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.