the Franklin House, + Room 23, third floor) or to E. E. Lee & Co., Earle's Hotel. Rights + for territory or machines can be had by applying to George R. + Chittenden, Agent.[48] + +[Illustration: Figure 24.--WILSON'S PREPATENT MODEL for his rotary hook, +1851. (Smithsonian photo 45506-E.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 25.--WILSON'S ROTARY-HOOK PATENT MODEL, 1851. +(Smithsonian photo 45505-B.)] + +Another reads: + + A. B. Wilson's Sewing Machine ... the best and only practical + sewing machine--not larger than a lady's work box--for the trifling + sum of $35.[49] + +Wilson severed relations with Lee and Kline in early 1851 shortly after +meeting Nathaniel Wheeler, who was to become his partner in a happier, +more profitable enterprise involving the sewing machine. + +[Illustration: Figure 26.--WILSON'S stationary-bobbin patent model, +1852; a commercial machine was used since Wheeler, Wilson, Co. had begun +manufacturing machines the previous year. (Smithsonian photo 45504-B.)] + +Wilson, with his two partners, was occupying a room in the old Sun +Building at 128 Fulton Street, when Wheeler, on a business trip to New +York City, learned of the Wilson sewing machine. Wheeler examined the +machine, saw its possibilities, and at once contracted with E. Lee & Co. +to make 500 of them. At the same time he engaged Wilson to go with him +to Watertown, Connecticut, to perfect the machine and supervise its +manufacture. Meanwhile, Wilson had been working on a substitute for the +shuttle. He showed his model of the device, which became known as the +rotary hook, to Wheeler who was so convinced of its superiority that he +decided to develop this new machine and leave Wilson's first machine to +the others, who, by degrees, had become its owners. + +Wilson now applied all his effort to improving the rotary hook, for +which he received his second patent on August 12, 1851 (figs. 24 and +25). Wheeler, his two partners Warren and Woodruff, and Wilson now +formed a new copartnership--Wheeler, Wilson, and Company. They began the +manufacture of the machines under the patent, which combined the rotary +hook and a reciprocating bobbin. The rotary hook extended or opened more +widely the loop of the needle thread, while a reciprocating bobbin +carried its thread through the extended loop. To avoid litigation which +the reciprocating bobbin might have caused, Wilson contrived his third +outstanding invention--the stationary bobbin. This was a feature of the +first machine produced by the new company in 1851, though the patent +for the stationary bobbin was not issued until June 15, 1852 (fig. 26). + +In all reciprocating-shuttle machines a certain loss of power is +incurred in driving forward, stopping, and bringing back the shuttle at +each stitch; also, the machines are rather noisy, owing to the striking +of the driver against the shuttle at each stroke. These objections were +removed by Wilson's rotary hook and stationary bobbin. The locking of +the needle thread with the bobbin thread was accomplished, not by +driving a shuttle through the loop of the needle thread, but by passing +that loop under the bobbin. The driving shaft carried the circular +rotary hook, one of the sewing machine's most beautiful contrivances. +The success of the machine is indicated in an article that appeared in +the June 1853 issue of _Scientific American_: + + There are 300 of these machines now in operation in various parts + of the country, and the work which they can perform cannot be + surpassed.... The time must soon come when every private family + that has much sewing to do, will have one of these neat and perfect + machines; indeed many private families have them now.... The price + of one all complete is $125; every machine is made under the eye of + the inventor at the company's machine shop, Watertown, Connecticut, + so that every one is warranted ... agreement between Mr. Howe and + Messrs. Wheeler, Wilson & Co., so every customer will be perfectly + protected....[50] + +[Illustration: Figure 27.--WILSON'S four-motion-feed patent model, 1854, +is not known to be in existence; this is a commercial machine of the +period. The plate is stamped "A. B. Wilson, Patented Aug. 12, 1851, +Watertown, Conn., No. 1...." (Smithsonian photo 45504.)] + +This agreement was important to sales, as Elias Howe was known to have +sued purchasers of machines, as well as rival inventors and companies. + +The business was on a substantial basis by October 1853, and a stock +company was formed under the name of Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing +Company.[51] A little more than a year later, on December 19, 1854, +Wilson's fourth important patent (U.S. patent 12,116)--for the +four-motion cloth feed--was issued to him (fig. 27). In this +development, the flat-toothed surface in contact with the cloth moved +forward carrying the cloth with it; then it dropped a little, so as not +to touch the cloth; next it moved backward; then in the fourth motion it +pushed up against the cloth and was ready to repeat the forward +movements. This simple and effective feed method is still used today, +with only minor modifications, in almost every sewing machine. This feed +with the rotary hook and the stationary circular-disk bobbin, completed +the essential features of Wilson's machine. It was original and +fundamentally different from all other machines of that time. + +The resulting Wheeler and Wilson machine made a lockstitch by means of a +curved eye-pointed needle carried by a vibrating arm projecting from a +rock shaft connected by link and eccentric strap with an eccentric on +the rotating hook shaft. This shaft had at its outer end the rotary +hook, provided with a point adapted to enter the loop of needle thread. +As the hook rotated, it passed into and drew down the loop of +needle-thread, which was held by means of a loop check, while the point +of the hook entered a new loop. When the first loop was cast off--the +face of the hook being beveled for that purpose--it was drawn upward by +the action of the hook upon the loop through which it was then passing. +During the rotation of the hook each loop was passed around a disk +bobbin provided with the second thread and serving the part of the +shuttle in other machines. The four-motion feed was actuated in this +machine by means of a spring bar and a cam in conjunction with the +mandrel. + +From the beginning, Wheeler and Wilson had looked beyond the use of the +sewing machine solely by manufacturers and had seen the demand for a +light-running, lightweight machine for sewing in the home. Wilson's +inventions lent themselves to this design, and Wheeler and Wilson led +the way to the introduction of the machine as a home appliance. Other +manufacturers followed. + +When the stock company was formed, Mr. Wilson retired from active +participation in the business at his own request. His health had not +been good, and a nervous condition made it advisable for him to be freed +from the responsibility of daily routine. During this period Wilson's +inventive contributions to the sewing machine continued as noted, and in +addition he worked on inventions concerning cotton picking and +illuminating gases. + +Wheeler and Wilson's foremost competitor in the early years of +sewing-machine manufacture was the Singer Company, which overtook them +by 1870 and finally absorbed the entire Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing +Company in 1905. + +The founder of this most successful 19th-century company was Isaac +Singer, a native of Pittstown, New York.[52] Successively a mechanic, an +actor, and an inventor, Singer came to Boston in 1850 to promote his +invention of a machine for carving printers' wooden type. He exhibited +the carving machine in Orson Phelps' shop, where the Blodgett and Lerow +machines were being manufactured. + +Because the carving machine evoked but little interest, Singer turned +his attention to the sewing machine as a device offering considerable +opportunity for both improvement and financial reward. Phelps liked +Singer's ideas and joined with George Zieber, the publisher who had been +backing the carving-machine venture, to support Singer in the work of +improving the sewing machine. His improvements in the Blodgett and Lerow +machine included a table to hold the cloth horizontally rather than +vertically (this had been used by Bachelder and Wilson also), a yielding +vertical presser foot to hold the cloth down as the needle was drawn up, +and a vertically reciprocating straight needle driven by a rotary, +overhanging shaft. + +The story of the invention and first trial of the machine was told by +Singer in the course of a patent suit sometime later: + + I explained to them how the work was to be fed over the table and + under the presser-foot, by a wheel, having short pins on its + periphery, projecting through a slot in the table, so that the work + would be automatically caught, fed and freed from the pins, in + place of attaching and detaching the work to and from the baster + plate by hand, as was necessary in the Blodgett machine. + + Phelps and Zieber were satisfied that it would work. I had no + money. Zieber offered forty dollars to build a model machine. + Phelps offered his best endeavors to carry out my plan and make the + model in his shop; if successful we were to share equally. I worked + at it day and night, sleeping but three or four hours a day out of + the twenty-four, and eating generally but once a day, as I knew I + must make it for the forty dollars or not get it at all. + + The machine was completed in eleven days. About nine o'clock in the + evening we got the parts together and tried it; it did not sew; the + workmen exhausted with almost unremitting work, pronounced it a + failure and left me one by one. + + Zieber held the lamp, and I continued to try the machine, but + anxiety and incessant work had made me nervous and I could not get + tight stitches. Sick at heart, about midnight, we started for our + hotel. On the way we sat down on a pile of boards, and Zieber + mentioned that the loose loops of thread were on the upper side of + the cloth. It flashed upon me that we had forgot to adjust the + tension on the needle thread. We went back, adjusted the tension, + tried the machine, sewed five stitches perfectly and the thread + snapped, but that was enough. At three o'clock the next day the + machine was finished. I took it to New York and employed Mr. + Charles M. Keller to patent it. It was used as a model in the + application for the patent.[53] + +The first machine was completed about the last of September 1850. The +partners considered naming the machine the "Jenny Lind," after the +Swedish soprano who was then the toast of America. It was reported[54] +to have been advertised under that name when the machine was first +placed on the market, but the name was soon changed to "Singer's +Perpendicular Action Sewing Machine" or simply the "Singer Sewing +Machine"--a name correctly anticipated to achieve a popularity of its +own. + +According to the contract made by the partners, the hurriedly built +first machine was to be sent to the Patent Office with an application in +the name of Singer and Phelps. An application was made between the end +of September 1850 and March 14, 1851, as Singer refers to it briefly in +the application formally filed on April 16, 1851, stating, "My present +invention is of improvements on a machine heretofore invented by me and +for which an application is now pending."[55] + +[Illustration: Figure 28.--SINGER'S PATENT MODEL, 1851; a commercial +machine was used, bearing the serial number 22. (Smithsonian photo +45572-D.)] + +In late December 1850 Singer had bought Phelps' interest in the company. +Whether the first application was later abandoned by Singer or whether +it was rejected is not known,[56] but a patent on the first application +was never issued. The final disposition of this first machine has +remained a mystery.[57] + +[Illustration: Figure 29.--SINGER'S PERPENDICULAR ACTION sewing machine, +an engraving from _Illustrated News_, June 25, 1853, which states: "The +sewing machine has, within the last two years acquired a wide celebrity, +and established its character as one of the most efficient labor saving +instruments ever introduced to public notice.... We must not forget to +call attention to the fact that this instrument is peculiarly calculated +for female operatives. They should never allow its use to be monopolized +by men." (Smithsonian photo 48091-D.)] + +A few machines were manufactured in late 1850 and early 1851, and these +attracted considerable attention; orders began to be received in advance +of production. The pending patent application did not delay the +manufacture, and a number of machines were sold before August 12, 1851, +when the patent was granted. The patent model is shown in figure 28.[58] +It made a lockstitch by means of a straight eye-pointed needle and a +reciprocating shuttle. The patent claims, as quoted from the +specifications, were as follows: + + 1. Giving to the shuttle an additional forward motion after it has + been stopped to close the loop, as described, for the purpose of + drawing the stitch tight, when such additional motion is given at + and in combination with the feed motion of the cloth in the reverse + direction, and the final upward motion of the needle, as described, + so that the two threads shall be drawn tight at the same time, as + described. + + 2. Controlling the thread during the downward motion of the needle + by the combination of a friction-pad to prevent the slack above the + cloth, with the eye on the needle-carrier for drawing back the + thread, for the purposes and in the manner substantially as + described. + + 3. Placing the bobbin from which the needle is supplied with thread + on an adjustable arm attached to the frame, substantially as + described, when this is combined with the carrying of the said + thread through an eye or guide attached to and moving with the + needle-carrier, as described, whereby any desired length of thread + can be given for the formation of the loop without varying the + range of motion of the needle, as described. + +The feeding described in the Singer patent was "by the friction surface +of a wheel, whose periphery is formed with very fine grooves, the edges +of which are slightly serrated, against which the cloth is pressed by a +spring plate or pad." Although claimed by the inventor in the +handwritten specifications, it was not allowed as original. + +The machines manufactured by the Singer company (fig. 29) were +duplicates of the patent model. These machines were quite heavy and +intended for manufacturing rather than for family use in the home. + +[Illustration: Figure 30.--I. M. SINGER & CO. NEW YORK SHOWROOM of the +mid-1850s, as illustrated in _Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper_, +August 29, 1857; only manufacturing machines are shown in this +illustration. (Smithsonian photo 48091-B.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 31.--HUNT AND WEBSTER'S SEWING-MACHINE MANUFACTORY +exhibition and salesroom in Boston, as illustrated in _Ballou's +Pictorial_, July 5, 1856; only manufacturing machines are shown. +(Smithsonian photo 45771-A.)] + +Singer enjoyed demonstrating the machine and showed it to church and +social groups and even at circuses; this personal association then +encouraged him to improve its reliability and convenience. He developed +a wooden packing case which doubled as a stand for the machine and a +treadle to allow it to be operated by foot. Because of the dimensions of +the packing case, Singer put the pivot of the treadle toward its center, +about where the instep of the foot would rest. This produced the +heel-and-toe action treadle, a familiar part of the sewing machine until +its replacement by the electric motor. Both hands were freed to guide +and arrange the cloth that was being stitched. Singer also added a +flywheel to smooth out the treadle action and later an iron stand with a +treadle wide enough for both feet. The treadle had been in use for two +years before a rival pointed out that it might have been patented. To +Singer's chagrin it was then too late for patent laws did not permit +patenting a device that had been in public use. + +A new obstacle appeared in the Singer company's path when Howe demanded +$25,000 for infringement of his patent. Singer and Zieber decided to +fight, enlisting the legal aid of Edward Clark, a lawyer and financier. +Howe's action was opposed on the basis of Hunt's machine of 1834, which +they stated had anticipated Howe's invention. + +While they were resisting, Howe sued three firms that were using and +selling Singer machines. The court order required the selling firms and +the purchasers to provide an account of the profits accrued from the +sale and the use of the sewing machines and restrained the firms from +selling the machines during the pendency of the suit.[59] As a result of +this action, a number of Singer's rivals purchased licenses from Howe +and advertised that anyone could sell their machines without fear of a +suit. This gave them a great competitive advantage, and Singer and +Clark[60] decided it was best to seek a settlement with Howe. On July 1, +1854, they paid him $15,000 and took out a license. + +[Illustration: Figure 32.--SINGER'S NEW FAMILY SEWING MACHINE, +illustration from a brochure dating about 1858 or 1859 which states: "A +few months since, we came to the conclusion that the public taste +demanded a sewing machine for family purposes more exclusively; a +machine of smaller size, and of a lighter and more elegant form; a +machine decorated in the best style of art, so as to make a beautiful +ornament in the parlor or boudoir; a machine very easily operated, and +rapid in working.... To supply this public want, we have just produced, +and are now prepared to receive orders for, 'Singer's new Family Sewing +Machine.'" (Smithsonian photo 48091-H.)] + +In spite of this defeat, the Singer company could claim several +important improvements to the sewing machine and the acquisition of the +patents rights to the Morey and Johnson machine of 1849, which gave them +control of the spring or curved arm to hold the cloth by a yielding +pressure. Although this point had not been claimed in the 1849 patent, +the established principle of patent law allowed that a novel device +introduced and used in a patented machine could be covered by a reissue +at any time during the life of the patent. Upon becoming owners of the +Morey and Johnson patent, Singer applied for a reissue which covered +this type of yielding pressure. It was granted on June 27, 1854. The +Singer company's acquisition of the Bachelder patent had given them +control of the yielding pressure bar also. + +[Illustration: Figure 33.--SINGER FAMILY MACHINE, 1858, head only. +(Smithsonian photo 45524-F.)] + +Singer's aggressive selling had begun to overcome the public's suspicion +of sewing machines. He pioneered in the use of lavishly decorated +sewing-machine showrooms when the company offices were expanded in the +mid-1850s (fig. 30). These were rich with carved walnut furniture, +gilded ornaments, and carpeted floors, places in which Victorian women +were not ashamed to be seen. The machines were demonstrated by pretty +young women. The total effect was a new concept of selling, and Singer +became the drum major of a new and coming industry that had many +followers (see fig. 31). + +[Illustration: Figure 34.--GROVER AND BAKER'S PATENT MODEL, 1851. +(Smithsonian photo 32003-G.)] + +The first, light, family sewing machine by the Singer company was not +manufactured until 1858 (figs. 32 and 33). Comparatively few of these +machines were made as they proved to be too small and light. The men in +the shop dubbed the machine "The Grasshopper," but it was officially +called the new Family Sewing Machine or the Family Machine.[61] Because +of its shape, Singer company brochures of the 1920s referred to it as +the Turtleback Machine. + +Since the cost of sewing machines was quite high and the average family +income was low, Clark suggested the adoption of the hire-purchase plan. +Into the American economy thus came the now-familiar installment +buying. + +Singer and Clark continued to be partners until 1863 when a corporation +was formed. At this time Singer decided to withdraw from active work. He +received 40 percent of the stock and retired to Paris and later to +England, where he died in 1875. + +[Illustration: Figure 35.--THIS GROVER AND BAKER CABINET-STYLE SEWING +MACHINE of 1856 bears the serial number 5675 and the patent dates +February 11, 1851, June 22, 1852, February 22, 1853, and May 27, 1856. +(Smithsonian photo 45572-F.)] + +By the mid-1850s the basic elements of a successful, practical sewing +machine were at hand, but the continuing court litigation over rival +patent rights seemed destined to ruin the economics of the new industry. +It was then that the lawyer of the Grover and Baker company, another +sewing-machine manufacturer of the early 1850s, supplied the solution. +Grover and Baker were manufacturing a machine that was mechanically +good, for this early period. William O. Grover was another Boston +tailor, who, unlike many others, was convinced that the sewing machine +was going to revolutionize his chosen trade. Although the sewing +machines that he had seen were not very practical, he began in 1849 to +experiment with an idea based on a new kind of stitch. His design was +for a machine that would take both its threads from spools and eliminate +the need to wind one thread upon a bobbin. After much experimenting, he +proved that it was possible to make a seam by interlocking two threads +in a succession of slipknots, but he found that building a machine to do +this was a much more difficult task. It is quite surprising that while +he was working on this idea, he did not stumble upon a good method to +produce the single-thread (as opposed to Grover and Baker's two-thread) +chainstitch, later worked out by another. Grover was working so intently +on the use of two threads that apparently no thought of forming a stitch +with one thread had a chance to develop. + +At this time Grover became a partner with another Boston tailor, +William E. Baker, and on February 11, 1851, they were issued U.S. patent +No. 7,931 for a machine that did exactly what Grover had set out to do; +it made a double chainstitch with two threads both carried on ordinary +thread spools. The machine (figs. 34 and 35) used a vertical eye-pointed +needle for the top thread and a horizontal needle for the underthread. +The cloth was placed on the horizontal platform or table, which had a +hole for the entry of the vertical needle. When this needle passed +through the cloth, it formed a loop on the underside. The horizontal +needle passed through this loop forming another loop beyond, which was +retained until the redescending vertical needle enchained it, and the +process repeated. The slack in the needle thread was controlled by means +of a spring guide. The cloth was fed by feeding rolls and a band. + +[Illustration: Figure 36.--GROVER'S PATENT MODEL FOR THE FIRST PORTABLE +CASE, 1856. The machine in the case is a commercial machine of 1854, +bearing the serial number 3012 and the patent dates "Feby 11, 1851, June +22, 1852, Feby 22, 1853." Powered by a single, foot-shaped treadle that +was connected by a removable wooden pitman, it also could be turned by +hand. (Smithsonian photo 45525-D.)] + +A company was organized under the name of Grover and Baker Sewing +Machine Company, and soon the partners took Jacob Weatherill, mechanic, +and Orlando B. Potter, lawyer (who became the president), into the firm. +Potter contributed his ability as a lawyer in lieu of a financial +investment and handled the several succeeding patents of Grover and +Baker. These patents were primarily for mechanical improvements such as +U.S. patent No. 9,053 issued to Grover and Baker on June 22, 1852, for +devising a curved upper needle and an under looper[62] to form the +double-looped stitch which became known as the Grover and Baker stitch. +One of the more interesting of the patents, however, was for the box or +sewing case for which Grover was issued U.S. patent No. 14,956 on May +27, 1856. The inventor stated "that when open the box shall constitute +the bed for the machine to be operated upon, and hanging the machine +thereto to facilitate oiling, cleansing, and repairs without removing it +from the box." It was the first portable sewing machine (fig. 36). + +Though the Grover and Baker company manufactured machines using a +shuttle and producing the more common lockstitch, both under royalty in +their own name and also for other smaller companies, Potter was +convinced that the Grover and Baker stitch was the one that eventually +would be used in both family and commercial machines. He, as president, +directed the efforts of the company to that end. When the basic patents +held by the "Sewing-Machine Combination" (discussed on pp. 41-42) began +to run out in the mid-1870s, dissolving its purpose and lowering the +selling price of sewing machines, the Grover and Baker company began a +systematic curtailing of expenses and closing of branch offices. All the +patents held by the company and the business itself were sold to +another company.[63] But the members of the Grover and Baker company +fared well financially by the strategic move. + +The Grover and Baker machine and its unique stitch did not have a great +influence on the overall development of the mechanics of machine sewing. +The merits of a double-looped stitch--its elasticity and the taking of +both threads from commercial spools--were outweighed by the bulkiness of +the seam and its consumption of three times as much thread as the +lockstitch required. Machines making a similar type of stitch have +continued in limited use in the manufacture of knit goods and other +products requiring an elastic seam. But, more importantly, Grover and +Baker's astute Orlando B. Potter placed their names in the annals of +sewing-machine history by his work in forming the "Combination," +believed to be the first "trust" of any prominence. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[33] See biographical sketch, pp. 138-141. + +[34] _In the Matter of the Application of Elias Howe, Jr. for an +Extension of His Sewing Machine Patent Dated September 10, 1846_, New +York, 1860, with attachments A and B, U.S. Patent Office. [L.C. call no. +TJ 1512.H6265] + +[35] It is interesting to note that when William Thomas applied for the +British patent of the Howe machine (issued Dec. 1, 1846), the courts +would not allow the claim for the combination of the eye-pointed needle +and shuttle to form a stitch, due to the Fisher and Gibbons patent of +1844. For more details on Howe's years in England see his biographical +sketch, pp. 138-141. + +[36] The machine referred to as the London Sewing Machine is the British +patent of the Thimonnier machine. This patent was applied for by Jean +Marie Magnin and was published by _Newton's London Journal_, vol. 39, p. +317, as Magnin's invention. + +[37] The exact date is not known; however, it was prior to 1856 as the +patent was included in the sewing-machine patent pool formed that year. + +[38] JAMES PARTON, _History of the Sewing Machine_, p. 12, (originally +published in the _Atlantic Monthly_, May 1867), later reprinted by the +Howe Machine Company as a separate. + +[39] _Sewing Machine Times_ (Feb. 25, 1907), vol. 17, no. 382, p. 1, +"His [Bonata's] shop was on Gold Street, New York, near the Bartholf +shop, where Howe was building some of his early machines." + +[40] _Sewing Machine News_, vol. 3, no. 5, p. 5, Sept. 1881-Jan. 1882. +"History of the Sewing Machine." + +[41] Op. cit. (footnote 34). + +[42] _New York Daily Tribune_, Jan. 15, 1852, p. 2. + +[43] See Howe's biographical sketch, p. 141. + +[44] Op. cit. (footnote 34). Attachments A and B are copies of Judge +Sprague's decisions. + +[45] _Sewing Machine Journal_ (July 1887), pp. 93-94. + +[46] _Report of the Sixth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable +Mechanics Association, in the City of Boston, September 1850_ (Boston, +1850). + +[47] See biographical sketch, pp. 141-142. + +[48]_Scientific American_ (Dec. 6, 1851), vol. 7, no. 12, p. 95. + +[49] Ibid. (Sept. 20, 1851), vol. 7, no. 1, p. 7. + +[50] Ibid. (June 4, 1853), vol. 7, no. 38, p. 298 + +[51] J. D. VAN SLYCK, _New England Manufactures and Manufactories_, vol. +2, pp. 672-682. + +[52] See his biographical sketch, pp. 142-143. + +[53] CHESTER MCNEIL, _A History of the Sewing Machine_ in Union Sales +Bulletin, vol. 3, Union Special Sewing Machine Co., Chicago, Illinois, +pp. 83-85. 1903. + +[54] _Sewing Machine Times_ (Aug. 25, 1908), vol. 18, no. 418. + +[55] Singer gives this limited description of the first machine, with +detailed improvements for which he was then applying for a patent: "In +my previous machine, to which reference has been made, the bobbin was +carried by the needle-carrier, and hence the motion of the needle had to +be equal to the length of thread required to form the loop, which was +objectionable, as in many instances this range of motion was +unnecessarily long for all other purposes...." Quoted from U.S. patent +8,294 issued to Isaac M. Singer, Aug. 12, 1851. It should be noted that +in some instances there was a considerable lapse of time from the date a +patent application was made until the patent was issued. In this case +the handwritten specifications were dated March 14, 1851, and the formal +Patent Office receipt was dated April 16, 1851. + +[56] If a patent was not approved, for any reason, the records were +placed in an "Abandoned File." In 1930 Congress authorized the disposal +of the old "Abandoned Files," requiring them to be kept for twenty years +only. There are no Singer Company records giving an account of the first +patent application. + +[57] Its whereabouts was unknown as early as 1908, as stated in the +_Sewing Machine Times_ (Aug. 25, 1908), vol. 18, no. 418. Models of +abandoned patents frequently remained at the Patent Office. +Approximately 76,000 models were ruined in a Patent Office fire in 1877. +In 1908 over 3000 models of abandoned patents were sold at auction. +Either incident could account for the machine's disappearance. + +[58] The patent model of 8,294 is a machine that bears the serial number +22; it was manufactured before April 18, 1851, the date it was recorded +as received by the Patent Office. + +[59] William R. Bagnall, in "Contributions to American Economic +History," vol. 1 (1908), MS, Harvard School of Business Library. + +[60] Singer purchased Phelps' interest in the company in 1851 and sold +it to Edward Clark. + +[61] This first, family sewing machine should not be confused in name +with a model brought out in the sixties. The name of this first, family +machine was in the sense of a new "family" sewing machine. In 1859 a +"Letter A" family machine was introduced. Thus in 1865 when the Singer +Company brought out another family machine they called it the "New" +Family Sewing Machine. Both the first-style Family machine and the +Letter A machine are illustrated in _Eighty Years of Progress of the +United States_ (New York, 1861), vol. 2, p. 417, and discussed in an +article, "The Place and Its Tenants," in the _Sewing Machine Times_ +(Dec. 25, 1908), vol. 27, no. 893. + +[62] A looper on the underside in place of the horizontal needle. + +[63] Domestic Sewing Machine Company. See _Union Special Sewing Machine +Co. Sales Bulletin_, vol. 3, ch. 15, pp. 58-59. + + + + +_Chapter Three_ + + +[Illustration: ++----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +| A PARTIAL STATEMENT FROM RECORDS OF "THE SEWING-MACHINE COMBINATION," | +| SHOWING NUMBER OF SEWING-MACHINES LICENSED ANNUALLY | +| UNDER THE _ELIAS HOWE_ PATENT. | ++-----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+-------+-------+--------+ +|NAME |Wheeler |I. M. |The |Grover & |A. B. |Leavitt|Ladd & |Bartholf| +|OF |& |Singer |Singer |Baker |Howe |S. M. |Webster|S. M. | +|MANU-|Wilson |& Co. |Manufac- |S. M. Co.|S. M. |Co. |S. M. |Co. | +|FACT-|Mfg. Co.| |turing | |Co. | |Co. | | +|URER.| | |Co. | | | | | | ++-----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+-------+-------+--------+ +|1853 |799 |810 |.... |657 |.... |28 |100 |135 | +|1854 |756 |879 |.... |2,034 |60 |217 |268 |55 | +|1855 |1,171 |883 |.... |1,144 |53 |152 |73 |31 | +|1856 |2,210 |2,564 |.... |1,952 |47 |235 |180 |35 | +|1857 |4,591 |3,630 |.... |3,680 |133 |195 |453 |31 | +|1858 |7,978 |3,594 |.... |5,070 |179 |75 |490 |203 | +|1859 |21,306 |10,953 |.... |10,280 |921 |213 |1,788 |747 | +|1860 |25,102 |13,000(a)|.... |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | | +|1861 |18,556 |16,000(a)|.... |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | +|1862 |28,202 |18,396 |.... |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | +|1863 |29,778 |.... |20,030 |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | +|1864 |40,062 |.... |23,632 |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | +|1865 |39,157 |.... |26,340 |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | +|1866 |50,132 |.... |30,960 |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) |(b) | ++-----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+-------+-------+--------+ + ++-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +| A PARTIAL STATEMENT SHOWING NUMBER OF SEWING-MACHINES LICENSED ANNUALLY | +| FROM 1867 TO 1876 INCLUSIVE. | ++----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ +| NAME OF MANUFACTURER. | 1867. | 1868. | 1869. | 1870. | 1871. | ++----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ +|The Singer Manufacturing Co.|43,053 |59,629 |86,781 |127,833 |181,260 | +|Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co. |38,055 |(b) |78,866 |83,208 |128,526 | +|Grover & Baker S. M. Co. |32,999 |35,000(a)|35,188 |57,402 |50,838 | +|Weed Sewing-Machine Co. |3,638 |12,000 |19,687 |35,002 |39,655 | +|Howe Sewing-Machine Co. |11,053 |35,000(a)|45,000(a)|75,156 |134,010 | +|A. B. Howe " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |20,051 | +|B. P. Howe " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Willcox & Gibbs S. M. Co. |14,152 |15,000 |17,201 |28,890 |30,127 | +|Wilson (W. G.) " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |21,153 | +|American B. H. & S. M. Co. |.... |.... |7,792 |14,573 |20,121 | +|Florence S. M. Co. |10,534 |12,000 |13,661 |17,660 |15,947 | +|Shaw & Clark S. M. Co. |2,692 |3,000 |.... |.... |.... | +|Gold Medal " " " |.... |.... |.... |8,912 |13,562 | +|Davis " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |11,568 | +|Domestic " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |10,397 | +|Finkle & Lyon Mfg. Co. and |2,488 |2,000 |1,339 |2,420 |7,639 | +| Victor. | | | | | | +|AEtna Sewing-Machine Co. |2,958 |3,500 |4,548 |5,806 |4,720 | +|Blees " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |4,557 | +|Elliptic " " " |3,185 |.... |.... |.... |4,555 | +|Empire " " " |2,121 |5,000 |8,700 |.... |.... | +|Remington Sewing-Machine Co.|.... |.... |.... |3,560 |2,965 | +|Parham " " " |.... |.... |1,141 |1,766 |2,056 | +|Bartram & Fanton Mfg. Co. |2,958 |.... |.... |.... |1,004 | +|Bartlett Sewing-Machine Co. |.... |.... |.... |.... |614 | +|J. G. Folsom |.... |.... |.... |.... |280 | +|McKay Sewing-Machine Asso. |.... |.... |.... |129 |218 | +|C. F. Thompson |.... |.... |.... |.... |147 | +|Union Buttonhole Machine Co.|.... |.... |.... |.... |124 | +|Leavitt Sewing-Machine Co. |1,051 |1,000 |771 |.... |.... | +|Goodspeed & Wyman S. M. Co. |2,126 |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Keystone Sewing-Machine Co. |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Secor " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Centennial " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | ++----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ +| NAME OF MANUFACTURER. | 1872. | 1873. | 1874. | 1875. | 1876. | ++----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ +|The Singer Manufacturing Co.|219,758 |232,444 |241,679 |249,852 |262,316 | +|Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co. |174,088 |119,190 |92,827 |103,740 |108,997 | +|Grover & Baker S. M. Co. |52,010 |36,179 |20,000(a)|15,000(a)|.... | +|Weed Sewing-Machine Co. |42,444 |21,769 |20,495 |21,993 |14,425 | +|Howe Sewing-Machine Co. |145,000(a)|90,000(a)|35,000(a)|25,000(a)|109,294 | +|A. B. Howe " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|B. P. Howe " " |14,907 |13,919 |.... |.... |.... | +|Willcox & Gibbs S. M. Co. |33,639 |15,881 |13,710 |14,522 |12,758 | +|Wilson (W. G.) " " |22,666 |21,247 |17,525 |9,508 |.... | +|American B. H. & S. M. Co. |18,930 |14,182 |13,529 |14,406 |17,937 | +|Florence S. M. Co. |15,793 |8,960 |5,517 |4,892 |2,978 | +|Shaw & Clark S. M. Co. |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Gold Medal " " " |18,897 |16,431 |15,214 |14,262 |7,185 | +|Davis " " " |11,376 |8,861 |.... |.... |.... | +|Domestic " " " |49,554 |40,114 |22,700 |21,452 |23,587 | +|Finkle & Lyon Mfg. Co. and |11,901 |7,446 |6,292 |6,103 |5,750 | +| Victor. | | | | | | +|AEtna Sewing-Machine Co. |4,262 |3,081 |1,866 |1,447 |707 | +|Blees " " " |6,053 |3,458 |.... |.... |.... | +|Elliptic " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Empire " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Remington Sewing-Machine Co.|4,982 |9,183 |17,608 |25,110 |12,716 | +|Parham " " " |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Bartram & Fanton Mfg. Co. |1,000 |1,000 |250 |.... |.... | +|Bartlett Sewing-Machine Co. |1,000 |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|J. G. Folsom |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|McKay Sewing-Machine Asso. |.... |.... |128 |161 |102 | +|C. F. Thompson |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Union Buttonhole Machine Co.|.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Leavitt Sewing-Machine Co. |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Goodspeed & Wyman S. M. Co. |.... |.... |.... |.... |.... | +|Keystone Sewing-Machine Co. |2,665 |217 |37 |.... |.... | +|Secor " " " |311 |3,430 |4,541 |1,307 |.... | +|Centennial " " " |.... |514 |.... |.... |.... | ++----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ + +(a) Number estimated. +(b) No data. + +Figure 37.--TABLE OF SEWING-MACHINE STATISTICS. From Frederick G. +Bourne, "American Sewing Machines" in _One Hundred Years of American +Commerce_, vol. 2. ed. Chauncey Mitchell Depew (New York: D. O. Haines, +1895), p. 530. (Smithsonian photo 42542-A.)] + + +The "Sewing-Machine Combination" + +With the basic elements of a successful sewing machine assembled, the +various manufacturers should have been able to produce good machines +unencumbered. The court order, however, which restrained several firms +from selling Singer machines while the Howe suit was pending, started a +landslide; soon Wheeler, Wilson and company, Grover and Baker company, +and several others[64] purchased rights from Elias Howe. This gave Howe +almost absolute control of the sewing-machine business as these +companies agreed to his royalty terms of $25 for every machine sold. In +an attempt to improve his own machine, Howe was almost immediately +caught up in another series of legal battles in which he was the +defendant; the companies he had defeated were able to accuse him of +infringing on patents that they owned. To compound the confusion, +individual companies also were suing each other on various grounds. + +Because of this situation Orlando B. Potter, president of the Grover and +Baker company, advanced in 1856 the idea of a "Combination" of +sewing-machine manufacturers. He pointed out how the various companies +were harming themselves by continuing litigation and tried to convince +Howe that all would benefit by an agreement of some kind. He proposed +that Elias Howe; Wheeler, Wilson and company; I. M. Singer and company; +and Grover and Baker company pool their patents covering the essential +features of the machine. The three companies had started production +about the same time and approved of Potter's idea; Howe opposed it as he +felt that he had the most to lose by joining the "Combination." He +finally consented to take part in Potter's plan if the others would +agree to certain stipulations. The first requirement was that at least +twenty-four manufacturers were to be licensed. The second was that, in +addition to sharing equally in the profits with the three companies, +Howe would receive a royalty of $5 for each machine sold in the United +States and $1 for each machine exported. It has been estimated that, as +a result of this agreement, Howe received at least $2,000,000 as his +share of the license fees between 1856 and 1867 when his patent +expired.[65] + +The organization was called the Sewing-Machine Trust and/or the +Sewing-Machine Combination. The important patents contributed to it +were: + + 1. The grooved, eye-pointed needle used with a shuttle to form the + lockstitch (E. Howe patent, held by E. Howe); + + 2. The four-motion feeding mechanism (A. B. Wilson patent, held by + Wheeler and Wilson company); + + 3. The needle moving vertically above a horizontal work-plate + (Bachelder patent), a continuous feeding device by belt or wheel + (Bachelder patent), a yielding presser resting on the cloth + (Bachelder patent), the spring or curved arm to hold the cloth by a + yielding pressure (Morey and Johnson patent), the heart-shaped cam + as applied to moving the needle bar (Singer patent); all these + patents, held by the Singer Company.[66] + +The Grover and Baker company contributed several patents of relative +importance, but its most important claim for admission was the fact that +Potter had promoted the idea. + +The consent of all four member-parties was required before any license +could be granted, and all were required to have a license--even the +member companies. The fee was $15 per machine. A portion of this money +was set aside to pay the cost of prosecuting infringers, Howe received +his initial fee, and the rest was divided between the four parties. The +advantage to the licensee was that he was required to pay only one fee. +Most license applications were granted; only those manufacturing a +machine specifically imitating the product of a licensed manufacturer +were refused. + +The "Combination's" three company members each continued to manufacture, +improve, and perfect its own machine. Other than the joint control of +the patents, there was no pooling of interests, and each company +competed to attract purchasers to buy its particular type of machine, as +did the companies who were licensed by them. + +In 1860, the year Howe's patent was renewed, the general license fee was +reduced from $15 to $7, and Howe's special royalty was reduced to $1 per +machine. Howe remained a member until his patent ran out in 1867. The +other members continued the "Combination" until 1877, when the Bachelder +patent, which had been extended twice, finally expired. By that time the +fundamental features of the sewing machine were no longer controlled by +anyone. Open competition by the smaller manufacturers was possible, and +a slight reduction in price followed. Many new companies came into +being--some destined to be very short-lived. + +From the beginning to the end of the "Combination" there was an army of +independents, including infringers and imitators, who kept up a constant +complaint against it, maintaining that its existence tended to retard +the improvement of the sewing machine and that the public suffered +thereby. In the period immediately following the termination of the +"Combination," however, only a few improvements of any importance were +made, and most of these were by the member companies. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[64] These included the American Magnetic Sewing Machine Co.; A. +Bartholf; Nichols and Bliss; J. A. Lerow; Woolridge, Keene, and Moore; +and A. B. Howe. _New York Daily Tribune_, Sept. 3, 1853. + +[65] "Who Invented the Sewing-Machine," unsigned article in _The +Galaxy_, vol. 4, August 31, 1867, pp. 471-481. + +[66] Singer has sometimes been credited as the inventor of the various +improvements covered by the patents that the Singer company purchased +and later contributed to the efforts of the Combination. + + + + +_Chapter Four_ + +[Illustration: Figure 38.--GIBBS' PATENT MODEL, 1857. (Smithsonian photo +45504-E.)] + +Less Expensive Machines + + +While the "Combination" was attempting to solve the problems of patent +litigation, another problem faced the would-be home users of this new +invention. The budget limitations of the average family caused a demand +for a less expensive machine, for this first consumer appliance was a +most desirable commodity.[67] + +There were many attempts to satisfy this demand, but one of the best and +most successful grew out of a young man's curiosity. James E. A. Gibbs' +first exposure to the sewing machine was in 1855 when, at the age of 24, +he saw a simple woodcut illustration of a Grover and Baker machine. The +woodcut represented only the upper part of the machine. Nothing in the +illustration indicated that more than one thread was used, and none of +the stitch-forming mechanism was visible. Gibbs assumed that the stitch +was formed with one thread; he then proceeded to imagine a mechanism +that would make a stitch with one thread. His solution was described in +his own statement: + + As I was then living in a very out of the way place, far from + railroads and public conveyances of all kinds, modern improvements + seldom reached our locality, and not being likely to have my + curiosity satisfied otherwise, I set to work to see what I could + learn from the woodcut, which was not accompanied by any + description. I first discovered that the needle was attached to a + needle arm, and consequently could not pass entirely through the + material, but must retreat through the same hole by which it + entered. From this I saw that I could not make a stitch similar to + handwork, but must have some other mode of fastening the thread on + the underside, and among other possible methods of doing this, the + chainstitch occurred to me as a likely means of accomplishing the + end. + + I next endeavored to discover how this stitch was or could be made, + and from the woodcut I saw that the driving shaft which had the + driving wheel on the outer end, passed along under the cloth plate + of the machine. I knew that the mechanism which made the stitch + must be connected with and actuated by this driving shaft. After + studying the position and relations of the needle and shaft with + each other, I conceived the idea of the revolving hook on the end + of the shaft, which might take hold of the thread and manipulate it + into a chainstitch. My ideas were, of course, very crude and + indefinite, but it will be seen that I then had the correct + conception of the invention afterwards embodied in my machine.[68] + +[Illustration: Figure 39.--ONE OF THE FIRST COMMERCIAL MACHINES produced +by the Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Co. in 1857, this machine bears no +serial number, although the name "James E. A. Gibbs" is inscribed in two +places on the cloth plate. It was used as the patent model for Gibbs' +improvement on his 1857 patent issued the following year on August 10, +1858. (Smithsonian photo P. 6393.)] + +Gibbs had no immediate interest in the sewing machine other than to +satisfy his curiosity. He did not think of it again until January 1856 +when he was visiting his father in Rockbridge County, Virginia. While in +a tailor's shop there, he happened to see a Singer machine. Gibbs was +very much impressed, but thought the machine entirely too heavy, +complicated, and cumbersome, and the price exorbitant. It was then that +he recalled the machine he had devised. Remembering how simple it was, +he decided to work in earnest to produce a less-expensive type of sewing +machine. + +Gibbs had little time to spend on this invention since his family was +dependent upon him for support, but he managed to find time at night and +during inclement weather. In contemporary references, Gibbs is referred +to as a farmer, but since he is also reported to have had employers, it +may be surmised that he was a farmhand. In any event, his decision to +try to produce a less-expensive sewing machine suffered from a lack of +proper tools and adequate materials. Most of the machine had to be +constructed of wood, and he was forced to make his own needles. By the +end of April 1856, however, his model was sufficiently completed to +arouse the interest of his employers, who agreed to furnish the money +necessary to patent the machine. + +Gibbs went to Washington, where he examined sewing-machine models in the +Patent Office and other machines then on the market. Completing his +investigations, Gibbs made a trip to Philadelphia and showed his +invention to a builder of models of new inventions, James Willcox. Much +impressed with the machine, Willcox arranged for Gibbs to work with his +son, Charles Willcox, in a small room in the rear of his shop. After +taking out two minor patents (on December 16, 1856, and January 20, +1857), Gibbs obtained his important one, U.S. patent No. 17,427 on June +2, 1857 (fig. 38). His association with Charles Willcox led to the +formation of the Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company, and they began +manufacturing chainstitch machines in 1857 (fig. 39). The machine used a +straight needle to make a chainstitch. At the forward end of the main +shaft was a hook which, as it rotated, carried the loop of +needle-thread, elongated and held it expanded while the feed moved the +cloth until the needle at the next stroke descended through the loop so +held. When the needle descended through the first loop, the point of the +hook was again in position to catch the second loop, at which time the +first loop was cast off and the second loop drawn through it, the first +loop having been drawn up against the lower edge of the cloth to form a +chain. + +[Illustration: Figure 40.--A DOLPHIN sewing machine based on Clark's +patent of 1858. This design was first used by T. J. W. Robertson in +1855, but in his patent issued on May 22 of that year no claim was made +for the machine design, only for the chainstitch mechanism. The same +style was used by D. W. Clark in several of his chainstitch patents, but +he also made no claim for the design, stating that the machine "may be +made in any desired ornamental form." The dolphin-style machines are all +chainstitch models of solid brass, originally gilt. Although only about +five inches long, they are full-size machines using a full-size needle. +(Smithsonian photo 45505.)] + +A Gibbs sewing machine, on a simple iron-frame stand with treadle, sold +for approximately $50 in the late 1850s,[69] while a Wheeler and +Wilson[70] machine or a Grover and Baker[71] with the same type of +stand sold for approximately $100. After the introduction of the Gibbs +machine, the Singer company[72] brought out a light family machine in +1858 that was also first sold for $100. It was then reduced to $50, but +it was not popular because it was too light (see discussion of Singer +machines, pp. 34-35). In 1859, Singer brought out its second, more +successful family machine, which sold for $75. + +Like the other companies licensed by the "Combination," Willcox and +Gibbs company paid a royalty for the use of the patents it held. +Although the Willcox and Gibbs machine was a single-thread chainstitch +machine and the company held the Gibbs patents, the company was required +to be licensed to use the basic feed, vertical needle, and other +related patents held by the "Sewing-Machine Combination." + +With the approach of the Civil War, Gibbs returned to Virginia. Poor +health prevented him from taking an active part in the war, but he +worked throughout the conflict in a factory processing saltpeter for +gunpowder. Afterward, Gibbs returned to Philadelphia and found that +Willcox had faithfully protected his sewing-machine interests during his +long absence. The firm prospered, and Gibbs finally retired to Virginia +a wealthy man. Interestingly, Gibbs named the Virginia village to which +he returned in later life "Raphine"--derived, somewhat incorrectly, from +the Greek word "to sew." + +The Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company is one of the few old +companies still in existence. It discontinued making and selling +family-style machines many years ago and directed its energies toward +specialized commercial sewing machines, many of which are based on the +original chainstitch principle. + +There was also an ever-increasing number of other patentees and +manufacturers who, in the late 1850s and 1860s, attempted to produce a +sewing machine that would circumvent both the "Combination" and the high +cost of manufacturing a more complicated type of machine. Some of the +more interesting of these are pictured and described in figures 40 +through 54. + +[Illustration: Figure 41.--THE CHERUB sewing machine was another +Robertson first which was adopted by Clark. Robertson's patent of +October 20, 1857, once again makes no claim for the design; neither does +Clark's patent of January 5, 1858, illustrated here. The machine is +approximately the same size as the dolphin and is made in the same +manner and of the same materials. Two cherubs form the main support, one +also supporting the spool and leashing a dragonfly which backs the +needle mechanism. (Smithsonian photo 45504-D.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 42.--THE FOLIAGE SEWING MACHINE originated with D. +W. Clark. Once again he did not include the design in his June 8, 1858, +patent, which was aimed at improving the feeding mechanism. Like most +hand-turned models, these required a clamp to fasten them to the table +when in operation. (Smithsonian photo 45504-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 43.--THE SEWING SHEARS was another popular machine +of unusual style. Some models were designed to both cut and sew, but +most derived their names from the method of motivating power. The +earliest example of the sewing-shears machine was invented by Joseph +Hendrick, who stated in his patent that he was attempting to produce "a +simple, portable, cheap, and efficient machine." His patent model of +October 5, 1858, is illustrated. (Smithsonian photo 45504-F.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 44.--THE HORSE SEWING MACHINE is among the most +unusual of the patents issued for mechanical improvements. Although +James Perry, the patentee, made several claims for the looper, feeder, +and tension, he made no mention of the unusual design of the machine, +for which a patent was issued on November 23, 1858. Although it was +probably one of a kind, the horse machine illustrates the extent to +which the inventor's mind struggled for original design. (Smithsonian +photo 45505-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 45.--MANY INVENTORS attempted to cut the cost of +manufacturing a complicated machine. One of these was Albert H. Hook, +whose machine is only about four inches high and two inches wide. His +patent, granted November 30, 1858, simplified the construction and +arrangement of the various parts. Although Hook used a barbed needle +reminiscent of the one used by Thimonnier, his method of forming the +stitch was entirely different. The thread was passed through the +necessary guides, and when the cloth was in place the needle was thrust +up from below. Passing through the fabric, the needle descended, +carrying with it a loop of thread. As the process was repeated, a +chainstitch was formed with the enchained loop on the under side. In +spite of its simple mechanism, Hook's machine was not a commercial +success. (Smithsonian photo 45505-D.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 46.--IN ADDITION TO MECHANICAL PATENTS, a number +of design patents were also issued for sewing machines. These fall into +a separate series in the Patent Office's numerical records. This unusual +example featured two semidraped female figures holding the spool of +thread, a mermaid holding the needle, a serpent which served as the +presser foot, and a heart-shaped baster plate. The design was patented +by W. N. Brown, October 25, 1859, but no examples other than the patent +model are known to have been made. (Smithsonian photo 45504-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 47.--THE SQUIRREL MACHINE was another interesting +design patent. S. B. Ellithorp had received a mechanical patent for a +two-thread, stationary-bobbin machine on August 26, 1857. That same +month he published a picture of his machine, shown here as republished +in the _Sewing Machine News_, vol. 7, no. 11, November 1885. The machine +was designed in the shape of "the ordinary gray squirrel so common +throughout this country--an animal that is selected as a type of +provident care and forethought, for its habits of frugality and for +making provision for seasons of scarcity and want in times of +plenty--and the different parts of the animal are each put to a useful +purpose; the moving power being placed within its body, the needle stock +through its head, one of its fore feet serving to guide the thread, and +the other to hold down the cloth while being sewed, and the tip of its +tail forming a support to the spool from which the thread is supplied." + +Although the design patent was not secured until June 7, 1859, the +inventor was reported to have been perfecting his machine for +manufacture in 1857. Ellithorp planned "to place them in market at a +price that will permit families and individuals that have heretofore +been deterred from purchasing a machine by the excessive and exorbitant +price charged for those now in use, to possess one." Patent rights were +sold under the name of Ellithorp & Fox, but the machine was never +manufactured on a large scale, if at all. No squirrel machines are known +to have survived. (Smithsonian photo 53112.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 48.--HEYER'S POCKET SEWING MACHINE patent model, +November 17, 1863. This patent model is one piece, and measures about +two inches in height and two inches in length. It will stitch--but only +coarse, loosely woven fabrics. As can be expected, a great deal of +manual dexterity is required to compensate for the omission of +mechanical parts. Heyer advertised patent rights for sale, but evidence +of manufactured machines of this type has yet to be discovered. +(Smithsonian photo 18115-D[a].)] + +[Illustration: Figure 49.--HEYER'S MACHINE as illustrated in _Scientific +American_, July 30, 1864. The smallest and most original of all the +attempts to simplify machine sewing, Heyer's machine, which made a +chainstitch, was constructed of a single strip of metal. The _Scientific +American_ stated: "It is simply a steel spring ingeniously bent and +arranged and it is said to sew small articles very well. The whole +affair can easily be carried in the coat pocket." + +One method of operation, vibrating with the finger, was illustrated. The +machine could be operated also by holding it in the hand and pressuring +it between two fingers. Cloth was inserted at _c_, and the prongs of the +spring feed _f_ carried it along after each stitch. It was stated that +the needle could be cut from the same strip of metal, but it was advised +also that the needle could be made as a separate piece and attached. +(Smithsonian photo 48221.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 50.--ALTHOUGH BEAN'S AND RODGERS' running-stitch +machines, the second and fourth U.S. sewing-machine patents, experienced +little commercial success, small manufactured machines based on Aaron +Palmer's patent of May 13, 1862, were popular in the 1860s. The patent +model above is a small brass implement with crimping gears that forced +the fabric onto an ordinary sewing needle. The full needle was then +removed from its position, and the thread was pulled through the fabric +by hand. (Smithsonian photo 45524.)] + +[Illustration: THE FAIRY SEWING-MACHINE. A HOLIDAY GIFT FOR THE +WORK-TABLE + +Figure 51.--ONE OF THE EARLY COMMERCIAL MANUFACTURERS of the Palmer +patent was Madame Demorest, a New York dressmaker. She advertised her +Fairy sewing machine in _Godey's Lady's Book_, vol. 66, 1863, and +stated: "In the first place it will attract attention from its +diminutive, fairy-like size, and with the same ease with which it can be +carried, an important matter to a seamstress or dressmaker employed from +house to house ... What no other sewing machine attempts to do, it runs, +and does not stitch, it sews the more delicate materials an ordinary +sewing machine cuts or draws...." (Smithsonian photo 43690.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 52.--THE FAIRY SEWING MACHINE sold for five +dollars and was adequate for its advertised purpose, sewing or running +very lightweight fabrics. The machine was marked with the Palmer patent, +the date May 13, 1862, and the name "Mme. Demorest." + +A machine identical to the Fairy, but bearing both Palmer patent dates, +May 13, 1862, and June 19, 1863, and the name "Gold Medal," was +manufactured by a less-scrupulous company. This machine was advertised +as follows: "A first class sewing machine, handsomely ornamented, with +all working parts silver plated. Put up in a highly polished mahogany +case, packed ready for shipment. Price $10.00. This machine uses a +common sewing needle, is very simple. A child can operate it. Cash with +order." Some buyers felt they were swindled, as they had expected a +heavy-duty machine, but no recourse could be taken against the +advertiser. Another similar machine was also manufactured under the name +"Little Gem." (Smithsonian photo 45525.)] + +[Illustration: Figures 53 and 54.--RUNNING-STITCH MACHINES were also +attempted by several other inventors. Shaw & Clark, manufacturers of +chainstitch machines, patented this running-stitch machine on April 21, +1863. From the appearance of the patent model, it was already in +commercial production. On May 26, 1863, John D. Dale also received a +patent for an improvement related to the method of holding the needle +and regulating the stitches in a running-stitch machine. Dale's patent +model was a commercial machine. + +John Heberling patented several improvements in 1878 and 1880. His +machine, which was a little larger and in appearance resembled a more +conventional type of sewing machine, was a commercial success. (Shaw & +Clark: Smithsonian photo P. 6395; Dale: Smithsonian photo P. 6394.)] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[67] _Scientific American_ (Jan. 29, 1859), vol. 14, no. 21, p. 165. In +a description of the new Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine the following +observation is made: "It is astonishing how, in a few years, the sewing +machine has made such strides in popular favor, and become, from being a +mechanical wonder, a household necessity and extensive object of +manufacture. While the higher priced varieties have such a large sale, +it is no wonder that the cheaper ones sell in such tremendous +quantities, and that our inventors are always trying to produce +something new and cheap." + +[68] Op. cit. (footnote 53), pp. 129-131. + +[69] _Scientific American_, vol. 15, no. 21 (January 29, 1859), p. 165, +and Willcox and Gibbs advertising brochure, 1864. + +[70] _Scientific American_, vol. 12, no. 8 (November 1, 1856), p. 62. + +[71] Ibid., vol. 1, no. 19 (November 5, 1859), p. 303. + +[72] I. M. Singer & Co.'s Gazette, vol. 5, no. 4 (March 1, 1859), p. 4, +and a brochure, _Singer's New Family Sewing Machine_ (in Singer +Manufacturing Company, Historic Archives). + + + + +_Appendixes_ + + + + +I. Notes on the Development and Commercial Use of the Sewing Machine + + +INTRODUCTION + +While researching the history of the invention and the development of +the sewing machine, many items of related interest concerning the +machine's economic value came to light. The manufacture of the machines +was in itself a boost to the economy of the emerging "industrial United +States," as was the production of attachments for specialized stitching +and the need for new types of needles and thread. Moreover, the +machine's ability to speed up production permitted it to permeate the +entire field of products manufactured by any type of stitching, from +umbrellas to tents. Since this aspect of the story was not completed for +this study, no attempt will be made to include any definitive statements +on the economic importance of the sewing machine at home or abroad. This +related information is of sufficient interest, however, to warrant +inclusion in this first Appendix. Perhaps these notes will suggest areas +of future research for students of American technology. + + +READY-MADE CLOTHING + +Whether of the expensive or the inexpensive type, the sewing machine was +much more than a popular household appliance. Its introduction had +far-reaching effects on many different types of manufacturing +establishments as well as on the export trade. The newly developing +ready-made clothing industry was not only in a state of development to +welcome the new machine but also was, in all probability, responsible +for its immediate practical application and success. + +Until the early part of the second quarter of the 19th century, the +ready-made clothing trade in the United States was confined almost +entirely to furnishing the clothing required by sailors about to ship +out to sea. The stores that kept these supplies were usually in the +neighborhood of wharf areas. But other than the needs of these seamen, +there was little market for ready-made goods. Out of necessity many of +the families in the early years in this country had made their own +clothing. As wealth was acquired and taste could be cultivated, +professional seamstresses and tailors were in increasing demand, moved +into the cities and towns, and even visited the smaller villages for as +long as their services were needed. At the same time a related trade was +also growing in the cities, especially in New York City, that of dealing +in second-hand clothing. Industrious persons bought up old clothes, +cleaned, repaired and refinished them, and sold the clothing to +immigrants and transients who wished to avoid the high cost of new +custom-made clothing. + +The repairing of this second-hand clothing led to the purchase of cheap +cloth at auction--"half-burnt," "wet-goods," and other damaged yardage. +When in excess of the repairing needs, this fabric was made into +garments and sold with the second-hand items. Many visitors who passed +through New York City were found to be potential buyers of this +merchandise if a better class of ready-made clothes was made available. +Manufacture began to increase. Tailors of the city began to keep an +assortment of finished garments on hand. When visitors bought these, +they were also very likely to buy additional garments for resale at +home. The latter led to the establishment of the wholesale +garment-manufacturing industry in New York about 1834-35. + +Most of the ready-made clothing establishments were small operations, +not large factories. Large quantities of cloth were purchased; cutting +was done in multiple layers with tailor's shears. Since many +seamstresses were needed, the garments were farmed out to the girls in +their homes. The manufacture of garments in quantity meant that the +profit on each garment was larger than a tailor could make on a single +custom-made item. The appeal of increased profits influenced many to +enter the new industry and, due to the ensuing competition, the retail +cost of each garment was lowered. Just as the new businesses were +getting underway, the Panic of 1837 ruined most of them. But the lower +cost and the convenience of ready-made clothing had left its mark. Not +only was the garment-manufacturing business re-established soon after +the Panic had subsided, but by 1841 the value of clothing sold at +wholesale in New York was estimated at $2,500,000 and by 1850--a year +before sewing machines were manufactured in any quantity--there were +4,278 clothing manufacturing establishments in the United States. Beside +New York City, Cincinnati was also one of the important ready-made +clothing centers. In 1850 the value of its products amounted to +$4,427,500 and in 1860 to $6,381,190. Boston was another important +center with a ready-made clothing production of $4,567,749 in 1860. +Philadelphia, Baltimore, Louisville, and St. Louis all had a large +wholesale clothing trade by 1860. Here was the ready market for a +practical sewing machine.[73] + +Clothing establishments grew and began to have agencies in small towns +and the sewing work was distributed throughout the countryside. The new, +competing sewing-machine companies were willing to deliver a machine for +a small sum and to allow the buyer to pay a dollar or two a month until +the full amount of the sale was paid. This was an extension of the +hire-purchase plan (buying on credit) initiated by Clark of the Singer +Company. The home seamstresses were eager to buy, for they were able to +produce more piecework with a sewing machine and therefore earn more +money. An example of the effect that the sewing machine had on the +stitching time required was interestingly established through a series +of experiments conducted by the Wheeler and Wilson company. Four hand +sewers and four sewing-machine operators were used to provide the +average figures in this comparative time study, the results of which +were published in 1861;[74] + + +NUMBER OF STITCHES PER MINUTE + + _By Hand_ _By Machine_ + Patent leather, fine stitching 7 175 + Binding hats 33 374 + Stitching vamped shoes 10 210 + Stitching fine linen 23 640 + Stitching fine silk 30 550 + + +TIME FOR GARMENTS STITCHED + + _By Hand_ _By Machine_ + Frock coats 16 hrs. 35 min. 2 hrs. 38 min. + Satin vests 7 hrs. 19 min. 1 hr. 14 min. + Summer pants 2 hrs. 50 min. 0 hr. 38 min. + Calico dress 6 hrs. 37 min. 0 hr. 57 min. + Plain apron 1 hr. 26 min. 0 hr. 9 min. + Gentlemen's shirts 14 hrs. 26 min. 1 hr. 16 min. + +The factory manufacturer, with the sewing work done at the factory, was +also developing. In 1860, Oliver F. Winchester, a shirt manufacturer of +New Haven, Connecticut, stated that his factory turned out 800 dozen +shirts per week, using 400 sewing machines and operators to do the work +of 2,000 hand sewers. The price for hand sewing was then $3 per week, +which made labor costs $6000 per week. The 400 machine operators +received $4 per week, making the labor cost $1600 per week. Allowing +$150 as the cost of each machine, the sewing machines more than paid for +themselves in less than 14 weeks, increased the operators pay by $1 a +week, and lowered the retail cost of the item.[75] The greatest savings +of time, which was as much as fifty percent, was in the manufacture of +light goods--such items as shirts, aprons, and calico dresses. The +Commissioner of Patents weighed the monetary effect that this or any +invention had on the economy against the monetary gain received by the +patentee. When he found that the patentee had not been fairly +compensated, he had the authority to grant a seven-year extension to the +patent.[76] + +The sewing machine also contributed to the popularity of certain +fashions. Ready-made cloaks for women were a business of a few years' +standing when the sewing machine was adopted for their manufacture in +1853. Machine sewing reduced the cost of constructing the garment by +about eighty percent, thereby decreasing its price and increasing its +popularity. In New York City alone, the value of the "cloak and +mantilla" manufacture in 1860 was $618,400.[77] Crinolines and +hoopskirts were easier to stitch by machine than by hand, and these +items had a spirited period of popularity due to the introduction of the +sewing machine. Braiding, pleating, and tucking adorned many costume +items because they could be produced by machine with ease and rapidity. + +In addition to using the sewing machine for the manufacture of shirts, +collars, and related men's furnishings, the machine was also used in the +production of men's and boy's suits and reportedly gave "a vast impetus +to the trade."[78] The Army, however, was not quite convinced of the +sewing machine's practical adaptation to its needs. Although a sewing +machine was purchased for the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot as early +as 1851, they had only six by 1860. On March 31, 1859, General Jesup of +the Philadelphia Depot wrote to a Nechard & Company stating that the +machine sewing had been tried but was not used for clothing, only for +stitching caps and chevrons. In another letter, on the same day, to +"Messers Hebrard & Co., Louisiana Steam Clothing Factory, N. Orleans," +Jesup states: "Machine sewing has been tried with us, and though it +meets the requirements of a populous and civilized life, it has been +found not to answer for the hard wear and tear and limited means of our +frontier service. Particular attention has been paid to this subject, +and we have abandoned the use of machines for coats, jackets and +trousers, etc. and use them on caps and bands that are not exposed to +much hard usage...."[79] At this period prior to the Civil War, the Army +manufactured its own clothing. As the demands of war increased, more and +more of the Army's clothing supplies were furnished on open +contract--with no specifications as to stitching.[80] Machine +stitching, in fact, is found in most of the Civil War uniforms. One of +the problems that most probably affected the durability of the machine +stitching in the 1850s was the sewing thread, a problem that was not +solved until the 1860s and which is discussed later under "thread for +the machine." + +[Illustration: Figure 55.--BLAKE'S LEATHER-STITCHING MACHINE patent +model of July 6, 1858; the inventor claimed the arrangement of the +mechanism used and an auxiliary arm capable of entering the shoe, which +enabled the outer sole to be stitched both to the inner sole and to the +upper part of the shoe. (Smithsonian photo 50361.)] + + +SHOE MANUFACTURE + +Another industry that was aided by the new invention was that of shoe +manufacture. Although the earliest sewing-machine patents in the United +States reflect the inventors' efforts to solve the difficult task of +leather stitching, and, although machines were used to a limited extent +in stitching some parts of the shoe in the early and mid-1850s, it was +not until 1858 that a machine was invented that could stitch the sole to +the inner sole and to the upper part of the shoe. This was the invention +of Lyman R. Blake and was patented by him on July 8, 1858; the patent +model is shown in figure 55. Blake formed a chainstitch by using a +hooked needle, which descended from above, to draw a thread through the +supporting arm. Serving as the machine's bedplate, the arm was shaped to +accommodate the stitching of all the parts of the shoe. + +[Illustration: Figure 56.--HARRIS' patent thread cutter, 1872. +(Smithsonian photo P-6397.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 57.--WEST'S patent thread cutter, 1874. +(Smithsonian photo P-63100.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 58.--KARR'S patent needle threader, 1871. +(Smithsonian photo P-63101.)] + +The increased number of shoes required by the Army during the Civil War +spurred the use of the sewing machine in their manufacture. The first +"machine sewed bootees" were purchased by the Army in 1861. Inventors +continued their efforts; the most prominent of these was Gordon McKay, +who worked on an improvement of the Blake machine with Robert Mathies in +1862 and then with Blake in 1864. Reportedly, the Government at first +preferred the machine-stitched shoes as they lasted eight times longer +than those stitched by hand; during the war the Army purchased 473,000 +pairs, but in 1871 the Quartermaster General wrote: + + No complaints regarding the quality of these shoes were received up + to February 1867 when a Board of Survey, which convened at Hart's + Island, New York Harbor reported upon the inferior quality of + certain machine sewed bootees of the McKay patent, issued to the + enlisted men at that post. The acting Quartermaster General, Col. + D. H. Rucker, April 10, 1867, addressed a letter to all the + officers in charge of depots, with instructions not to issue any + more of the shoes in question, but to report to this office the + quantity remaining in store. From these reports it appears that + there were in store at that time 362,012 pairs M. S. Bootees, all + of which were ordered to be, and have since been sold at public + auction.[81] + +The exact complaint against the shoes was not recorded. Possibly the +entire shoe was stitched by machine. It was found that although +machine-stitched shoes were more durable in some respects and the upper +parts of most shoes continued to be machine stitched, pegged soles for +the more durable varieties remained the fashion for a decade or more, as +did custom hand-stitched shoes for those who could afford them. + + +OTHER USES + +The use of sewing machines in all types of manufacturing that required +stitching of any type continued to grow each year. While the principal +purpose for which they were utilized continued to be the manufacture of +clothing items, by the year 1900 they were also used for awnings, tents, +and sails; cloth bags; bookbinding and related book manufacture; flags +and banners; pocketbooks, trunks, and valises; saddlery and harnesses; +mattresses; umbrellas; linen and rubber belting and hose; to the +aggregate sum of nearly a billion dollars--$979,988,413.[82] + + +SEWING-MACHINE ATTACHMENTS + +The growing popularity of the sewing machine offered still another boost +to the economy--the development of many minor, related manufacturing +industries. The repetitive need for machine needles, the development of +various types of attachments to simplify the many sewing tasks, and the +ever-increasing need for more and better sewing thread--the sewing +machine consumed from two to five times as much thread as stitching by +hand--created new manufacturing establishments and new jobs. + +[Illustration: Figure 59.--SHANK'S patent bobbin winder, 1870. +(Smithsonian photo P-6398.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 60.--SWEET'S patent binder, 1853. (Smithsonian +photo P-6396.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 61.--SPOUL'S patent braid guide, 1871. +(Smithsonian photo P-63102.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 62.--ROSE'S patent embroiderer, 1881. (Smithsonian +photo P-6399.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 63.--HARRIS' patent buttonhole attachment, 1882. +(Smithsonian photo P-63103.)] + +The method of manufacturing machine needles did not differ appreciably +from the method used in making the common sewing needle, but the latter +had never become an important permanent industry in the United States. +Since the manufacture of practical sewing machines was essentially an +American development and the eye-pointed needle a vital component of the +machine, it followed that the manufacture of needles would also develop +here. Although such a manufacture was established in 1852,[83] foreign +imports still supplied much of the need in the 1870s. As more highly +specialized stitching machines were developed, an ever-increasing +variety of needles was required, and the industry grew. + +[Illustration: Figure 64.--THE TREADLE OF THE MACHINE was also used to +help create music. George D. Garvie and George Wood received patent +267,874, Nov. 21, 1882, for "a cover for a sewing machine provided with +a musical instrument and means for transmitting motion from the shaft of +the sewing machine to the operating parts of the musical instrument." +Although no patent model was submitted by the inventors, the "Musical +Sewing Machine Cover" was offered for sale as early as October 1882, as +shown by this advertisement that appeared in _The Sewing Machine News_ +that month. (Smithsonian photo 57983.)] + +Soon after the sewing machine was commercially successful, special +attachments for it were invented and manufactured. These ranged from the +simplest devices for cutting thread to complicated ones for making +buttonholes (see figs. 56 through 66). + +[Illustration: Figure 65.--THIS FANNING ATTACHMENT was commercially +available from James Morrison & Co. in the early 1870s; it sold for one +dollar as stated in the advertising brochure from which this engraving +was copied. Other inventors also patented similar implements. +(Smithsonian photo 45513.)] + +The first patent for an attachment was issued in 1853 to Harry Sweet for +a binder, used to stitch a special binding edge to the fabric. Other +related attachments followed; among these were the hemmer which was +similar to the binder, but turned the edge of the same piece of fabric +to itself as the stitching was performed. Guides for stitching braid in +any pattern, as directed by the movement of the goods below, were also +developed; this was followed by the embroiderer, an elaborate form of +braider. The first machine to stitch buttonholes was patented in 1854 +and the first buttonhole attachment in 1856, but the latter was not +practical until improvements were made in the late 1860s. Special +devices for refilling the bobbins were invented and patented as early as +1862, and the popularity of tucked and ruffled garments inspired +inventors to provide sewing-machine attachments for these purposes also. +To keep the seamstress cool, C. D. Stewart patented an attachment for +fanning the operator by an action derived from the treadle (fig. 65). +While electric sewing machines did not become common until the 20th +century, several 19th-century inventors considered the possibility of +attaching a type of motor to the machine. One was the 1871 patent of +Solomon Jones, who added an "electro motor" to an 1865 Bartlett machine +(fig. 66). The attachments that were developed during the latter part of +the 19th century numbered in the thousands; many of these were +superfluous. Most of the basic ones in use today were developed by the +1880s and remain almost unchanged. Even the recently popular home zigzag +machine, an outgrowth of the buttonhole machine, was in commercial use +by the 1870s. + +[Illustration: Figure 66.--JONES "ELECTRO MOTOR" PATENT MODEL of 1871 on +a Bartlett sewing machine. (Smithsonian photo P-63104.)] + +Sewing-machine improvements have been made from time to time. Like other +mechanical items the machine has become increasingly automatic, but the +basic principles remain the same. One of the more recent developments, +patented[84] in 1933 by Valentine Naftali et al., is for a manufacturing +machine that imitates hand stitching. This machine uses a two-pointed +"floating needle" that is passed completely through the fabric--the very +idea that was attempted over one hundred years ago. The machine is +currently used by commercial manufacturers to produce decorative +edge-stitching that very closely resembles hand stitching. + + +THREAD FOR THE MACHINE + +[Illustration: Figure 67.--SIX-CORD cabled thread.] + +The need for a good thread durable enough to withstand the action of +machine stitching first created a problem and ultimately another new +industry in this country. When the sewing machine was first developed +the inventors necessarily had to use the sewing thread that was +available. But, although the contemporary thread was quite suitable for +hand sewing, it did not lend itself to the requirements of the machine. +Cotton thread, then more commonly a three-ply variety, had a glazed +finish and was wiry. Silk thread frequently broke owing to abrasion at +the needle eye. For the most part linen thread was too coarse, or the +fine variety was too expensive. All of the thread had imperfections that +went unnoticed in the hands of a seamstress, but caused havoc in a +machine. Quality silk thread that would withstand the rigors of machine +stitching could be produced, but it was quite expensive also. A new type +of inexpensive thread was needed; the obvious answer lay in improving +the cotton thread.[85] + +In addition to the popular three-ply variety, cotton thread was also +made by twisting together either two single yarns or more than three +yarns. Increasing the number of yarns produced a more cylindrical +thread. The earliest record of a six-ply cotton thread was about +1840.[86] And in 1850 C. E. Bennett of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, +received a gold medal for superior six-cord, or six-ply, spool cotton at +the Fair of the American Institute. But the thread was still wiry and +far from satisfactory. By the mid-1860s the demonstrated need for thread +manufacturers in America brought George A. Clark and William Clark, +third generation cotton-thread manufacturers of Paisley, Scotland, to +Newark, New Jersey, where they built a large mill. George Clark decided +that a thread having both a softer finish and a different construction +was needed. He produced a six-cord cabled thread, made up of three +two-ply yarns (see fig. 67). The thread was called "Clark's 'Our New +Thread,'" which was later shortened to O.N.T. The basic machine-thread +problem was solved. When other manufacturers used the six-cord cabled +construction they referred to their thread as "Best Six-Cord"[87] or +"Superior Six-Cord"[88] to distinguish it from the earlier variety made +up of six single yarns in a simple twist. Another new side industry of +the sewing machine was successfully established. + + +MANUFACTURE AND EXPORT, TO 1900 + +Sewing machines were a commodity in themselves, both at home and abroad. +In 1850, there were no establishments exclusively devoted to the +manufacture of sewing machines, the few constructed were made in small +machine shops. The industry, however, experienced a very rapid growth +during the next ten years. By 1860 there were 74 factories in 12 +States,[89] mainly in the East and Midwest,[90] producing over 111,000 +sewing machines a year. In addition, there were 14 factories that +produced sewing-machine cases and attachments. The yearly value of these +products was approximately four and a half million dollars, of which the +amount exported in 1861 was $61,000. Although the number of +sewing-machine factories dropped from 74 in 1860 to 69 by 1870, the +value of the machines produced increased to almost sixteen million +dollars. + +The number of sewing-machine companies fluctuated greatly from year to +year as many attempted to enter this new field of manufacture. Some were +not able to make a commercial success of their products. The Civil War +did not seem to be an important factor in the number of companies in +business in the North. Although one manufacturer ceased operations in +Richmond, Virginia, and a Vermont firm converted to arms manufacture, +several companies began operations during the war years. Of the 69 firms +in business in 1870, only part had been in business since 1860 or +before; some were quite new as a result of the expiration of the Howe +patent renewal in 1867. + +Probably due to the termination of many of the major patents, there were +124 factories in 1880, but the yearly product value remained at sixteen +million dollars. The 1890 census reports only 66 factories with a yearly +production of a little less than the earlier decade. But by 1900, the +yearly production of a like number of factories had reached a value of +over twenty-one million, of which four and a half million dollars worth +were exported annually. The total value of American sewing machines +exported from 1860 to 1900 was approximately ninety million dollars. The +manufacture of sewing machines made a significant contribution to the +economic development of 19th-century America. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[73] _Eighth Census, 1860, Manufactures, Clothing_ (United States Census +Office, published Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1865). + +[74] _Eighty Years of Progress of the United States_ (New York, 1861), +vol. 2, pp. 413-429. + +[75] GEORGE GIFFORD, "Argument of [George] Gifford in Favor of the Howe +Application for Extension of Patent" (New York: United States Patent +Office, 1860). + +[76] Op. cit. (footnote 34). + +[77] _Eighth Census, 1860, Manufactures_ (United States Census Office, +published Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1865), "Women's +Ready-Made Clothing," p. 83. + +[78] Ibid., p. 64. + +[79] National Archives, Record Group 92, Office of the Quartermaster +General, Clothing Book, Letters Sent, volume 17. + +[80] The author wishes to acknowledge the valuable help of Mr. Donald +Kloster of the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Military History +for the preceding four references and related information. + +[81] Letter of Nov. 4, 1871, to Col. Theo. A. Dodge, USA (Ret.), Boston, +from Quartermaster General M. C. Meigs, in the National Archives, Record +Group 92, Quartermaster General's Office, Letters Sent, Clothing +Supplies, 1871. + +[82] _Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900_, vol. 10, +_Manufactures_, Part 4, Special Reports on Selected Industries (United +States Census Office, Washington, D.C., 1902). + +[83] CHARLES M. KARCH, "Needles: Historical and Descriptive," in +_Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900_, vol. 10, _Manufactures_, +Part 4, Special Reports on Selected Industries (United States Census +Office: Washington, D.C., 1902), pp. 429-432. + +[84] U.S. patent 1,931,447, issued to Valentine Naftali, Henry Naftali, +and Rudolph Naftali, Oct. 17, 1933. The Naftali machines are +manufactured by the American Machine and Foundry Company and are called +AMF Stitching Machines. + +[85] See Appendix V, p. 135, "A Brief History of Cotton Thread." + +[86] _The Story of Cotton Thread_ (New York, The Spool Cotton Company, +1933). + +[87] J. and P. Coats spool cotton. + +[88] Willimantic spool cotton. + +[89] New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, +New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky. +_Eighth Census, 1860, Manufactures_ (United States Census Office, +published by Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1865.) + +[90] Sewing-machine manufacture in the South was just beginning to +blossom when it was curtailed by the outbreak of the Civil War. See +Lester sewing machine, figure 109 on page 102. + + + + +II. American Sewing-Machine Companies of the 19th Century + + +During the latter half of the 19th century, there was a total of two +hundred or more sewing-machine companies in the United States. Although +a great many manufacturing-type machines were sold, this business was +carried on by relatively few companies and most were primarily concerned +with the family-type machines. A representative number of these family +machines together with information concerning both the company and +serial-number dating are found in figures 68 through 132. A great many +of the companies were licensed by the "Combination," but, in addition, +some companies were constructing machines that did not infringe the +patents, other companies infringed the patents but managed to avoid +legal action, and there were numerous companies that mushroomed into +existence after the "Combination" was dissolved in 1877. Most of the +latter were very short-lived. It is difficult to establish the exact +dates of some of these companies as many of their records were +incomplete or have since disappeared; even a great many of the +"Combination" records were lost by fire. A summary of the existing +records kept by the "Combination" is given in figure 37. + +As will be noted in the subsequent listing, only a small percentage of +the companies were in business for a period longer than ten years; of +those that continued longer, all but a few had disappeared by 1910. +Today there are about sixty United States sewing-machine companies. Most +of them manufacture highly specialized sewing machines used for specific +types of commercial work; only a few produce family or home-style +machines. Foreign competition has increased, and the high cost of +skilled labor in this country has made competition in this +consumer-product field increasingly difficult. The countless varieties +of American family sewing machines, so evident in the 19th century, have +passed away. + + First Made Discontinued + Manufacturer or Earliest or Last + Sewing Machine or Company Record Record + + Aetna Aetna Sewing Machine ca. 1867 ca. 1877 + Co., Lowell, Mass. + + Aiken and ----, Ithaca, N.Y. ca. 1855 before 1880 + Felthousen + + Alsop ---- -- ca. 1880 + + American American Sewing 1854 -- + Machine Co. + + American Buttonhole, American Buttonhole, 1869 ca. 1874 + Overseaming and Overseaming and + Sewing Machine Sewing Machine Co., + (fig. 68) Philadelphia, Pa. + + Later New American Sewing ca. 1874 ca. 1886 + American Machine Co., + (fig. 69) Philadelphia, Pa. + + American Magnetic American Magnetic 1853 1854 + (fig. 70) Sewing Machine + Company, Ithaca, N.Y. + + Atlantic (fig. 71) ---- 1869 ca. 1870 + + Atwater (fig. 87) ---- 1857 ca. 1860 + + Avery Avery Sewing Machine 1852 185- + Co., New York, N.Y. + + Avery Avery Manufacturing 1875 1886-1900 + Co., New York, N.Y. + + A. Bartholf Manfr. A. Bartholf, ca. 1850 185- + Blodgett & Lerow manufacturer, + patent 1849 New York, N.Y. + (_see also_) + + A. Bartholf Manfr. A. Bartholf, 1853 ca. 1856 + Howe's patent, manufacturer, + 1846 (fig. 72) New York, N.Y. + + Bartholf A. Bartholf, 1857 1859 + manufacturer + Bartholf Sewing 1859 ca. 1865 + Machine Co. + + Bartlett (fig. 73) Goodspeed & Wyman 1866 ca. 1870 + Bartlett Sewing Machine ca. 1870 1872 + Co., New York, N.Y. + + Baker ---- -- before 1880 + + Bartram & Fanton Bartram & Fanton Mfg. 1867 1874 + (fig. 74) Co., Danbury, Conn. + + Bay State ---- -- before 1880 + + Beckwith (fig. 75) Barlow & Son, New York, 1871 1872 + N.Y. + Beckwith Sewing Machine 1872 ca. 1876 + Co., New York, N.Y. + + Blees Blees Sewing Machine 1870 1873 + Co. + + Blodgett & Lerow O. Phelps, Boston, 1849 1849 + (fig. 21) Mass. + Goddard, Rice & Co., 1849 1850 + Worcester, Mass. + (fig. 20) A. Bartholf, 1849 185- + manufacturer, New + York, N.Y. + + Bond ---- -- before 1880 + + Boston J. F. Paul & Co., 1880 -- + Boston, Mass. + Later New Boston Boston Sewing Machine -- after 1886 + Co., Boston, Mass. + + Boudoir (fig. 76) Daniel Harris, 1857 ca. 1870 + inventor and patentee + Manufacturer--several + + Bradford & Barber Bradford & Barber, 1860 1861 + manufacturers, + Boston, Mass. + + Brattleboro Samuel Barker and ca. 1858 1861 + Thomas White, + Brattleboro, Vt. + + Buckeye Wilson [W.G.] Sewing ca. 1867 ca. 1876 + Later New Buckeye Machine Company, + (fig. 77) Cleveland, Ohio + (_see_ Wilson) + + Buell, "E. T. A. B. Buell, ca. 1860 -- + Lathbury's Patent" Westmoreland, New York + + Burnet & Broderick Burnet, Broderick and 1859 ca. 1860 + Co. + + Centennial Centennial Sewing 1873 1876 + (fig. 78) Machine Co. (_see_ + McLean and Hooper), + Philadelphia, Pa. + + Chamberlain Woolridge, Keene and 1853 ca. 1854 + Moore, Lynn, Mass. + + Chicago Singer Scates, Tryber & 1879 1882 + Sweetland Mfg. Co., + Chicago, Ill. + + Later Chicago Chicago Sewing Machine 1882 ca. 1885 + Co. + + Chicopee + (_see_ Shaw & Clark) + + Clark (fig. 42) D. W. Clark, ca. 1858 after 1860 + Bridgeport, Conn. + + Clark's Revolving Lamson, Goodnow & Yale, 1859 1861 + Looper [double Windsor, Vt. + thread] (fig. 79) + (_see_ Windsor) + + Clinton Clinton Brothers, ca. 1861 ca. 1865 + Ithaca, N.Y. + + Companion Thurston Mfg. Co., 1882 -- + Marlboro, N.H. + + Crown Florence Sewing Machine 1879 after 1886 + (_see_ Florence) Co., Florence, Mass. + + Dauntless (later Dauntless Mfg. Co., 1877 after 1882 + New Dauntless) Norwalk, Ohio + + Davis J.A. Davis, New York, ca. 1860 -- + N.Y. + Davis Vertical Davis Sewing Machine 1869 after 1886 + Feed Co., Watertown, N.Y. + + Davis Vertical Davis Sewing Machine after 1886 1924 + Feed and Co., Dayton, Ohio + Rotary Shuttle + + Decker (_also_ The Decker Mfg. Co., -- before 1881 + Princess) Detroit, Mich. + + Demorest Demorest Mfg. Co 1882 1908 + (formerly N.Y. + Sewing Machine Co.) + + Diamond (formerly Sigwalt Sewing Machine 1880 -- + Sigwalt) Co., Chicago, Ill. + + Domestic Wm. A. Mack & Co. and 1864 1869 + N. S. Perkins, + Norwalk, Ohio + + Domestic Domestic Sewing Machine 1869 [A] + Co., Norwalk, Ohio, + acquired by White + Sewing Machine Co. in + 1924 and maintained + as a subsidiary at + Cleveland, Ohio. + + Dorcas John P. Bowker, Boston, 1853 185- + Mass. + + Du Laney (fig. 80) + Also called + Little Monitor + (_see_) + + Durgin Charles A. Durgin, New 1853 after 1855 + York, N.Y. + + Eldredge Eldredge Sewing Machine 1869 1890 + Co., Chicago, Ill. + + Elliptic + Sloat's Elliptic George B. Sloat and Co., ca. 1858 ca. 1860 + Philadelphia, Pa. + + Sloat's Elliptic Union Sewing Machine 1860 1861 + Co., Richmond, Va. + + Elliptic Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. 1861 ca. 1867 + Co. + Elliptic Sewing 1867 before 1880 + Machine Co., N.Y., + N.Y. + + Empire (fig. 86) Empire Sewing Machine ca. 1860 1869 + Later Co., Boston, Mass. + Remington-Empire + + Empress Manufactured on order 1877 -- + through Jerome B. + Secor, Bridgeport, + Conn. + + Estey Estey Sewing Machine ca. 1880 1882 + Co. + Estey, Brattleboro Sewing 1883 after 1886 + Fuller-Model Machine Co., + Brattleboro, Vt. + + Eureka (fig. 81) Eureka Shuttle Sewing 1859 -- + New York, N.Y. + + Excelsior Excelsior Sewing Machine 1854 1854 + Co., New York, N.Y. + + Fairy (figs. 51, 52) Madame Demorest, New 1863 ca. 1865 + York, N.Y. + + Finkle, M. (fig. 82) M. Finkle, Boston, 1856 ca. 1859 + Mass. + Finkle & Lyon Finkle & Lyon Sewing ca. 1859 1867 + Machine Co., Boston, + Mass. + Later Victor + + First and Frost First and Frost, New ca. 1859 ca. 1861 + York, N.Y. + + Florence (fig. 83) Florence Sewing Machine ca. 1860 after 1878 + Later Crown Co., Florence, Mass. + + Folsom Folsom, J. G., 1865 ca. 1871 + (_see_ Globe and Winchendon, Mass. + New England) + + Fosket and Savage Fosket and Savage, 1858 1859 + Meriden, Conn. + + Foxboro Foxboro Rotary Shuttle ca. 1882 -- + Co., Foxboro, Mass. + + Franklin Franklin Sewing Machine 1871 1871 + Co., Mason + Village, N.H. + + Free Free Sewing Machine 1898 [A] + Co., Chicago and + Rockford, Ill. + + Gardner C. R. Gardner, 1856 -- + Detroit, Mich. + + Globe (figs. 84, 85) J. G. Folsom, 1865 1869 + Winchendon, Mass. + + Gold Medal Gold Medal Sewing 1863 1876 + (chainstitch) Machine Co., Orange, + Mass. + + Gold Medal ---- 1863 ca. 1865 + (running stitch) + + Gold Hibbard Hibbard, B. S., & Co. 1875 -- + + Goodbody (sewing Goodbody Sewing Machine 1880 ca. 1890 + shears) Co., Bridgeport, Conn. + + Goodes Rex & Bockius, ca. 1876 before 1881 + Philadelphia, Pa. + + Goodrich H. B. Goodrich, Chicago, ca. 1880 ca. 1895 + Ill. + + Grant Brothers Grant Bros. & Co., 1867 ca. 1870 + (fig. 90) Philadelphia, Pa. + + Greenman and True Greenman and True Mfg. 1859 1860 + (fig. 91) Co. Norwich, Conn. + Morse and True 1860 1861 + + Green Mountain ---- ca. 1860 -- + + Griswold Variety L. Griswold, New York, ca. 1886 ca. 1890 + N.Y. + + Grover and Baker Grover and Baker Sewing 1851 1875 + (figs. 34-36, 92) Machine Co., Boston, + Mass. + + Hancock ---- 1868 before 1881 + (figs. 93, 94) + + Heberling Running John Heberling 1878 ca. 1885 + Stitch + + Herron's Patent ---- 1857 -- + (fig. 95) + + Higby Higby Sewing Machine ca. 1882 after 1886 + Later Acme Co., Brattleboro, Vt. + + Home Johnson, Clark & Co., 1869 after 1876 + Home Shuttle Orange, Mass. + + Homestead ---- ca. 1881 -- + + Household Providence Tool Co., 1880 ca. 1884 + Providence, R.I. + Household Sewing ca. 1885 1906 + Machine Co. + + Howe (figs. 96, 97) Howe Sewing Machine Co., 1853 1873 + New York, N.Y. + (company of A. B. Howe + sold to Howe Machine + Co.) + + Howe (fig. 98) Howe Machine Co., 1867 1886 + Bridgeport, Conn. + + Howe's Improved Nichols and Bliss, 1852 1853 + Patent (fig. 107) Boston, Mass. + J. B. Nichols & Co. 1853 1854 + which became Nichols, Leavitt & Co., 1854 1856 + Leavitt Boston, Mass. + + N. Hunt, which N. Hunt & Co., Boston, 1853 1854 + became Hunt and Mass. + Webster (figs. 99, Hunt and Webster, 1854 1857 + 100) Boston, Mass. + Later Ladd and + Webster (_see_) + + Improved Common ---- ca. 1870 -- + Sense (fig. 102) + + Independent Independent Sewing 1873 -- + Noiseless Machine Co., + Binghamton, N.Y. + + Jennie June June Mfg. Co., Chicago, 1881 1890 + Ill. Later + Belvidere, Ill. + + Jewel Jewel Mfg. Co., Toledo, 1884 after 1886 + Ohio + + Johnson (fig. 103) Emery, Houghton & Co., 1856 after 1865 + Boston, Mass. + + Keystone Keystone Sewing Machine before 1872 ca. 1874 + Co. + + Ladd & Webster Ladd, Webster & Co., 1858 ca. 1866 + (fig. 101) Boston, Mass. + + Ladies Companion ---- 1858 ca. 1858 + (fig. 115) + (_see_ Pratt's Patent) + + "Lady" (fig. 104) ---- 1859 -- + + Landfear's Patent Parkers, Snow, Brooks 1857 -- + (fig. 105) & Co., West Meriden, + Conn. + + Langdon L.W. Langdon 1856 -- + + Lathrop (fig. 106) Lathrop Combination 1873 -- + Sewing Machine Co. + + Leader Leader Sewing Machine 1882 -- + Co., Springfield, + Mass. + + Leavitt (fig. 108) Nichols, Leavitt & Co., 1855 1857 + Boston, Mass. + Leavitt & Co. 1857 ca. 1865 + Leavitt Sewing Machine ca. 1865 1870 + Co. + + Leslie Revolving Leslie Sewing Machine 1881 -- + Shuttle Co., Cleveland, Ohio + + Lester (fig. 109) J.H. Lester, Brooklyn, ca. 1858 early 1860 + N.Y. + Lester Mfg. Co., early 1860 late 1860 + Richmond, Va. + Union Sewing Machine late 1860 1861 + Co., Richmond, Va. + + Little Gem ---- -- ca. 1870 + + Little Giant Domestic Sewing Machine ca. 1882 -- + Co., Norwalk, Ohio + + Little Monitor (not G.L. Du Laney, Brooklyn, ca. 1866 after 1875 + associated with N.Y. + Monitor) + + Love Love Mfg. Co., 1885 after 1886 + Pittsburgh, Pa. + + Lyon Lyon Sewing Machine Co. 1879 ca. 1880 + + Macauley Thos. A. Macauley Mfg., before 1879 -- + New York, N.Y. + + Manhattan Manhattan Sewing Machine ca. 1868 ca. 1880 + Co. + + McKay McKay Sewing Machine 1870 1876 + Assoc. + + McLean and Hooper B. W. Lacy & Co., ca. 1869 ca. 1873 + Philadelphia, Pa. + (_see_ Centennial) + + Meyers J. M. Meyers 1859 -- + + Miller's Patent ---- 1853 -- + + Monitor (fig. 88) Shaw & Clark Sewing 1860 1864 + Machine Co., + Biddeford, Me. + + Moore Moore Sewing Machine ca. 1860 -- + Co. + + Morey & Johnson Safford & Williams 1849 ca. 1851 + (fig. 18) Makers, Boston, + Mass. + + Morrison Morrison, Wilkinson & 1881 -- + Co., Hartford, Conn. + + Mower ---- ca. 1863 -- + + National Johnson, Clark & Co., 1874 -- + Orange, Mass. + + National (also sold National Sewing Machine 1890 1953 + under distributor's Co. (consolidation of + name) the June and Eldredge + Companies), Belvidere, + Ill. + + Ne Plus Ultra O. L. Reynolds 1857 -- + (fig. 110) Manufacturing Co., + Dover, N.H. + + Nettleton & Raymond Nettleton & Raymond, ca. 1857 -- + (fig. 111) Brattleboro, Vt. + + New England Charles Raymond (also ca. 1859 1866 + (figs. 112, 113) by: Grout & White, 1862 1863 + Orange, Mass.; William 1863 -- + Grout, Winchendon, 1865 1865 + Mass.; and J. G. Folsom, + Winchendon, Mass.) + + Newell ---- 1881 -- + + New Fairbanks J. H. Drew & Co. 1878 1880 + Thomas M. Cochrane 1880 -- + Co., Belleville, Ill. + + New Home New Home Sewing Machine 1876 [A] + Co., Orange, Mass. (in + 1928 became affiliated + with Free Sewing + Machine Co.) + + New York ----, New York, N.Y. ca. 1855 ca. 1855 + + New York Shuttle N.Y. Sewing Machine Co., before 1880 1882 + New York, N.Y. (later + Demorest Mfg. Co.) + + Noble Noble Sewing Machine before 1881 after 1886 + Co., Erie, Pa. + + Novelty C. A. French, Boston, 1869 -- + Mass. + + Old Dominion Old Dominion Sewing ca. 1858 1860 + Machine Co., Richmond, + Va. + + Pardox ---- ca. 1865 -- + + Parham Parham Sewing Machine ca. 1869 ca. 1871 + Co., Philadelphia, Pa. + + Parker Charles Parker Co., before 1860 after 1865 + Meriden, Conn. + Later Parker Sewing + Machine Co. + + Pearl ---- Bennett ca. 1859 -- + + Philadelphia Philadelphia Sewing ca. 1872 ca. 1881 + Machine Co., + Philadelphia, Pa. + + Post Combination Post Combination Sewing before 1885 after 1886 + Machine Co., + Washington, D.C. + + Pratt's Patent ---- 1857 ca. 1858 + (fig. 114) Later + Ladies Companion + + Queen Dauntless Mfg Co., ca. 1881 -- + Norwalk, Ohio + + Quaker City Quaker City Sewing 1859 ca. 1861 + (fig. 116) Machine Co., + Philadelphia, Pa. + + Remington Empire Remington Empire Sewing 1870 1872 + Later Remington Machine Co. + E. Remington & Sons, 1873 ca. 1894 + Philadelphia, Pa. + + Robertson (dolphin T. W. Robertson, New 1855 after 1860 + & cherub) (figs. York, N.Y. + 40, 41) + + Robinson F. R. Robinson, Boston, 1853 ca. 1855 + Mass. + + Robinson's patent Howard & Davis, Boston, 1855 -- + sewing machine Mass. + with Roper's + improvement (fig. 117) + Later Robinson same 1856 before 1860 + and Roper + (fig. 118) + + Royal St. John Royal Sewing Machine ca. 1883 1898 + (formerly St. John) Co., Springfield, Ohio + (later Free Co.) + + Ruddick ---- ca. 1860 -- + + Secor Secor Machine Co., 1870 1876 + Bridgeport, Conn. + + Sewing Shears Nettleton & Raymond, ca. 1859 -- + (Hendrick's patent) Bristol, Conn. + (fig. 43) + + Sewing Shears American Hand Sewing ca. 1884 ca. 1900 + Machine Co., + Bridgeport, Conn. + + Shaw & Clark Shaw & Clark Co., ca. 1857 1866 + Running Stitch Biddeford, Me. + Machine (fig. 53) + + Chainstitch + Machine (fig. 119) + + Chainstitch Shaw & Clark Co., 1867 1868 + Machine (fig. 120) Chicopee Falls, Mass. + Chicopee Sewing Machine 1868 ca. 1869 + Co., Chicopee Falls, + Mass. + + Sigwalt Sigwalt Sewing Machine ca. 1879 -- + Co., Chicago, Ill. + + Singer (figs. 28, I. M. Singer & Co. 1851 [A] + 29, 30, 32, 33, (later Singer Mfg. Co.). + 121, 122) Moved from Boston to + New York to + Elizabethport, N.J. + (factory). + + Springfield Springfield Sewing 1880 -- + Machine Co., + Springfield, Mass. + + Standard ---- 1870 -- + (chainstitch) + (fig. 123) + Standard Standard Shuttle Sewing 1874 ca. 1881 + (shuttle) Machine Co., New York, + N.Y. + + Standard Standard Sewing Machine 1884 ca. 1930 + Co., Cleveland, Ohio + (acquired by Singer Co.) + + Stewart Henry Stewart & Co., 1874 1880 + N.Y., N.Y. + Later New Stewart Mfg Co. 1880 ca. 1883 + Stewart + + St. John (later St. John Sewing Machine 1870 ca. 1883 + Royal St. John) Co., Springfield, O. + + Taggart & Farr Taggart & Farr, 1858 -- + (figs. 124, 125) Philadelphia, Pa. + + Thompson C. F. Thompson Co. 1871 1871 + T. C. Thompson, Ithaca, ca. 1854 -- + N.Y. + + Union Johnson, Clark & Co., 1876 -- + Orange, Mass. + + Victor Finkle & Lyon Mfg. Co. 1867 ca. 1872 + Victor Sewing Machine ca. 1872 ca. 1890 + Co., Middletown, Conn. + + Wardwell Wardwell Mfg. Co., St. ca. 1876 1890 + Louis, Mo. + + Watson (fig. 126) Jones & Lee 1850 ca. 1853 + Watson & Wooster, ca. 1853 ca. 1860 + Bristol, Conn. + + Waterbury Waterbury Co., 1853 ca. 1860 + Waterbury, Conn. + + Weed T. E. Weed & Co. (became 1854 -- + Whitney & Lyons) + + Weed Weed Sewing Machine Co. 1865 -- + (reorganized from + Whitney & Lyons), + Hartford, Conn. + + Family Favorite 1867 -- + Manu. Favorite 1868 -- + General Favorite 1872 -- + Hartford 1881 ca. 1900 + + Wesson Farmer & Gardner 1879 1880 + Manufacturing Co. + D. B. Wesson Sewing 1880 -- + Machine Co., + Springfield, Mass. + + West & Willson West & Willson Co., 1858 -- + (fig. 127) Elyria, Ohio + + A. B. Wilson E. E. Lee & Co., New 1851 1852 + (fig. 23) York, N.Y. + + A. B. Wilson's Wheeler, Wilson, Co., late 1851 1856 + patent seaming Watertown, N.Y. + lathe + Later Wheeler Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. 1856 1905 + and Wilson Co., Bridgeport, Conn. + (fig. 26, 27, Singer Co., Bridgeport, 1905 1907 + 128, 129) Conn. + + White (fig. 130) White Sewing Machine 1876 [A] + Co., Cleveland, Ohio + + Whitehill Whitehill Mfg. Co., ca. 1875 after 1886 + Milwaukee, Wis. + + Whitney Whitney Sewing Machine ca. 1872 ca. 1880 + Co., Paterson, N.J. + + Whitney & Lyons Whitney & Lyons (a ca. 1859 ca. 1865 + machine based on the + 1854 patent of T. E. + Weed) + + Wickersham Butterfield & Stevens 1853 -- + Mfg. Co., Boston, Mass. + + Willcox & Gibbs Willcox & Gibbs Sewing 1857 [A] + (figs. 39, 131) Machine Co., New York, + N.Y. + + Williams & Orvis Williams & Orvis Sewing ca. 1859 after 1860 + Machine Co., Boston, + Mass. + + Wilson (fig. 89) Wilson (W.G.) Sewing ca.1867 after 1885 + (_see_ Buckeye) Machine Co., Cleveland, + Ohio + + Windsor (one thread) Vermont Arms Co., 1856 1858 + Windsor, Vt. + + Windsor Lamson, Goodnow & Yale, 1859 1861 + (_see_ Clark's Windsor, Vt. + Revolving Looper) + + Name Unknown John W. Beane 1853 -- + + " Henry Brind 1860 -- + + " Garfield Sewing Machine 1881 -- + Co. + + " Geneva Sewing Machine 1880 -- + Co. + + " Gove & Howard 1855 -- + + " Charles W. Howland, ca. 1860 -- + Wilmington, Del. + + " Miles Greenwood & Co., ca. 1861 -- + Cincinnati, Ohio + + " Hood, Batelle & Co. 1854 1854 + + " Wells & Haynes 1854 1854 + + " Wilson H. Smith, ca. 1860 -- + Birmingham, Conn. + +[A] Still in existence. + +[Illustration: Figure 68.--AMERICAN BUTTONHOLE, Overseaming & Sewing Machine of about +1870. Using serial numbers, these machines can be dated approximately as +follows: 1-7792, 1869; 7793-22366, 1870; 22367-42488, 1871; 42489-61419, +1872; 61420-75602, 1873; 75603-89132, 1874; 89133-103539, 1875; and +103540-121477, 1876. Figures are not available for the years from 1877 +to 1886. (Smithsonian photo 46953-E.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 69.--(NEW) AMERICAN SEWING MACHINE of about 1874. +Illustration is from a contemporary advertising brochure. (Smithsonian +photo 33507.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 70.--AMERICAN MAGNETIC SEWING MACHINE, 1854. +Machines of this type were manufactured for only two years under the +patent of Thomas C. Thompson, March 29, 1853, and later under the +patents of Samuel J. Parker, April 11, 1854, and Simon Coon, May 9, +1854. On September 30, 1853, Elias Howe listed receipts of $1000 from +the American Magnetic Sewing Machine Co. for patent infringement. The +machines manufactured after that date carry the Howe name and 1846 +patent date to show proper licensing. Judging by Howe's usual license +fee of $25 per machine, about 40 machines were manufactured prior to +September 1853. The company was reported to have made about 600 machines +in 1854 before it went out of business. The only American Magnetic +machine known to be in existence is in the collection of the Northern +Indiana Historical Society at South Bend, Indiana. (_Photo courtesy of +the Northern Indiana Historical Society._)] + +[Illustration: Figure 71.--ATLANTIC SEWING MACHINE, 1869. This machine +is typical of the many varieties manufactured for a very short time in +the 1860s and 1870s. It is about the size of the average hand-turned +variety, 8 by 10 inches, but lighter in weight. The frame design was the +patent of L. Porter, May 11, 1869, and the mechanism was patented by +Alonzo Porter, February 8, 1870. The latter patent model bears the +painted legend "Atlantic" and is stamped "Aprl 1, 69," indicating that +it was probably already in commercial production. This date possibly may +refer also to L. Porter's design patent, since actual date of issue was +usually later than date of application. (Smithsonian photo 48329-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 72.--A. BARTHOLF SEWING MACHINE, 1853. Abraham +Bartholf of New York began manufacturing Blodgett & Lerow machines (see +fig. 20) about 1850; the style and mechanics of these machines, however, +were primarily those of the Blodgett & Lerow patent as manufactured by +O. C. Phelps and Goddard, Rice & Co. For this reason they are considered +Blodgett & Lerow--not Bartholf--machines. + +The true Bartholf machine evolved when the manufacturer substituted +Howe's reciprocating shuttle for the rotary shuttle of the Blodgett & +Lerow machine, continuing to manufacture the machine in his own adapted +style. Bartholf manufactured reciprocating-shuttle machines as early as +1853, and his was one of the first companies licensed by Howe. + +All Bartholf machines licensed under Howe's patent carry the Howe name +and patent date. They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Howe +machines, but they are no more Howe machines than those manufactured by +Wheeler & Wilson, Singer, or many others. + +On April 6, 1858, Bartholf was granted a patent for an improvement of +the shuttle carrier. He continued to manufacture sewing machines under +the name "Bartholf Sewing Machine Co." until about 1865. + +Using serial numbers, Bartholf machines can be dated approximately as +follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-20 1850 + 21-50 1851 + 51-100 1852 + 101-235 1853 + 236-290 1854 + 291-321 1855 + 322-356 1856 + 357-387 1857 + 388-590 1858 + 591-1337 1859 + +No record of the number of machines produced by Bartholf after 1859 is +available. + +The Bartholf machine illustrated bears the serial number 128 and the +inscription "A. Bartholf Manfr., NY--Patented Sept. 1846 E. Howe, Jr." +This machine is in the collection of the Baltimore County Historical +Society. Note the close similarity between it and the 1850 Blodgett & +Lerow machine manufactured by Bartholf. (_Photo courtesy of the +Baltimore County Historical Society._)] + +[Illustration: Figure 73.--BARTLETT SEWING MACHINE, 1867. The Bartlett +machine was first manufactured in 1866 under the January 31, 1865, and +October 10, 1865, patents of Joseph W. Bartlett. The machines were made +by Goodspeed & Wyman for the Bartlett Co. and were so marked. The +inventor received another patent on April 7, 1868, and later machines +carry this third date also. Although the first few hundred machines did +not bear the dates of patents held by the "Combination," before the end +of the first year of production Bartlett was paying royalties. He +continued to manufacture sewing machines until the early seventies when +he converted to the manufacturing of street lamps. + +Using serial numbers, Bartlett's machines can be dated approximately as +follows: 1-1000, 1866; 1001-3126, 1867; 3127-?, 1868. There is no record +of serial numbers for the succeeding years. (Smithsonian photo +45524-G.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 74.--BARTRAM & FANTON SEWING MACHINE, 1867. These +machines were first manufactured in 1867 under the patents of W. B. +Bartram, notably his patent of January 1, 1867. Three machines were +exhibited at The Eleventh Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable +Mechanics Association in 1869 where they were awarded a bronze medal. +They were compared favorably to the Willcox & Gibbs machine (see fig. +39), which they resembled. Bartram received additional patents in the +early seventies and also manufactured lockstitch machines. + +Using serial numbers, machines may be approximately dated as follows: +1-2958, 1867; 2959-3958, 1868; 3959-4958, 1869; 4959-5958, 1870; +5959-6962, 1871; 6963-7961, 1872; 7962-8961, 1873; and 8962-9211, 1874. +(Smithsonian photo P63198.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 75.--BECKWITH SEWING MACHINE, 1871. Among the +inventors whose patent claims were "to produce a cheap and effective +sewing machine" was William G. Beckwith. His machine was first +manufactured by Barlow & Son, and it realized considerable success in +the few years of its production. The earliest model was operated like a +pair of scissors or with a cord and ring as illustrated. Beckwith later +added a hand crank. The machine was purchased in Crewe, Cheshire, +England; it is stamped "Pat. April 18, 71 by Wm. G. Beckwith, Foreign +Pats. Secured, Barlow & Son Manuf. N.Y., [serial number] 706." By 1874 +the machines were marked "Beckwith S.M. Co." and two 1872 patent dates +were added. + +Using serial numbers, machines may be dated approximately as follows: +1-3500, 1871; 3501-7500, 1872; 7501-12500, 1873; 12501-18000, 1874; +18001-23000, 1875; 23001-?, 1876. (Smithsonian photo 46953-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 76.--BOUDOIR SEWING MACHINE, 1858. This machine, a +single-thread, chainstitch model was based on the patents of Daniel +Harris, dated June 9, 1857, June 16, 1857, and October 5, 1858. +Manufactured primarily by Bennett in Chicago in 1859, it also may have +been produced in the East, although no manufacturer's name can be found. + +In 1860, the Boudoir, also called Harris's Patent sewing machine, was +exhibited at the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association +Exhibition where it won a silver medal for "its combination of parts, +its beauty and simplicity, together with its ease of operation." At this +time the machine was described as making a "double lock stitch" (another +name for the double chainstitch). It was also described as having been +before the public for some time and combining "the improvements of +others for which the parties pay license." The machine head was +positioned on the stand similarly to that of the West & Willson (fig. +127) and stitched from left to right. + +It is not known exactly how many of these machines were made or how long +they were in vogue. Manufacture, although probably ceasing in the 1860s, +is known to have been discontinued before 1881, when a list of obsolete +sewing machines was published in _The Sewing Machine News_. (Smithsonian +photo P63199.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 77.--(NEW) BUCKEYE SEWING MACHINE of about 1875. +The Buckeye machine was one of several manufactured by W. G. Wilson of +Cleveland, Ohio. It was licensed under Johnson's extended patent of +April 18, 1867. Although it was small and hand turned, it used two +threads and a shuttle to form a lockstitch. The machine was sufficiently +popular for Wilson to introduce an improved model in the early 1870s, +which he called the New Buckeye. W. G. Wilson continued to manufacture +sewing machines until about the mid-eighties, although the Buckeye +machines were discontinued in the seventies. (Smithsonian photo +45524-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 78.--CENTENNIAL SEWING MACHINE, 1876. The +Centennial machine was basically a McLean and Hooper sewing machine +which was renamed to take advantage of the coming Centennial +celebration. It was based on the patents of J. N. McLean, March 30, +1869, and August 2, 1870, and made a two-thread chainstitch. Only about +five hundred Centennial machines were manufactured in 1873, but by 1876 +over three thousand had been constructed. The machines were advertised +on white circulars which were printed in red and blue, and engraved with +two women sewing, one by hand, labeled "Sewing in 1776," and one at a +Centennial sewing machine, labeled "Sewing in 1876." There is no record +that the machines were made after 1876. (Smithsonian photo 48216-T.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 79.--CLARK'S Revolving-Looper double-thread sewing +machine, 1860. This machine was manufactured by Lamson, Goodnow, & Yale +of Windsor, Vermont. It was an attempt to improve on the combined ideas +of the Grover and Baker machine, the Nettleton & Raymond machine, and +the earlier single-thread Windsor machine. The improvements were made +and patented by Edwin Clark on December 6, 1859. Widely advertised, the +machines sold for $35 with a foot-power table. They could also be +operated by hand. Over three thousand were manufactured and sold, and +preparations were being made to continue manufacture of the earlier +single-thread Windsor, originally made by the company's predecessor, +Vermont Arms Co., when the Civil War broke out. A flood of arms orders +arrived, and the sewing-machine manufacture was discontinued early in +the summer of 1861. The sewing-machine equipment and business was sold +to Grout & White of Massachusetts. (Smithsonian photo 48216.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 80.--DU LANEY SEWING MACHINE of about 1872. Most +of the small, simple, chainstitch sewing machines of this period were +constructed so that they could either be turned by hand or set into a +treadle-powered table. Du Laney's Little Monitor, manufactured for only +a few years, was based on the patents of G.L. Du Laney, July 3, 1866, +and May 2, 1871. It was a two-thread, chainstitch machine powered only +by a foot treadle. By simple adjustment, the machine could also make the +cablestitch and the lockstitch. (Smithsonian photo 48221-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 81.--EUREKA SEWING MACHINE, 1859. An example of +the many short-lived types of which no written record can be found, this +particular machine was used as a patent model for certain minor +improvements in 1859. It has the name "Eureka" painted on the top and +the following inscription incised on the baster plate: "Eureka Shuttle +S. M. Co. 469 Broadway, N.Y." Although it is a shuttle machine, it +carries no patent dates and was not included in the Howe royalty +records. Neither is it listed in the obsolescence list published in +1881. The company probably could not pay its royalty fees and was forced +out of business almost immediately. If this machine had not been used as +a patent model, no record of the company's existence might remain. It +should be noted that as in most shuttle machines the head was meant to +be set into a treadle-powered table. Since most tables are very similar, +they are not required for identification. (Smithsonian photo 48328-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 82.--M. FINKLE SEWING MACHINE, 1857. The M. Finkle +machines were manufactured in 1856 and 1857. Sometime before or about +1859, the inventor, Milton Finkle, formed a partnership and the machines +were subsequently called M. Finkle & Lyon and later simply Finkle & +Lyon. In 1859 the machine was awarded a silver medal by the American +Institute for producing superior manufacturing and family lockstitch +sewing machines. It also won a silver medal in Boston in 1860 at the +Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association Exhibition. Although the +name of the machine was changed to Victor in 1867, the company name +remained Finkle & Lyon until about 1872 when it was changed to Victor +also. Victor machines were manufactured until about 1890. + +Machines can be dated by their serial number approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-200 1856 + 201-450 1857 + 451-700 1858 + 701-950 1859 + 951-1500 1860 + 1501-3000 1861 + 3001-5000 1862 + 5001-7000 1863 + 7001-9000 1864 + 9001-11000 1865 + 11001-13000 1866 + 13001-15490 1867 + 15491-17490 1868 + 17491-18830 1869 + 18831-21250 1870 + 21251-28890 1871 + 28891-40790 1872 + 40791-48240 1873 + 48241-53530 1874 + 53531-59635 1875 + 59636-65385 1876 + +No estimates are available for the years 1877 to 1890. (Smithsonian +photo 48216-A.)] + +[Illustration] + +<---- + +[Illustration: Figure 83.--FLORENCE SEWING MACHINE. The Florence machine +was based on the patents of Leander W. Langdon, whose first patent was +obtained in 1855. Langdon sewing machines were manufactured by the +inventor for a few years. It was his patent of March 20, 1860, that was +the immediate forerunner of the Florence machine, whose name was derived +from the city of manufacture, Florence, Massachusetts. The Howe royalty +records of 1860 listed the Florence Sewing Machine Co. as one that took +out a license that year. Langdon's patent of July 14, 1863, was +incorporated into the machines manufactured after that date; however, +the date is always incorrectly stamped "July 18, 1863." In 1865, the +machine won a silver medal at the Tenth Exhibition of the Massachusetts +Charitable Mechanics Association. + +Over 100,000 Florence machines were manufactured by 1870. About 1880 the +company changed the name of the machine to Crown. Improvements led to +the name New Crown by 1885. About this time the right to use the name +Florence for a sewing machine was purchased by a midwestern firm for an +entirely different machine. In 1885 the Florence company began to +manufacture lamp stoves and heating stoves and shortly thereafter they +discontinued the manufacture of sewing machines. + +Using the serial numbers, Florence machines can be dated approximately +as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-500 1860 + 501-2000 1861 + 2001-8000 1862 + 8001-20000 1863 + 20001-35000 1864 + 35001-50000 1865 + 50001-60000 1866 + 60001-70534 1867 + 70535-82534 1868 + 82535-96195 1869 + 96196-113855 1870 + 113856-129802 1871 + 129803-145592 1872 + 145593-154555 1873 + 154556-160072 1874 + 160073-164964 1875 + 164965-167942 1876 + +No record of the number of machines produced each year between 1877 and +1885 is available. + +The machine shown here, serial number 49131, was manufactured in 1865. +It is stamped with the following patent dates: "Oct. 30, 1855, Mar. 20, +1860, Jan. 22, 1861, and July 18, 1863" and the Wilson patent date "Nov. +12, 1850." The machines from 1860-1863 are marked with the early Langdon +patents, excluding the 1863 one, and they have the additional patent +dates of Howe and others: "Sept. 10, 1846, Nov. 12, 1850, Aug. 12, 1851, +May 30, 1854, Dec. 19, 1854, Nov. 4, 1856." (Smithsonian photo +45572-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 84.--GLOBE SEWING MACHINE. J. G. Folsom received +two design patents in 1864, one on March 1 for a spool holder and one on +May 17 for the basic style of the machine. Also in the same year, he was +awarded a mechanical patent for an adjustment in the lower looper that +would accommodate a change in needle size. Using these patents, he +manufactured a single-thread, chainstitch machine, the Globe. Folsom +also exhibited his machines at the Tenth Exhibition of the Massachusetts +Charitable Mechanics Association in 1865. The Globe attracted particular +attention and was awarded a silver medal.] + +In 1866 Folsom devised a new treadle attachment for hand-operated +machines; the invention was featured in _Scientific American_, volume +14, number 17, with a Globe machine. Folsom again exhibited at the +Massachusetts Mechanics exhibition in 1869. In addition to an improved +single-thread Globe, he also showed a double-thread, elastic-stitch +(double chainstitch) machine for which he received a silver medal. + +Folsom machines were manufactured until 1871; 280 machines were +manufactured in that year. + +The Globe sewing machine illustrated is stamped "J. G. Folsom, Maker, +Winchendon, Mass. Patented April 28, 1863 [Ketchum's patent], Mar. 1, +1864. May 17, 1864." The machine was manufactured before November 1864 +or it would include the patent for the lower loop adjustment. +(Smithsonian photo 48216-H.) + +NOTE: At least five sewing machines, those in figures 84 through 89, are +similar enough in appearance to cause some confusion, because their +basic design stems from a short pillar. + +[Illustration: Figure 85.--GLOBE SEWING MACHINE with treadle attachment +as illustrated in _Scientific American_, April 21, 1866. (Smithsonian +photo 48221-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 86.--EMPIRE SEWING MACHINE, late 1860s. Although +an Empire Sewing Machine Co. existed in New York in the 1860s (the +predecessor of the Remington-Empire Co.), it is not known whether this +machine was manufactured by that same company, which was primarily +concerned with producing shuttle machines. This chainstitch machine is +marked "Empire Co., Patented April 23, 1863," the date referring again +to Ketchum's patent. It is very similar to Folsom's Globe, except that +it has claw feet rather than a closed base; the painted designs on the +base of both are almost identical to those on the Monitor. Its spool +holder, mounted in reverse, is a crude imitation of the Folsom patent. +The Empire machines were probably manufactured about the same time as +the Wilson machine. (_Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum and +Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan._)] + +[Illustration: Figure 87.--ATWATER SEWING MACHINE, 1858. Atwater +machines, based on the patent of B. Atwater, issued May 5, 1857, were +manufactured from 1857 to about 1860. The machine illustrated, which is +designed to be operated by a hand-turned wheel, has an upper forked dog +feed, and its horizontally supported spool is directly over the +stitching area. Like the others, it has a striated pillar and claw feet. +The manufacturer is unknown. (Smithsonian photo P63200.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 88.--MONITOR SEWING MACHINE, 1860-1866. The +Monitor machines of this style were not marked by their manufacturers, +Shaw & Clark of Biddeford, Maine. Later the company was forced by the +"Combination" to pay a royalty, so it changed the style and began +marking its machines with the company name and patent dates (see fig. +119 for copy of seal). The Monitor, which employed the conventional +vertical spindle to hold the spool of thread, had a top feed in the form +of a walking presser. Its striated pillar was similar to that of the +Atwater machine, and both featured the same claw feet and urn-like top. +Unlike the Atwater, however, the Monitor had a double drive from the +hand-turned wheel, which was grooved for operation with belt and +treadle. (Smithsonian photo 33458.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 89.--WILSON SEWING MACHINE, late 1860s to early +1870s. In addition to the Buckeye (see fig. 77), W. G. Wilson +manufactured several other styles of sewing machines. This one, a +combination of the varying styles of the earlier pillar machine has even +duplicated the general style of the spool holder patented by Folsom. The +pillar is not striated, but the machine does repeat the claw feet of the +Atwater and Monitor machines. Wilson machines are usually marked "Wilson +Sewing Mach. Manuf'g Co. Cleveland, Ohio, Ketchum's Patent April 28, +1863." The latter name and/or patent date are found on many of the +machines of this general construction. The patent is that issued to +Stephen C. Ketchum for his method of converting rotary motion into +reciprocal motion. (_Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum and +Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan._)] + +[Illustration: Figure 90.--GRANT BROTHERS SEWING MACHINE, 1867. This +machine was one of several styles that utilized Raymond's 1861 patented +chainstitch method. This machine, however, used an under feed rather +than a top feed. + +Neither a name nor a date appears on the machine. In the June 25, 1907, +issue of the _Sewing Machine Times_ it was called the Common Sense +machine, but detailed research has turned up no evidence to substantiate +this name. However, a dated brochure advertising the Grant Brothers +machine and showing a model identical to that illustrated in the _Sewing +Machine Times_ has been found. The brochure states that the machine made +an elastic lockstitch; this was not a true lockstitch, however, but was +in fact a simple chainstitch. + +Grant Brothers sold their machine, which had silver-plated mountings, +for $18; the price included hemmer, Barnum's self-sewer, oilcan, +screwdriver, clamp, gauge, and four silver needles. An additional charge +of $12 was made for a table and treadle. Compared to other chainstitch +machines the price was high, and the company was short-lived. +(Smithsonian photo 60794-E.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 91.--GREENMAN AND TRUE SEWING MACHINE. This +lockstitch machine based on S. H. Roper's patent of 1857 was +manufactured at Norwich, Connecticut, from 1859 to 1861 by Cyrus B. +True, the inventor, and Jared F. Greenman, True's financial partner. +Licensed by the "Combination" and carrying the Howe patent date, the +machine had obvious merit: it was strong, well made--a good family +machine. Exhibited at the Ninth Exhibition of the Massachusetts +Charitable Mechanics Association in September 1860, it received a bronze +medal. (At this time the company was listed as Morse and True--the +inventor had obviously taken on a second financial backer.) +Unfortunately, the best market for the machine lay in the South, and the +outbreak of the Civil War made collections impossible. This greatly +retarded business and finally drove the firm into bankruptcy. In all, it +is doubtful that more than one thousand machines were produced in the +three years of manufacture. + +The machine illustrated is marked "Greenman and True" and bears the +serial number 402; it was probably manufactured early in 1860. +(Smithsonian photo 48216-N.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 92.--GROVER AND BAKER SEWING MACHINE. The Grover +and Baker machine was one of the more popular machines from the 1850s +until the early 1870s. The company produced iron-frame machines, fine +cabinet models, and portables (figs. 35 and 36). Their machines may be +dated by serial number approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-500 1851 + 501-1000 1852 + 1001-1658 1853 + 1659-3893 1854 + 3894-5038 1855 + 5039-7000 1856 + 7001-10681 1857 + 10682-15752 1858 + 15753-26033 1859 + 26034-44869 1860 + 44870-63705 1861 + 63706-82641 1862 + 82642-101477 1863 + 101478-120313 1864 + 120314-139148 1865 + 139149-157886 1866 + 157887-190886 1867 + 190887-225886 1868 + 225887-261004 1869 + 261005-338407 1870 + 338408-389246 1871 + 389247-441257 1872 + 441258-477437 1873 + 477438-497438 1874 + 497439-512439 1875 + +(Smithsonian photo 45513-B, an engraving of a Grover and Baker sewing +machine from an advertising brochure of about 1870.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 93.--HANCOCK SEWING MACHINE, 1867. One of the many +inventors who turned his talents to inventing and producing a +mechanically simple and cheaper machine was Henry J. Hancock. His 1867 +machine is only about six inches wide; it uses a tambour-type needle, +pulling a loop of thread from below the stitching surface. (Smithsonian +photo P63197.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 94.--HANCOCK SEWING MACHINE, 1868. Hancock in 1868 +received both a design patent and a mechanical patent now using the +eye-pointed needle and a hook to form the chainstitch. The design was an +open framework circle with a mirror mounted in front of the table clamp. +The purpose of the designated "looking glass" was decorative only. The +Hancock machines were only manufactured for a few years. They measure +10-1/2 inches in width, slightly larger than the earlier machine. +(Smithsonian photo 48328-M.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 95.--[A.C.] HERRON'S PATENT SEWING MACHINE, 1858. +The manufacturer of this machine is not known, but the machine was based +on the patent of Abial C. Herron issued August 4, 1857. All the machines +carry a small heart-shaped plate just above the needle descent bearing +the patentee's name and the patent date. The patent covered an +improvement in the method of making the chainstitch. The machines were +provided with a hand crank, but were also meant to be operated by a belt +and treadle. No records of the extent of manufacture of this machine +have been found. This machine head measures 14 inches in width, about +standard size. (Smithsonian photo 48329-J.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 96.--A. B. HOWE SEWING MACHINE of about 1860. +(Smithsonian photo 45525-C.)] + +Figures 96, 97, and 98.--THE HOWE MACHINES. It is difficult for many to +believe that the stamped legend "Elias Howe patent, Sept. 10, 1846" does +not certify that a machine is an original Howe. Although Elias Howe was +granted a patent for the lockstitch machine in 1846, he did not +establish a sewing-machine factory for about twenty years. Early in the +1850s and later through the "Combination," however, he licensed others +to make machines using his patent. These machines bore that patent date +for which a royalty was being paid. + +Among his early licensees was his elder brother Amasa who organized the +Howe Sewing Machine Co. in 1854. The Amasa Howe machines were very good +ones, and in 1862 Amasa won the prize medal at the London International +Exhibition. This immensely increased the popularity of the machine and +Elias offered to join Amasa by building a large factory at Bridgeport, +Connecticut, to fill the increasing demand for more machines. The +machines produced at Bridgeport, however, although imitating the Amasa +Howe machines, proved inferior in quality. Amasa found that, rather than +helping his business reputation, his brother's efforts were hurting him, +and he severed business relations with Elias. + +Because of their brief association, the 1862 prize medal awarded to A. +B. Howe was sometimes credited to Elias. The latter did receive awards +for his patent, but never for his manufactured machines. When the two +brothers dissolved their joint venture, Elias attempted to call his new +company the Howe Sewing Machine Co., but Amasa's claim that this name +had been his exclusive property for many years was upheld by the courts. +Elias then omitted the word "Sewing" and called his company simply the +Howe Machine Co. + +After Elias died in 1867, the company was run by his sons-in-law, the +Stockwell brothers. To distinguish their machines from those of A. B. +Howe, they marked each machine with a brass medallion picturing the head +and flowing locks of Elias Howe. They also continued to advertise their +machine as the "original" Howe. In about 1873, B. P. Howe, Amasa's son, +sold the Howe Sewing Machine Co. to the Stockwell brothers, who +continued to manufacture Howe machines until 1886. + +The machines of the A. B. Howe Sewing Machine Co. may be dated by serial +number approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-60 1854 + 61-113 1855 + 114-166 1856 + 167-299 1857 + 300-478 1858 + 479-1399 1859 + +No figures are available for 1860-1870, but 20,051 machines were +manufactured in 1871. + +The machines of the [Elias] Howe Machine Co. are not believed to have +begun with serial number 1, and no figures are available for 1865-1867. +After that, the machines may be dated by serial number approximately as +follows: + +_Serial Number_ _Year_ + +11,000-46,000 1868 +46,001-91,843 1869 +91,844-167,000 1870 +167,001-301,010 1871 +301,011-446,010 1872 +446,011-536,010 1873 +536,011-571,010 1874 +571,011-596,010 1875 +596,011-705,304 1876 + +No figures are available for 1877-1886. + +[Illustration: Figure 97.--ADVERTISING BROCHURE distributed by E. Howe +during the brothers' brief partnership; the machines are basically A. B. +Howe machines, 1863. (Smithsonian photo 49373-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 98.--HOWE (STOCKWELL BROTHERS) MACHINE, 1870. +(Smithsonian photo 45572-E.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 99.--PATENT MODEL OF CHRISTOPHER HODGKINS, +November 2, 1852, assigned to Nehemiah Hunt. (Smithsonian photo 34551.)] + +Figures 99, 100, and 101.--THE N. HUNT (later, in 1856, Hunt & Webster +and finally in 1858 Ladd and Webster) sewing machine was based on the +patents of Christopher Hodgkins, November 2, 1852, and May 9, 1854, both +of which were assigned to Nehemiah Hunt. First manufactured in 1853, the +machine, which closely resembled the Hodgkins' patent, won a silver +medal at the exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics +Association that same year. + +In 1856 Hunt took a partner, and the company became Hunt & Webster. An +interesting account of this company appeared as a feature article in +_Ballou's Pictorial_, July 5, 1856, where it was reported that "the +North American Shoe Company have over fifty of the latest improved +machines, represented in these drawings [fig. 31], now running...." The +article also estimated that a 55-million dollar increase in shoe +manufacturing in Massachusetts in 1855 was due to the sewing machine. In +1856 the Hunt & Webster machine again won a silver medal at the +exhibition. Very late in 1858 the company became Ladd, Webster, & Co. +and continued to manufacture both family and manufacturing sewing +machines until the mid-1860s. + +The approximate date of manufacture can be determined by serial number: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-100 1853 + 101-368 1854 + 369-442 1855 + 443-622 1856 + 623-1075 1857 + 1076-1565 1858 + 1566-3353 1859 + +No figures are available for the 1860s. + +[Illustration: Figure 100.--RIGHT: HUNT & WEBSTER sewing machine of +about 1855, serial number 414. (Smithsonian photo 48216-V.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 101.--LADD, WEBSTER & CO. sewing machine of about +1858, Boston, serial number 1497. (Smithsonian photo 46953.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 102.--IMPROVED COMMON SENSE sewing machine of +about 1870. This machine is so very similar to the New England machines +in its feed, threading, looping mechanism, and in its general design, +that it is sometimes mistaken for the earlier New England machines (see +figs. 112 and 113). + +Dating from the early 1870s, the Improved Common Sense machine is about +10 inches in width, two inches larger than the New England machine. The +spool holder is similar to Folsom's patented design, but is less +refined. A page from an advertising brochure of the period verifies the +name of the machine, but does not identify the manufacturer. + +There are no patent dates or identifying names or numbers on the machine +illustrated. Although the Empire Co. also produced a machine of this +style, their models are marked with their name and with Ketchum's patent +date, April 23, 1863. Of the several styles of machine using the Raymond +looper, this type seems to account for the largest volume manufactured, +as evidenced by the proportionately higher number of examples still +extant. (Smithsonian photo 48328-E.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 103.--JOHNSON SEWING MACHINE, 1857. Another of the +all-but-forgotten manufacturers of the 1850s was Emery, Houghton & Co., +who constructed the A.F. Johnson machines. Examination of existing +machines indicates that they were manufactured in 1856 and 1857, and +possibly a little longer. This one from 1857 bears the serial number +624, so we know that several hundred were manufactured. The head is +ornately attractive, slightly reminiscent of Wheeler & Wilson models, +and of standard size. (Smithsonian photo 48329-B.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 104.--"LADY" SEWING MACHINE of about 1859. The +contemporary name of this machine is unknown. The unusual design of the +head, or main support, is based in part on the design patent, number +216, of Isaac F. Baker, issued April 10, 1849, for a "new and useful +design[,] for ornamenting furniture[,] called Cora Munro" who was a +character in James Fenimore Cooper's _Last of the Mohicans_. The design +shows a female figure wearing a riding dress and hat that is ornamented +with a plume and a bow. Her right hand holds a riding stick and the +left, her skirt. Trunks of trees and foliage complete the Baker design, +which is known to have been used for girandoles of the period. A +companion design was also patented by Baker, number 215, which is in the +form of a man in military costume and is named "Major Heyward," for +another character in _Last of the Mohicans_. + +The sewing machines based on the "Cora Munro" design also use branch +designs as the overhanging arms. A mother bird sits in the upper branch +and descends to feed a young bird as the machine is in operation. The +one illustrated was used as the machine submitted with a request for +patent by George Hensel of New York City for which patent 24,737 was +issued on July 12, 1859. Since Hensel's patent application was for an +improvement in the feed, there was no need for the highly decorative +head unless such a machine was commercially available. The patent +specifications merely state that the head is "ornamented." Another +sewing machine of this type was used as the patent model by Sidney +Parker of Sing Sing, New York, number 24,780, issued on the same date as +the Hensel patent. Parker's patent also covered an improved feeding +mechanism. In the patent description, however, the inventor states that +"the general form of the machine is not unlike others now in use." By +this he might have meant in the design, or possibly in the basic +structural form. Other than the two machines described, no other +examples are known to have survived, but "Lady" or "Cora Munro" sewing +machines were manufactured. (Smithsonian photo 45506-D.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 105.--LANDFEAR'S PATENT SEWING MACHINE of about +1857. Another of the many machines that, except for isolated examples, +have almost completely disappeared from the records is Landfear's +machine. Fortunately, this manufacturer marked his machine--where many +did not--stamping it: "Landfear's patent-Dec^r 1856, No. 262, W. H. +Johnson's Patent Feb. 26th 1856, Manfrd by Parkers, Snow, Brooks & Co., +West Meriden, Conn." (There was a Parker sewing machine manufactured by +the Charles Parker Co. of Meriden, but his machine was a double-thread +chainstitch machine and was licensed by the "Combination." The Landfear +machine may have been an earlier attempt by a predecessor or closely +related company.) + +The Landfear patent was for a shuttle machine, but it also included a +mode for regulating stitch length. The name chosen for this machine may +be incorrect, since the single-thread chainstitch mechanism is primarily +that of W. H. Johnson, but since the Johnson patent also was used on +other machines the name "Landfear" was assigned. The machine was +probably another attempt to evade royalty payment to the "Combination." + +The serial number 262 indicates that at least that many machines were +manufactured, although this model is the only one known to be in +existence. The support arm of the machine head is iron, cast as a vase +of flowers and painted in natural colors. The paint on the head is +original, but the table has been refinished, and the iron legs, which +had rusted, have been repainted. (Smithsonian photo 48440-G.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 106.--LATHROP SEWING MACHINE of about 1873. These +machines were manufactured by the Lathrop Combination Sewing Machine Co. +under the patents of Lebbeus W. Lathrop of 1869, 1870, and 1873. The +machine used two threads, both taken from spools; moreover, it produced +not only the double chainstitch, but it was constructed to produce also +a lockstitch and a combined "lock and chain stitch." The machine +illustrated bears the serial number 31 and the patent dates of Grover & +Baker, and Bachelder among others, in addition to the first two Lathrop +patent dates. The company lasted only a few years as it is included in +the 1881 list of manufacturers that had ceased to exist. (Smithsonian +photo 46953-F.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 107.--ILLUSTRATION FROM A BROCHURE, marked in ink: +"The National Portrait Gallery, 1855." Singer Archives. (Smithsonian +photo 48091-E.)] + +Figures 107 and 108.--THE NICHOLS AND LEAVITT sewing machines. One of +Elias Howe's earliest licensees was J. B. Nichols. His machine, +manufactured at first with George Bliss and later alone as J. B. Nichols +& Co., was called Howe's Improved Patent Sewing Machine. It was, +however, no more a Howe machine than any of the others produced under +the Howe patent. + +In July 1855 Nichols went into partnership with Rufus Leavitt, and the +company name changed to Nichols, Leavitt & Co. In 1857 it was changed +again to Leavitt & Co., and finally in the mid-1860s to Leavitt Sewing +Machine Co. By the 1870s, it was defunct. + +The Nichols-Leavitt machines can be dated by their serial numbers +approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ _Company_ + + 1-28 1853 Nichols & Bliss + 29-245 1854 J. B. Nichols & Co. + 246-397 1855 J. B. Nichols & Co.--Nichols, Leavitt & Co. + 398-632 1856 Nichols, Leavitt & Co. + 633-827 1857 Leavitt & Co. + 828-902 1858 " + 903-1115 1859 " + 1116-1436 1860 " + 1437-1757 1861 " + 1758-2077 1862 " + 2078-2400 1863 " + 2401-2900 1864 " + 2901-3900 1865 Leavitt Sewing Machine Co. + 3901-4900 1866 " + 4901-5951 1867 " + 5952-6951 1868 " + 6952-7722 1869 " + +There is no record that the company was in existence after 1869. + +[Illustration: Figure 108.--LEAVITT SEWING MACHINE of about 1868, serial +number 6907. (Smithsonian photo 48328.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 109.--LESTER SEWING MACHINE of about 1858. The +Lester machine was first manufactured by J. H. Lester in Brooklyn, New +York. His machine was based on the patents of William Johnson, John +Bradshaw and others but not on the patents held by the "Combination," +although he had secured a license. When the Old Dominion Company applied +for a license from the "Combination," Lester learned of this, went to +Richmond, and arranged to combine his business with theirs. Since the +Lester machine was the better one, it was agreed to cease the +manufacture of the Old Dominion machines early in 1860 and in March the +company name was changed to the Lester Mfg. Co. Late in 1860, George +Sloat entered the company with his Elliptic machine; the name was +changed again, this time to Union Sewing Machine Co. The manufacture of +both sewing machines continued until the outbreak of the Civil War the +following year, which brought a conversion to arms production. The +manufacture of Lester machines was never resumed. + +The machine illustrated was manufactured by J. H. Lester in Brooklyn; it +bears the serial number 96. The number of Lester machines manufactured +from 1858 through 1861 is not known, but it was probably less than +1,000. (Smithsonian photo P63359.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 110.--NE PLUS ULTRA of about 1867. Another of the +interesting hand-turned chainstitch machines of the late 1850s and 1860s +was patented by O.L. Reynolds. The baster plates and the handle on the +wheel are missing on this machine, but an interesting shield and +draped-flag pattern is painted on the base. + +Another machine of this type has the following inscription stamped on +the baster plate: "Ne Plus Ultra, Patent Applied For, 174, O.L. +Reynolds, Patentee & Manufacturer, Dover N.H." Reynold's patent model, +March 30, 1858, bears the serial number 110, indicating that the machine +illustrated here--which bears the serial number 26--was manufactured +before the patent was obtained. (Smithsonian photo 48216-F.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 111.--NETTLETON & RAYMOND SEWING MACHINE. One of +the most ornate of the early, small, hand-turned sewing machines was +patented and manufactured by Willford H. Nettleton and Charles Raymond +whose first patent was received on April 14, 1857. The patent model, +believed to be a commercial machine, is beautifully silver-plated. +Whether this was a special one-of-a-kind model, or whether the inventors +tried to make a commercial success of a silver-plated machine is not +known. The machine made a two-thread chainstitch, taking both threads +from commercial spools. By October 1857, the inventors had received +their second patent. This time the machine was brass and gilt--brighter, +but less expensive. At the same time, Nettleton & Raymond began +manufacturing sewing-shears machines under the patent of J. E. +Hendricks. + +By the latter half of 1858, Nettleton & Raymond had moved from Bristol, +Connecticut, to Brattleboro, Vermont. The patented improvement of the +two-thread chainstitch machine received that year was in the name of +"Raymond, assignor to Nettleton," although the machines of this type +bear neither name nor patent date. No record of the price for which they +were sold has been found, but it would be fair to estimate that it was +probably about $25. This style of machine was discontinued when the +manufacture of the simpler, more profitable New England model began, a +machine that Raymond had initiated just before the partners left +Bristol. (Smithsonian photo 45505-E.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 112.--RAYMOND PATENT MODEL, March 9, 1858. +(Smithsonian photo 32009-O.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 113.--NEW ENGLAND sewing machine of about 1860, +manufactured by Nettleton & Raymond; it bears the Raymond patent date of +March 9, 1858. (Smithsonian photo 45505-G.)] + +[Illustration: Figures 112 and 113.--NEW ENGLAND SEWING MACHINES. The +small, hand-turned, sewing machines some of which were called Common +Sense, were manufactured by at least three companies and possibly more. +The earliest ones were those made by Nettleton & Raymond based on +Charles Raymond's patent of March 9, 1858, which featured a hinged +presser foot acting as the top feed. On July 30, 1861, Raymond received +a patent for an improved looper; this date is found on all machines +later manufactured by the inventor. + +In 1858 Nettleton and Raymond had moved from Bristol, Connecticut, to +Brattleboro, Vermont. Also in Brattleboro at this time were Thomas H. +White and Samuel Barker, who were manufacturing a small machine called +the Brattleboro. White left Vermont in 1862 and went to Massachusetts. +There, in partnership with William Grout, he also began to manufacture +New England machines; these were basically the same as the Raymond +machines. After a short time, Grout left the partnership with White and +moved to Winchendon, there continuing to make New England machines for +approximately one more year. In 1865, J. G. Folsom of Winchendon +exhibited a New England machine at the Tenth Exhibition of the +Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association along with his Globe +machine. Whether both machines were manufactured by him or whether he +might have been exhibiting one of Grout's machines is not known. + +There is no record that New England machines were manufactured after +1865. There is a great similarity between these machines and the +Improved Common Sense sewing machines of the 1870s. It is believed that +the name "Common Sense" was given by frugal New Englanders to several of +the cheaper chainstitch machines of the 1860s.] + +[Illustration: Figure 114.--PRATT'S SECOND PATENT MODEL, March 3, 1857, +probably a commercial machine. (Smithsonian photo 48328-H.)] + +[Illustration: Figures 114 and 115.--PRATT'S PATENT and the Ladies +Companion sewing machine. The machines manufactured under the patents of +Samuel F. Pratt were first sold in 1857 and 1858 as Pratt's patent. +These machines carry the Pratt name and the patent dates "Feb. 3, 1857 +Mar. 3;" the latter is an 1857 patent date also. In 1859 the Pratt +machine was called the Ladies Companion and was so marked. It was also +marked with the 1857 patent dates, the date February 16, 1858, and a +serial number, and was stamped "Boston, Mass." Manufacture was +discontinued after a few years.] + +[Illustration: Figure 115.--LADIES COMPANION, 1859. (_Photo courtesy of +The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan._)] + +[Illustration: Figure 116.--QUAKER CITY SEWING MACHINE. During the first +decade of sewing-machine manufacture many types of handsome wooden cases +were developed to house the mechanisms. Although such cases increased +the total cost, they were greatly admired and were purchased whenever +family funds permitted. The machine was based on the patents of William +P. Uhlinger: a mechanical patent for a double chainstitch machine on +August 17, 1858 (antedated May 8), and a patent for the casing on +December 28, 1858. The machine head was lowered into the casing as the +lid was brought forward and closed--an idea much ahead of its time. + +This Quaker City machine, serial number 18, was purchased by Benjamin F. +Meadows of Lafayette, Alabama, for $150 just prior to the Civil War. +Relatively few machines of this type were manufactured, and the Quaker +City Sewing Machine Co. existed for only a few years. Its apparent hope +for a southern market was short-lived, and it was unable to compete +either with the companies licensed under the "Combination" or with those +producing less expensive machines. (Smithsonian photo 46953-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 117.--FROM AN ADVERTISING BROCHURE, marked in ink, +"The National Portrait Gallery, 1855," in the Singer Company's archives. +The brochure states "Howard & Davis, 34 Water Street, Boston, +Massachusetts Sole Manufacturers of Robinson's Patent Sewing Machine +with Rope[r]'s Improvements." (Smithsonian photo 48091-F.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 118.--SEWING MACHINE OF ABOUT 1856 with +inscription "Howard & Davis Makers, Boston, Mass. Robinson & Roper Pat. +Dec. 10, 1850, Aug. 15, 1854"; the drive wheel and the circular +stitching plate of this machine are missing. (Smithsonian photo +48440-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figures 117 and 118.--ROBINSON AND ROPER sewing machines, +1855-1856. This is one of the few machines producing a backstitch or +half backstitch to realize any commercial success. Manufactured a very +short time by Howard & Davis, it was a short-thread machine, based on +the Frederick Robinson patent of December 10, 1850, and the Samuel Roper +patent of August 15, 1854. Roper produced additional improvements for +which he received a patent on November 4, 1856. In the _Scientific +American_, November 1, 1856, the new machine was discussed: "Robinson & +Roper exhibit their new improved sewing machines, which appear to +operate with great success. Two needles are employed, the points of +which are furnished with hooks that alternately catch the thread and +form the stitch. The finest kind of cotton thread or silk can be used. +The work appears well done. Price $100."] + +[Illustration: Figure 119.--ILLUSTRATED PAGE in a Shaw & Clark +advertising brochure, published in late 1864. (Smithsonian photo +61321.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 120.--SHAW & CLARK SEWING MACHINE (Page patent) of +1867, Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. (Smithsonian photo 48216-L.)] + +[Illustration: Figures 119 and 120.--SHAW & CLARK SEWING MACHINES. In +addition to the early style Monitor sewing machine sold by Shaw & Clark +without a name or any identifying marks, the company continued to +manufacture machines after a lawsuit with the "Combination" forced them +to take out a license. They manufactured an adapted version of their +Monitor and an entirely new design patented in 1861. Their machines were +now marked with the company name and a list of patent dates including +those of Howe, Wheeler and Wilson, Grover and Baker, and Singer and the +Batchelder patent, together with their own design patents. In 1867 the +company moved from Biddeford, Maine, to Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. +In the same year, they began manufacturing a machine of the design +patented by T. C. Page. The company is believed to have become the +Chicopee Sewing Machine Company which appeared the following year and +remained in business only a very short time. One Chicopee sewing machine +is in the Smithsonian collection.] + +[Illustration: Figure 121.--SINGER "Traverse Shuttle Machine--Letter A." +(Smithsonian photo 58984.)] + +Figures 121 and 122.--SINGER SEWING MACHINES. From 1850 to 1858 the +Singer company produced heavy manufacturing-type sewing machines similar +to the patent model shown earlier (fig. 28). The first machine for +family use, Singer's new "Family" sewing machine (fig. 33) was +manufactured from 1858-1861. Their second-style family machine was +called the "Traverse Shuttle Machine--Letter A;" it was manufactured +from 1859 to 1865, when they introduced their third family machine and +called it the "New Family" sewing machine. This style machine continued +until about 1883 when the "Improved Family" machine appeared. In +addition to the lockstitch machines, Singer also manufactured +chainstitch machines, and many highly specialized manufacturing +machines. + +From 1857 through the 1880s, the Singer machines were marked with two +serial numbers. It is possible that the numbers were related to the +"Combination" royalties paid by the Singer company. Until about 1873 +there was a difference of exactly 4,000 in the two numbers, thus one +machine would be marked 12163 and directly below it would be marked +16163. From 1873 the last three digits of the two numbers continued to +be the same but the lower number might be much lower in value than +either number used in earlier years. The larger number is believed to +have been a record of total production while the lower number may have +referred to a machine of a particular style. The Singer company records +can shed no light on the meaning of the top (or lower of the two) serial +numbers. Generally, in the earlier machines, the difference in the two +numbers will not affect the dating of a machine by more than one year. +Since dating by serial number can only be estimated, the two numbers do +not add an appreciable variable prior to 1873. Only the larger number, +however, should be considered in dating machines after 1873. + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-100 1850 + 101-900 1851 + 901-1711 1852 + 1712-2521 1853 + 2522-3400 1854 + 3401-4283 1855 + 4284-6847 1856 + 6848-10477 1857 + 10478-14071 1858 + 14072-25024 1859 + 25025-43000 1860 + 43001-61000 1861 + 61001-79396 1862 + 79397-99426 1863 + 99427-123058 1864 + 123059-149399 1865 + 149400-180360 1866 + 180361-223414 1867 + 223415-283044 1868 + 283045-369826 1869 + 369827-497660 1870 + 497661-678921 1871 + 678922-898680 1872 + 898681-1121125 1873 + 1121126-1362805 1874 + 1362806-1612658 1875 + 1612659-1874975 1876 + +Since records of annual production from 1877 to the turn of the century +are not complete, it is difficult to establish yearly approximations. +Using the machines submitted as patent models, and thus known to have +been manufactured before the date of deposit, however, has provided us +with the following date guides. By 1877 there had been 2 million +machines manufactured, 3 million by 1880, 4 million by 1882, 5 million +by 1884, 6 million by 1886, 7 million by 1888, 8 million by 1889, 9 +million by 1890, and 10 million by 1891. + +[Illustration: Figure 122.--SINGER "New Family" sewing machine. +(Smithsonian photo 58987.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 123.--STANDARD SEWING MACHINE of about 1870. This +chainstitch machine is believed to have been made by the company that +later became the Standard Shuttle Sewing Machine Company, when they +began manufacturing lockstitch machines about 1874. This machine is +marked with the name, "Standard," and with the dates "Patented July 14, +1870, Patented Jan. 22, 1856, Dec. 9, 1856, Dec. 12, 1865." The dates +refer to the reissue and extended reissue of the Bachelder and the A. B. +Wilson patents. The number of chainstitch machines of this type that +were manufactured is not known. (Smithsonian photo 45506-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 124.--TAGGART & FARR sewing machine, front view. +(Smithsonian photo 48216-P.)] + +Figures 124 and 125.--TAGGART & FARR sewing machine, 1860. The Taggart & +Farr is an almost forgotten machine. It was based on Chester Farr's +patent of August 9, 1859. The machine, however, was in commercial +production as early as 1858, the year the patent application was made. +Using two threads--both taken directly from the spool--to form a +chainstitch, the machine was operated basically by treadle but also by +hand. The drive wheel is missing on this machine, but it would normally +appear on the right. + +The name and patent date were painted on the end of the machine. This +was true of many other machines of this period, which is why so many go +unidentified once the paint has become worn. Several thousand Taggart & +Farr machines were manufactured, but the company is believed to have had +a short life, for it was among those that had disappeared by 1881. + +[Illustration: Figure 125.--TAGGART & FARR sewing machine, end view. +(Smithsonian photo 48216-M.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 126.--WATSON SEWING MACHINE, 1856, illustrated in +Scientific American, December 13, 1856. The earliest Watson machines +were two-thread lockstitch machines, as described in the _Scientific +American_, August 10, 1850. Although the magazine reported that the +inventor had applied for a patent, the earliest lockstitch patent issued +to William C. Watson was on March 11, 1856. A few of his machines were +made in 1850, the article continued, "several of these machines are +nearly finished ... persons desirous of seeing them can be gratified by +calling upon Messrs. Jones & Lee." A Watson machine was exhibited by +Jones & Lee at the Sixth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable +Mechanics Association held in Boston in September 1850. + +In 1853 a Watson machine was exhibited at the New York Industry of All +Nations Exhibition, but this was a single-looping machine; Watson +received a patent for this single-thread machine on November 25, 1856. + +In the December 13, 1856, issue of _Scientific American_ a machine +called Watson's "Family" sewing machine was illustrated and described. +It was a small machine (only 8 by 5 inches) manufactured by Watson & +Wooster and selling for $10. References to the Watson single-thread +machine occur as late as 1860, but no examples are known to have +survived. (Smithsonian photo 48221-B.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 127.--WEST & WILLSON SEWING MACHINE of about 1859. +The West & Willson machine, manufactured under the patent of H. B. West +and H. F. Willson, enjoyed a very brief span of popularity. The patent +covered the peculiar method of operating a spring-looper in combination +with an eye-pointed needle to form a single chainstitch, but whether +machines of this single-thread variety were manufactured is unknown. The +machine illustrated here is a two-thread machine of basically the same +description. It stitches from left to right and bears serial number 1544 +and the inscription "West & Willson Co. patented June 29, 1858." +(Smithsonian photo 49456-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 128.--WHEELER & WILSON SEWING MACHINE of about +1872. Serial number 670974. (Smithsonian photo P63149-A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 129.--WHEELER AND WILSON NO. 8 sewing machine of +about 1876. (Smithsonian photo 17663-C.)] + +[Illustration: Figures 128 and 129.--Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines. +The Wheeler and Wilson company was the largest manufacturer of sewing +machines in the 1850s and the 1860s. + +It began in 1851 as A. B. Wilson; from 1852 to 1856 it was the Wheeler, +Wilson & Co., Watertown, Connecticut; and from 1856 to 1876, it was +Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co., Bridgeport, Connecticut. + +The style of the head changed very little during these years (see figs. +26 and 27). Both a table style with iron legs and a cabinet model were +made: the head was usually mounted to stitch from left to right. In +1861, the company introduced the famous glass presser foot, patented on +March 5 of that year by J. L. Hyde. The presser foot was made of metal +but shaped like an open [?] into which was slid a small glass plate, with a +hole for the needle descent. The glass allowed the seamstress to observe +the stitching and to produce very close-edge stitching. It remained a +favorite of many women for years. In 1876, the new No. 8 machine was +introduced and a new series of serial numbers was initiated. It is, +therefore, imperative to know that the machine is one of the earlier +style machines before using the following list of serial numbers to date +the machines, approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-200 1851 + 201-650 1852 + 651-1449 1853 + 1450-2205 1854 + 2206-3376 1855 + 3377-5586 1856 + 5587-10177 1857 + 10178-18155 1858 + 18156-39461 1859 + 39462-64563 1860 + 64564-83119 1861 + 83120-111321 1862 + 111322-141099 1863 + 141100-181161 1864 + 181161-220318 1865 + 220319-270450 1866 + 270451-308505 1867 + 308506-357856 1868 + 357857-436722 1869 + 436723-519930 1870 + 519931-648456 1871 + 648457-822545 1872 + 822546-941735 1873 + 941736-1034563 1874 + 1034564-1318303 1875 + 1138304-1247300 1876 + +Records of the second series of serial numbers dating from 1876 are not +available.] + +[Illustration: Figure 130.--WHITE SEWING MACHINE. Although the White +sewing machines date from 1876, Thomas H. White had been busy in the +manufacture of sewing machines for many years prior to this. White is +known to have been associated with Barker in the manufacture of the +Brattleboro machine and later with Grout in producing one of the several +New England machines. In 1866 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and began +manufacturing machines for sale under special trade names through +selling organizations. In 1876, the White Sewing Machine Company was +formed and machines were sold under the White name. + +The machine illustrated is a standard lockstitch machine, which would +have been set into a sewing-machine table and operated by a treadle. The +small handle was used to start the wheel, and thus the stitching +operation, in the forward direction. This machine bears the serial +number 28241 and the following patents: "Mar. 14, 1876, May 2, 1876, +Oct. 24, 1876, Jan. 16, 1877, Mar. 20, 1877, Mar. 27, 1877," which are +primarily the patents of D'Arcy Porter and George W. Baker. + +The machines of the 1870s may be dated approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-9000 1876 + 9000-27000 1877 + 27001-45000 1878 + 45001-63000 1879 + +(Smithsonian photo 48329-H.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 131.--WILLCOX AND GIBBS SEWING MACHINE, serial +number 296572, of about 1878. From 1857 to the turn of the century, the +style of the Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine changed very little (fig. +39). It was the most popular and the most reliable of the many +chainstitch machines. In addition to the basic mechanical patents, Gibbs +also patented the design of the sewing-machine head in 1860. In the +specifications, he described it as an open ring set on a base or +pedestal. The lower part of the open section supported the cloth plate. +The design of the head, intentionally or not, formed a perfect letter G, +the initial of the inventor. Later the machine head as a letter G was +incorporated into the company's trademark. Additional patents were also +granted to James Willcox for a leg and treadle design and to Charles +Willcox for mechanical improvements. + +It has not been possible to secure information on records of serial +numbers from the late 1870s through the 1920s to aid in dating machines +of that period. For the preceding years, however, the machines may be +dated approximately as follows: + + _Serial Number_ _Year_ + + 1-10000 1857 + 10001-20000 1858 + 20001-30000 1859 + 30001-40000 1860 + 40001-50000 1861 + 50001-60000 1862 + 60001-70000 1863 + 70001-80000 1864 + 80001-90000 1865 + 90001-100000 1866 + 100001-115000 1867 + 115001-130000 1868 + 130001-145000 1869 + 145001-160000 1870 + 160001-190127 1871 + 190128-223766 1872 + 223767-239647 1873 + 239648-253357 1874 + 253358-267879 1875 + 267880-279637 1876 + +Although the Willcox and Gibbs company is still in existence, for the +past several decades the company has limited itself to the production of +specialized manufacturing machines rather than family machines. +(Smithsonian photo 58986.)] + +[Illustration] + +<---- + +[Illustration: Figure 132.--ILLUSTRATION from _Knights American +Mechanical Dictionary_, vol. 3, p. 2122. The 68 sewing-machine stitches +in use by 1882 are as follows: + + SINGLE THREAD + + 1. Running stitch. + + 2. Back stitch. + + 3. Fast stitch. + + 4. Chainstitch. + + 5. Coiled-loop chainstitch. + + 6. Knitted-loop chainstitch. + + 7. Knotted-loop chainstitch. + + 8. Loop enchained by second alternate stitch. + + 9. Each loop locks and enchains alternate loops. + + 10. Staple stitch (for waxed threads only). + + TWO THREADS + + 11. Double-needle chainstitch. + + 12. Double-thread chainstitch (one needle). + + 13. Double-looped chainstitch. + + 14. Chain with interlocking thread. + + 15. Under-thread through its own loop. + + 16. Two needles penetrate fabric from opposite sides. + + 17. Two needles working from the same side. + + 18. Double interlocking loop. + + 19. Lockstitch. + + 20. Twist in needle thread. + + 21. Double twist in needle thread. + + 22. Twist in shuttle thread. + + 23. Double twist in shuttle thread. + + 24. Knot stitch, shuttle thread knotted at every stitch. + + 25. Knot stitch, shuttle thread knotted at every other stitch. + + 26. Knot stitch, shuttle thread through the needle thread loop and + knotted around the loop. + + 27. Shuttle thread pulled to the surface and interlocked with + succeeding stitch to form an embroidery stitch. + + 28. Wire-lock stitch, thread locked in place with wire. + + THREE THREADS + + 29. Two shuttles, each locking alternate loops. + + 30. Double loop with interlocking third thread. + + 31. Two shuttle threads, both locking each loop. + + 32. Two shuttle threads intertwining and locking each loop. + + 33. Single thread; loop of needle thread drawn up over the edge and + locked by needle at its next descent. + + 34. Two threads; loops of needle thread, above and below, extend to + the edge of the fabric, and are locked by shuttle thread. + + 35. Two threads; needle penetrates back from edge, its loop passed + to and interlocked by the needle at its next descent over the + edge, and this second needle-loop locked by shuttle thread. + + 36. Two threads; shuttle thread drawn up over the edge of the + fabric to the line of the needle thread. + + 37. Two threads; needle loop through the fabric locked by needle + loop over the edge and second loop locked by second thread. + + 38. Two threads; edge of fabric covered by shuttle thread. + + 39. Three threads; third thread laid around the stitch at the edge + of the fabric. + + ORNAMENTAL STITCHES + + 40. Zigzag; single thread chainstitch (4). + + 41. Zigzag; two-thread lockstitch (19). + + 42. Zigzag; two-thread chainstitch (13). + + 43. Zigzag; chain stitch with interlocking thread (14). + + 44. Zigzag; double loop with interlocking third thread (30). + + 45. Zigzag; running stitch (1). + + 46. Zigzag; two needles and shuttle. + + 47. Zigzag; variation of 46. + + 48-52. Zigzag stitches for sewing straw braid. + + 53-62. Straight straw-braid stitches. + + 63-67. Special embroidery stitches. + + 68. Saddler's stitch.] + + * * * * * + +In the _Sewing Machine News_, vol. 3, no. 5, p. 12 (1881), there were +listed a number of then "defunct" machines and companies. Among these +are many well-known names and little-known names for which at least one +additional reference can be found. There are some, however, for which +this is the only reference to date. These are: Blanchard, Babcock, +Banner, Brown Rotary, Cottage, Cole, Duplex, Economist, Erie, Gutman, +Hill, Hancock & Bennett, Jenks, Lockmar, La Favorite, Learned, Leggett, +McCoy, McCardy, Medallion, McArthur & Co., Monopoly, Moreau, Mack, +Niagra, New Cannaan, Orphean, Pride-of-the-West, Seamen & Guiness, +Surprise, Stackpole, Shanks, Stanford, Troy, Utica, United States +Family, Weaver, Wagner, and Williams. Some of these names may have been +a "special" name given to machines manufactured by one of the known +companies, but at least a few are names of machines manufactured for a +very short time prior to 1881 about which we would like to know more. + + + + +III. Chronological List of U.S. Sewing-Machine Patent Models in the +Smithsonian Collections + + +There are more than seven hundred sewing-machine patent models and a +similar number of attachment models in the Smithsonian collections. Most +of these machines were received in 1926 when the Patent Office disposed +of its collection of hundreds of thousands of models. Prior to 1880, +models had been required with the patent application; although the +requirement was discontinued that year, patentees continued to furnish +models for another decade or so. All models prior to 1836 were lost in a +Patent Office fire of that year, but since the sewing-machine patent +history dates from the 1840s, most of the historically important ones of +this subject have been preserved. + +These models form a valuable part of the record of the invention, +supplementing the drawings and the text of the written specifications. +The early sewing-machine models were made to order, either by the +inventor or a commissioned model maker. As soon as sewing machines were +produced commercially, it was less expensive for the patentee to use a +commercial machine of the period, to which he added his change or +improvement, than to have a complete model constructed to order. Some of +the commercial machines used in this way are the only examples known to +be in existence, and as such, are of more interest in establishing the +history of the manufactured machine than for the minor patented changes. + +During the period of the "Sewing Machine Combination," many patentees +attempted to invent and patent "the different machine." This was either +a radical change in style or an attempt to produce a far less-expensive +type of machine. These machines were not always put into commercial +production, but the patent models give an indication of the extent to +which some inventors went to simplify or vary the mechanics of machine +sewing. + +The following is a list of those sewing-machine patent models in the +Smithsonian Institution collections: + + _Patentee_ |_Date_ |_Patent Number_ + | | + Greenough, John J. |Feb. 21, 1842 |2,466 + Bean, Benjamin W. |March 4, 1843 |2,982 + Corliss, George H. |Dec. 27, 1843 |3,389 + Howe, Elias, Jr. |Sept. 10, 1846 |4,750 + Bachelder, John |May 8, 1849 |6,439 + Wilson, Allen B. |Nov. 12, 1850 |7,776 + Robinson, Frederick R. |Dec. 10, 1850 |7,824 + Grover & Baker |Feb. 11, 1851 |7,931 + Singer, Isaac M. |Aug. 12, 1851 |8,294 + Wilson, Allen B. |Aug. 12, 1851 |8,296 + Wilson, Allen B. |June 15, 1852 |9,041 + Miller, Charles |July 20, 1852 |9,139 + Avery, Otis |Oct. 19, 1852 |9,338 + Hodgkins, G. |Nov. 2, 1852 |9,365 + Bradeen, J. G. |Nov. 2, 1852 |9,380 + Bates, W. G. |Feb. 22, 1853 |9,592 + Thompson, T. C. |March 29, 1853 |9,641 + Wickersham, W. |April 19, 1853 |9,679 + Johnson, W. H. |March 7, 1854 |10,597 + Harrison, J., Jr. |April 11, 1854 |10,763 + Avery, Otis |May 9, 1854 |10,880 + Singer, Isaac |May 30, 1854 |10,975 + Hunt, Walter |June 27, 1854 |11,161 + Roper, S. H. |Aug. 15, 1854 |11,531 + Shaw, P. |Sept. 12, 1854 |11,680 + Ambler, D. C. |Nov. 1, 1854 |11,884 + Robertson, T. J. W. |Nov. 28, 1854 |12,015 + Lyon, W. |Dec. 12, 1854 |12,066 + Stedman, G. W. |Dec. 12, 1854 |12,074 + Ward, D. T. |Jan. 2, 1855 |12,146 + Conant, J. S. |Jan. 16, 1855 |12,233 + Smith, H. B. |Jan. 16, 1855 |12,247 + Singer, I. M. |Feb. 6, 1855 |12,364 + Stedman, G. W. |March 20, 1855 |12,573 + Stedman, G. W. |May 1, 1855 |12,798 + Chilcott, J., and Scrimgeour, J. |March 15, 1855 |12,856 + Durgin, Charles A. |May 22, 1855 |12,902 + Bond, J., Jr. |May 22, 1855 |12,939 + Singer, Isaac |June 12, 1855 |13,065 + Harrison, J., Jr. |Oct. 2, 1855 |13,616 + Singer, I. M. |Oct. 9, 1855 |13,661 + Singer, I. M. |Oct. 9, 1855 |13,662 + Langdon, L. W. |Oct. 30, 1855 |13,727 + Stedman, G. W. |Nov. 27, 1855 |13,856 + Swingle, A. |Feb. 5, 1856 |14,207 + Watson, Wm. C. |March 11, 1856 |14,433 + Singer, I. M. |March 18, 1856 |14,475 + Grover, W. O. |May 27, 1856 |14,956 + Blodgett, S. C. |Aug. 5, 1856 |15,469 + Roper, S. H. |Nov. 4, 1856 |16,026 + Singer, Isaac M. |Nov. 4, 1856 |16,030 + Gibbs, James E. A. |Dec. 16, 1856 |16,234 + Jennings, L. |Dec. 16, 1856 |16,237 + Johnson, A. F. |Jan. 13, 1857 |16,387 + Gibbs, J. E. A. |Jan. 20, 1857 |16,434 + Howe, Elias, Jr. |Jan. 20, 1857 |16,436 + Alexander, Elisa |Feb. 3, 1857 |16,518 + Gray, Joshua |Feb. 3, 1857 |16,566 + Belcher, C. D. |March 3, 1857 |16,710 + Pratt, S. F. |March 3, 1857 |16,745 + Nettleton & Raymond |April 14, 1857 |17,049 + Gibbs, J. E. A. |June 2, 1857 |17,427 + Harris, Daniel |June 9, 1857 |17,508 + Harris, Daniel |June 16, 1857 |17,571 + Sage, William |June 30, 1857 |17,717 + Lathbury, E. T. |July 7, 1857 |17,744 + Wickersham, W. |Aug. 25, 1857 |18,068 + Wickersham, W. |Aug. 25, 1857 |18,069 + Behn, Henry |Aug. 25, 1857 |18,071 + Nettleton, Wm. H., and |Oct. 6, 1857 |18,350 + Raymond, Charles | | + Roper, S. H. |Oct. 27, 1857 |18,522 + Fetter, George |Dec. 1, 1857 |18,793 + Watson, W. C. |Dec. 8, 1857 |18,834 + Behn, H. |Dec. 15, 1857 |18,880 + Hubbard, George W. |Dec. 22, 1857 |18,904 + Lazelle, W. H. |Dec. 22, 1857 |18,915 + Clark, David W. |Jan. 5, 1858 |19,015 + Fetter, George |Jan. 5, 1858 |19,059 + Clark, David W. |Jan. 12, 1858 |19,072 + Clark, David W. |Jan. 19, 1858 |19,129 + Dimmock, Martial, and |Jan. 19, 1858 |19,135 + Rixford, Nathan | | + Boyd, A. H. |Jan. 19, 1858 |19,171 + Angell, Benjamin J. |Feb. 9, 1858 |19,285 + Clark, David W. |Feb. 23, 1858 |19,409 + Raymond, Charles |March 9, 1858 |19,612 + Hendrick, Joseph E. |March 16, 1858 |19,660 + Parker, Sidney |March 16, 1858 |19,662 + Gray, Joshua |March 16, 1858 |19,665 + Coates, F. S. |March 23, 1858 |19,684 + Clark, David W. |March 23, 1858 |19,732 + Reynolds, O. S. |March 30, 1858 |19,793 + Bartholf, Abraham |April 6, 1858 |19,823 + Savage, E. |April 6, 1858 |19,876 + Atwood, J. E., J. C., and O. |April 13, 1858 |19,903 + Bosworth, Chas. F. |April 20, 1858 |19,979 + Clark, David W. |June 8, 1858 |20,481 + Herron, A. C. |June 15, 1858 |20,557 + Johnson, A. F. |June 22, 1858 |20,686 + Barnes, W. T. |June 29, 1858 |20,688 + Smith, E. H. |June 29, 1858 |20,739 + West, H. B., and |June 29, 1858 |20,753 + Willson, H. F. | | + Miller, W. |June 29, 1858 |20,763 + Blake, Lyman R. |July 6, 1858 |20,775 + Carpenter, Lunan |July 27, 1858 |20,990 + Moore, Charles |July 27, 1858 |21,015 + Smith, E. H. |Aug. 3, 1858 |21,089 + Wheeler and Carpenter |Aug. 3, 1858 |21,100 + Gibbs, J. E. A. |Aug. 10, 1858 |21,129 + Uhlinger, W. P. |Aug. 17, 1858 |21,224 + Clark, David W. |Aug. 31, 1858 |21,322 + Blodgett, S. C. |Sept. 7, 1858 |21,465 + Hubbard, G. W. |Sept. 14, 1858 |21,537 + Hendrick, J. E. |Oct. 5, 1858 |21,722 + Gibbs, J. E. A. |Oct. 12, 1858 |21,751 + Sangster, Amos. W. |Oct. 26, 1858 |21,929 + Avery, O. and Z. W. |Nov. 9, 1858 |22,007 + Spencer and Lamb |Nov. 23, 1858 |22,137 + Perry, James |Nov. 23, 1858 |22,148 + Burnet and Broderick |Nov. 30, 1858 |22,160 + Hook, Albert H. |Nov. 30, 1858 |22,179 + Raymond, Charles |Nov. 30, 1858 |22,220 + Bishop, H. H. |Dec. 7, 1858 |22,226 + Pratt, S. F. |Dec. 7, 1858 |22,240 + Atwood, J. E. |Dec. 14, 1858 |22,273 + Fosket, W. A., and |Jan. 25, 1859 |22,719 + Savage, Elliot | | + Snyder, W. |Feb. 15, 1859 |22,987 + Clark, D. W. |May 3, 1859 |23,823 + Boyd, A. H. |May 17, 1859 |24,003 + Gray, Joshua |May 17, 1859 |24,022 + Hook, Albert H. |May 17, 1859 |24,027 + Spencer, James C. |May 17, 1859 |24,061 + Carhart, Peter S. |May 24, 1859 |24,098 + McCurdy, J. S. |June 14, 1859 |24,395 + Goodwyn, H. H. |June 21, 1859 |24,455 + Grout, William |July 5, 1859 |24,629 + Hensel, George |July 12, 1859 |24,737 + Parker, Sidney |July 12, 1859 |24,780 + Hall, William |July 26, 1859 |24,870 + Hayden, H. W. |Aug. 2, 1859 |24,937 + Kelsey, D. |Aug. 2, 1859 |24,939 + Emswiler, J. B. |Aug. 9, 1859 |25,002 + Farr, C. N. |Aug. 9, 1859 |25,004 + Harrison, James, Jr. |Aug. 9, 1859 |25,013 + Tapley, G. S. |Aug. 9, 1859 |25,059 + Barnes, W. T. |Aug. 16, 1859 |25,084 + Booth, Ezekial |Aug. 16, 1859 |25,087 + Hinkley, J. |Aug. 23, 1859 |25,231 + Harrison, James, Jr. |Aug. 30, 1859 |25,262 + Buell, J. S. |Sept. 13, 1859 |25,381 + Vogel, Kasimir |Oct. 4, 1859 |25,692 + Woodward, F. G. |Oct. 11, 1859 |25,782 + Barrett, O. D. |Oct. 11, 1859 |25,785 + Barnes, William T. |Oct. 25, 1859 |25,876 + Sawyer, Irwin, and Alsop, T. |Oct. 25, 1859 |25,918 + Budlong, William G. |Nov. 1, 1859 |25,946 + Fosket, William A., |Nov. 1, 1859 |25,963 + and Savage, E. | | + Hicks, W. C. |Nov. 8, 1859 |26,035 + Scofield, C. |Nov. 8, 1859 |26,059 + Pearson, William |Nov. 22, 1859 |26,201 + McCurdy, James S. |Nov. 22, 1859 |26,234 + Clark, Edwin |Dec. 6, 1859 |26,336 + Dickinson, C. W. |Dec. 6, 1859 |26,346 + Miller, Charles |Dec. 13, 1859 |26,462 + Rowe, Jas. |Dec. 27, 1859 |26,638 + Johnson, A. F. |Jan. 24, 1860 |26,948 + Thomson, J. |Feb. 7, 1860 |27,082 + Juengst, George |Feb. 14, 1860 |27,132 + Davis, Job A. |Feb. 21, 1860 |27,208 + Gibbs, James E. A. |Feb. 21, 1860 |27,214 + Rowe, James |Feb. 21, 1860 |27,260 + Dopp, H. W. |Feb. 28, 1860 |27,279 + Paine, A. R. |March 6, 1860 |27,412 + Smalley, J. |March 20, 1860 |27,577 + Newlove, T. |April 3, 1860 |27,761 + McCurdy, J. S. |May 1, 1860 |28,097 + Arnold, G. B. |May 8, 1860 |28,139 + Bean, E. E. |May 8, 1860 |28,144 + Holly, Birdsill |May 8, 1860 |28,176 + Chamberlain, J. N. |May 29, 1860 |28,452 + Ruddick, H. |May 29, 1860 |28,538 + Scofield, Chas., and |June 5, 1860 |28,610 + Rice, Clarke | | + Smith, Wilson H. |June 19, 1860 |28,785 + Rose, I. M. |June 19, 1860 |28,814 + Gibbs, J. E. A. |June 26, 1860 |28,851 + McCurdy, J. S. |July 3, 1860 |28,993 + Mueller, H. |July 3, 1860 |28,996 + Sutton, Wm. A. |July 17, 1860 |29,202 + Hicks, W. C. |July 24, 1860 |29,268 + Tracy, D. |Sept. 11, 1860 |30,012 + Washburn, T. S. |Sept. 11, 1860 |30,031 + Arnold, G. B., and A. |Sept. 25, 1860 |30,112 + Leavitt, Rufus |Nov. 13, 1860 |30,634 + Payne, R. S. |Nov. 13, 1860 |30,641 + Heyer, Frederick |Nov. 27, 1860 |30,731 + Hardie, J. W. |Dec. 4, 1860 |30,854 + Earle, T. |Jan. 22, 1861 |31,156 + Bruen, J. T. |Jan. 22, 1861 |31,208 + Smith, J. M. |Feb. 5, 1861 |31,334 + Smith, L. H. |Feb. 12, 1861 |31,411 + Rice, Quartus |Feb. 12, 1861 |31,429 + Rose, I. M. |March 5, 1861 |31,628 + Ross, Noble G. |March 26, 1861 |31,829 + Boyd, A. H. |April 2, 1861 |31,864 + Mallary, G. H. |April 2, 1861 |31,897 + Shaw, H. L. |April 9, 1861 |32,007 + Burr, Theodore |April 9, 1861 |32,023 + Jones, William, and |May 14, 1861 |32,297 + Haughian, P. | | + Wilder, M. G. |May 14, 1861 |32,323 + Smith, Lewis H. |May 21, 1861 |32,385 + Stoakes, J. W. |May 28, 1861 |32,456 + Fuller, William M. |June 4, 1861 |32,496 + Norton, B. F. |July 9, 1861 |32,782 + Raymond, C. |July 9, 1861 |32,785 + Raymond, Charles |July 30, 1861 |32,925 + Case, G. F. |Aug. 13, 1861 |33,029 + Hodgkins, C. |Aug. 20, 1861 |33,085 + Marble, F. E. |Oct. 8, 1861 |33,439 + Mann, Charles |Oct. 22, 1861 |33,556 + Grover, W. O. |Nov. 26, 1861 |33,778 + Hendrickson, E. M. |Feb. 4, 1862 |34,330 + Derocquigny, A. C. F., |March 25, 1862 |34,748 + Gance, D., and Hanzo, L. | | + Thompson, R. |April 8, 1862 |34,926 + Smith, John C. |April 15, 1862 |34,988 + Palmer, Aaron |May 13, 1862 |35,252 + Hall, W. S. |Aug. 5, 1862 |36,084 + McCurdy, James S. |Aug. 19, 1862 |36,256 + Grover, W. O. |Sept. 9, 1862 |36,405 + Wilkins, J. N. |Sept. 30, 1862 |36,591 + Humphrey, D. W. G. |Oct. 7, 1862 |36,617 + House, H. A., and J. A. |Nov. 11, 1862 |36,932 + Crossby, C. O., and Kellogg, H. |Dec. 2, 1862 |37,033 + Shaw, A. B. |Dec. 16, 1862 |37,202 + Pipo, John A. |Jan. 27, 1863 |37,550 + Hollowell, J. G. |Feb. 10, 1863 |37,624 + Howe, A. B. |March 17, 1863 |37,913 + Weitling, W. |March 17, 1863 |37,931 + Shaw & Clark |April 21, 1863 |38,246 + Baldwin, Cyrus W. |April 28, 1863 |38,276 + Grote, F. W. |May 5, 1863 |38,447 + Palmer, C. H. |May 5, 1863 |38,450 + Mack, W. A. |May 19, 1863 |38,592 + Bosworth, C. F. |June 9, 1863 |38,807 + McCurdy, J. S. |June 16, 1863 |38,931 + Langdon, Leander W. |July 14, 1863 |39,256 + House, J. A., and H.A. |Aug. 4, 1863 |39,442-39,445 + (4 patents on 1 machine) | | + Tracy and Hobbs |Sept. 15, 1863 |40,000 + Wagener, Jeptha A. |Oct. 13, 1863 |40,296 + Rehfuss, G. |Oct. 13, 1863 |40,311 + Lathrop, Lebbeus W., |Oct. 27, 1863 |40,446 + and de Sanno, Wm. P. | | + Heyer, W. D. |Nov. 17, 1863 |40,622 + Simmons, A. G., and Scofield, C. |March 1, 1864 |41,790 + Guinness, W. S. |March 15, 1864 |41,916 + Willcox, Charles H. |March 22, 1864 |42,036 + (4 patents on 1 machine) |Aug. 9, 1864 |43,819 + |Sept. 27, 1864 |44,490 + |Sept. 27, 1864 |44,491 + Sibley, J. J. |March 29, 1864 |42,117 + Thompson, R. |April 19, 1864 |42,449 + McKay & Blake |May 24, 1864 |42,916 + Chittenden, H. H. |June 28, 1864 |43,289 + Hall, Luther |July 5, 1864 |43,404 + Planer, Louis |Aug. 23, 1864 |43,927 + Atwater, B. |Sept. 6, 1864 |44,063 + Dale, John D. |Oct. 11, 1864 |44,686 + Gritzner, M. C. |Oct. 18, 1864 |44,720 + Smith, DeWitt C. |Dec. 20, 1864 |45,528 + Weitling, W. |Jan. 3, 1865 |45,777 + Cadwell, C. |Jan. 24, 1865 |45,972 + Bartlett, J. W. |Jan. 31, 1865 |46,064 + McCurdy, James S. |Feb. 7, 1865 |46,303 + Lamb, Thomas, and |Aug. 15, 1865 |49,421 + Allen, John | | + Humphrey, D. W. G. |Aug. 29, 1865 |49,627 + Tarbox, John N. |Sept. 5, 1865 |49,803 + Crosby, C. O. |Oct. 3, 1865 |50,225 + Cajar, E. |Oct. 3, 1865 |50,299 + Hart, William |Oct. 17, 1865 |50,469 + Hecht, A. |Oct. 17, 1865 |50,473 + Emerson, John |Nov. 14, 1865 |50,989 + Keats, John, and Clark, Wm. S. |Nov. 14, 1865 |50,995 + Rehfuss, George |Nov. 21, 1865 |51,086 + Eickemeyer, Rudolf |Feb. 20, 1866 |52,698 + Hanlon, John |Feb. 27, 1866 |52,847 + McCurdy, J. S. |April 3, 1866 |53,743 + Bartram, W. B. |May 15, 1866 |54,670 + Bartram, W. B. |May 15, 1866 |54,671 + Goodspeed, G. N. |May 15, 1866 |54,816 + Hayes, J. |May 22, 1866 |55,029 + McCloskey, John |June 19, 1866 |55,688 + House, J. A. and H. A. |June 26, 1866 |55,865 + Tucker, Joseph C. |July 24, 1866 |56,641 + Warth, Albin |July 24, 1866 |56,646 + Destouy, A. |July 31, 1866 |56,729 + Schwalback, M. |July 31, 1866 |56,805 + Cately, William H. |Aug. 7, 1866 |56,902 + Piper, D. B. |Aug. 7, 1866 |56,990 + Leyden, Austin |Aug. 14, 1866 |57,157 + Clements, James M. |Aug. 21, 1866 |57,451 + Davis, Job A. |Oct. 9, 1866 |58,614 + Rodier, Peter |Nov. 13, 1866 |59,659 + Duchemin, Wm. |Nov. 13, 1866 |59,715 + Kilbourn, E. E. |Nov. 20, 1866 |59,746 + Reed, T. K. |Dec. 4, 1866 |60,241 + Singer, I. M. |Dec. 11, 1866 |60,433 + Bartram, W. B. |Jan. 1, 1867 |60,669 + Rehfuss, G. |Jan. 8, 1867 |61,102 + Singer, Isaac |Jan. 15, 1867 |61,270 + Cajar, Emil |Feb. 5, 1867 |61,711 + Craige, E. H. |Feb. 19, 1867 |62,186 + Reed, T. K. |Feb. 19, 1867 |62,287 + Bartram, W. B. |March 5, 1867 |62,520 + Fuller, H. W. |March 19, 1867 |63,033 + Stannard, M. |April 23, 1867 |64,184 + Craige, E. H. |Aug. 13, 1867 |67,635 + Doll, Arnold |Sept. 3, 1867 |68,420 + Bruen, L. B. |Sept. 17, 1867 |68,839 + Hodgkins, C. |Oct. 8, 1867 |69,666 + Baker, G. W. |Oct. 29, 1867 |70,152 + Cadwell, Caleb |Nov. 19, 1867 |71,131 + Fanning, J. |Dec. 31, 1867 |72,829 + Warth, Albin |Jan. 7, 1868 |73,064 + Rehfuss, George |Jan. 7, 1868 |73,119 + Cornely, E. |Jan. 28, 1868 |73,696 + Blake, L. R. |Feb. 11, 1868 |74,289 + Fales, J. F. |Feb. 11, 1868 |74,328 + Jencks, G. L. |Feb. 18, 1868 |74,694 + Clark, Edwin E. |Feb. 25, 1868 |74,751 + Halbert, A. W. |March 31, 1868 |76,076 + Gritzner, M. C. |April 7, 1868 |76,323 + Bartlett, Joseph W. |April 7, 1868 |76,385 + Waterbury, Enos |June 16, 1868 |79,037 + Cole, W. H. |June 30, 1868 |79,447 + Lamson, Henry P. |July 7, 1868 |79,579 + French, S. |July 28, 1868 |80,345 + Stein, M. J. |Sept. 8, 1868 |81,956 + Hancock, H. J. |Oct. 27, 1868 |83,492 + Bartram, W. B. |Nov. 3, 1868 |83,592 + Benedict, C. P. |Nov. 3, 1868 |83,596 + Bonnaz, A. |Nov. 10, 1868 |83,909 + Bonnaz, A. |Nov. 10, 1868 |83,910 + Elliott, F. |Jan. 19, 1869 |85,918 + Canfield, F. P. |Jan. 19, 1869 |86,057 + Arnold B. |Jan. 26, 1869 |86,121 + Jones, John |Jan. 26, 1869 |86,163 + Russell, W. W. |Feb. 9, 1869 |86,695 + Eldridge, G. W. |March 2, 1869 |87,331 + House, J. A. and H. A. |March 2, 1869 |87,338 + Gird, E. D. |March 9, 1869 |87,559 + Carpenter, William |March 9, 1869 |87,633 + Dunbar, C. F. |March 30, 1869 |88,282 + McLean, J. N. |March 30, 1869 |88,499 + Billings, C. E. |April 6, 1869 |88,603 + Winter, Wm. |April 13, 1869 |88,936 + Tittman, A. |April 20, 1869 |89,093 + Swartwout, H. L. |April 27, 1869 |89,357 + Lyons, Lucius |April 27, 1869 |89,489 + Crosby, C. O. |May 25, 1869 |90,507 + Gutmann, J. |May 25, 1869 |90,528 + Duchemin, William |June 8, 1869 |91,101 + Adams, John Q. |July 6, 1869 |92,138 + Bond, Joseph, Jr. |Aug. 10, 1869 |93,588 + Hoffman, Geo. W. |Aug. 24, 1869 |94,112 + Brown, John H. |Aug. 31, 1869 |94,389 + Heery, Luke |Sept. 14, 1869 |94,740 + Gray, Joshua |Oct. 5, 1869 |95,581 + Smith, E. H. |Oct. 26, 1869 |96,160 + Page, Chas. |Nov. 2, 1869 |96,343 + Lyon, Lucius |Nov. 9, 1869 |96,713 + Clever, P. J. |Nov. 16, 1869 |96,886 + Mills, Daniel |Nov. 16, 1869 |96,944 + Woodruff, Geo. B., and |Nov. 16, 1869 |97,014 + Browning, Geo. | | + Keith, Jeremiah |Dec. 7, 1869 |97,518 + Hurtu, Auguste J., and |Dec. 21, 1869 |98,064 + Hautin, Victor J. | | + Lamb, Thomas |Dec. 28, 1869 |98,390 + Rudolph, B. |Feb. 1, 1870 |99,481 + Porter, Alonzo |Feb. 8, 1870 |99,704 + Smith, W. T. |Feb. 8, 1870 |99,743 + Meyers, N. |Feb. 15, 1870 |99,783 + Grover, W. O. |Feb. 22, 1870 |100,139 + Spoehr, F. |April 12, 1870 |101,779 + Kendall, George F. |April 12, 1870 |101,887 + Cooney, W. |April 26, 1870 |102,226 + Brown, F. H. |April 26, 1870 |102,366 + Howard E., and Jackson, W. H. |May 31, 1870 |103,745 + Bartram, W. B. |June 14, 1870 |104,247 + Henriksen, H. P. |June 21, 1870 |104,590 + Martine, Charles F. |June 21, 1870 |104,612 + Nasch, Isidor |June 21, 1870 |104,630 + Hall, L. |July 12, 1870 |105,329 + Lyon, Lucius |July 26, 1870 |105,820 + Bennor, Joseph |Aug. 9, 1870 |106,249 + Barnes, M. M. |Aug. 16, 1870 |106,307 + Leslie, Arthur M. |Oct. 18, 1870 |108,492 + Rayer, William A.,and |Nov. 1, 1870 |108,827 + Lincoln, Wm. S. | | + Landfear, Wm. R. |Nov. 22, 1870 |109,427 + Parham, Charles |Nov. 22, 1870 |109,443 + Lamb, I. W. |Nov. 29, 1870 |109,632 + Moreau, Eugene |Jan. 3, 1871 |110,669 + Robinson, Charles E. |Jan. 3, 1871 |110,790 + Goodyear, Charles, Jr. |Jan. 24, 1871 |111,197 + Stevens, G., and Hendy, J. |Jan. 31, 1871 |111,488 + Carpenter, Mary P. |Feb. 21, 1871 |112,016 + Hancock, Henry J. |Feb. 21, 1871 |112,033 + Sidenberg, W. |March 14, 1871 |112,745 + Chase, M. |April 11, 1871 |113,498 + Stein, M. J. |April 11, 1871 |113,593 + Tate, Wm. J. |April 11, 1871 |113,704 + House, J. A. and H. A. |May 2, 1871 |114,294 + Sidenberg, W. |May 23, 1871 |115,117 + Beuttels, Charles |May 23, 1871 |115,155 + Thompson, G. |May 23, 1871 |115,255 + Willcox and Carleton |June 27, 1871 |116,521 + (3 patents on 1 machine) | |116,522 + | |116,523 + Willcox and Carleton |July 4, 1871 |116,783 + Goodyear, Charles, Jr. |July 11, 1871 |116,947 + Necker, Carl |July 18, 1871 |117,101 + Pitt, James; Joseph; |July 18, 1871 |117,203 + Edward; and Wm. | | + Jones, John T. |Aug. 1, 1871 |117,640 + West, E. P. |Aug. 1, 1871 |117,708 + Jones, Solomon |Aug. 29, 1871 |118,537 + (2 patents on 1 machine) | |118,538 + Lamb, Thomas |Sept. 5, 1871 |118,728 + Bosworth, C. F. |Jan. 9, 1872 |122,555 + Smyth, D. M. |Jan. 9, 1872 |122,673 + Fish, Warren L. |Feb. 13, 1872 |123,625 + Palmer, C. H. |March 19, 1872 |124,694 + Baker, G. W. |April 9, 1872 |125,374 + Gordon and Kinert |April 16, 1872 |125,807 + Howard, C. W. |April 23, 1872 |126,056 + (second machine) | |126,057 + Smyth, D. M. |May 14, 1872 |126,845 + Beckwith, W. G. |May 21, 1872 |126,921 + Bouscay, Eloi, Jr. |May 28, 1872 |127,145 + Braundbeck, E. |June 11, 1872 |127,675 + Heidenthal, W. |June 11, 1872 |127,765 + Cleminshaw, S. |June 25, 1872 |128,363 + Wardwell, S. W., Jr. |July 2, 1872 |128,684 + Springer, W. A. |July 9, 1872 |128,919 + Fanning, John |July 16, 1872 |129,013 + Parks, Volney |July 30, 1872 |129,981 + Baker, G. W. |July 30, 1872 |130,005 + Smyth, D. M. |Aug. 6, 1872 |130,324 + McClure, A. T. |Aug. 13, 1872 |130,385 + Ashe, Robert |Aug. 20, 1872 |130,555 + Bartram, W. B. |Aug. 20, 1872 |130,557 + West, Elliot P. |Aug. 20, 1872 |130,674 + Happe, J., and Newman, W. |Aug. 20, 1872 |130,715 + Hinds, Jesse L. |Sept. 10, 1872 |131,166 + Brown, F. H. |Oct. 1, 1872 |131,735 + Beckwith, W. G. |Nov. 26, 1872 |133,351 + Turner, S. S. |Dec. 3, 1872 |133,553 + Chandler, R. |Dec. 10, 1872 |133,757 + Venner, O. |Dec. 10, 1872 |133,814 + Duchemin, W. |Jan. 21, 1873 |135,032 + Sheffield, G. V. |Jan. 21, 1873 |135,047 + Parham, Charles |Feb. 4, 1873 |135,579 + Goodes, E. A. |March 11, 1873 |136,718 + Tittman, A. |March 11, 1873 |136,792 + Happe, J., and Newman, W. |March 25, 1873 |137,199 + Ragan, Daniel |April 1, 1873 |137,321 + O'Neil, John |April 8, 1873 |137,618 + Kallmeyer, G. |April 8, 1873 |137,689 + Ross, J. G., and Miller, T. L. |May 13, 1873 |138,764 + West, Elliott P. |May 13, 1873 |138,772 + Koch and Brass |May 13, 1873 |138,898 + Arnold, B. |May 20, 1873 |138,981 + Arnold, B. |May 20, 1873 |138,982 + Lathrop, L. W. |May 20, 1873 |139,067 + Chandler, Rufus |May 27, 1873 |139,368 + Jones, S. H. |July 8, 1873 |140,631 + Smyth, D. M. |July 22, 1873 |141,088 + Wardwell, S. W., Jr. |July 29, 1873 |141,245 + Stewart, J., Jr. |July 29, 1873 |141,397 + Walker, William |July 29, 1873 |141,407 + Blanchard, Helen A. |Aug. 19, 1873 |141,987 + Springer, W. A. |Aug. 26, 1873 |142,290 + Cushman, C. S. |Sept. 2, 1873 |142,442 + Porter, D. A. |Nov. 25, 1873 |144,864 + Koch & Brass |Dec. 2, 1873 |145,215 + Richardson, E. F. |Dec. 16, 1873 |145,687 + Weber, Theo. A. |Dec. 23, 1873 |145,823 + Scribner, Benjamin, Jr. |Jan. 13, 1874 |146,483 + Black, Samuel S. |Jan. 20, 1874 |146,642 + Taylor, F. B. |Jan. 20, 1874 |146,721 + Richardson, Everett P. |Jan. 27, 1874 |146,948 + Muir, William |Feb. 3, 1874 |147,152 + Goodes, E. A. |Feb. 10, 1874 |147,387 + Springer, Wm. A. |Feb. 10, 1874 |147,441 + True, C. B. |March 10, 1874 |148,336 + Wardwell, S. W., Jr. |March 10, 1874 |148,339 + Shorey, Samuel W. |March 17, 1874 |148,765 + Smith, James H. |March 24, 1874 |148,902 + Horr, Addison D. |April 21, 1874 |149,862 + Page, Chas. |May 5, 1874 |150,479 + Crane, Thomas |May 5, 1874 |150,532 + Buhr, J. |May 26, 1874 |151,272 + Smyth, D. M. |June 9, 1874 |151,801 + Wensley, James |June 16, 1874 |152,055 + Dinsmore, A. S., and |June 30, 1874 |152,618 + Carter, John T. | | + Speirs, J. |July 7, 1874 |152,813 + Brewer, A. G. |July 14, 1874 |152,894 + Baglin, Wm. |Aug. 18, 1874 |154,113 + Howard, E. L. |Aug. 25, 1874 |154,485 + Landfear, Wm. R. |Sept. 22, 1874 |155,193 + Drake, Ellis |Oct. 13, 1874 |155,932 + Barney, Samuel C. |Oct. 20, 1874 |156,119 + Moreau, Eugene |Oct. 20, 1874 |156,171 + Huntington, Thomas S. |Dec. 29, 1874 |158,214 + Bartlett and Plant |Jan. 26, 1875 |159,065 + Garland, H. P. |Feb. 16, 1875 |159,812 + Dinsmore, Alfred S. |March 9, 1875 |160,512 + McCloskey, John |March 30, 1875 |161,534 + Schmidt, Albert E. |April 27, 1875 |162,697 + Darling & Darling |May 25, 1875 |163,639 + Richardson, Everett P. |July 13, 1875 |165,506 + Whitehill, Robert |July 27, 1875 |166,172 + Weber, Theodore A. |Aug. 3, 1875 |166,236 + Pearson, Wm. |Aug. 17, 1875 |166,805 + Beckwith, William G. |Sept. 7, 1875 |167,382 + Hall, John S. |Oct. 11, 1875 |168,637 + Jones, J. T. |Oct. 26, 1875 |169,106 + Garland, H. P. |Oct. 26, 1875 |169,163 + Wormald & Dobson |Nov. 9, 1875 |169,881 + Rose, R. M. |Nov. 30, 1875 |170,596 + Keith, Jeremiah |Dec. 7, 1875 |170,741 + Keith, T. K. |Dec. 14, 1875 |170,955 + Leavitte, Albert |Dec. 14, 1875 |171,147 + Toll, Charles F. |Dec. 14, 1875 |171,193 + Keats, Greenwood, & Keats |Dec. 28, 1875 |171,622 + Thayer, Augustus |Jan. 11, 1876 |172,205 + Frese, B. |Jan. 18, 1876 |172,308 + Pearson, William |Jan. 18, 1876 |172,478 + Sawyer & Esty |Feb. 29, 1876 |174,159 + Porter & Baker |March 14, 1876 |174,703 + Walker, William |April 11, 1876 |176,101 + Upson, L. A. |April 18, 1876 |176,153 + Witherspoon, S. A. |April 18, 1876 |176,211 + Rice, T. M. |April 25, 1876 |176,686 + Murphy, E. |May 2, 1876 |176,880 + Bradford, E. F., and |May 16, 1876 |177,371 + Pierce, V. R. | | + Applegate & Webb |May 25, 1876 |177,784 + Sullivan, John J. |June 27, 1876 |179,232 + Appleton, C. J., and |July 4, 1876 |179,440 + Sibley, J. J. | | + Marin, Chas. |July 11, 1876 |179,709 + Gullransen, P. E., and |July 25, 1876 |180,225 + Rettinger, J. C. | | + Butcher, Joseph |Aug. 1, 1876 |180,542 + Jackson, William |Sept. 5, 1876 |181,941 + Barton, Kate C. |Sept. 12, 1876 |182,096 + Eickemeyer, Rudolf |Sept. 12, 1876 |182,182 + Webster, W. |Sept. 12, 1876 |182,249 + Knoch, C. F. |Oct. 17, 1876 |183,400 + Cushman, C. S. |Nov. 21, 1876 |184,594 + Harris, David |Dec. 12, 1876 |185,228 + Wood, J. |Dec. 26, 1876 |185,811 + Oram, Henry |Jan. 2, 1877 |185,952 + Palmer, Frank L. |Jan. 2, 1877 |185,954 + Hall, John S. |Feb. 6, 1877 |187,006 + Palmateer, William A. |Feb. 20, 1877 |187,479 + Cummins, William G. |Feb. 27, 1877 |187,822 + Esty, William |Feb. 27, 1877 |187,837 + Leavitt & Drew |Feb. 27, 1877 |187,874 + Henriksen, H. P. |March 20, 1877 |188,515 + McKay, Gordon |March 27, 1877 |188,809 + Follett, J. L. |April 10, 1877 |189,446 + Bond, James, Jr. |April 17, 1877 |189,599 + Jacob, F. |April 24, 1877 |190,047 + Beck, A. |May 1, 1877 |190,184 + Hallett, H. H. |June 5, 1877 |191,584 + Randel, William |June 12, 1877 |192,008 + Corbett, E., and Harlow, C. F. |July 3, 1877 |192,568 + Brown, F. H. |July 24, 1877 |193,477 + Melhuish, R. M. |Aug. 28, 1877 |194,610 + Atwood, K. C. |Sept. 4, 1877 |194,759 + Macaulay, F. A. |Oct. 9, 1877 |195,939 + Dimond, George H. |Oct. 16, 1877 |196,198 + Sedmihradsky, A. J. |Oct. 23, 1877 |196,486 + Keith, J. |Nov. 6, 1877 |196,809 + Beck, August |Nov. 6, 1877 |196,863 + Keith, T. H. |Nov. 6, 1877 |196,909 + Keats, John |Dec. 11, 1877 |198,120 + Briggs, Thomas |Jan. 1, 1878 |198,790 + Corey, J. W. |Jan. 8, 1878 |198,970 + Howard, T. S. L. |Jan. 15, 1878 |199,206 + Bosworth, C. F. |Jan. 22, 1878 |199,500 + Dancel, C. |Jan. 29, 1878 |199,802 + Pearson, M. H. |Feb. 5, 1878 |199,991 + Morrell, Robert W.; |April 23, 1878 |202,857 + Parkinson, Thomas; and | | + Parkinson, Joseph | | + Barcellos, D. |April 30, 1878 |203,102 + Elderfield, F. D. |June 4, 1878 |204,429 + Heberling, J. |June 4, 1878 |204,604 + Beukler, William |June 11, 1878 |204,704 + Varicas, L. |June 11, 1878 |204,864 + Stewart, W. T. |July 2, 1878 |205,698 + House, Jas. A. |July 23, 1878 |206,239 + Martin, W., Jr.; Dawson, D. R.; |Aug. 6, 1878 |206,743 + and Orchar, R. | | + Conklin, N. A. |Aug. 6, 1878 |206,774 + Wollenberg, H., and Priesner, J. |Aug. 6, 1878 |206,848 + Young, E. S., and Dimond, G. H. |Aug. 13, 1878 |206,992 + Hoffman, Clara P., and |Aug. 13, 1878 |207,035 + Meyers, Nicholas | | + Wensley, Jas. |Aug. 20, 1878 |207,230 + Dimond, G. H. |Aug. 27, 1878 |207,400 + Steward, A. |Aug. 27, 1878 |207,454 + Wood, Richard G. |Sept. 10, 1878 |207,928 + McCombs, Geo. F. |Sept. 24, 1878 |208,407 + Keith, Jeremiah |Oct. 22, 1878 |209,126 + Wells, W. W. |Nov. 12, 1878 |209,843 + Bayley, C. H. |Feb. 11, 1879 |212,122 + Parmenter, Charles O. |Feb. 18, 1879 |212,495 + Ingalls, N., Jr. |Feb. 25, 1879 |212,602 + Cleminshaw, S. |March 18, 1879 |213,391 + Webb, T., and Heartfield, C. H. |March 25, 1879 |213,537 + Borton, Stockton |April 8, 1879 |214,089 + Henriksen, H. P. |May 20, 1879 |215,615 + Bland, Henry |June 3, 1879 |216,016 + Morrison, T. W. |June 10, 1879 |216,289 + Bosworth, Charles F. |June 17, 1879 |216,504 + Simmons, Frederick |June 24, 1879 |216,902 + Junker, Carl |July 1, 1879 |217,112 + Legat, Desire Mathurin |Aug. 12, 1879 |218,388 + Willcox, C. H. |Aug. 12, 1879 |218,413 + Cornely, Emile |Sept. 2, 1879 |219,225 + Hamm, E. |Sept. 16, 1879 |219,578 + Tuttle, J. W., and Keith, T. K. |Sept. 16, 1879 |219,782 + Stackpole, G., and |Oct. 7, 1879 |220,314 + Applegate, J. H. | | + Otis, S. L. |Oct. 28, 1879 |221,093 + Bland, H. |Nov. 11, 1879 |221,505 + Bracher, T. W. |Nov. 11,1879 |221,508 + Snediker, J. F. |Nov. 25, 1879 |222,089 + Mooney, J. H. |Dec. 2, 1879 |222,298 + Osborne, J. H. |Feb. 3, 1880 |224,219 + Smith, W. M. |March 2, 1880 |225,199 + Banks, C. M. |March 23, 1880 |225,784 + Haberling, J. |May 4, 1880 |227,249 + Haberling, J. |May 11, 1880 |227,525 + Wiseman, Edmund |June 8, 1880 |228,711 + Juengst, George |June 15, 1880 |228,820 + Morley, J. H. |June 15, 1880 |228,918 + Curtis, G. H. W. |June 22, 1880 |228,985 + Lipe, C. E. |June 29, 1880 |229,322 + Miller, L. B., and Diehl, P. |July 6, 1880 |229,629 + Willcox, C. H. |July 20, 1880 |230,212 + Shaw, E. |July 27, 1880 |230,580 + Dinsmore, A. S. |Aug. 17, 1880 |231,155 + Thurston, C. H. |Oct. 12, 1880 |231,300 + Butcher, J. |Oct. 26, 1880 |233,657 + Smyth, D. M. |Nov. 23, 1880 |234,732 + Hesse, J. |Dec. 7, 1880 |235,085 + Kjalman, H. N. |Dec. 21, 1880 |235,783 + Morley, J. H. |Jan. 4, 1881 |236,350 + Thomas, J. |Jan. 11, 1881 |236,466 + Benson, G. |March 8, 1881 |238,556 + Green, G. F. |March 8, 1881 |238,678 + Eickemeyer, Rudolf |March 29, 1881 |239,319 + Palmer, C. H. |April 26, 1881 |240,758 + Campbell, D. H. |May 17, 1881 |241,612 + Campbell, Duncan H. |May 17, 1881 |241,613 + Leslie, A. M. |May 24, 1881 |241,808 + Newell, George F. |June 7, 1881 |242,470 + Gritzner, Max C. |June 28, 1881 |243,444 + Keith, Jeremiah |July 5, 1881 |243,710 + Choquette, A. E. |July 12, 1881 |244,033 + Mooney, J. H. |July 19, 1881 |244,470 + Beardslee, W. F. |Aug. 16, 1881 |245,781 + Hine, Charlie M. |Aug. 23, 1881 |246,136 + Willcox, C. H. |Sept. 6, 1881 |246,700 + Hoefler, J. |Sept. 13, 1881 |246,883 + Woodward, E. |Sept. 20, 1881 |247,285 + Richards, Jean E. |Jan. 24, 1882 |252,799 + Abbott, W. W. |Jan. 31, 1882 |252,984 + Secor, J. B. |Feb. 14, 1882 |253,772 + Deschamps, O. L. |Feb. 21, 1882 |253,915 + Hull, E. H. |Feb. 28, 1882 |254,217 + Roberts, William |March 7, 1882 |254,696 + Willcox and Borton |March 28, 1882 |255,576 + Borton and Willcox |March 28, 1882 |255,577 + Borton and Willcox |March 28, 1882 |255,580 + Borton and Willcox |March 28, 1882 |255,581 + Veukler, W. |April 4, 1882 |255,916 + Hurtu, A. J. |May 30, 1882 |258,761 + Keats, Alphonso |July 11, 1882 |260,990 + Ramsden, John W. |Aug. 1, 1882 |262,116 + Koch, William |Aug. 8, 1882 |262,298 + Bigelow, J. |Aug. 29, 1882 |263,467 + Mills, Daniel |Oct. 10, 1882 |265,850 + Wilkinson, Charles E. |Dec. 19, 1882 |269,251 + Carlisle, W. S. |Jan. 9, 1883 |270,540 + Holden, O. J., and Griswold, L. |Feb. 13, 1883 |272,050 + Cameron, James W. |Feb. 20, 1883 |272,527 + Miller, L. B., and Diehl, P. |March 20, 1883 |274,359 + Ludeke, W. |April 10, 1883 |275,506 + Bolton, J., and Petnz, A. D. |May 8, 1883 |277,106 + Blodgett, John W. |June 12, 1883 |279,320 + Haberling, J. |Sept. 4, 1883 |284,300 + Thimonnier, E., and Vernaz, C. |Oct. 30, 1883 |287,592 + Duchemin, William |Nov. 20, 1883 |288,929 + Lawrence, G. H. |Dec. 25, 1883 |290,895 + Clever, Peter J. |April 8, 1884 |296,529 + Palmer, John H. |May 6, 1884 |298,228 + Dowling, James, and |May 27, 1884 |299,118 + Connolly, John | | + Boecher, Adam |June 10, 1884 |300,199 + Luedeke, Waldemar |June 17, 1884 |300,380 + VanVechten, Orville R. |July 15, 1884 |302,063 + Carr, Wm. H., and Ostrom, F. W. |Aug. 12, 1884 |303,361 + Trip, J. |Dec. 2, 1884 |308,711 + Farrar, Arthur |Dec. 30, 1884 |309,837 + Turner, M. G. |Feb. 17, 1885 |312,306 + Mills, D. |March 3, 1885 |313,359 + Hurtu, August J. |April 7, 1885 |315,037 + Charmbury, Henry |April 28, 1885 |316,745 + Woodward & Keith |April 28, 1885 |316,927 + Walker, William |June 16, 1885 |320,099 + Tucker, R. D. |June 23, 1885 |320,898 + Wheeler and Dial |Oct. 13, 1885 |328,165 + Thomas, Joseph |Nov. 10, 1885 |330,170 + Muegge, C. A. |Dec. 8, 1885 |332,207 + Diehl, P. |April 13, 1886 |339,623 + Diehl, P. |Aug. 24, 1886 |347,776 + Helwig, Arthur |Oct. 5, 1886 |350,364 + Miehling, Charles |Nov. 2, 1886 |351,992 + Dieterle, H. E. |Nov. 30, 1886 |353,542 + Walker, William |Dec. 7, 1886 |353,720 + Rosenthal, S. A. |Dec. 7, 1886 |353,970 + Temple, John |Feb. 22, 1887 |358,088 + Gee, W. V. |April 19, 1887 |361,406 + Lingley, John W. |Aug. 16, 1887 |368,538 + Boppel, Jacob |Jan. 29, 1889 |396,979 + Webster, William |April 30, 1889 |402,497 + Osterhout and Hallenbeck |May 7, 1889 |402,610 + Bennett and Dowling |Aug. 27, 1889 |409,728 + Hine, Charles M. |Jan. 28, 1890 |420,382 + Wheeler, Nathaniel |Feb. 4, 1890 |420,847 + Hallenbeck, J. P. |April 8, 1890 |425,422 + Lisle, Myron C. |May 20, 1890 |428,171 + Walker and Bennet |May 20, 1890 |428,548 + Stewart, James, Jr. |July 15, 1890 |432,449 + Dewees, J. W. |July 22, 1890 |432,746 + Powell, Thomas |Dec. 16, 1890 |442,695 + Fletcher, James H. |Dec. 30, 1890 |443,756 + Rudolph, Ernst B., deceased, |April 7, 1891 |449,927 + Boulter, W. E., administrator | | + Goodwin, Julius C. |April 21, 1891 |450,793 + Cook, Hugo |June 23, 1891 |454,610 + Bowyer, J. T. |June 23, 1891 |454,708 + Willcox, C. H., and Borton, S. |April 5, 1892 |472,094 + Legg and Weston |May 17, 1892 |474,840 + Kern, Ferdinand |July 19, 1892 |479,369 + Jackson, Francis |May 1, 1894 |519,064 + Charles Abercrombi |June 5, 1892 |520,977 + Taft, J. C. |Oct. 15, 1895 |547,866 + + + + +IV. 19th-Century Sewing-Machine Leaflets in the Smithsonian Collections + + _Machine or Manufacturer_ |_Date_ |_Type_ + | | + American B.H.O. and Sewing Machine |1874 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Buckeye sewing machine |ca. 1870 |Illustrated, directions for using + | | the machine + New Buckeye |ca. 1872 |Illustrated, directions for using + | | the machine + Centennial sewing machine |1876 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Domestic sewing machine |1872 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Florence sewing machine |1873 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Florence sewing machine |1878 |Illustrated, directions for using + | | the machine + Goodes sewing machine |ca. 1876 |Advertising leaflet + Grant Brothers sewing machine |1867 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + | | (Xerox copy) + Grover and Baker sewing machine |1853 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Grover and Baker sewing machine |ca. 1870 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Home sewing machine |ca. 1870 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Howe sewing machine, new "B" machine |1868 |Illustrated, instruction booklet + Howe sewing machine |1876 |Illustrated, catalog of machines + Independent Noiseless sewing machine |ca. 1874 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Ladd, Webster sewing machine |1861 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Little Monitor sewing machine |ca. 1872 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Remington Family sewing machine |ca. 1874 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Shaw and Clark sewing machine |1864 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Singer sewing machine |1871 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Singer sewing machine |1893 |Catalog of machines shown at the + | | Columbian Exposition + Standard Shuttle sewing machine |ca. 1875 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Ten Dollar Novelty sewing machine |ca. 1870 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Weed sewing machine |1873 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine |ca. 1869 |Illustrated, instruction booklet + Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine |ca. 1870-1875 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + Wheeler and Wilson no. 8 machine |ca. 1878 |Illustrated, instruction booklet + Wilson sewing machine |1872 |Illustrated, advertising leaflet + + + + +V. A Brief History of Cotton Thread + + +Although Samuel Slater's wife is credited with making the first cotton +sewing thread from yarns spun at the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, mill in +about 1794, cotton thread did not become a manufactured item at that +time. Slater turned all his interests to producing cotton-twist yarns +needed for the warps of cotton fabrics. By 1809, however, the agents of +Almy and Brown, partners and distributors for Slater, were advertising +cotton thread as follows: + + Factory Cotton and Thread Store, No. 26 Court Street opposite + Concert Hall. George Connell, Agent for Almy and Brown of + Providence and Pawtucket Manufactories, has now for sale from eight + to ten thousand weight of yarn, for weaving ... five hundred pounds + cotton thread, in hanks, from No. 12 to 60 of a superior quality + and very white.[91] + +Although it was a short hop from the spinning of cotton warps to the +twisting of these cotton yarns to form a sewing thread, the general +manufacture of cotton thread as an industry did not originate in the +United States but rather in Scotland in the early 19th century. +Napoleon's blockade, which curtailed Great Britain's importation of +silk--needed not only for fabrics but also for making heddle strings for +the looms--stimulated the production of cotton thread there. James and +Patrick Clark, in desperation, attempted to substitute cotton for silk +in their manufacture of these heddle strings. When they were successful, +they considered that if cotton could be used successfully for this +purpose it could also be made suitable for sewing thread. In 1812 they +built a factory in Paisley, Scotland, which had long been noted for its +textile industries. The thread was sold in hanks. About 1820 James' +sons, James and John, who were now running J. & J. Clark & Co., began to +wind the thread on spools. For this service they charged an extra +halfpenny, which was refunded when the empty spool was returned. The +thread was usually a three-ply or so-called three-cord thread. + +About 1815 James Coats, also of Paisley, started manufacturing thread at +Ferguslie, Scotland. His two sons took over the company in 1826 and +formed the J. & P. Coats Company. Another brother, Andrew Coats, became +the selling agent in the United States about 1840. But the cotton-thread +industry was not fully launched. + +As reported in an 1853 _Scientific American_, there was "more American +thread made ten years ago than there is today."[92] It was not until the +six-cord cabled cotton thread, which was suitable for both machine and +hand sewing, was perfected that the industry progressed into full +operation. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[91] William R. Bagnall, _Textile Industries of the United States_ +(Cambridge, Mass., 1893), vol. 1, p. 164. + + + +VI. Biographical Sketches + + +BARTHELEMY THIMONNIER + +The first man known to have put a sewing machine into practical +operation, Barthelemy Thimonnier, was a Frenchman of obscure parentage. +His father, a textile dyer of Lyon, left that city in 1793 as a result +of the Revolution and journeyed with his family to l'Arbresle where +Barthelemy was born in August of that year. + +The family resources were small, and, although the young Thimonnier was +able to begin studies at the Seminaire de Saint-Jean at Lyons, he soon +was forced to leave school for financial reasons and return to his home, +then at Amplepuis. There he learned the tailoring trade and by 1813 was +fairly well established in his own shop. + +At that time many of the town's inhabitants were weavers and almost +every house possessed one or two looms. The noise of the shuttle echoed +from these family workshops. Thimonnier noted the relatively small +amount of time needed to weave a fabric compared with the slow +painstaking task of sewing a garment by passing the needle in and out +for each stitch of each seam. When his mind began to dwell on the idea +of producing a machine to do this stitching, another of the town's +occupations supplied him with a clue and an additional incentive. This +village industry produced a type of embroidery work called _point de +chainette_, in which a needle with a small hook was used to form the +chainstitch, a popular type of decorative stitch long used in countries +all over the world. It was Thimonnier's plan to use this type of hooked +needle and produce the stitch by machine, employing it both as a +decorative stitch and a seam-forming one. + +In 1825 Thimonnier moved to St. Etienne, where he became completely +absorbed in the idea of inventing a sewing machine. Ignorant of any of +the principles of mechanics, he worked alone and in secret for four +years, neglecting his tailoring business to the extent that neighbors +looked upon him as peculiar, if not crazy. By 1829 he had not only +mastered the mechanical difficulties of bringing his dream to +realization, but also had made the acquaintance of the man who helped +him to success. Ferrand, of l'Ecole des Mines of Saint-Etienne, became +interested in the machine and helped finance Thimonnier through his +trials and disappointments. In 1830 Thimonnier received a patent on his +machine, which produced the chainstitch by means of a needle shaped like +a small crochet hook. + +[Illustration: Figure 133.--BARTHELEMY THIMONNIER, 1793-1857. From an +engraving in the _Sewing Machine Advance_, November 15, 1880. +(Smithsonian photo 10569-A.)] + +Thimonnier, together with Ferrand and a M. Beaunier, made attempts to +introduce his machine in Paris. By 1841 they were successful in having +eighty of Thimonnier's machines in use sewing army clothing in a shop in +Paris. But the fears of the tailors could not be quieted. The machines +were destroyed by an ignorant and infuriated mob, as had been earlier +labor-saving devices such as the Jacquard attachment for the loom and +Hargreaves' spinning jenny. Thimonnier was forced to flee to his home in +St. Etienne, once more penniless. + +Soon after this, Jean Marie Magnin, an engineer from +Villefranche-sur-Saone became interested in Thimonnier's machine and +provided the inventor again with financial backing. In 1845 under the +name of Thimonnier and Magnin the patent of 1830 was renewed, and under +it they organized the first French sewing-machine company. The machines +they manufactured could produce 200 stitches per minute. + +The Revolution of 1848 curtailed the manufacture and sale of the +machines. Thimonnier, remembering his unpleasant experience in 1841, +decided to go to England with Magnin, where, on February 8, 1848, they +received the English patent for his chainstitch machine. He was also +granted United States patent 7,622 on September 20, 1850. This later +machine had some advantages over his French machine of 1830, but by this +time other inventors had joined the field with machines that were more +practical. Magnin entered a sewing machine (which from the description +in the catalog must have been Thimonnier's invention) in the Crystal +Palace Exhibition in London in 1850, but because it was late in arriving +it was overlooked by the judges and not even considered in the +competition. Thimonnier died in poverty at Amplepuis on July 5, 1857. + + +WALTER HUNT + +Walter Hunt was born near Martinsburg, New York, on July 29, 1796. +Although little is known of Hunt's early childhood, we do learn from the +author of his obituary, which appeared in _Scientific American_, July 9, +1860, that even as a child he was more interested in people and what he +could do for them than in what he could do to insure his own welfare. He +is said to have devoted his life to his friends, frequently giving away +his last cent when he did not have enough to provide for himself. + +There is no record that Hunt maintained a regular business other than +the occupation of inventor. His interests were numerous and varied. He +received his first patent on June 26, 1826, for a machine for spinning +flax and hemp. During the next 33 years he patented 26 ideas. In +addition he sold or dropped several more. His second patent was for a +coach alarm, and through the years he also received patents for a +variety of things including a knife sharpener, heating stove, ice boat, +nail machine, inkwell, fountain pen, safety pin, bottle stopper, sewing +machine (1854), paper collars, and a reversible metallic heel. + +[Illustration: Figure 134.--WALTER HUNT, 1796-1860. From a daguerreotype +owned by his great-grandson, C. N. Hunt. (Smithsonian photo 32066-A.)] + + +ELIAS HOWE, JR. + +Elias Howe, Jr., was born on his father's farm in Spencer, +Massachusetts, on July 9, 1819. This was one of those barren New England +farms with many rock-filled acres. All possible ingenuity was necessary +to secure a living. The elder Howe supplemented his farming by having a +small gristmill, a sawmill, and also by manufacturing cards for the +fast-growing cotton industry of New England. Elias Jr.'s earliest +recollections were of the latter. He worked with his brothers and +sisters sticking wire teeth into strips of leather to make these cotton +cards, but, not being very good at this, his family decided to let him +"live out" with a neighboring farmer. (Children were leased in those +days; they received their board and keep in exchange for chores they +would perform.) After a few years, Elias returned home and worked in his +father's mill until he was sixteen. Then, against the wishes of his +family, he went to Lowell, Massachusetts. Here, he obtained a learner's +place in a machine shop where cotton-spinning machinery was made and +repaired. + +In 1837, when a financial panic hit the country, Howe lost his job. He +then decided to go to Boston, and this marked a turning point in his +career. In Boston he met Ari Davis, a maker of mariners' instruments and +scientific apparatus. Howe began to work in Davis' shop, a place to +which inventors often came to ask advice about their ideas. Davis +sometimes helped them, but just as often he shouted at them in anger--he +is said to have been one of the noisiest men in Boston. One day Howe +overheard his employer bellowing at a man who had brought a knitting +machine to the shop to seek Davis' advice. "Why are you wasting your +time over a knitting machine?" said Davis, "Take my advice, try +something that will pay. Make a sewing machine." "It can't be done," was +the reply. "Can't be done?" shouted Davis, "Don't tell me that. Why--I +can make a sewing machine myself." "If you do," interrupted the +capitalist, "I can make an independent fortune for you." Davis, like +most men of many words, often talked of more than he planned to do. He +never attempted to invent a sewing machine. + +But the loud voices interested Howe, who, it is said, determined then +that he would produce a sewing machine and win the fortune that the +prosperous-looking man had asserted was waiting for such a deed. A kind +of lameness since birth had made physical tasks painful for Howe, and he +perhaps felt that this would offer an opportunity to become independent +of hard physical work. + +After marrying on a journeyman machinist's pay of $9 a week, Howe's +health worsened and by 1843 was so bad that he had to stop work for days +at a time. His wife was forced to take in sewing to maintain the family. +It was the sight of his wife toiling at her stitches together with the +pressure of poverty that recalled to Howe his earlier interest in a +machine to sew. He decided to make an earnest attempt to invent one. +Watching his wife for hours at a time, he tried to visualize a machine +that would duplicate the motions of the arm. After many trials, he +conceived the idea of using an eye-pointed needle in combination with a +shuttle to form a stitch. It is possible that, as some authors state, +the solution appeared to him in a dream, a manifestation of the +subconscious at work. Others have suggested that he may have learned of +Hunt's machine. There is a general similarity in the two, not only in +the combination of eye-pointed needle and shuttle but in the overhanging +arm and vertical cloth suspension. + +After conceiving the idea, whatever his inspiration, Howe determined to +devote all of his time to producing a working model of his machine. +Elias' father, who had then started a factory for splitting palm leaves +in Cambridge, gave him permission to set up a lathe and a few tools in +the garret of the factory. Elias moved his family to Cambridge. Soon +after his arrival, unfortunately, the building burned down, and Howe +despaired of finding a place to work. He had a friend, however, in +George Fisher, who had just come into a small inheritance, and Howe +persuaded him to enter into partnership with him for the development of +the machine. Fisher agreed to board Howe and his family, which now +included two children, while Howe completed the model. Fisher also +agreed to supply $500 for material and tools in exchange for a half +interest in a patent if one was obtained. + +[Illustration: Figure 135.--ELIAS HOWE, JR., 1819-1867. From an oil +painting in the Smithsonian Institution presented by the inventor's +grandson, Elias Howe Stockwell. (Smithsonian photo 622.)] + +At long last Howe was able to spend his full time and concentration on +building his machine. His family was being fed and had a roof over its +head. Within a few months Howe had completed a model and by April 1845 +had sewed his first seam (see fig. 14). In July of that year he sewed +all the principal seams of two suits of wool clothes, one for George +Fisher and one for himself. + +Several efforts were made to solicit public interest in the new machine. +One was installed in a public hall in Boston, and a tailor was employed +to operate it at three times the regular wage. The reception was similar +to that of Thimonnier's: crowds came to see the "contraption," but, when +Howe tried to interest large clothing establishments in using the +machine, the protests of the tailors effectively blocked him. He took +his sewing machine to the Quincy Hall Clothing Manufactory and offered +to sew up any seams brought to him. Daily he sat in one of the rooms +demonstrating his machine, and finally he challenged five of the +swiftest seamstresses there to a race. Ten seams of equal length were +prepared for stitching. One was given to each of the girls while the +remaining five were given to Howe. Howe finished his five a little +sooner than the girls each finished one, and his seams were declared the +strongest and neatest. (Had any curved or angular work been brought, he +could not have stitched it.) Still Howe did not receive a single order. +The fear of throwing hand sewers out of work was again expressed, and, +in addition, the cost of the machine was said to be too high. When it +was estimated that a large shirtmaker would have to buy thirty or forty +such machines, the necessary large investment was dismissed as +ridiculous. + +Howe was not too discouraged. In the meantime, he had finished a second +machine for deposit with the patent specifications, as the patent laws +then required. The second was a better made machine (fig. 15) and showed +several minor changes. As soon as the patent was issued on September 10, +1846, Howe and his partner returned to Cambridge. + +Without the inventor's enthusiasm or love of his own invention, George +Fisher became thoroughly discouraged. He had boarded Howe and his family +for nearly two years, had furnished the money needed to purchase the +tools and materials for making the two sewing machines, had met the +expense of obtaining the patent and the trip of Howe and himself to +Washington; representing in all an outlay of practically $2000. Since no +orders for machines had been received from either garment makers or +tailors, Fisher did not see the slightest probability of the machine's +becoming profitable and regarded his advances of cash as a dead loss. + +Howe moved back to his father's house with a plan to look elsewhere for +a chance to introduce the machine. Obtaining a loan from his father, he +built another machine and sent it to England by his brother Amasa. After +many discouraging attempts to interest the British, Amasa met William +Thomas, a manufacturer of umbrellas, corsets, and leather goods. Thomas +employed many workmen, all of whom stitched by hand, and he immediately +saw the possibilities of a sewing machine. He proposed that Howe sell +the machine to him for L250 sterling (about $1250). Thomas further +proposed to engage the inventor to adapt this machine to the making of +corsets, at a salary of L3 a week. + +When Amasa Howe returned to Cambridge with the news, Elias was reluctant +to accept Thomas' offer but had nothing better in sight. So the brothers +sailed for London in February 1847, taking with them Howe's first +machine and his patent papers. Thomas later advanced the passage money +for Howe's wife and three children so that they could join Howe in +England. + +At this point, historians disagree on how long Howe was in Thomas' +employ and whether he succeeded in adapting the machine to meet Thomas' +needs. He was in England long enough, however, to find himself without +employment in a strange country, his funds nearly exhausted, and his +wife ill. He hoped to profit by the notice that his work had received +and began to build another machine. He sent his family home to reduce +expenses while he stayed on to finish the machine. + +After working on it for three or four months, he was forced to sell it +for five pounds and to take a note for that. To collect enough for his +passage home, he sold the note for four pounds cash and pawned his +precious first machine and his patent papers. He landed in New York in +April 1849 with but half a crown in his pocket to show for his labors. A +short time after he arrived, he learned that his wife was desperately +ill. Only with a loan from his father was he able to reach her side +before she died. Friends were found to look after the children, and +Elias returned to work as a journeyman machinist. + +Howe discovered, much to his surprise, that during his absence in +England the sewing machine had become recognized in the United States. +Several machines made in Boston had been sold to manufacturers and were +in daily operation. Upon investigating them, he felt that they utilized +all or part of the invention that he had patented in 1846, and he +prepared to secure just compensation for its use. The first thing he did +was to regain his first machine and patent papers from the London +pawnshop. It was no easy matter for Howe to raise the money, but by +summer he had managed. It was sent to London with Anson Burlingame, who +redeemed the loans, and by autumn of the same year the precious +possessions were back in Howe's hands. Though Howe gained nothing by his +English experience, William Thomas by his modest expenditure obtained +all rights to the machine for Great Britain. This later proved to be a +valuable property. + +Howe then began writing letters to those whom he considered patent +infringers, requesting them to pay a fee or discontinue the manufacture +of sewing machines which incorporated his patented inventions. Some at +first were willing to pay the fee, but they were persuaded by the others +to stand with them and resist Howe. This action forced Howe to the +courts. With his father's aid he began a suit, but soon found that +considerably more money than either possessed was necessary for such +actions. Howe turned once more to George Fisher, but years of investing +money in Howe's machine without any monetary return had cooled him to +the idea. Fisher, however, agreed to sell his half interest, and in +February 1851 George S. Jackson, Daniel C. Johnson, and William E. +Whiting became joint owners with Howe. These men helped Howe to procure +witnesses in the furtherance of numerous suits, but more money was +needed than they could raise. The following year a Massachusetts man by +the name of George W. Bliss was persuaded to advance the money for the +heavy legal expenses needed to protect the patent. Bliss did this as a +speculation and demanded additional security. Once more Elias' +long-suffering parent came to the rescue and mortgaged his farm to get +the necessary collateral. + +Only one of these suits was prosecuted to a hearing, but this one, +relatively unimportant in itself, set the precedent. In it the defense +relied on the earlier invention of Walter Hunt to oppose Howe's claims. +The defendant succeeded in proving that Hunt invented, perfected, and +sold two machines in 1834 and 1835 which contained all the essential +devices in Howe's machine of 1846. But Howe showed that the defendant's +machine (which was a Blodgett and Lerow) contained some features of +Howe's machine which were not in Hunt's. The jury decided the case in +favor of Howe. Howe later fought a vigorous battle with Isaac Singer, +but after much legal controversy the ultimate decision in that case also +was in Howe's favor. The suits and payments to each patent holder for +the right to use his idea were choking the sewing-machine industry. Even +Howe could not manufacture a practical machine without an infringement. +Finally an agreement was reached and a "Combination" was formed by the +major patent holders (see pp. 41-42). + +In the meantime, eight years of the first term of Howe's patent had +expired without producing much revenue. This permitted Howe, upon the +death of his partner, George Bliss, to buy Bliss' half interest for a +small sum. He became, then, the sole owner of his patent just as it was +to bring him a fortune. He obtained a seven-year extension for his +patent in 1860 without any difficulty, and in 1867, when he applied for +another extension, he stated that he had received $1,185,000 from it. +Though he endeavored to show that because of the machine's great value +to the public he was entitled to receive at least $150,000,000, the +second application was denied. + +During the Civil War, Howe enlisted as a private soldier in the 17th +Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. He went into the field and served as an +enlisted man. On occasion when the Government was pressed for funds to +pay its soldiers, he advanced the money necessary to pay his entire +regiment. + +Howe did not establish a sewing-machine factory until just before his +death in 1867. One of his early licensees had been his elder brother, +Amasa, who had organized the Howe Sewing Machine Company about 1853. +When Elias began manufacturing machines on his own, he sunk into the +bedplate of each machine a brass medallion bearing his likeness. Elias +gave his company the same name that his elder brother had used. As this +had been Amasa's exclusive property for many years, he took the matter +to the courts where the decision went against Elias. He then organized +the Howe Machine Company and began to manufacture sewing machines. On +October 3, 1867, Elias died in Brooklyn, New York, at the home of one of +his sons-in-law. The company was then carried on by his two sons-in-law, +who were Stockwell brothers. In 1872 the Howe Sewing Machine Company was +sold by Amasa's son to the Stockwells' Howe Machine Company, which in +turn went out of business in the mid-1880s. + + +ALLEN BENJAMIN WILSON + +Allen B. Wilson was born in the small town of Willett, Cortlandt County, +New York, in 1824. At sixteen he was apprenticed to a distant relative, +a cabinetmaker. Unfortunate circumstances caused him to leave this +employ, and in 1847 Wilson was in Adrian, Michigan, working as a +journeyman cabinetmaker. The place and year are important, for it was at +this time that he conceived his idea of a sewing machine. Because of the +distant location, it is believed that he was not aware of similar +efforts being made in New England. Wilson became ill and for many months +could not work at his trade. By August 1848 he was able to work again +and found employment at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Resolving to develop +his idea of a sewing machine, he worked diligently and by November had +made full drawings of all the parts, according to his previous +conceptions. + +In comparison to the monetary returns received by the inventors Howe and +Singer, Wilson himself did not receive as great a monetary reward for +his outstanding sewing-machine inventions. Because of his health Wilson +retired in 1853, when the stock company was formed, but he received a +regular salary and additional money from the patent renewals. Wilson +petitioned for a second extension of his patents on April 7, 1874, +stating that, due to his early poverty, he had been compelled to sell a +half interest in a patent (his first one) for the sum of $200. Also he +stated that he had not received more than his expenses during the +original fourteen-year term. Wilson also stated that he had received +only $137,000 during the first seven-year extension period. These +figures were verified by his partner. The petition was read before both +Houses of Congress and referred to the Committee on Patents.[94] There +was strong feeling against the extension of the Wilson patents. The New +York _Daily Graphic_, December 30, 1874, reported: + +[Illustration: Figure 136.--ALLEN BENJAMIN WILSON, 1824-1888. From a +drawing owned by the Singer Mfg. Co. Formerly, the drawing was owned by +the Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co. (Smithsonian photo 32066.)] + + So valuable has been this latter four-motion feed that few or no + cloth-sewing machines are now made without it. The joint ownership + of this feature of the Wilson patents has served to bind the + combination of sewing-machine builders together, and enabled them + to defy competition by force of the monopoly. It is this feature + which the combination wishes to further monopolize for seven years + by act of Congress. The inventor has probably realized millions for + his invention. Singer admits that his patents, which are much less + important, paid him two millions prior to 1870, since which time he + has not been compelled to render an account. The Wilson patents + with their extended terms were worth a much larger sum. They have + been public property, so far as the feed is concerned, since June + 15, 1873, and will remain so if too great a pressure is not brought + to bear on Congress for their extension. A monopoly of this feed + motion for seven years more would be worth from ten to thirty + millions to the owner--and would cost the people four times as + much. + +Wilson had not made the millions for he only received a small percentage +of the renewals' earnings plus his salary from the patents' owner, the +Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Company. + +The Congressional Committee on Patents made an adverse report in 1874 +and again in 1875 and 1876, when applications for an extension were +continued + +Wilson died on April 29, 1888. + + +ISAAC MERRITT SINGER + +[Illustration: Figure 137.--- ISAAC MERRITT SINGER, 1811-1875. From a +charcoal drawing owned by the Singer Mfg. Co. (Smithsonian photo +32066-B)] + +Isaac Singer, whose name is known around the world as a manufacturer of +sewing machines, was the eighth child of poor German immigrants. Isaac +was born on October 27, 1811, in Pittstown, New York, but most of his +early life was spent in Oswego. He worked as a mechanic and +cabinetmaker, but acquired an interest in the theater. Under the name of +Isaac Merritt, he went to Rochester and became an actor. In 1839, during +an absence from the theater, he completed his first invention, a +mechanical excavator, which he sold for $2000. With the money Singer +organized a theatrical troupe of his own, which he called "The Merritt +Players." When the group failed in Fredericksburg, Ohio, Singer was +stranded for lack of funds. + +Forced to find some type of employment, Singer took a job in a +Fredericksburg plant that manufactured wooden printers' type. He quickly +recognized the need for an improved type-carving machine. After +inventing and patenting one, he found no financial support in +Fredericksburg and decided to take the machine to New York City. Here, +the firm of A. B. Taylor and Co. agreed to furnish the money and give +Singer room in its Hague Street factory to build machines. A boiler +explosion destroyed the first machine, and Taylor refused to advance +more money. + +While Singer was with Taylor, George B. Zieber, a bookseller who had +seen the type-carving machine, considered its value to publishers. +Zieber offered to help Singer and raised $1700 to build another model. +In June 1850 the machine was completed. Singer and Zieber took the +machine to Boston where they rented display space in the steam-powered +workshop of Orson C. Phelps at 19 Harvard Place. Only a few publishers +came to look at the machine, and none wanted to buy it. + +Singer, contemplating his future, became interested in Phelps' work, +manufacturing sewing machines for J. A. Lerow and S. C. Blodgett. Phelps +welcomed Singer's interest as the design of the mechanism was faulty and +purchasers kept returning the machines for repairs. Singer examined the +sewing machine with the eyes of a practical machinist. He criticized the +action of the shuttle, which passed around a circle, and the needle bar, +which pushed a curved needle horizontally. Singer suggested that the +shuttle move to and fro in a straight path and that a straight needle be +used vertically. Phelps encouraged Singer to abandon the type-carving +machine and turn his energies toward the improvement of the sewing +machine. Convinced that he could make his ideas work, Singer sketched a +rough draft of his proposed machine, and with the support of Zieber and +Phelps the work began. + +Singer continued to be active in the sewing-machine business until 1863. +He made his home in Paris for a short time and then moved to England. +While living at Torquay he conceived the idea of a fabulous Greco-Roman +mansion, which he planned to have built at Paignton. Singer called it +"The Wigwam." Unfortunately, after all his plans, he did not live to see +its completion. Singer died on July 23, 1875, of heart disease at the +age of sixty-three. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[93] _The Proceedings and Debates of the 43rd Congress_, First Session, +1874 Congressional Record, vol. 2, part 3, petition read to the House by +Mr. Creamer on April 7, 1874. In part 4 of the same, Mr. Buckingham read +a similar petition to the Senate on May 19, 1874. Both were referred to +the Committee on Patents; an extension was not granted. + + + + +_Bibliography_ + + + ADAMS, CHARLES K. Sewing machines. In vol. 7 of _Johnson's + universal cyclopaedia_, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1895. + + ALEXANDER, EDWIN P. Sewing, plaiting, and felting machines. Pp. + 341-353 in _The Practical Mechanic's Journal's record of the great + exhibition, 1862_. 1862. + + ----. On the sewing machine: Its history and progress. _Journal of + the Royal Society of Arts_ (April 10, 1863), vol. 2, no. 542, p. + 358. + + AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. _The life and works of George H. + Corliss._ (Privately printed for Mary Corliss by the Society.) + 1930. + + Biography of Isaac M. Singer. _The Atlas_, New York, N.Y., March + 20, 1853. + + BISHOP, J. LEANDER. In vol. 2 of _A history of American + manufactures from 1608 to 1860_, by Bishop; Philadelphia: Edward + Young and Company, 1866. + + BOLTON, JAMES. Sewing machines, special report on special subjects. + In vol. 2 of _Report of the Committee on Awards_; Chicago: World's + Columbian Exposition, 1893. + + BROCKETT, LINUS P. Sewing machines. In vol. 4 of _Johnson's + universal cyclopaedia_; New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1874. + + BURR, J. B. _The great industries of the United States._ Hartford: + J. B. Burr and Hyde, n.d. + + COOK, ROSAMOND C. _Sewing machines._ Peoria, Illinois: Manual Arts + Press, 1922. + + DEPEW, C. M. 100 years of American commerce. In vol. 2, _American + sewing machines_ by F. G. Bourne. New York: D. O. Haines, 1895. + + DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT COURT. Case of Hunt vs. Howe. In + _Federal Cases_, case 6891, book 12, 1855. + + DOOLITTLE, WILLIAM H. _Inventions._ Vol. in Library of modern + progress. Philadelphia: Modern Progress Publishing Company, 1905. + + DURGIN, CHARLES A. _Digest of patents on sewing machines, Feb. 21, + 1842-July 1, 1859._ New York: Livesey Brothers, 1859. + + FAIRFIELD, GEORGE A. Report on sewing machines. In vol. 3 of + _Report of the commissioners of the United States to the + international exhibition held at Vienna, 1873._ 1874. + + FISKE, BRADLEY A. _Invention, the master-key to progress._ New + York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1921. + + GIFFORD, GEORGE W. [Counsel for Elias Howe, Jr.] _Argument of + Gifford in favor of Howe's application for extension of patent._ + Washington: U.S. Patent Office, 1860. + + GRANGER, JEAN. Thimonnier et la machine a coudre. In vol. 2 of _Les + publications techniques._ Paris, 1943. [Source for biographical + sketch on Barthelemy Thimonnier.] + + GREGORY, GEORGE W. _Machines, etc., used in sewing and making + clothing._ Vol. 7 of _Reports and Awards_. Philadelphia + International Exhibition, 1876. U.S. Centennial Commission, + Washington, D.C., 1880. + + HERSBERG, RUDOLPH. _The sewing machine, its history, construction + and application._ Transl. Upfield Green. London: E. & F. N. Spon, + 1864. + + HOWE, HENRY. _Adventures and achievements of Americans._ Published + by the author, 1860. + + HOWE MACHINE COMPANY. _The Howe exhibition catalog of sewing + machines._ Published by the company for the Philadelphia Centennial + Exposition, 1876. + + HUBERT, PHILIP G., JR. _Men of achievement: inventors._ New York: + Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894. + + HUNT, CLINTON N. _Walter Hunt, American inventor._ Published by the + author, 1935. [Source for biographical sketch on Walter Hunt.] + + INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Sewing and knitting machines. In _Reports + of the Juries_, Class VII, Section A. London, 1862. + + JOHNSON CLARK AND COMPANY. _Sewing machines for domestic and export + trade._ Published by the company, 1883. + + KAEMPFFERT, WALDEMAR. A popular history of American invention. + _Making clothes by machine_, by John Walker Harrington, vol 2. New + York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924. + + KILGARE, C. B. _Sewing-machines._ Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott + Company, 1892. + + KNIGHT, EDWARD H. Vol. 3 of _Knight's American mechanical + dictionary_. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1882. + + LEWTON, FREDERICK L. The servant in the house: a brief history of + the sewing machine. Pp. 559-583 in Annual Report of the Smithsonian + Institution (1929); Washington: 1930. + + LUTH, ERICH. _Ein Mayener Strumpfwirker, Balthasar Krems, + 1760-1813, Erfinder der Naehmaschine._ Hamburg, Germany: Verlag + Herbert Luth, 1941. + + ----. _Josef Madersperger oder der unscheinbore Genius._ Hamburg, + Germany: Reichsnerband des Deutschen Naehmaschinenhandels EV, 1933 + [?]. + + Obituary of Isaac M. Singer. _New York Tribune_, July 26, 1875. + + MADERSPERGER, JOSEPH. _Beschreibung einer Naehmaschine._ Vienna, ca. + 1816. + + O'BRIEN, WALTER. Sewing machines. _Textile American_, reprinted + March 1931. [A paper read at a meeting of the Leicester Textile + Society.] + + ORCUTT, REV. SAMUEL. _A history of the old town of Stratford and + the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut._ 2 vols. Fairfield County + Historical Society, 1886. + + PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. _Reports of the U.S. Commissioners + General Survey_, vol. 1, pp. 293-297. 1867. + + PARTON, JAMES. History of the sewing machine. _Atlantic Monthly_, + May 1867. + + RAYMOND, WILLIAM CHANDLER. _Curiosities of the Patent Office._ + Syracuse, N.Y.: published by the author, 1888. + + REID, J. A. _A monograph prepared for American industrial education + conference and exposition._ Elizabethport, N.J.: Singer + Manufacturing Company, 1915. + + RENTERS, WILHELM. _Praktisches Wissen von der Naehmaschine._ + Langensalza, Berlin, and Leipzig: Verlag Julius Beltz, 1933. + + _Scientific American._ Issues of January 27, February 3, and + November 24, 1849; July 17, 1852; July 9 and November 5, 1859; + January 3 and May 16, 1863; October 19, 1867; and July 25, 1896. + + SCOTT, JOHN. _Genius rewarded, or the story of the sewing machine._ + New York: J. J. Caulon, 1880. + + _Sewing Machine Advance._ Chicago. Vols. 1-35, no. 5, May 1879 to + 1913. + + _Sewing Machine Journal._ September 1879 to December 1884. + + _Sewing Machine News._ New York. Vols. 1-6, 1877-1879; n.s. vols. + 1-16, 1879-1893. + + _Sewing Machine Times._ New York. Vols. 1-9, 1882-1890; n.s. vols. + 1-38 (nos. 1-725), 1891-April 1924. + + STAMBAUGH, JOHN P. _Sewing machines at the 22nd annual exhibition + of the Maryland Institute, also a history of the sewing machine._ + Hartford, Conn.: Weed Sewing Machine Company, 1872. + + Story of sewing machine patents. _New York Tribune_, May 23, 1862. + + THOMPSON, HOLLAND. The age of invention. Vol. 37 of the Chronicles + of America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921. + + TOWERS, HENRY M. _Historical sketches relating to Spencer, + Massachusetts._ Vol. 1. Spencer, Mass.: W. G. Heffernan, 1901. + + URQUHART, J. W. _Sewing machinery._ Vol. 8 in Weale's rudimentary + scientific and educational series. London: Crosby Lockwood and Co., + 1881. + + VAN SLYCK, J. D. _New England manufacturers and manufactories._ + Vol. 2. Boston: Van Slyck and Company, 1879. [Source for + biographical sketch on Allen Benjamin Wilson, Van Slyck, vol. 2, + pp. 672-682.] + + WALSO, GEORGE C., JR. _History of Bridgeport and vicinity._ Vol. 2. + Bridgeport, Conn.: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1917. + + Who invented the sewing machine? _The Galaxy_ [article unsigned], + vol. 4, August 1867. + + + + +_Indexes_ + + +Geographical Index to Companies listed in Appendix II + + +CONNECTICUT + +Bridgeport + D. W. Clark, 67 + Jerome B. Secor, 68 + Goodbody Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Howe Machine Co., 69 + Secor Machine Co., 72 + American Hand Sewing Machine Co., 72 + Wheeler & Wilson Mfg. Co., 74 + +Bristol + Nettleton & Raymond, 72 + Watson & Wooster, 73 + +Danbury + Bartram & Fanton Mfg. Co., 66 + +Hartford + Morrison, Wilkinson & Co., 71 + Weed Sewing Machine Co., 74 + +Meriden + Fosket and Savage, 68 + Charles Parker Co., 72 + Parker Sewing Machine Co., 72 + +Middletown + Victor Sewing Machine Co., 73 + +Norwich + Greenman and True Mfg. Co., 69 + +Waterbury + Waterbury Co., 73 + +West Meriden + Parkers, Snow, Brooks & Co., 70 + + +DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA + +Washington + Post Combination Sewing Machine Co., 72 + + +ILLINOIS + +Belleville + Thomas M. Cochrane Co., 71 + J. H. Drew & Co., 71 + +Belvidere + June Mfg. Co., 70 + National Sewing Machine Co., 71 + +Chicago + Chicago Sewing Machine Co., 67 + Eldredge Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Free Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Scates, Tryber & Sweetland Mfg., 67 + Sigwalt Sewing Machine Co., 67, 73 + H. B. Goodrich, 69 + June Mfg. Co., 70 + +Rockford + Free Sewing Machine Co., 69 + + +MAINE + +Biddeford + Shaw & Clark Sewing Machine Co., 71, 73 + + +MASSACHUSETTS + +Boston + O. Phelps, 66 + J. F. Paul & Co., 66 + Boston Sewing Machine Co., 66 + Bradford & Barber, mfgs., 66 + John P. Bowker, 68 + Empire Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Finkle & Lyon Sewing Machine Co., 68, 73 + Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Nichols and Bliss, 69 + J. B. Nichols & Co., 69 + Nichols, Leavitt & Co., 69, 70 + N. Hunt & Co., 70 + Hunt and Webster, 70 + Emery, Houghton & Co., 70 + Ladd, Webster & Co., 70 + Leavitt & Co., 70 + Leavitt Sewing Machine Co., 70 + Safford & Williams Makers, 71 + C. A. French, 72 + F. R. Robinson, 72 + Howard & Davis, 72 + I. M. Singer & Co., 73 + Butterfield & Stevens Mfg. Co., 74 + Williams & Orvis Sewing Machine Co., 74 + +Chicopee Falls + Shaw & Clark Co., 73 + Chicopee Sewing Machine Co., 73 + +Florence + Florence Sewing Machine Co., 67, 68 + +Foxboro + Foxboro Rotary Shuttle Co., 68 + +Lowell + Aetna Sewing Machine Co., 65 + +Lynn + Woolridge, Keene and Moore, 67 + +Orange + Gold Medal Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Johnson, Clark & Co., 69, 71, 73 + Grout & White, 71 + New Home Sewing Machine Co., 71 + +Springfield + Leader Sewing Machine Co., 70 + Springfield Sewing Machine Co., 73 + D. B. Wesson Sewing Machine Co.,74 + +Winchendon + J. G. Folsom, 68, 69, 71 + William Grout, 71 + +Worcester + Goddard, Rice & Co., 66 + + +MICHIGAN + +Detroit + Decker Mfg. Co., 67 + C. G. Gardner, 69 + + +MISSOURI + +St. Louis + Wardwell Mfg. Co., 73 + + +NEW HAMPSHIRE + +Dover + O. L. Reynolds Manufacturing Co., 71 + +Marlboro + Thurston Mfg. Co., 67 + +Mason Village + Franklin Sewing Machine Co., 68 + + +NEW JERSEY + +Elizabethport + Singer Mfg. Co. (manufactory, not office), 73 + +Paterson + Whitney Sewing Machine Co., 74 + + +NEW YORK + +Binghamton + Independent Sewing Machine Co., 70 + +Brooklyn + J. H. Lester, 70 + G. L. Du Laney, 70 + +Ithaca + Aiken and Felthousen (patentees), 65 + American Magnetic Sewing Machine Co., 65 + Clinton Brothers, 67 + T. C. Thompson, 73 + +New York + Avery Sewing Machine Co., 66 + A. Bartholf, mfg., 66 + Bartholf Sewing Machine Co., 66 + Bartlett Sewing Machine Co., 66 + Barlow & Son, 66 + Beckwith Sewing Machine Co., 66 + J. A. Davis, 67 + Demorest Mfg. Co., 67 + Charles A. Durgin, 68 + Elliptic Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Eureka Shuttle Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Excelsior Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Madame Demorest, 68 + First and Frost, 68 + L. Griswold, 69 + Howe Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Thos. A. Macauley Mfg., 70 + New York Sewing Machine Co., 71 + T. W. Robertson, 72 + I. M. Singer & Co., 73 + Singer Mfg. Co., 73 + Standard Shuttle Sewing Machine Co., 73 + Henry Stewart & Co., 73 + Stewart Mfg. Co., 73 + E. E. Lee & Co., 74 + Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Co., 74 + +Watertown + Davis Sewing Machine Co., 67 + Wheeler, Wilson & Co., 74 + +Westmoreland + A. B. Buell, 67 + + +OHIO + +Cleveland + Wilson (W. G.) Sewing Machine Co., 66, 74 + Domestic Sewing Machine Co. (after 1924), 67 + Leslie Sewing Machine Co., 70 + Standard Sewing Machine Co., 73 + White Sewing Machine Co., 74 + +Dayton + Davis Sewing Machine Co., 67 + +Elyria + West & Willson Co., 74 + +Norwalk + Dauntless Mfg. Co., 67, 72 + Wm. A. Mack & Co., and N. S. Perkins, 67 + Domestic Sewing Machine Co., 67, 70 + +Springfield + Royal Sewing Machine Co., 72 + St. John Sewing Machine Co., 73 + +Toledo + Jewel Mfg. Co., 70 + + +PENNSYLVANIA + +Erie + Noble Sewing Machine Co., 72 + +Philadelphia + American Buttonhole, Overseaming and Sewing Machine Co., 65 + Centennial Sewing Machine Co., 67 + George B. Sloat and Co., 68 + Rex & Bockius, 69 + Grant Bros. & Co., 69 + B. W. Lacey & Co., 71 + Parham Sewing Machine Co., 72 + Philadelphia Sewing Machine Co., 72 + Quaker City Sewing Machine Co., 72 + E. Remington & Sons, 72 + Taggart & Farr, 73 + +Pittsburgh + Love Mfg. Co., 70 + + +RHODE ISLAND + +Providence + Household Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Providence Tool Co., 69 + + +VERMONT + +Brattleboro + Samuel Barker and Thomas White, 66 + Brattleboro Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Estey Sewing Machine Co., 68 + Higby Sewing Machine Co., 69 + Nettleton & Raymond (Charles Raymond), 71 + +Windsor + Lamson, Goodnow & Yale, 67, 74 + Vermont Arms Co., 74 + + +VIRGINIA + +Richmond + Lester Mfg. Co., 70 + Union Sewing Machine Co., 68, 70 + Old Dominion Sewing Machine Co., 72 + + +WISCONSIN + +Milwaukee + Whitehill Mfg. Co., 74 + + +Alphabetical Index to Patentees listed in Appendix III + + +Abercrombi, Charles, 520977 + +Abbott, W. W., 252984 + +Adams, John Q., 92138 + +Alexander, Elisa, 16518 + +Ambler, D. C., 11884 + +Angell, Benjamin J., 19285 + +Applegate, John H., and Webb, Charles B., 177784 + +Appleton, C. J., and Sibley, J. J., 179440 + +Arnold, B., 86121, 138981, 138982 + +Arnold, G. B. and A., 30112 + +Arnold, G. B., 28139 + +Atwater, B., 44063 + +Atwood, J. E., 22273 + +Atwood, K. C., 194759 + +Atwood, J. E., J. C., and O., 19903 + +Avery, Otis, 9338, 10880 + +Avery, O. and Z. W., 22007 + + +Bachelder, J., 6439 + +Baglin, William, 154113 + +Baker, G. W., 70152, 125374, 130005 + +Baldwin, Cyrus W., 38276 + +Banks, C. M., 225784 + +Barcellos, D., 203102 + +Barnes, M. M., 106307 + +Barnes, William T., 20688, 25084, 25876 + +Barney, Samuel C., 156119 + +Barrett, O. D., 25785 + +Bartholf, Abraham, 19823 + +Bartlett, Joseph W., 46064, 76385 + +Bartlett, Joseph W., and Plant, Frederick, 159065 + +Barton, Kate C., 182096 + +Bartram, W. B., 54670, 54671, 60669, 62520, 83592, 104247, 130557 + +Bates, W. G., assignor to Johnson, William H., 9592 + +Bayley, C. H., 212122 + +Bean, Benjamin W., 2982 + +Bean, E. E., 28144 + +Beardslee, W. F., 245781 + +Beck, August, 190184, 196863 + +Beckwith, William G., 126921, 133351, 167382 + +Behn, Henry, 18071, 18880 + +Belcher, C. D., 16710 + +Benedict, C. P., 83596 + +Bennett, Frank Howard, and Dowling, James, 409728 + +Bennor, Joseph, 106249 + +Benson, George, 238556 + +Beukler, William, 204704 + +Beuttel, Charles, 115155 + +Bigelow, J., 263467 + +Billings, C. E., 88603 + +Bishop, H. H., 22226 + +Black, Samuel S., 146642 + +Blake, Lyman R., 20775, 74289 + +Blanchard, Helen A., 141987 + +Bland, Henry, 216016, 221505 + +Blodgett, S. C, 15469, 21465 + +Blodgett, John W., 279320 + +Boecher, Adam, 300199 + +Bond, Joseph Jr., 12939, 93588, 189599 + +Booth, Ezekiel, 25087 + +Boppel, Jacob, 396979 + +Borton, S., 214089 + +Borton, Stockton, and Willcox, Charles H., 255576, 255577, 255580, 255581 + +Bosworth, C. F., 19979, 38807, 122555, 199500, 216504 + +Bounaz, A., 83909, 83910 + +Bouscay, Eloi, Jr., 127145 + +Bowyer, J. T., 454708 + +Boyd, A. H., 19171, 24003, 31864 + +Bracher, T. W., 221508 + +Bradeen, J. G., 9380 + +Bradford, E. F. and Pierce, V. R., 177371 + +Braundbeck, E., 127675 + +Brewer, A. G., 152894 + +Briggs, Thomas, 198790 + +Brown, F. H., 94389, 102366, 131735, 193477 + +Bruen, J. T., 31208 + +Bruen, L. B., 68839 + +Budlong, William G., 25946 + +Buell, J. S., 25381 + +Buhr, Johannes, 151272 + +Burnet, S. S. and Broderick, W., 22160 + +Burr, Theodore, 32023 + +Butcher, Joseph, 180542, 233657 + + +Cadwell, Caleb, 45972, 71131 + +Cajar, Emil, 50299, 61711 + +Cameron, James W., 272527 + +Campbell, Duncan H., 241612, 241613 + +Canfield, F. P., 86057 + +Carhart, Peter S., 24098 + +Carlisle, W. S., 270540 + +Carpenter, Lunan, 20990 + +Carpenter, Mary P., 112016 + +Carpenter, William, 87633 + +Carr, William H. and Ostrom, F. W., 303361 + +Case, George F., 33029 + +Cately, William H., 56902 + +Chamberlain, J. N., 28452 + +Chandler, Rufus, 133757, 139368 + +Charmbury, H., 316745 + +Chase, M., 113498 + +Chilcott, J. and Scrimgeour, J., 12856 + +Chittenden, H. H., 43289 + +Choquette, A. E., 244033 + +Clark, David W., 19015, 19072, 19129, 19409, 19732, 20481, 21322, 23823 + +Clark, Edwin, 26336 + +Clark, Edwin E., 74751 + +Clements, James M., 57451 + +Cleminshaw, S., 128363, 213391 + +Clever, P. J., 96886 + +Clever, Peter J., 296529 + +Coates, F. S., 19684 + +Cole, W. H., 79447 + +Conant, J. S., 12233 + +Conklin, N. A., 206774 + +Cook, Hugo, 454610 + +Cooney, W., 102226 + +Corbett, E. and Harlow, C. F., 192568 + +Corey, J. W., 198970 + +Corliss, George H., 3389 + +Cornely, E., 73696 + +Cornely, Emile, 219225 + +Craige, E. H., 62186, 67635 + +Crane, Thomas, 150532 + +Crosby, C. O., 50225, 90507 + +Crosby, C. O. and Kellogg, H., 37033 + +Cummins, William G., 187822 + +Curtis, G. H. W., 228985 + +Cushman, C. S., 142442, 184594 + + +Dale, John D., 44686 + +Dancel, Christian, 199802 + +Darling and Darling, 163639 + +Davis, Job A., 27208, 58614 + +Derocquigny, A. C. F., Gance, D., and Hanzo, L., 34748 + +Deschamps, O. L., 253915 + +Destouy, Auguste, 56729 + +Dewees, John W., 432746 + +Dickinson, C. W., 26346 + +Diehl, Philipp, 339623, 347776, 347777, 348113 + +Dieterle, H. E., 353542 + +Dimmock, Martial and Rixford, Nathan, 19135 + +Dimond, George H., 196198, 207400 + +Dinsmore, Alfred S., 160512, 231155 + +Dinsmore, A. S., and Carter, John T., 152618 + +Doll, Arnold, 68420 + +Dopp, H. W., 27279 + +Dowling, James, and Connolly, John, 299118 + +Drake, Ellis, 155932 + +Duchemin, William, 59715, 91101, 135032, 288929 + +Dunbar, C. F., 88282 + +Durgin, Charles A., 12902 + + +Earle, T., 31156 + +Eickemeyer, Rudolf, 52698, 182182, 239319 + +Elderfield, F. D., 204429 + +Eldridge, G. W., 87331 + +Elliott, F., 85918 + +Emerson, John, 50989 + +Emswiler, J. B., 25002 + +Esty, William, 187837 + + +Fales, J. F., 74328 + +Fanning, John, 72829, 129013 + +Farr, Chester N., 25004 + +Farrar, Arthur, 309837 + +Fetter, George, 18793, 19059 + +Fish, Warren L., 123625 + +Fletcher, James N., 443756 + +Follett, Joseph L., 189446 + +Fosket, William A., and Savage, Elliot, 22719, 25963 + +French, Stephen, 80345 + +Frese, B., 172308 + +Fuller, H. W., 63033 + +Fuller, William M., 32496 + + +Garland, H. P., 159812, 169163 + +Gee, W. V., 361406 + +Gibbs, James E. A., 16234, 16434, 17427, 21129, 21751, 27214, 28851 + +Gird, E. D., 87559 + +Goodes, E. A., 136718, 147387 + +Goodspeed, G. N., 54816 + +Goodwin, Julius C., 450793 + +Goodwyn, H. H., 24455 + +Goodyear, Charles Jr., 111197, 116947 + +Gordon, James, and Kinert, William, 125807 + +Gray, Joshua, 16566, 19665, 24022, 95581 + +Green, George F., 238678 + +Greenough, John J., 2466 + +Gritzner, M. C., 44720, 76323 + +Gritzner, Max C., 243444 + +Grote, F. W., 38447 + +Grout, William, 24629 + +Grover, William O., 14956, 33778, 36405, 100139 + +Grover, William O., and Baker, William E., 7931 + +Guinness, William S., 41916 + +Gullrandsen, P. E., and Rettinger, J. C., 180225 + +Gutmann, Julius, 90528 + + +Halbert, A. W., 76076 + +Hall, William, 24870 + +Hale, William S., 36084 + +Hall, Luther, 43404 + +Hall, L., 105329 + +Hall, John S., 168637, 187006 + +Hallenbeck, J. P., 425422 + +Hallett, H. H., 191584 + +Hamm, E., 219578 + +Hancock, Henry J., 83492, 112033 + +Hanlon, John, 52847 + +Happe, J., and Newman, W., 130715, 137199 + +Hardie, J. W., 30854 + +Harris, Daniel, 17508, 17571 + +Harris, David, 185228 + +Harrison, J. Jr., 10763, 13616, 25013, 25262 + +Hart, William, 50469 + +Hayes, James, 55029 + +Hayden, H. W., 24937 + +Heberling, J., 204604, 227249, 227525, 284300 + +Hecht, A., 50473 + +Heery, Luke, 94740 + +Heidenthal, William, 127765 + +Helwig, Arthur, 350364 + +Hendrick, Joseph E., 19660, 21722 + +Hendrickson, E. M., 34330 + +Henriksen, H. P., 104590, 188515, 215615 + +Hensel, George, 24737 + +Herron, A. C., 20557 + +Hesse, Joseph, 235085 + +Heyer, W. D., 40622 + +Heyer, Frederick, 30731 + +Hicks, William C., 26035, 29268 + +Hinkley, Jonas, 25231 + +Hinds, Jesse L., 131166 + +Hine, Charles M., 420382 + +Hine, Charlie M., 246136 + +Hodgkins, Christopher, 9365, 33085, 69666 + +Hoefler, J., 246883 + +Hoffman, George W., 94112 + +Hoffman, Clara P., and Meyers, Nicholas, 207035 + +Holden, O. J., and Griswold, L., 272050 + +Hollowell, J. G., 27624 + +Holly, Birdsill, 28176 + +Hook, Albert H., 22179, 24027 + +Horr, Addison D., 149862 + +House, James A., 206239 + +House, James A., and House, Henry A., 36932, 39442, 39445, 55865, 87338, 114294 + +Howard, C. W., 126056, 126057 + +Howard, T. S. L., 199206 + +Howard, E. L., 154485 + +Howard, E., and Jackson, W. H., 103745 + +Howe, Amasa Bemis, 37913 + +Howe, Elias, 4750, 16436 + +Hubbard, George W., 18904, 21537 + +Hull, E. H., 254217 + +Humphrey, D. W. G., 36617, 49627 + +Hunt, Walter, 11161 + +Huntington, Thomas S., 158214 + +Hurtu, Auguste J., 258761, 315037 + +Hurtu, Auguste J., and Hautin, Victor J., 98064 + + +Ingalls, N., Jr., 212602 + + +Jackson, Francis, 519064 + +Jackson, William, 181941 + +Jacob, Frederick, 190047 + +Jencks, G. L., 74694 + +Jennings, L., 16237 + +Johnson, Albert F., 16387, 20686, 26948 + +Johnson, W. H., 10597 + +Jones, John T., 86163, 117640, 169106 + +Jones, Samuel H., 140631 + +Jones, Solomon, 118537, 118538 + +Jones, William, and Haughian, P., 32297 + +Juengst, George, 27132, 228820 + +Junker, Carl, 217112 + + +Kallmeyer, G., 137689 + +Keats, Alphonso, 260990 + +Keats, John, 198120 + +Keats, John; Greenwood, Arthur; and Keats, Alphonso, 171622 + +Keats, John, and Clark. Wm. S., 50995 + +Keith, Jeremiah, 97518, 170741, 196809, 209126, 243710 + +Keith, T. H., 196909 + +Keith, T. K., 170955 + +Kelsey, D., 24939 + +Kendall, George F., 101887 + +Kern, Ferdinand, 479369 + +Kilbourn, E. E., 59746 + +Kjalman, H. N., 235783 + +Knoch, Charles F., 183400 + +Koch, William, 262298 + +Koch, Friederich, and Brass, Robert, 138898, 145215 + + +Lamb, Isaac W., 109632 + +Lamb, Thomas, 98390, 118728 + +Lamb, Thomas, and Allen, John, 49421 + +Lamson, Henry P., 79579 + +Landfear, William R., 109427, 155193 + +Langdon, Leander W., 13727, 39256 + +Lathbury, E. T., 17744 + +Lathrop, Lebbeus W., 139067 + +Lathrop, Lebbeus W., and de Sanno, William P., 40446 + +Lawrence, G. H., 290895 + +Lazelle, W. H., 18915 + +Leavitte, Albert, 171147 + +Leavitt, Rufus, 30634 + +Leavitt, Albert, and Drew, Henry L., 187874 + +Legat, D. M., 218388 + +Legg, Albert, and Weston, Charles W., 474840 + +Leslie, A. M., 241808 + +Leyden, Austin, 57157 + +Lingley, John W., 368538 + +Lipe, C. E., 229322 + +Lisle, Myron C., 428171 + +Ludeke, Waldemar, 275506, 300380 + +Lyon, Lucius, 89489, 96713, 105820 + +Lyon, W., 12066 + + +Macauley, F. A., 195939 + +Mack, William A., 38592 + +Mallary, G. H., 31897 + +Mann, Charles, 33556 + +Marble, F. E., 33439 + +Marin, Charles, 179709 + +Martin, W., Jr.; Dawson, D. R.; and Orchar, R., 206743 + +Martine, Charles F., 104612 + +Meyers, Nicholas, 99783 + +Melhuish, R. M., 194610 + +McCloskey, John, 55688, 161534 + +McClure, A. T., 130385 + +McKay, Gordon, and Blake, Lyman, 42916 + +McKay, Gordon, 188809 + +McLean, J. N., 88499 + +McCombs, George F., 208407 + +McCurdy, James S., 24395, 26234, 28097, 28993, 36256, 38931, 46303, 53743 + +Miehling, Charles, 351992 + +Miller, Charles, 9139, 26462 + +Miller, Westley, 20763 + +Miller, Lebbens B., and Diehl, Philipp, 229629, 274359 + +Mills, Daniel, 96944, 265850, 313359 + +Mooney, John H., 222298, 244470 + +Moore, Charles, 21015 + +Moreau, Eugene, 110669, 156171 + +Morley, J. H., 228918, 236350 + +Morrell, R. W.; Parkinson, T.; Parkinson, J., 202857 + +Morrison, T. W., 216289 + +Muegge, C. A., 332207 + +Mueller, H., 28996 + +Muir, William, 147152 + +Murphy, E., 176880 + + +Nasch, Isidor, 104630 + +Necker, Carl, 117101 + +Nettleton, William H., and Raymond, Charles, 17049, 18350 + +Newell, George F., 242470 + +Newlove, Thomas, 27761 + +Norton, B. F., 32782 + + +O'Neil, John, 137618 + +Oram, Henry, 185952 + +Osborne, J. H., 224219 + +Otis, S. L., 221093 + +Osterhout, James A., and Hallenbeck, Joseph P., 402610 + + +Page, Charles, 96343, 150479 + +Paine, A. R., 27412 + +Palmateer, William A., 187479 + +Palmer, Aaron, 35252 + +Palmer, C. H., 38450, 124694, 240758 + +Palmer, Frank L., 185954 + +Palmer, John H., 298228 + +Parham, Charles, 109443, 135579 + +Parker, Sidney, 19662, 24780 + +Parks, Volney, 129981 + +Parmenter, Charles O., 212495 + +Payne, R. S., 30641 + +Pearson, M. H., 199991 + +Pearson, William, 26201 + +Pearson, William, 166805, 172478 + +Perry, James, 22148 + +Piper, D. B., 56990 + +Pipo, John A., 37550 + +Pitt, James; Joseph; Edward; and William, 117203 + +Planer, Louis, 43927 + +Porter, D. A., 144864 + +Porter, Alonzo, 99704 + +Porter, D'Arcy, and Baker, George W., 174703 + +Powell, Thomas, 442695 + +Pratt, Samuel F., 16745, 22240 + + +Ragan, Daniel, 137321 + +Ramsden, John W., 262116 + +Randel, William, 192008 + +Rayer, William A., and Lincoln, William S., 108827 + +Raymond, Charles, 19612, 22220, 32785, 32925 + +Reed, T. K., 60241, 62287 + +Rehfuss, George, 40311, 51086, 61102, 73119 + +Reynolds, O. S., 19793 + +Rice, T. M., 176686 + +Rice, Quartus, 31429 + +Richards, Jean E., 252799 + +Richardson, E. F., 145687 + +Richardson, Everett P., 146948, 165506 + +Roberts, William, 254696 + +Robertson, T. J. W., 12015 + +Robinson, Charles E., 110790 + +Robinson, Frederick R., 7824 + +Rodier, Peter, 59659 + +Roper, S. H., 11531, 16026, 18522 + +Rose, Israel M., 28814, 31628 + +Rose, Reubin M., 170596 + +Rosenthal, Sally Adolph, 353970 + +Ross, Noble G., 31829 + +Ross, J. G., and Miller, T. L., 138764 + +Rowe, James, 26638, 27260 + +Ruddick, H., 28538 + +Rudolph, Bruno, 99481 + +Rudolph, Ernst B. (deceased), Boulter, W. E. (administrator), 449927 + +Russell, W. W., 86695 + + +Sage, William, 17717 + +Sangster, Amos W., 21929 + +Savage, Elliott, 19876 + +Sawyer, Irvin P., and Alsop, T., 25918 + +Sawyer, Sylvanus, and Esty, William, 174159 + +Schmidt, Albert E., 162697 + +Schwalback, M., 56805 + +Scofield, Charles, 26059 + +Scofield, Charles, and Rice, Clarke, 28610 + +Scribner, Benjamin, Jr., 146483 + +Secor, J. B., 253772 + +Sedmihradsky, A. J., 196486 + +Shaw, E., 230580 + +Shaw, Philander, 11680 + +Shaw, A. B., 37202 + +Shaw, Henry L., 32007 + +Shaw and Clark, 38246 + +Sheffield, G. V., 135047 + +Shorey, Samuel W., 148765 + +Sibley, J. J., 42117 + +Sidenberg, William, 112745, 115117 + +Simmons, Frederick, 216902 + +Simmons, A. G., and Scofield, C., 41790 + +Singer, Isaac M., 8294, 10975, 12364, 13065, 13661, 13662, 14475, 60433, 61270 + +Smalley, J., 27577 + +Smith, DeWitt C., 45528 + +Smith, E. H., 20739, 21089, 96160 + +Smith, H. B., 12247 + +Smith, J. M., 31334 + +Smith, Lewis H., 31411, 32385 + +Smith, John C., 34988 + +Smith, James H., 148902 + +Smith, Wilson H., 28785 + +Smith, W. M., 225199 + +Smith, William T., 99743 + +Smyth, D. M., 126845, 234732 + +Snediker, J. F., 222089 + +Snyder, Watson, 22987 + +Spencer, James C., 24061 + +Spencer, James H., and Lamb, Thomas, 22137 + +Speirs, John, 152813 + +Spoehr, F., 101779 + +Springer, William A., 128919, 142290, 147441 + +Stackpole, G., and Applegate, J. H., 220314 + +Stannard, M., 64184 + +Stedman, G. W., 12074, 12573, 12798, 13856 + +Stein, M. J., 81956, 113593 + +Stevens, George, and Hendy, Joshua, 111488 + +Steward, A., 207454 + +Stewart, James, Jr., 141397, 432449 + +Stewart, W. T., 205698 + +Stoakes, J. W., 32456 + +Sullivan, John J., 179232 + +Sutton, William A., 29202 + +Swartwout, H. L., 89357 + +Swingle, A., 14207 + + +Taft, J. C., 547866 + +Tapley, G. S., 25059 + +Tarbox, John N., 49803 + +Tate, William J., 113704 + +Taylor, F. B., 146721 + +Temple, John, 358088 + +Thayer, Augustus, 172205 + +Thimonnier, E., and Vernaz, C., 287592 + +Thomas, Joseph, 330170 + +Thomas, J., 236466 + +Thompson, J., 27082 + +Thompson, T. C., 9641 + +Thompson, Rosewell, 34926, 42449 + +Thurston, C. H., 233300 + +Tittman, Alexander, 89093, 136792 + +Toll, Charles F., 171193 + +Tracy, Dwight, 30012 + +Tracy, Dwight, and Hobbs, George, 40000 + +Trip, J., 308711 + +True, Cyrus B., 148336 + +Tucker, R. D., 320898 + +Tucker, Joseph C., 56641 + +Turner, M. G., 312306 + +Turner, S. S., 133553 + +Tuttle, J. W., and Keith, T. K., 219782 + +Thompson, George, 115255 + + +Uhlinger, W. P., 21224 + +Upson, L. A., 176153 + + +Van Vechten, O. R., 302063 + +Varicas, L., 204864 + +Venner, O., 133814 + +Veukler, W., 255916 + + +Wagener, Jeptha A., 40296 + +Walker, William, 141407, 176101, 320099, 353720 + +Walker and Bennet, 428548 + +Ward, D. T., 12146 + +Wardwell, Simon W., Jr., 128684, 141245, 148339 + +Warth, Albin, 56646, 73064 + +Washburn, T. S., 30031 + +Waterbury, Enos, 79037 + +Watson, William C., 14433, 18834 + +Weber, Theodore A., 145823, 166236 + +Webb, T., and Heartfield, C. H., 213537 + +Webster, W., 182249, 402497 + +Weitling, W., 37931, 45777 + +Wells, W. W., 209843 + +Wensley, James, 152055, 207230 + +West, Elliott P., 117708, 130674, 138772 + +West, H. B., and Willson, H. F., 20753 + +Wheeler, Nathaniel, 420847 + +Wheeler, Nathaniel, and Dial, Wilbur F., 328165 + +Wheeler, Darius, and Carpenter, Lunan, 21100 + +Whitehill, Robert, 166172 + +Wickersham, William, 9679, 18068, 18069 + +Wilder, M. G., 32323 + +Wilkins, J. N., 36591 + +Wilkinson, Charles E., 269251 + +Willcox, Charles H., 42036, 43819, 44490, 44491, 218413, 230212, 246700 + +Willcox, C. H., and Borton, S., 472094 + +Willcox, C. H., and Carleton, C., 116521, 116523, 116783 + +Wilson, Allen B., 7776, 8296, 9041 + +Wiseman, Edmund, 228711 + +Witherspoon, S. A., 176211 + +Winter, William, 88936 + +Wollenberg, H., and Priesner, J., 206848 + +Wood, John, 185811 + +Wood, Richard G., 207928 + +Woodruff, George B., and Browning, George, 97014 + +Woodward, E., 247285 + +Woodward, F. G., 25782 + +Woodward, Erastus, and Keith, Thomas K., 316927 + +Wormald, William, and Dobson, Edmund, 169881 + + +Young, E. S., and Dimond, G. H., 206992 + + +General Index to Chapters 1-4 + + +Adams and Dodge, 9 + +Aetna Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +American Buttonhole and Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Archbold, Thomas, 13 + +Arrowsmith, George A., 11 + + +Bachelder, John, 22, 30, 34, 41, 42 + +Baker, William E., 36 (_see_ Grover & Baker) + +Bartholf, A., 24, 40 + +Bartlett Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Bartram & Fanton Manufacturing Company, 40 + +Bean, Benjamin W., 13, 14, 15 + +Blees Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Bliss, George, 24 + +Blodgett and Lerow, 24, 26, 30 + +Blodgett, Sherbrune C., 25 + +Bradshaw, John A., 21, 22, 26, 27 + +Brown, W. N., 50 + + +Centennial Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Chapman, Edward Walter, 7, 19 + +Chapman, William, 7 + +Clark, D. W., 47, 49 + +Clark, Edward, 33, 34, 35 + +Combination, Sewing-Machine, 23, 24, 38, 41-42, 47, 48 + +Conant, Jotham S., 22 + +Corliss, George H., 14, 15, 16 + + +Dale, John D., 54 + +Davis, Ari, 19 + +Davis Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Demorest, Madame, 53 + +Dodge, Rev. John Adam, 9 + +Domestic Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Duncan, John, 6, 19 + + +Elliptic Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Ellithorp, S. B., 51 + +Ellithorp & Fox, 51 + +Empire Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Fairy Sewing Machine, 53 + +Family Sewing Machine (Singer), 35 + +Finkle & Lyon Manufacturing Company, 40 + +Fisher, George, 19 + +Fisher, John, 15, 16 + +Florence Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Folsom, J. G., 40 + + +Gibbons, James, 15 + +Gibbs, James E. A., 45, 48 + +Goddard, Rice & Co., 25 + +Gold Medal Sewing Machine Company, 40, 53 + +Goodspeed & Wyman Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Grasshopper, The, 35 + +Greenough, John J., 13, 14 + +Grover & Baker Sewing Machine Company, 24, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41 + +Grover, William O., 35, 38 + + +Heberling, John, 54 + +Henderson, James, 6 + +Hendrick, Joseph, 49 + +Heyer, W. D., 52 + +Hook, Albert H., 50 + +Howe, Amasa B., 24 + +Howe, Elias, Jr., 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 33, 34, 41, + 42, 138 (biographical sketch) + +Howe Machine Company (Elias), 25 + +Howe Sewing Machine Company (Amasa, then B. P.), 24, 25, 40 + +Hunt, Walter, 10, 11, 19, 33, 138 (biographical sketch) + + +Jenny Lind (sewing machine), 30 + +Johnson, Joseph B., 22 + + +Keystone Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Kline, A. P., 27 + +Knowles, John, 9 + +Krems, Balthasar, 7, 19 + +Ladd & Webster Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Leavitt Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Lee, Edward, 27 + +Lee, E. & Co., 27, 28 + +Lerow, John A., 24, 25 + +Little Gem, 53 + +London Sewing Machine, 22 + +Lye, Henry, 9 + + +McKay Sewing Machine Association, 40 + +Madersperger, Josef, 8, 9, 12, 13 + +Magnin, Jean Marie, 11, 22 + +Mason, The Honorable Charles, 13 + +Morey, Charles, 22 + +Morey & Johnson, 23, 34, 42 + + +Newton, Edward, 13 + +Nichols and Bliss, 24 + + +Palmer, Aaron, 52 + +Parham Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Perry, James, 49 + +Phelps, Orson C., 25, 30, 31 + +Potter, Orlando B., 37, 38, 41 + + +Remington Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Robertson, T. J. W., 47 + +Rodgers, James, 15 + + +Safford & Williams Makers, 22 + +Saint, Thomas, 4, 5, 19 + +Secor Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Shaw & Clark Sewing Machine Co., 40, 54 + +Singer, Isaac Merritt, 23, 25, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 41, 142 + (biographical sketch) + +Singer, I. M. Company, 13, 32, 34, 40 + +Singer Manufacturing Co., 30, 40, 42 + +Singer's Perpendicular Action Sewing Machine, 30, 31 + +Stone, Thomas, 6 + +Thimonnier, Barthelemy, 11, 19, 137 (biographical sketch) + +Thomas, William, 20 + +Thompson, C. F., 40 + +Turtleback Machine (Singer), 35 + + +Union Buttonhole Machine Company, 40 + + +Warren and Woodruff, 28 + +Weatherill, Jacob, 37 + +Weed Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Weisenthal, Charles F., 4, 19 + +Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, 22, 29, 30, 40 + +Wheeler, Wilson and Company, 24, 28, 41 + +Wheeler, Nathaniel, 27, 28 + +Willcox and Gibbs Sewing Machine Company, 40, 46, 48 + +Willcox, Charles, 46, 48 + +Willcox, James, 46 + +Wilson, Allen Benjamin, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 141 (biographical sketch). + (_See_ Wheeler & Wilson.) + +Wilson, Newton, 4 + +Wilson, (W. G.), Sewing Machine Company, 40 + +Woolridge, Keene, and Moore, 24 + + +Zieber, George, 30, 33 + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + +Table layouts have been changed to avoid very long line lengths. +Footnotes have been moved to Chapter ends. Minor punctuation errors have +been corrected without note. The following typographical errors have +been corrected/noted: + + Footnote 9 "Praktisches Wissen von der Naehmaschine."--was "Praktisches + wissen von der Naehmaschine." + p. 11 "a loop in the other"--was "a loop in the the other" + p. 19 "chainstitch, Thimonnier used"--was "chainstitch, Thimmonier + used" + p. 76 "known to be in existence is"--was "known to be in eixstence is" + p. 80 "7501-12500, 1873;"--was "7501-12500, 8173;" + p. 119 "shaped like an open [?] into which"--A letter or symbol appears + to be missing in the original between open and into. + p. 119 "181161-220318"--overlaps range of previous entry. + p. 130 "June 30, 1874 |152,618"--was "Jan. 30, 1874 |152,618" + p. 138 "Villefranche-sur-Saone"--was "Ville-franche-sur-Saone" + p. 145 "Praktisches Wissen von der Naehmaschine."--was "Praktisches + wissin von der Naehmaschine." + p. 153 "O'Neil, John, 137618"--was "O'Niel, John, 137618" + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Invention of the Sewing Machine, by +Grace Rogers Cooper + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INVENTION OF THE SEWING MACHINE *** + +***** This file should be named 32677.txt or 32677.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/6/7/32677/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Louise Pattison +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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