Appendixes (continued 2)

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:

PatenteeDatePatent Number

Greenough, John J.Feb. 21, 18422,466

Bean, Benjamin W.March 4, 18432,982

Corliss, George H.Dec. 27, 18433,389

Howe, Elias, Jr.Sept. 10, 18464,750

Bachelder, JohnMay 8, 18496,439

Wilson, Allen B.Nov. 12, 18507,776

Robinson, Frederick R.Dec. 10, 18507,824

Grover & BakerFeb. 11, 18517,931

Singer, Isaac M.Aug. 12, 18518,294

Wilson, Allen B.Aug. 12, 18518,296

Wilson, Allen B.June 15, 18529,041

Miller, CharlesJuly 20, 18529,139

Avery, OtisOct. 19, 18529,338

Hodgkins, G.Nov. 2, 18529,365

Bradeen, J. G.Nov. 2, 18529,380

Bates, W. G.Feb. 22, 18539,592

Thompson, T. C.March 29, 18539,641

Wickersham, W.April 19, 18539,679

Johnson, W. H.March 7, 185410,597

Harrison, J., Jr.April 11, 185410,763

Avery, OtisMay 9, 185410,880

Singer, IsaacMay 30, 185410,975

Hunt, WalterJune 27, 185411,161

Roper, S. H.Aug. 15, 185411,531

Shaw, P.Sept. 12, 185411,680

Ambler, D. C.Nov. 1, 185411,884

Robertson, T. J. W.Nov. 28, 185412,015

Lyon, W.Dec. 12, 185412,066

Stedman, G. W.Dec. 12, 185412,074

Ward, D. T.Jan. 2, 185512,146

Conant, J. S.Jan. 16, 185512,233

Smith, H. B.Jan. 16, 185512,247

Singer, I. M.Feb. 6, 185512,364

Stedman, G. W.March 20, 185512,573

Stedman, G. W.May 1, 185512,798

Chilcott, J., and Scrimgeour, J.March 15, 185512,856

Durgin, Charles A.May 22, 185512,902

Bond, J., Jr.May 22, 185512,939

Singer, IsaacJune 12, 185513,065

Harrison, J., Jr.Oct. 2, 185513,616

Singer, I. M.Oct. 9, 185513,661

Singer, I. M.Oct. 9, 185513,662

Langdon, L. W.Oct. 30, 185513,727

Stedman, G. W.Nov. 27, 185513,856

Swingle, A.Feb. 5, 185614,207

Watson, Wm. C.March 11, 185614,433

Singer, I. M.March 18, 185614,475

Grover, W. O.May 27, 185614,956

Blodgett, S. C.Aug. 5, 185615,469

Roper, S. H.Nov. 4, 185616,026

Singer, Isaac M.Nov. 4, 185616,030

Gibbs, James E. A.Dec. 16, 185616,234

Jennings, L.Dec. 16, 185616,237

Johnson, A. F.Jan. 13, 185716,387

Gibbs, J. E. A.Jan. 20, 185716,434

Howe, Elias, Jr.Jan. 20, 185716,436

Alexander, ElisaFeb. 3, 185716,518

Gray, JoshuaFeb. 3, 185716,566

Belcher, C. D.March 3, 185716,710

Pratt, S. F.March 3, 185716,745

Nettleton & RaymondApril 14, 185717,049

Gibbs, J. E. A.June 2, 185717,427

Harris, DanielJune 9, 185717,508

Harris, DanielJune 16, 185717,571

Sage, WilliamJune 30, 185717,717

Lathbury, E. T.July 7, 185717,744

Wickersham, W.Aug. 25, 185718,068

Wickersham, W.Aug. 25, 185718,069

Behn, HenryAug. 25, 185718,071

Nettleton, Wm. H., and Raymond, CharlesOct. 6, 185718,350

Roper, S. H.Oct. 27, 185718,522

Fetter, GeorgeDec. 1, 185718,793

Watson, W. C.Dec. 8, 185718,834

Behn, H.Dec. 15, 185718,880

Hubbard, George W.Dec. 22, 185718,904

Lazelle, W. H.Dec. 22, 185718,915

Clark, David W.Jan. 5, 185819,015

Fetter, GeorgeJan. 5, 185819,059

Clark, David W.Jan. 12, 185819,072

Clark, David W.Jan. 19, 185819,129

Dimmock, Martial, and Rixford, NathanJan. 19, 185819,135

Boyd, A. H.Jan. 19, 185819,171

Angell, Benjamin J.Feb. 9, 185819,285

Clark, David W.Feb. 23, 185819,409

Raymond, CharlesMarch 9, 185819,612

Hendrick, Joseph E.March 16, 185819,660

Parker, SidneyMarch 16, 185819,662

Gray, JoshuaMarch 16, 185819,665

Coates, F. S.March 23, 185819,684

Clark, David W.March 23, 185819,732

Reynolds, O. S.March 30, 185819,793

Bartholf, AbrahamApril 6, 185819,823

Savage, E.April 6, 185819,876

Atwood, J. E., J. C., and O.April 13, 185819,903

Bosworth, Chas. F.April 20, 185819,979

Clark, David W.June 8, 185820,481

Herron, A. C.June 15, 185820,557

Johnson, A. F.June 22, 185820,686

Barnes, W. T.June 29, 185820,688

Smith, E. H.June 29, 185820,739

West, H. B., and Willson, H. F.June 29, 185820,753

Miller, W.June 29, 185820,763

Blake, Lyman R.July 6, 185820,775

Carpenter, LunanJuly 27, 185820,990

Moore, CharlesJuly 27, 185821,015

Smith, E. H.Aug. 3, 185821,089

Wheeler and CarpenterAug. 3, 185821,100

Gibbs, J. E. A.Aug. 10, 185821,129

Uhlinger, W. P.Aug. 17, 185821,224

Clark, David W.Aug. 31, 185821,322

Blodgett, S. C.Sept. 7, 185821,465

Hubbard, G. W.Sept. 14, 185821,537

Hendrick, J. E.Oct. 5, 185821,722

Gibbs, J. E. A.Oct. 12, 185821,751

Sangster, Amos. W.Oct. 26, 185821,929

Avery, O. and Z. W.Nov. 9, 185822,007

Spencer and LambNov. 23, 185822,137

Perry, JamesNov. 23, 185822,148

Burnet and BroderickNov. 30, 185822,160

Hook, Albert H.Nov. 30, 185822,179

Raymond, CharlesNov. 30, 185822,220

Bishop, H. H.Dec. 7, 185822,226

Pratt, S. F.Dec. 7, 185822,240

Atwood, J. E.Dec. 14, 185822,273

Fosket, W. A., and Savage, ElliotJan. 25, 185922,719

Snyder, W.Feb. 15, 185922,987

Clark, D. W.May 3, 185923,823

Boyd, A. H.May 17, 185924,003

Gray, JoshuaMay 17, 185924,022

Hook, Albert H.May 17, 185924,027

Spencer, James C.May 17, 185924,061

Carhart, Peter S.May 24, 185924,098

McCurdy, J. S.June 14, 185924,395

Goodwyn, H. H.June 21, 185924,455

Grout, WilliamJuly 5, 185924,629

Hensel, GeorgeJuly 12, 185924,737

Parker, SidneyJuly 12, 185924,780

Hall, WilliamJuly 26, 185924,870

Hayden, H. W.Aug. 2, 185924,937

Kelsey, D.Aug. 2, 185924,939

Emswiler, J. B.Aug. 9, 185925,002

Farr, C. N.Aug. 9, 185925,004

Harrison, James, Jr.Aug. 9, 185925,013

Tapley, G. S.Aug. 9, 185925,059

Barnes, W. T.Aug. 16, 185925,084

Booth, EzekialAug. 16, 185925,087

Hinkley, J.Aug. 23, 185925,231

Harrison, James, Jr.Aug. 30, 185925,262

Buell, J. S.Sept. 13, 185925,381

Vogel, KasimirOct. 4, 185925,692

Woodward, F. G.Oct. 11, 185925,782

Barrett, O. D.Oct. 11, 185925,785

Barnes, William T.Oct. 25, 185925,876

Sawyer, Irwin, and Alsop, T.Oct. 25, 185925,918

Budlong, William G.Nov. 1, 185925,946

Fosket, William A., and Savage, E.Nov. 1, 185925,963

Hicks, W. C.Nov. 8, 185926,035

Scofield, C.Nov. 8, 185926,059

Pearson, WilliamNov. 22, 185926,201

McCurdy, James S.Nov. 22, 185926,234

Clark, EdwinDec. 6, 185926,336

Dickinson, C. W.Dec. 6, 185926,346

Miller, CharlesDec. 13, 185926,462

Rowe, Jas.Dec. 27, 185926,638

Johnson, A. F.Jan. 24, 186026,948

Thomson, J.Feb. 7, 186027,082

Juengst, GeorgeFeb. 14, 186027,132

Davis, Job A.Feb. 21, 186027,208

Gibbs, James E. A.Feb. 21, 186027,214

Rowe, JamesFeb. 21, 186027,260

Dopp, H. W.Feb. 28, 186027,279

Paine, A. R.March 6, 186027,412

Smalley, J.March 20, 186027,577

Newlove, T.April 3, 186027,761

McCurdy, J. S.May 1, 186028,097

Arnold, G. B.May 8, 186028,139

Bean, E. E.May 8, 186028,144

Holly, BirdsillMay 8, 186028,176

Chamberlain, J. N.May 29, 186028,452

Ruddick, H.May 29, 186028,538

Scofield, Chas., and Rice, ClarkeJune 5, 186028,610

Smith, Wilson H.June 19, 186028,785

Rose, I. M.June 19, 186028,814

Gibbs, J. E. A.June 26, 186028,851

McCurdy, J. S.July 3, 186028,993

Mueller, H.July 3, 186028,996

Sutton, Wm. A.July 17, 186029,202

Hicks, W. C.July 24, 186029,268

Tracy, D.Sept. 11, 186030,012

Washburn, T. S.Sept. 11, 186030,031

Arnold, G. B., and A.Sept. 25, 186030,112

Leavitt, RufusNov. 13, 186030,634

Payne, R. S.Nov. 13, 186030,641

Heyer, FrederickNov. 27, 186030,731

Hardie, J. W.Dec. 4, 186030,854

Earle, T.Jan. 22, 186131,156

Bruen, J. T.Jan. 22, 186131,208

Smith, J. M.Feb. 5, 186131,334

Smith, L. H.Feb. 12, 186131,411

Rice, QuartusFeb. 12, 186131,429

Rose, I. M.March 5, 186131,628

Ross, Noble G.March 26, 186131,829

Boyd, A. H.April 2, 186131,864

Mallary, G. H.April 2, 186131,897

Shaw, H. L.April 9, 186132,007

Burr, TheodoreApril 9, 186132,023

Jones, William, and Haughian, P.May 14, 186132,297

Wilder, M. G.May 14, 186132,323

Smith, Lewis H.May 21, 186132,385

Stoakes, J. W.May 28, 186132,456

Fuller, William M.June 4, 186132,496

Norton, B. F.July 9, 186132,782

Raymond, C.July 9, 186132,785

Raymond, CharlesJuly 30, 186132,925

Case, G. F.Aug. 13, 186133,029

Hodgkins, C.Aug. 20, 186133,085

Marble, F. E.Oct. 8, 186133,439

Mann, CharlesOct. 22, 186133,556

Grover, W. O.Nov. 26, 186133,778

Hendrickson, E. M.Feb. 4, 186234,330

Derocquigny, A. C. F., Gance, D., and Hanzo, L.March 25, 186234,748

Thompson, R.April 8, 186234,926

Smith, John C.April 15, 186234,988

Palmer, AaronMay 13, 186235,252

Hall, W. S.Aug. 5, 186236,084

McCurdy, James S.Aug. 19, 186236,256

Grover, W. O.Sept. 9, 186236,405

Wilkins, J. N.Sept. 30, 186236,591

Humphrey, D. W. G.Oct. 7, 186236,617

House, H. A., and J. A.Nov. 11, 186236,932

Crossby, C. O., and Kellogg, H.Dec. 2, 186237,033

Shaw, A. B.Dec. 16, 186237,202

Pipo, John A.Jan. 27, 186337,550

Hollowell, J. G.Feb. 10, 186337,624

Howe, A. B.March 17, 186337,913

Weitling, W.March 17, 186337,931

Shaw & ClarkApril 21, 186338,246

Baldwin, Cyrus W.April 28, 186338,276

Grote, F. W.May 5, 186338,447

Palmer, C. H.May 5, 186338,450

Mack, W. A.May 19, 186338,592

Bosworth, C. F.June 9, 186338,807

McCurdy, J. S.June 16, 186338,931

Langdon, Leander W.July 14, 186339,256

House, J. A., and H.A. (4 patents on 1 machine)Aug. 4, 186339,442-39,445

Tracy and HobbsSept. 15, 186340,000

Wagener, Jeptha A.Oct. 13, 186340,296

Rehfuss, G.Oct. 13, 186340,311

Lathrop, Lebbeus W., and de Sanno, Wm. P.Oct. 27, 186340,446

Heyer, W. D.Nov. 17, 186340,622

Simmons, A. G., and Scofield, C.March 1, 186441,790

Guinness, W. S.March 15, 186441,916

Willcox, Charles H. (4 patents on 1 machine)March 22, 186442,036

Aug. 9, 186443,819

Sept. 27, 186444,490

Sept. 27, 186444,491

Sibley, J. J.March 29, 186442,117

Thompson, R.April 19, 186442,449

McKay & BlakeMay 24, 186442,916

Chittenden, H. H.June 28, 186443,289

Hall, LutherJuly 5, 186443,404

Planer, LouisAug. 23, 186443,927

Atwater, B.Sept. 6, 186444,063

Dale, John D.Oct. 11, 186444,686

Gritzner, M. C.Oct. 18, 186444,720

Smith, DeWitt C.Dec. 20, 186445,528

Weitling, W.Jan. 3, 186545,777

Cadwell, C.Jan. 24, 186545,972

Bartlett, J. W.Jan. 31, 186546,064

McCurdy, James S.Feb. 7, 186546,303

Lamb, Thomas, and Allen, JohnAug. 15, 186549,421

Humphrey, D. W. G.Aug. 29, 186549,627

Tarbox, John N.Sept. 5, 186549,803

Crosby, C. O.Oct. 3, 186550,225

Cajar, E.Oct. 3, 186550,299

Hart, WilliamOct. 17, 186550,469

Hecht, A.Oct. 17, 186550,473

Emerson, JohnNov. 14, 186550,989

Keats, John, and Clark, Wm. S.Nov. 14, 186550,995

Rehfuss, GeorgeNov. 21, 186551,086

Eickemeyer, RudolfFeb. 20, 186652,698

Hanlon, JohnFeb. 27, 186652,847

McCurdy, J. S.April 3, 186653,743

Bartram, W. B.May 15, 186654,670

Bartram, W. B.May 15, 186654,671

Goodspeed, G. N.May 15, 186654,816

Hayes, J.May 22, 186655,029

McCloskey, JohnJune 19, 186655,688

House, J. A. and H. A.June 26, 186655,865

Tucker, Joseph C.July 24, 186656,641

Warth, AlbinJuly 24, 186656,646

Destouy, A.July 31, 186656,729

Schwalback, M.July 31, 186656,805

Cately, William H.Aug. 7, 186656,902

Piper, D. B.Aug. 7, 186656,990

Leyden, AustinAug. 14, 186657,157

Clements, James M.Aug. 21, 186657,451

Davis, Job A.Oct. 9, 186658,614

Rodier, PeterNov. 13, 186659,659

Duchemin, Wm.Nov. 13, 186659,715

Kilbourn, E. E.Nov. 20, 186659,746

Reed, T. K.Dec. 4, 186660,241

Singer, I. M.Dec. 11, 186660,433

Bartram, W. B.Jan. 1, 186760,669

Rehfuss, G.Jan. 8, 186761,102

Singer, IsaacJan. 15, 186761,270

Cajar, EmilFeb. 5, 186761,711

Craige, E. H.Feb. 19, 186762,186

Reed, T. K.Feb. 19, 186762,287

Bartram, W. B.March 5, 186762,520

Fuller, H. W.March 19, 186763,033

Stannard, M.April 23, 186764,184

Craige, E. H.Aug. 13, 186767,635

Doll, ArnoldSept. 3, 186768,420

Bruen, L. B.Sept. 17, 186768,839

Hodgkins, C.Oct. 8, 186769,666

Baker, G. W.Oct. 29, 186770,152

Cadwell, CalebNov. 19, 186771,131

Fanning, J.Dec. 31, 186772,829

Warth, AlbinJan. 7, 186873,064

Rehfuss, GeorgeJan. 7, 186873,119

Cornely, E.Jan. 28, 186873,696

Blake, L. R.Feb. 11, 186874,289

Fales, J. F.Feb. 11, 186874,328

Jencks, G. L.Feb. 18, 186874,694

Clark, Edwin E.Feb. 25, 186874,751

Halbert, A. W.March 31, 186876,076

Gritzner, M. C.April 7, 186876,323

Bartlett, Joseph W.April 7, 186876,385

Waterbury, EnosJune 16, 186879,037

Cole, W. H.June 30, 186879,447

Lamson, Henry P.July 7, 186879,579

French, S.July 28, 186880,345

Stein, M. J.Sept. 8, 186881,956

Hancock, H. J.Oct. 27, 186883,492

Bartram, W. B.Nov. 3, 186883,592

Benedict, C. P.Nov. 3, 186883,596

Bonnaz, A.Nov. 10, 186883,909

Bonnaz, A.Nov. 10, 186883,910

Elliott, F.Jan. 19, 186985,918

Canfield, F. P.Jan. 19, 186986,057

Arnold B.Jan. 26, 186986,121

Jones, JohnJan. 26, 186986,163

Russell, W. W.Feb. 9, 186986,695

Eldridge, G. W.March 2, 186987,331

House, J. A. and H. A.March 2, 186987,338

Gird, E. D.March 9, 186987,559

Carpenter, WilliamMarch 9, 186987,633

Dunbar, C. F.March 30, 186988,282

McLean, J. N.March 30, 186988,499

Billings, C. E.April 6, 186988,603

Winter, Wm.April 13, 186988,936

Tittman, A.April 20, 186989,093

Swartwout, H. L.April 27, 186989,357

Lyons, LuciusApril 27, 186989,489

Crosby, C. O.May 25, 186990,507

Gutmann, J.May 25, 186990,528

Duchemin, WilliamJune 8, 186991,101

Adams, John Q.July 6, 186992,138

Bond, Joseph, Jr.Aug. 10, 186993,588

Hoffman, Geo. W.Aug. 24, 186994,112

Brown, John H.Aug. 31, 186994,389

Heery, LukeSept. 14, 186994,740

Gray, JoshuaOct. 5, 186995,581

Smith, E. H.Oct. 26, 186996,160

Page, Chas.Nov. 2, 186996,343

Lyon, LuciusNov. 9, 186996,713

Clever, P. J.Nov. 16, 186996,886

Mills, DanielNov. 16, 186996,944

Woodruff, Geo. B., and Browning, Geo.Nov. 16, 186997,014

Keith, JeremiahDec. 7, 186997,518

Hurtu, Auguste J., and Hautin, Victor J.Dec. 21, 186998,064

Lamb, ThomasDec. 28, 186998,390

Rudolph, B.Feb. 1, 187099,481

Porter, AlonzoFeb. 8, 187099,704

Smith, W. T.Feb. 8, 187099,743

Meyers, N.Feb. 15, 187099,783

Grover, W. O.Feb. 22, 1870100,139

Spoehr, F.April 12, 1870101,779

Kendall, George F.April 12, 1870101,887

Cooney, W.April 26, 1870102,226

Brown, F. H.April 26, 1870102,366

Howard E., and Jackson, W. H.May 31, 1870103,745

Bartram, W. B.June 14, 1870104,247

Henriksen, H. P.June 21, 1870104,590

Martine, Charles F.June 21, 1870104,612

Nasch, IsidorJune 21, 1870104,630

Hall, L.July 12, 1870105,329

Lyon, LuciusJuly 26, 1870105,820

Bennor, JosephAug. 9, 1870106,249

Barnes, M. M.Aug. 16, 1870106,307

Leslie, Arthur M.Oct. 18, 1870108,492

Rayer, William A., and Lincoln, Wm. S.Nov. 1, 1870108,827

Landfear, Wm. R.Nov. 22, 1870109,427

Parham, CharlesNov. 22, 1870109,443

Lamb, I. W.Nov. 29, 1870109,632

Moreau, EugeneJan. 3, 1871110,669

Robinson, Charles E.Jan. 3, 1871110,790

Goodyear, Charles, Jr.Jan. 24, 1871111,197

Stevens, G., and Hendy, J.Jan. 31, 1871111,488

Carpenter, Mary P.Feb. 21, 1871112,016

Hancock, Henry J.Feb. 21, 1871112,033

Sidenberg, W.March 14, 1871112,745

Chase, M.April 11, 1871113,498

Stein, M. J.April 11, 1871113,593

Tate, Wm. J.April 11, 1871113,704

House, J. A. and H. A.May 2, 1871114,294

Sidenberg, W.May 23, 1871115,117

Beuttels, CharlesMay 23, 1871115,155

Thompson, G.May 23, 1871115,255

Willcox and Carleton (3 patents on 1 machine)June 27, 1871116,521

116,522

116,523

Willcox and CarletonJuly 4, 1871116,783

Goodyear, Charles, Jr.July 11, 1871116,947

Necker, CarlJuly 18, 1871117,101

Pitt, James; Joseph;July 18, 1871117,203

Edward; and Wm.

Jones, John T.Aug. 1, 1871117,640

West, E. P.Aug. 1, 1871117,708

Jones, Solomon (2 patents on 1 machine)Aug. 29, 1871118,537

118,538

Lamb, ThomasSept. 5, 1871118,728

Bosworth, C. F.Jan. 9, 1872122,555

Smyth, D. M.Jan. 9, 1872122,673

Fish, Warren L.Feb. 13, 1872123,625

Palmer, C. H.March 19, 1872124,694

Baker, G. W.April 9, 1872125,374

Gordon and KinertApril 16, 1872125,807

Howard, C. W.April 23, 1872126,056

(second machine)126,057

Smyth, D. M.May 14, 1872126,845

Beckwith, W. G.May 21, 1872126,921

Bouscay, Eloi, Jr.May 28, 1872127,145

Braundbeck, E.June 11, 1872127,675

Heidenthal, W.June 11, 1872127,765

Cleminshaw, S.June 25, 1872128,363

Wardwell, S. W., Jr.July 2, 1872128,684

Springer, W. A.July 9, 1872128,919

Fanning, JohnJuly 16, 1872129,013

Parks, VolneyJuly 30, 1872129,981

Baker, G. W.July 30, 1872130,005

Smyth, D. M.Aug. 6, 1872130,324

McClure, A. T.Aug. 13, 1872130,385

Ashe, RobertAug. 20, 1872130,555

Bartram, W. B.Aug. 20, 1872130,557

West, Elliot P.Aug. 20, 1872130,674

Happe, J., and Newman, W.Aug. 20, 1872130,715

Hinds, Jesse L.Sept. 10, 1872131,166

Brown, F. H.Oct. 1, 1872131,735

Beckwith, W. G.Nov. 26, 1872133,351

Turner, S. S.Dec. 3, 1872133,553

Chandler, R.Dec. 10, 1872133,757

Venner, O.Dec. 10, 1872133,814

Duchemin, W.Jan. 21, 1873135,032

Sheffield, G. V.Jan. 21, 1873135,047

Parham, CharlesFeb. 4, 1873135,579

Goodes, E. A.March 11, 1873136,718

Tittman, A.March 11, 1873136,792

Happe, J., and Newman, W.March 25, 1873137,199

Ragan, DanielApril 1, 1873137,321

O’Neil, JohnApril 8, 1873137,618

Kallmeyer, G.April 8, 1873137,689

Ross, J. G., and Miller, T. L.May 13, 1873138,764

West, Elliott P.May 13, 1873138,772

Koch and BrassMay 13, 1873138,898

Arnold, B.May 20, 1873138,981

Arnold, B.May 20, 1873138,982

Lathrop, L. W.May 20, 1873139,067

Chandler, RufusMay 27, 1873139,368

Jones, S. H.July 8, 1873140,631

Smyth, D. M.July 22, 1873141,088

Wardwell, S. W., Jr.July 29, 1873141,245

Stewart, J., Jr.July 29, 1873141,397

Walker, WilliamJuly 29, 1873141,407

Blanchard, Helen A.Aug. 19, 1873141,987

Springer, W. A.Aug. 26, 1873142,290

Cushman, C. S.Sept. 2, 1873142,442

Porter, D. A.Nov. 25, 1873144,864

Koch & BrassDec. 2, 1873145,215

Richardson, E. F.Dec. 16, 1873145,687

Weber, Theo. A.Dec. 23, 1873145,823

Scribner, Benjamin, Jr.Jan. 13, 1874146,483

Black, Samuel S.Jan. 20, 1874146,642

Taylor, F. B.Jan. 20, 1874146,721

Richardson, Everett P.Jan. 27, 1874146,948

Muir, WilliamFeb. 3, 1874147,152

Goodes, E. A.Feb. 10, 1874147,387

Springer, Wm. A.Feb. 10, 1874147,441

True, C. B.March 10, 1874148,336

Wardwell, S. W., Jr.March 10, 1874148,339

Shorey, Samuel W.March 17, 1874148,765

Smith, James H.March 24, 1874148,902

Horr, Addison D.April 21, 1874149,862

Page, Chas.May 5, 1874150,479

Crane, ThomasMay 5, 1874150,532

Buhr, J.May 26, 1874151,272

Smyth, D. M.June 9, 1874151,801

Wensley, JamesJune 16, 1874152,055

Dinsmore, A. S., and Carter, John T.June 30, 1874152,618

Speirs, J.July 7, 1874152,813

Brewer, A. G.July 14, 1874152,894

Baglin, Wm.Aug. 18, 1874154,113

Howard, E. L.Aug. 25, 1874154,485

Landfear, Wm. R.Sept. 22, 1874155,193

Drake, EllisOct. 13, 1874155,932

Barney, Samuel C.Oct. 20, 1874156,119

Moreau, EugeneOct. 20, 1874156,171

Huntington, Thomas S.Dec. 29, 1874158,214

Bartlett and PlantJan. 26, 1875159,065

Garland, H. P.Feb. 16, 1875159,812

Dinsmore, Alfred S.March 9, 1875160,512

McCloskey, JohnMarch 30, 1875161,534

Schmidt, Albert E.April 27, 1875162,697

Darling & DarlingMay 25, 1875163,639

Richardson, Everett P.July 13, 1875165,506

Whitehill, RobertJuly 27, 1875166,172

Weber, Theodore A.Aug. 3, 1875166,236

Pearson, Wm.Aug. 17, 1875166,805

Beckwith, William G.Sept. 7, 1875167,382

Hall, John S.Oct. 11, 1875168,637

Jones, J. T.Oct. 26, 1875169,106

Garland, H. P.Oct. 26, 1875169,163

Wormald & DobsonNov. 9, 1875169,881

Rose, R. M.Nov. 30, 1875170,596

Keith, JeremiahDec. 7, 1875170,741

Keith, T. K.Dec. 14, 1875170,955

Leavitte, AlbertDec. 14, 1875171,147

Toll, Charles F.Dec. 14, 1875171,193

Keats, Greenwood, & KeatsDec. 28, 1875171,622

Thayer, AugustusJan. 11, 1876172,205

Frese, B.Jan. 18, 1876172,308

Pearson, WilliamJan. 18, 1876172,478

Sawyer & EstyFeb. 29, 1876174,159

Porter & BakerMarch 14, 1876174,703

Walker, WilliamApril 11, 1876176,101

Upson, L. A.April 18, 1876176,153

Witherspoon, S. A.April 18, 1876176,211

Rice, T. M.April 25, 1876176,686

Murphy, E.May 2, 1876176,880

Bradford, E. F., and Pierce, V. R.May 16, 1876177,371

Applegate & WebbMay 25, 1876177,784

Sullivan, John J.June 27, 1876179,232

Appleton, C. J., and Sibley, J. J.July 4, 1876179,440

Marin, Chas.July 11, 1876179,709

Gullransen, P. E., and Rettinger, J. C.July 25, 1876180,225

Butcher, JosephAug. 1, 1876180,542

Jackson, WilliamSept. 5, 1876181,941

Barton, Kate C.Sept. 12, 1876182,096

Eickemeyer, RudolfSept. 12, 1876182,182

Webster, W.Sept. 12, 1876182,249

Knoch, C. F.Oct. 17, 1876183,400

Cushman, C. S.Nov. 21, 1876184,594

Harris, DavidDec. 12, 1876185,228

Wood, J.Dec. 26, 1876185,811

Oram, HenryJan. 2, 1877185,952

Palmer, Frank L.Jan. 2, 1877185,954

Hall, John S.Feb. 6, 1877187,006

Palmateer, William A.Feb. 20, 1877187,479

Cummins, William G.Feb. 27, 1877187,822

Esty, WilliamFeb. 27, 1877187,837

Leavitt & DrewFeb. 27, 1877187,874

Henriksen, H. P.March 20, 1877188,515

McKay, GordonMarch 27, 1877188,809

Follett, J. L.April 10, 1877189,446

Bond, James, Jr.April 17, 1877189,599

Jacob, F.April 24, 1877190,047

Beck, A.May 1, 1877190,184

Hallett, H. H.June 5, 1877191,584

Randel, WilliamJune 12, 1877192,008

Corbett, E., and Harlow, C. F.July 3, 1877192,568

Brown, F. H.July 24, 1877193,477

Melhuish, R. M.Aug. 28, 1877194,610

Atwood, K. C.Sept. 4, 1877194,759

Macaulay, F. A.Oct. 9, 1877195,939

Dimond, George H.Oct. 16, 1877196,198

Sedmihradsky, A. J.Oct. 23, 1877196,486

Keith, J.Nov. 6, 1877196,809

Beck, AugustNov. 6, 1877196,863

Keith, T. H.Nov. 6, 1877196,909

Keats, JohnDec. 11, 1877198,120

Briggs, ThomasJan. 1, 1878198,790

Corey, J. W.Jan. 8, 1878198,970

Howard, T. S. L.Jan. 15, 1878199,206

Bosworth, C. F.Jan. 22, 1878199,500

Dancel, C.Jan. 29, 1878199,802

Pearson, M. H.Feb. 5, 1878199,991

Morrell, Robert W.; Parkinson, Thomas; and Parkinson, JosephApril 23, 1878202,857

Barcellos, D.April 30, 1878203,102

Elderfield, F. D.June 4, 1878204,429

Heberling, J.June 4, 1878204,604

Beukler, WilliamJune 11, 1878204,704

Varicas, L.June 11, 1878204,864

Stewart, W. T.July 2, 1878205,698

House, Jas. A.July 23, 1878206,239

Martin, W., Jr.; Dawson, D. R.; and Orchar, R.Aug. 6, 1878206,743

Conklin, N. A.Aug. 6, 1878206,774

Wollenberg, H., and Priesner, J.Aug. 6, 1878206,848

Young, E. S., and Dimond, G. H.Aug. 13, 1878206,992

Hoffman, Clara P., and Meyers, NicholasAug. 13, 1878207,035

Wensley, Jas.Aug. 20, 1878207,230

Dimond, G. H.Aug. 27, 1878207,400

Steward, A.Aug. 27, 1878207,454

Wood, Richard G.Sept. 10, 1878207,928

McCombs, Geo. F.Sept. 24, 1878208,407

Keith, JeremiahOct. 22, 1878209,126

Wells, W. W.Nov. 12, 1878209,843

Bayley, C. H.Feb. 11, 1879212,122

Parmenter, Charles O.Feb. 18, 1879212,495

Ingalls, N., Jr.Feb. 25, 1879212,602

Cleminshaw, S.March 18, 1879213,391

Webb, T., and Heartfield, C. H.March 25, 1879213,537

Borton, StocktonApril 8, 1879214,089

Henriksen, H. P.May 20, 1879215,615

Bland, HenryJune 3, 1879216,016

Morrison, T. W.June 10, 1879216,289

Bosworth, Charles F.June 17, 1879216,504

Simmons, FrederickJune 24, 1879216,902

Junker, CarlJuly 1, 1879217,112

Legat, Désiré MathurinAug. 12, 1879218,388

Willcox, C. H.Aug. 12, 1879218,413

Cornely, EmileSept. 2, 1879219,225

Hamm, E.Sept. 16, 1879219,578

Tuttle, J. W., and Keith, T. K.Sept. 16, 1879219,782

Stackpole, G., and Applegate, J. H.Oct. 7, 1879220,314

Otis, S. L.Oct. 28, 1879221,093

Bland, H.Nov. 11, 1879221,505

Bracher, T. W.Nov. 11,1879221,508

Snediker, J. F.Nov. 25, 1879222,089

Mooney, J. H.Dec. 2, 1879222,298

Osborne, J. H.Feb. 3, 1880224,219

Smith, W. M.March 2, 1880225,199

Banks, C. M.March 23, 1880225,784

Haberling, J.May 4, 1880227,249

Haberling, J.May 11, 1880227,525

Wiseman, EdmundJune 8, 1880228,711

Juengst, GeorgeJune 15, 1880228,820

Morley, J. H.June 15, 1880228,918

Curtis, G. H. W.June 22, 1880228,985

Lipe, C. E.June 29, 1880229,322

Miller, L. B., and Diehl, P.July 6, 1880229,629

Willcox, C. H.July 20, 1880230,212

Shaw, E.July 27, 1880230,580

Dinsmore, A. S.Aug. 17, 1880231,155

Thurston, C. H.Oct. 12, 1880231,300

Butcher, J.Oct. 26, 1880233,657

Smyth, D. M.Nov. 23, 1880234,732

Hesse, J.Dec. 7, 1880235,085

Kjalman, H. N.Dec. 21, 1880235,783

Morley, J. H.Jan. 4, 1881236,350

Thomas, J.Jan. 11, 1881236,466

Benson, G.March 8, 1881238,556

Green, G. F.March 8, 1881238,678

Eickemeyer, RudolfMarch 29, 1881239,319

Palmer, C. H.April 26, 1881240,758

Campbell, D. H.May 17, 1881241,612

Campbell, Duncan H.May 17, 1881241,613

Leslie, A. M.May 24, 1881241,808

Newell, George F.June 7, 1881242,470

Gritzner, Max C.June 28, 1881243,444

Keith, JeremiahJuly 5, 1881243,710

Choquette, A. E.July 12, 1881244,033

Mooney, J. H.July 19, 1881244,470

Beardslee, W. F.Aug. 16, 1881245,781

Hine, Charlie M.Aug. 23, 1881246,136

Willcox, C. H.Sept. 6, 1881246,700

Hoefler, J.Sept. 13, 1881246,883

Woodward, E.Sept. 20, 1881247,285

Richards, Jean E.Jan. 24, 1882252,799

Abbott, W. W.Jan. 31, 1882252,984

Secor, J. B.Feb. 14, 1882253,772

Deschamps, O. L.Feb. 21, 1882253,915

Hull, E. H.Feb. 28, 1882254,217

Roberts, WilliamMarch 7, 1882254,696

Willcox and BortonMarch 28, 1882255,576

Borton and WillcoxMarch 28, 1882255,577

Borton and WillcoxMarch 28, 1882255,580

Borton and WillcoxMarch 28, 1882255,581

Veukler, W.April 4, 1882255,916

Hurtu, A. J.May 30, 1882258,761

Keats, AlphonsoJuly 11, 1882260,990

Ramsden, John W.Aug. 1, 1882262,116

Koch, WilliamAug. 8, 1882262,298

Bigelow, J.Aug. 29, 1882263,467

Mills, DanielOct. 10, 1882265,850

Wilkinson, Charles E.Dec. 19, 1882269,251

Carlisle, W. S.Jan. 9, 1883270,540

Holden, O. J., and Griswold, L.Feb. 13, 1883272,050

Cameron, James W.Feb. 20, 1883272,527

Miller, L. B., and Diehl, P.March 20, 1883274,359

Ludeke, W.April 10, 1883275,506

Bolton, J., and Petnz, A. D.May 8, 1883277,106

Blodgett, John W.June 12, 1883279,320

Haberling, J.Sept. 4, 1883284,300

Thimonnier, E., and Vernaz, C.Oct. 30, 1883287,592

Duchemin, WilliamNov. 20, 1883288,929

Lawrence, G. H.Dec. 25, 1883290,895

Clever, Peter J.April 8, 1884296,529

Palmer, John H.May 6, 1884298,228

Dowling, James, and Connolly, JohnMay 27, 1884299,118

Boecher, AdamJune 10, 1884300,199

Luedeke, WaldemarJune 17, 1884300,380

VanVechten, Orville R.July 15, 1884302,063

Carr, Wm. H., and Ostrom, F. W.Aug. 12, 1884303,361

Trip, J.Dec. 2, 1884308,711

Farrar, ArthurDec. 30, 1884309,837

Turner, M. G.Feb. 17, 1885312,306

Mills, D.March 3, 1885313,359

Hurtu, August J.April 7, 1885315,037

Charmbury, HenryApril 28, 1885316,745

Woodward & KeithApril 28, 1885316,927

Walker, WilliamJune 16, 1885320,099

Tucker, R. D.June 23, 1885320,898

Wheeler and DialOct. 13, 1885328,165

Thomas, JosephNov. 10, 1885330,170

Muegge, C. A.Dec. 8, 1885332,207

Diehl, P.April 13, 1886339,623

Diehl, P.Aug. 24, 1886347,776

Helwig, ArthurOct. 5, 1886350,364

Miehling, CharlesNov. 2, 1886351,992

Dieterle, H. E.Nov. 30, 1886353,542

Walker, WilliamDec. 7, 1886353,720

Rosenthal, S. A.Dec. 7, 1886353,970

Temple, JohnFeb. 22, 1887358,088

Gee, W. V.April 19, 1887361,406

Lingley, John W.Aug. 16, 1887368,538

Boppel, JacobJan. 29, 1889396,979

Webster, WilliamApril 30, 1889402,497

Osterhout and HallenbeckMay 7, 1889402,610

Bennett and DowlingAug. 27, 1889409,728

Hine, Charles M.Jan. 28, 1890420,382

Wheeler, NathanielFeb. 4, 1890420,847

Hallenbeck, J. P.April 8, 1890425,422

Lisle, Myron C.May 20, 1890428,171

Walker and BennetMay 20, 1890428,548

Stewart, James, Jr.July 15, 1890432,449

Dewees, J. W.July 22, 1890432,746

Powell, ThomasDec. 16, 1890442,695

Fletcher, James H.Dec. 30, 1890443,756

Rudolph, Ernst B., deceased, Boulter, W. E., administratorApril 7, 1891449,927

Goodwin, Julius C.April 21, 1891450,793

Cook, HugoJune 23, 1891454,610

Bowyer, J. T.June 23, 1891454,708

Willcox, C. H., and Borton, S.April 5, 1892472,094

Legg and WestonMay 17, 1892474,840

Kern, FerdinandJuly 19, 1892479,369

Jackson, FrancisMay 1, 1894519,064

Charles AbercrombiJune 5, 1892520,977

Taft, J. C.Oct. 15, 1895547,866

IV. 19th-Century Sewing-Machine Leaflets in the Smithsonian Collections

Machine or ManufacturerDateType

American B.H.O. and Sewing Machine1874Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Buckeye sewing machineca. 1870Illustrated, directions for using the machine

New Buckeyeca. 1872Illustrated, directions for using the machine

Centennial sewing machine1876Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Domestic sewing machine1872Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Florence sewing machine1873Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Florence sewing machine1878Illustrated, directions for using the machine

Goodes sewing machineca. 1876Advertising leaflet

Grant Brothers sewing machine1867Illustrated, advertising leaflet (Xerox copy)

Grover and Baker sewing machine1853Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Grover and Baker sewing machineca. 1870Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Home sewing machineca. 1870Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Howe sewing machine, new “B” machine1868Illustrated, instruction booklet

Howe sewing machine1876Illustrated, catalog of machines

Independent Noiseless sewing machineca. 1874Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Ladd, Webster sewing machine1861Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Little Monitor sewing machineca. 1872Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Remington Family sewing machineca. 1874Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Shaw and Clark sewing machine1864Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Singer sewing machine1871Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Singer sewing machine1893Catalog of machines shown at the Columbian Exposition

Standard Shuttle sewing machineca. 1875Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Ten Dollar Novelty sewing machineca. 1870Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Weed sewing machine1873Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Wheeler and Wilson sewing machineca. 1869Illustrated, instruction booklet

Wheeler and Wilson sewing machineca. 1870-1875Illustrated, advertising leaflet

Wheeler and Wilson no. 8 machineca. 1878Illustrated, instruction booklet

Wilson sewing machine1872Illustrated, 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:

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.

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-Saône 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

Figure 134.—Walter Hunt, 1796-1860. From a daguerreotype owned by his great-grandson, C. N. Hunt. (Smithsonian photo 32066-A.)

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.

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.

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 £250 sterling (about $1250). Thomas further proposed to engage the inventor to adapt this machine to the making of corsets, at a salary of £3 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

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.)

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.[93] There was strong feeling against the extension of the Wilson patents. The New York Daily Graphic, December 30, 1874, reported:

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

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.

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