The Invention of the Sewing MachineCooper, Grace Rogers
History
The Invention of the Sewing Machine
Cooper, Grace Rogers
Sewing machines -- History
[Illustration: Figure 75.--BECKWITH SEWING MACHINE, 1871. Among the
inventors whose patent claims were "to produce a cheap and effective
sewing machine" was William G. Beckwith. His machine was first
manufactured by Barlow & Son, and it realized considerable success in
the few years of its production. The earliest model was operated like a
pair of scissors or with a cord and ring as illustrated. Beckwith later
added a hand crank. The machine was purchased in Crewe, Cheshire,
England; it is stamped "Pat. April 18, 71 by Wm. G. Beckwith, Foreign
Pats. Secured, Barlow & Son Manuf. N.Y., [serial number] 706." By 1874
the machines were marked "Beckwith S.M. Co." and two 1872 patent dates
were added.
Using serial numbers, machines may be dated approximately as follows:
1-3500, 1871; 3501-7500, 1872; 7501-12500, 1873; 12501-18000, 1874;
18001-23000, 1875; 23001-?, 1876. (Smithsonian photo 46953-C.)]
[Illustration: Figure 76.--BOUDOIR SEWING MACHINE, 1858. This machine, a
single-thread, chainstitch model was based on the patents of Daniel
Harris, dated June 9, 1857, June 16, 1857, and October 5, 1858.
Manufactured primarily by Bennett in Chicago in 1859, it also may have
been produced in the East, although no manufacturer's name can be found.
In 1860, the Boudoir, also called Harris's Patent sewing machine, was
exhibited at the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association
Exhibition where it won a silver medal for "its combination of parts,
its beauty and simplicity, together with its ease of operation." At this
time the machine was described as making a "double lock stitch" (another
name for the double chainstitch). It was also described as having been
before the public for some time and combining "the improvements of
others for which the parties pay license." The machine head was
positioned on the stand similarly to that of the West & Willson (fig.
127) and stitched from left to right.
It is not known exactly how many of these machines were made or how long
they were in vogue. Manufacture, although probably ceasing in the 1860s,
is known to have been discontinued before 1881, when a list of obsolete
sewing machines was published in _The Sewing Machine News_. (Smithsonian
photo P63199.)]
[Illustration: Figure 77.--(NEW) BUCKEYE SEWING MACHINE of about 1875.
The Buckeye machine was one of several manufactured by W. G. Wilson of
Cleveland, Ohio. It was licensed under Johnson's extended patent of
April 18, 1867. Although it was small and hand turned, it used two
threads and a shuttle to form a lockstitch. The machine was sufficiently
popular for Wilson to introduce an improved model in the early 1870s,
which he called the New Buckeye. W. G. Wilson continued to manufacture
sewing machines until about the mid-eighties, although the Buckeye
machines were discontinued in the seventies. (Smithsonian photo
45524-A.)]
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