The Invention of the Sewing Machine Part 16

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 chainst.i.tch, taking both threads from commercial spools. By October 1857, the inventors had received their second patent. This time the machine was bra.s.s 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 chainst.i.tch machine received that year was in the name of "Raymond, a.s.signor 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.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 112.--RAYMOND PATENT MODEL, March 9, 1858.

(Smithsonian photo 32009-O.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 Ma.s.sachusetts.

There, in partners.h.i.+p 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 partners.h.i.+p 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 Ma.s.sachusetts Charitable Mechanics a.s.sociation 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 chainst.i.tch machines of the 1860s.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 114.--PRATT'S SECOND PATENT MODEL, March 3, 1857, probably a commercial machine. (Smithsonian photo 48328-H.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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, Ma.s.s." Manufacture was discontinued after a few years.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 115.--LADIES COMPANION, 1859. (_Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan._)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 chainst.i.tch 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.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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, Ma.s.sachusetts Sole Manufacturers of Robinson's Patent Sewing Machine with Rope[r]'s Improvements." (Smithsonian photo 48091-F.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 118.--SEWING MACHINE OF ABOUT 1856 with inscription "Howard & Davis Makers, Boston, Ma.s.s. Robinson & Roper Pat.

Dec. 10, 1850, Aug. 15, 1854"; the drive wheel and the circular st.i.tching plate of this machine are missing. (Smithsonian photo 48440-C.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figures 117 and 118.--ROBINSON AND ROPER sewing machines, 1855-1856. This is one of the few machines producing a backst.i.tch or half backst.i.tch 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 st.i.tch. The finest kind of cotton thread or silk can be used.

The work appears well done. Price $100."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 119.--ILl.u.s.tRATED PAGE in a Shaw & Clark advertising brochure, published in late 1864. (Smithsonian photo 61321.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 120.--SHAW & CLARK SEWING MACHINE (Page patent) of 1867, Chicopee Falls, Ma.s.sachusetts. (Smithsonian photo 48216-L.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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, Ma.s.sachusetts.

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.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 lockst.i.tch machines, Singer also manufactured chainst.i.tch 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 122.--SINGER "New Family" sewing machine.

(Smithsonian photo 58987.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 123.--STANDARD SEWING MACHINE of about 1870. This chainst.i.tch machine is believed to have been made by the company that later became the Standard Shuttle Sewing Machine Company, when they began manufacturing lockst.i.tch 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 chainst.i.tch machines of this type that were manufactured is not known. (Smithsonian photo 45506-C.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 chainst.i.tch, 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 125.--TAGGART & FARR sewing machine, end view.

(Smithsonian photo 48216-M.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 126.--WATSON SEWING MACHINE, 1856, ill.u.s.trated in Scientific American, December 13, 1856. The earliest Watson machines were two-thread lockst.i.tch machines, as described in the _Scientific American_, August 10, 1850. Although the magazine reported that the inventor had applied for a patent, the earliest lockst.i.tch 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 Ma.s.sachusetts Charitable Mechanics a.s.sociation 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 ill.u.s.trated 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.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 chainst.i.tch, but whether machines of this single-thread variety were manufactured is unknown. The machine ill.u.s.trated here is a two-thread machine of basically the same description. It st.i.tches from left to right and bears serial number 1544 and the inscription "West & Willson Co. patented June 29, 1858."

(Smithsonian photo 49456-A.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 128.--WHEELER & WILSON SEWING MACHINE of about 1872. Serial number 670974. (Smithsonian photo P63149-A.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 129.--WHEELER AND WILSON NO. 8 sewing machine of about 1876. (Smithsonian photo 17663-C.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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.