Figure 105.—Landfear’s Patent Sewing Machine of about 1857. Another of the many machines that, except for isolated examples, have almost completely disappeared from the records is Landfear’s machine. Fortunately, this manufacturer marked his machine—where many did not—stamping it: “Landfear’s patent-Decr 1856, No. 262, W. H. Johnson’s Patent Feb. 26th 1856, Manfrd by Parkers, Snow, Brooks & Co., West Meriden, Conn.” (There was a Parker sewing machine manufactured by the Charles Parker Co. of Meriden, but his machine was a double-thread chainstitch machine and was licensed by the “Combination.” The Landfear machine may have been an earlier attempt by a predecessor or closely related company.)
The Landfear patent was for a shuttle machine, but it also included a mode for regulating stitch length. The name chosen for this machine may be incorrect, since the single-thread chainstitch mechanism is primarily that of W. H. Johnson, but since the Johnson patent also was used on other machines the name “Landfear” was assigned. The machine was probably another attempt to evade royalty payment to the “Combination.”
The serial number 262 indicates that at least that many machines were manufactured, although this model is the only one known to be in existence. The support arm of the machine head is iron, cast as a vase of flowers and painted in natural colors. The paint on the head is original, but the table has been refinished, and the iron legs, which had rusted, have been repainted. (Smithsonian photo 48440-G.)
Figure 106.—Lathrop sewing machine of about 1873. These machines were manufactured by the Lathrop Combination Sewing Machine Co. under the patents of Lebbeus W. Lathrop of 1869, 1870, and 1873. The machine used two threads, both taken from spools; moreover, it produced not only the double chainstitch, but it was constructed to produce also a lockstitch and a combined “lock and chain stitch.” The machine illustrated bears the serial number 31 and the patent dates of Grover & Baker, and Bachelder among others, in addition to the first two Lathrop patent dates. The company lasted only a few years as it is included in the 1881 list of manufacturers that had ceased to exist. (Smithsonian photo 46953-F.)
Figure 107.—Illustration from a brochure, marked in ink: “The National Portrait Gallery, 1855.” Singer Archives. (Smithsonian photo 48091-E.)
Figures 107 and 108.—The Nichols and Leavitt sewing machines. One of Elias Howe’s earliest licensees was J. B. Nichols. His machine, manufactured at first with George Bliss and later alone as J. B. Nichols & Co., was called Howe’s Improved Patent Sewing Machine. It was, however, no more a Howe machine than any of the others produced under the Howe patent.
In July 1855 Nichols went into partnership with Rufus Leavitt, and the company name changed to Nichols, Leavitt & Co. In 1857 it was changed again to Leavitt & Co., and finally in the mid-1860s to Leavitt Sewing Machine Co. By the 1870s, it was defunct.
The Nichols-Leavitt machines can be dated by their serial numbers approximately as follows:
| Serial Number | Year | Company |
| 1-28 | 1853 | Nichols & Bliss |
| 29-245 | 1854 | J. B. Nichols & Co. |
| 246-397 | 1855 | J. B. Nichols & Co.—Nichols, Leavitt & Co. |
| 398-632 | 1856 | Nichols, Leavitt & Co. |
| 633-827 | 1857 | Leavitt & Co. |
| 828-902 | 1858 | ” |
| 903-1115 | 1859 | ” |
| 1116-1436 | 1860 | ” |
| 1437-1757 | 1861 | ” |
| 1758-2077 | 1862 | ” |
| 2078-2400 | 1863 | ” |
| 2401-2900 | 1864 | ” |
| 2901-3900 | 1865 | Leavitt Sewing Machine Co. |
| 3901-4900 | 1866 | ” |
| 4901-5951 | 1867 | ” |
| 5952-6951 | 1868 | ” |
| 6952-7722 | 1869 | ” |
There is no record that the company was in existence after 1869.
Figure 108.—Leavitt sewing machine of about 1868, serial number 6907. (Smithsonian photo 48328.)
Figure 109.—Lester sewing machine of about 1858. The Lester machine was first manufactured by J. H. Lester in Brooklyn, New York. His machine was based on the patents of William Johnson, John Bradshaw and others but not on the patents held by the “Combination,” although he had secured a license. When the Old Dominion Company applied for a license from the “Combination,” Lester learned of this, went to Richmond, and arranged to combine his business with theirs. Since the Lester machine was the better one, it was agreed to cease the manufacture of the Old Dominion machines early in 1860 and in March the company name was changed to the Lester Mfg. Co. Late in 1860, George Sloat entered the company with his Elliptic machine; the name was changed again, this time to Union Sewing Machine Co. The manufacture of both sewing machines continued until the outbreak of the Civil War the following year, which brought a conversion to arms production. The manufacture of Lester machines was never resumed.
The machine illustrated was manufactured by J. H. Lester in Brooklyn; it bears the serial number 96. The number of Lester machines manufactured from 1858 through 1861 is not known, but it was probably less than 1,000. (Smithsonian photo P63359.)
Figure 110.—Ne Plus Ultra of about 1867. Another of the interesting hand-turned chainstitch machines of the late 1850s and 1860s was patented by O.L. Reynolds. The baster plates and the handle on the wheel are missing on this machine, but an interesting shield and draped-flag pattern is painted on the base.
Another machine of this type has the following inscription stamped on the baster plate: “Ne Plus Ultra, Patent Applied For, 174, O.L. Reynolds, Patentee & Manufacturer, Dover N.H.” Reynold’s patent model, March 30, 1858, bears the serial number 110, indicating that the machine illustrated here—which bears the serial number 26—was manufactured before the patent was obtained. (Smithsonian photo 48216-F.)
Figure 111.—Nettleton & Raymond sewing machine. One of the most ornate of the early, small, hand-turned sewing machines was patented and manufactured by Willford H. Nettleton and Charles Raymond whose first patent was received on April 14, 1857. The patent model, believed to be a commercial machine, is beautifully silver-plated. Whether this was a special one-of-a-kind model, or whether the inventors tried to make a commercial success of a silver-plated machine is not known. The machine made a two-thread chainstitch, taking both threads from commercial spools. By October 1857, the inventors had received their second patent. This time the machine was brass and gilt—brighter, but less expensive. At the same time, Nettleton & Raymond began manufacturing sewing-shears machines under the patent of J. E. Hendricks.
By the latter half of 1858, Nettleton & Raymond had moved from Bristol, Connecticut, to Brattleboro, Vermont. The patented improvement of the two-thread chainstitch machine received that year was in the name of “Raymond, assignor to Nettleton,” although the machines of this type bear neither name nor patent date. No record of the price for which they were sold has been found, but it would be fair to estimate that it was probably about $25. This style of machine was discontinued when the manufacture of the simpler, more profitable New England model began, a machine that Raymond had initiated just before the partners left Bristol. (Smithsonian photo 45505-E.)
Figure 112.—Raymond patent model, March 9, 1858. (Smithsonian photo 32009-O.)
Figure 113.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.)
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.
Figure 114.—Pratt’s second patent model, March 3, 1857, probably a commercial machine. (Smithsonian photo 48328-H.)
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.
Figure 115.—Ladies Companion, 1859. (Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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.”
Figure 119.—Illustrated page in a Shaw & Clark advertising brochure, published in late 1864. (Smithsonian photo 61321.)
Figure 120.—Shaw & Clark sewing machine (Page patent) of 1867, Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. (Smithsonian photo 48216-L.)
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.)
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.)
Figure 128.—Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine of about 1872. Serial number 670974. (Smithsonian photo P63149-A.)
Figure 129.—Wheeler and Wilson No. 8 sewing machine of about 1876. (Smithsonian photo 17663-C.)
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:
Records of the second series of serial numbers dating from 1876 are not available.
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 58986.)
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.)
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.
There are more than seven hundred sewing-machine patent models and a similar number of attachment models in the Smithsonian collections. Most of these machines were received in 1926 when the Patent Office disposed of its collection of hundreds of thousands of models. Prior to 1880, models had been required with the patent application; although the requirement was discontinued that year, patentees continued to furnish models for another decade or so. All models prior to 1836 were lost in a Patent Office fire of that year, but since the sewing-machine patent history dates from the 1840s, most of the historically important ones of this subject have been preserved.
These models form a valuable part of the record of the invention, supplementing the drawings and the text of the written specifications. The early sewing-machine models were made to order, either by the inventor or a commissioned model maker. As soon as sewing machines were produced commercially, it was less expensive for the patentee to use a commercial machine of the period, to which he added his change or improvement, than to have a complete model constructed to order. Some of the commercial machines used in this way are the only examples known to be in existence, and as such, are of more interest in establishing the history of the manufactured machine than for the minor patented changes.
During the period of the “Sewing Machine Combination,” many patentees attempted to invent and patent “the different machine.” This was either a radical change in style or an attempt to produce a far less-expensive type of machine. These machines were not always put into commercial production, but the patent models give an indication of the extent to which some inventors went to simplify or vary the mechanics of machine sewing.
The following is a list of those sewing-machine patent models in the Smithsonian Institution collections: