The Machine That Revolutionized the Way Clothes were Made

 

QUESTION: Recently, I was admiring my grandmother’s sewing machine. I think it was probably her mother’s. Amazing that a mass-produced tool like this was not only useful, but in the early days, beautiful, too. Who invented the sewing machine and when?

ANSWER: Most people probably think that Isaac Merritt Singer invented the sewing machine, but actually there were many inventors who all invented their own versions of this iconic machine. 

Historians consider Englishman Thomas Saint as the inventor of the first sewing machine in 1790. While it wasn’t as robust as today’s industrial machines, it did improve the efficiency of making leather clothing, as well as saddles and bridles. but it was also capable of working with canvas, making it useful for sewing ship sails. Although his machine was very advanced for the era, the concept would need steady improvement over the coming decades before it was practical enough to enter into wide use.

A skilled cabinetmaker, Saint included many practical features on his machine, such as an overhanging arm, a feed mechanism for shorter pieces of leather, a vertical needle bar, and a looper. His goal was to reduce the amount of hand-stitching on leather garments.

Saint’s sewing machine used the chain stitch method, in which the machine uses a single thread to make simple stitches in the fabric. A stitching awl would have pierced the material, and a forked-point rod would have carried the thread through the hole, where it would have been hooked underneath and moved to the next stitching place, after which the cycle would be repeated, thereby locking the stitch in place. 

In 1804, Thomas Stone and James Henderson built their own version of the sewing machine. And John Duncan constructed one for embroidering material.

An Austrian tailor, Josef Madersperger, began developing his first sewing machine in 1807 and presented his first working machine publicly in 1814. Having received financial support from the Austrian Government, he worked on the development of his machine until 1839, when he built a machine imitating the weaving process using the chain stitch.

 Thimonnier, a French tailor, invented the first practical and widely used sewing machine in 1829. His machine sewed straight seams using a chain stitch like Saint's model had. He constructed his sewing machine of wood and used a barbed needle which passed downward through the cloth to grab the thread and pull it up to form a loop to be locked by the next loop. In 1830, Thimonnier signed a contract with Auguste Ferrand, a mining engineer, who made the required drawings and submitted a patent application. He received the patent for his machine on July 17, 1830, and in the same year, he and his partners opened the first machine-based clothing manufacturing company in the world to create army uniforms for the French Army. Unfortunately, their factory burned down—reportedly by workers fearful of losing their livelihood, following the issuing of the patent.

In 1832, Walter Hunt invented the first American lockstitch sewing machine. His machine used a needle with the eye and the point on the same end carrying the upper thread, and a falling shuttle carrying the lower thread. The curved needle moved through the fabric horizontally, leaving the loop as it withdrew. The shuttle passed through the loop, interlocking the thread. The feed was unreliable, requiring the machine to be stopped frequently and reset up. Hunt eventually lost interest in his machine and sold individual machines without at first patenting his invention. In 1854, he finally applied for a patent. 

However, John Greenough beat Hunt to it by patenting his sewing machine, the first one in the United States. His British partners, Newton and Archibold, had introduced the eye-pointed needle and the use of two pressing surfaces to keep the pieces of fabric in position, in 1841.

The first machine to combine all the disparate elements of the previous half-century of innovation into the modern sewing machine was the device built by English inventor John Fisher in 1844, a little earlier than the very similar machines built by Isaac Merritt Singer in 1851, and the lesser known Elias Howe, in 1845. However, due to the botched filing of Fisher's patent at the Patent Office, he didn’t receive recognition for the modern sewing machine because of legal disputes of priority with Singer, enabling   Singer to reap the benefits of the patent.

Elias Howe, born in Spencer, Massachusetts, created his sewing machine in 1845, using a similar method to Fisher's except that the fabric was held vertically. An important improvement on his machine was to have the needle running away from the point, starting from the eye. After a lengthy stay in England trying to attract interest in his machine, he returned to America to find various people infringing his patent, among them Isaac Merritt Singer. He eventually won a case for patent infringement in 1854 and was awarded the right to claim royalties from the manufacturers using ideas covered by his patent, including Singer.

Singer had seen a rotary sewing machine being repaired in a Boston shop. As an engineer, he thought it was clumsy and decided to design a better one. The machine he devised used a falling shuttle instead of a rotary one; the needle was mounted vertically and included a presser foot to hold the cloth in place. It had a fixed arm to hold the needle and included a basic tension system. This machine combined elements of Thimonnier, Hunt and Howe's machines. Singer received a patent for his sewing machine in 1851. He adapted the foot treadle, used since the Middle Ages, to convert reciprocating to rotary motion, to drive his machine, leaving the both hands of the user free.

When Howe learned of Singer's machine he also took him to court, where Howe won, forcing Singer to pay a lump sum for all machines he had already produced. Singer then took out a license under Howe's patent and paid him US$1.15 per machine before entering into a joint partnership with a lawyer named Edward Clark. Together, they created the first hire-purchase arrangement to allow people to purchase their machines through payments over time.

Meanwhile, Allen B. Wilson developed a shuttle that reciprocated in a short arc, an improvement over Singer’s and Howe's machines. However, John Bradshaw had patented a similar device and threatened to sue, so Wilson decided to try a new method. He went into partnership with Nathaniel Wheeler to produce a machine with a rotary hook instead of a shuttle. This was far quieter and smoother than other methods, with the result that the Wheeler & Wilson Company produced more machines in the 1850s and 1860s than any other manufacturer. Wilson also invented the four-motion feed mechanism that’s still used on every sewing machine today. This had a forward, down, back and up motion, which drew the cloth through in an even and smooth motion. Charles Miller patented the first machine to stitch buttonholes. Throughout the 1850s more and more companies tried to sue the others for patent infringement. This triggered the Sewing Machine War.

In 1856, the Sewing Machine Combination was formed, consisting of Singer, Howe, Wheeler, Wilson, and Grover and Baker. These four companies pooled their patents, with the result that all other manufacturers had to obtain a license for $15 per machine. This lasted until 1877 when the last patent expired.

In 1885, Singer patented the Singer Vibrating Shuttle sewing machine, which used Allen B. Wilson's idea for a vibrating shuttle and was better at the lockstitch than the oscillating shuttles of the time. This was perhaps the world's first really practical sewing machine for domestic use. It was in use until rotary shuttle machines finally superseded it in the 20th century.

The Singer Sewing Company developed the first electric machines in 1889. By the end of the First World War, Singer offered hand, treadle and electric machines for sale. At first, the electric machines were standard machines with a motor strapped on the side, but as more homes gained power, they became more popular, and the motor was gradually introduced into the casing.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Lady Luck" in the 2024 Fall Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Simple Gifts

QUESTION: I always associated the Shakers with rocking chairs. My grandmother had one, although I’m not sure it was an authentic one. But last Fall I took a trip to Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts and discovered that the Shakers invented a whole host of items, many of which we use in improved forms today. What can you tell me about some of their inventions? And why were they so creative.

ANSWER: The old saying “Necessity is the mother of invention” certainly applied to the Shakers. Since this religious sect lived in communities apart from the outside world, they had to produce everything they needed. And this led to them inventing all sorts of things. And although they made and sold great chairs, especially rockers, to the outside world, they produced so much more.

Today, modern wood workshops wouldn’t be complete without a circular saw. Historians trace the origin of the circular saw blade to 1810 and the Shaker community at Harvard, Mass. It seemed that a Shaker Sister witnessed two Shaker Brothers cutting wood using a two-person reciprocating saw, and using her experience at spinning, realized she could improve the conventional way of sawing wood. She conceived a circular metal disk with saw teeth on its perimeter. She discussed it with some of the Shaker brothers who made a prototype blade and used water to spin it.  Today, the circular saw blade has been improved to cut everything from wood to concrete.



Mother Ann Lee founded the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, which is the sect's true name. She claimed to be the female manifestation of Christ. Persecuted in England, she and some followers came to Albany, N.Y., in late 1774. Ultimately they formed self-sustaining communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky.

They became known as Shakers only after arriving in America. It was originally a derisive name given them by outsiders because of the frenzied dancing and shaking that typically took place during their worship services.

The Shakers under Mother Ann Lee believed they should strive for perfection. Using resources efficiently and effectively and finding ways to complete tasks faster and with less effort was a step toward perfection here on Earth.

One of the most common of Shaker inventions was the flat broom. Mother Ann is believed to have said, “There is no dirt in Heaven.” So keeping all the rooms and buildings in Shaker communities clean was a major chore.

And while brooms existed before the Shakers, but they were typically lengths of corn straw tied to a wooden handle. Brother Theodore Bates at the Watervliet, New York, community decided that a broom made with its bristles bound flat and straight would work better than a traditional one, so he devised a way to stitch the straw so as to make it flat when fastened to a broom handle. Shakers everywhere began to make flat brooms, not only for their own use, but to sell to outsiders.

A major obstacle to cleaning floors was heavy furniture. Moving beds in particular posed a problem, so the Shakers invented bed rollers so they could easily move beds to clean beneath them.

Doing laundry for a community of several hundred people was a daunting task. In 1858, Brother David Parker at tire-Canterbury, NH., community designed a steam powered "wash mill." It sped up the laundering process and made the work easier for the sisters assigned to laundry duty.

The Shakers didn't often patent their inventions. but the washing machine was an exception. Not only was it patented, Brother Parker's design won a medal at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Copies of his wash mill were sold W several big hotels.

Shaker herbs and plant seeds were' sought after because of their consistency and high quality. The Shakers were the first to put seeds in small printed pack-ages for home use. The seeds were sold through stores and by mail order.

The Shakers also invented a spike wheel that produced evenly space holes l; for seeds, and it automatically planted seeds, too. It reduced planting time by about fifty percent.

Poplar trees were abundant in some areas, but the wood wasn't useful for either building or burning. The Shakers, !however, found it was an excellent material for baskets. One of the brothers !devised a machine to split lengths of poplar wood into thin splints that could the he used for basket weaving. And Shaker baskets became another product the World" demanded.



Shaker woodworkers developed a machine for making uniform barrel staves, and another for making broom handles of varying lengths.

The Shakers cared for one another, especially the elderly and those that were sick. They invented several things to make life easier for those who were ill. For example, they invented the tilting or adjustable hospital bed. And most Shaker communities had wheelchairs for the elderly and incapacitated. They were rocking chairs with large wheels akin to today's wheelchairs, and a stabilizing wheel or wheels in the back. The finger splint was a Shaker invention, and they created pill making machines for producing herbs and plant potions.

Only a few brothers took care of household chores. The rest were farmers, so they invented several machines to make their jobs easier, including a hillside plow, a horse drawn mowing machine and a thresher machine. Brother Hewitt Chandler of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, community created the Maine Mower. which mowed hay fields more efficiently than other available equipment. And Brother Daniel Baird at the North Union, Ohio, community developed the revolving harrow used to breakup soil for planting.

And while brothers were busy in the fields, sisters tended to the feeding the community. Feeding several hundred people, three times a day, seven days a week was a daunting task, so naturally invention played a major role.

Cooking on an institutional scale presented its own problems. While a housewife might cook one roast or chicken or bake one pie, Shaker sisters had to prepare dozens, sometimes 60 pies a day. To help with them, for example, They invented a double rolling pin, and it's claimed they could roll twice as much pastry dough in half as much time, verses a conventional rolling pin. Peeling apples is no easy task, so a screw-based apple peeler was created to strip the peel from an apple in a matter of seconds. Once peeled, the apples were cut into quarters using an apple splitter, a spike like device invented by Brother Sanford Russell at South Union, Ky.

 Emeline Hart at the Canterbury, New Hampshire, community designed the Revolving Oven. Numerous pies could be baked simultaneously in this oven.

Sisters also invented the slotted spoon, pea shellers, a cheese press, bread kneading machines and even a potato washer. In 1796, the Shakers produced one of America's first cookbooks.

The Shakers even improved on articles of clothing. One of them, the woolen hooded cloak was a staple of every sister’s wardrobe to protect them from the cold blasts of winter. As with the broom, they sold these to the outside world to make money to buy supplies they needed.

Shaker communities attracted some of the best craftspeople and cooks but unfortunately they believed in celebacy. And that didn’t help their future.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  La Belle Epoque in the 2020 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

A Tool for Every Purpose

QUESTION: I’ve always liked old tools and would like to start collecting them. Can you offer any advice on how to get started?

ANSWER: For any collector, liking something is the most important thing. You should collect what you like. Doing so will build and keep your interest in your collection for a long time. That’s the difference between collecting and assembling a group of like objects. In the former, you have vested interest while in the latter you’re just adding them to a shelf or cabinet.

Old tools not only have value, they also have historical interest. You should always be asking how old they are, what condition they’re in, and how rare they are?

When it comes to tools, age is a major element. This doesn’t necessarily mean a tool’s actual age. What’s most important is age related to the particular type of tool. Planes are a good example. Many years before companies began manufacturing planes out of metal, they made them of wood. It’s very easy to find a wooden plane that’s well over 150 years old that, in good condition, may be worth only $25 dollars. The more modern version, which isn’t as old but is made of metal, can be worth many times that amount particularly if it’s one of the early models. So just because you have an old tool that you can date to the early 1800s, doesn’t necessarily mean you have a very valuable tool

The most important point to consider with tools is condition. This is the area among collectors where more confusion exists than any other. Look at how what you have  relates to what was originally made. This can be looked at in two ways. First, is what you have totally complete? Are all the parts, cutters and anything else that came along with the original tool still there? One of the best examples of a tool that’s commonly for sale without all the parts is the Stanley 45 multiplane. The basic Stanley 45 came with 18 to 23 cutters, two lengths of arms, depth stops and in some cases a cam rest. Very seldom do you find a complete Stanley 45 for sale, yet in many cases, the asking price is that of a complete one.

After you’ve determined a tool’s completeness, the next thing to look at is its actual physical condition. Cracked or chipped handles or even handles that have been glued back together reduce the value. In some cases, people will substitute a handle or a part from another tool that looks about right. While this might make the tool useable, it detracts from the value for the true collector. Finish is also important. Having the original label still in place and the original metal and wood finish makes a tool more valuable. What detracts most from the value is when you can see signs of wire brushing  or that the tool has been painted black or covered with some kind of other coating.

The "rareness" of a tool, as with other antiques, is also very important when determining its value. This typically comes down to how many have survived and are available for sale. In some cases there may be a limited relationship to how many were actually made. A good example of this is the foot-powered tools that were common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During World War II scrap metal drives, people donated many of these to be melted down for the war effort. Partially as a result of this, these foot-powered. tools are sometimes hard to find. In other cases, a particular style or type of tool may have only been manufactured for a limited period. This may be a result of a company going out of business, the tool not selling well or some external events such as a war that caused manufacturing priorities to be redirected. In most cases, it can usually be concluded that the more rare a tool is, the more it’s worth.

Tools, obviously, come in all shapes, sizes, and sorts. Each tool has been designed for a different job and so the variety is endless. In fact, even longtime experienced tool collectors will often run into something they haven't seen before. To make sense of all this variety, tool collectors have established categories of tools to help them focus their collections. In the broadest categorization, they divide tools into groups by the material they work—woodworking tools, metalworking tools, basket making tools, leather working tools, etc. They also further defined tools within each of these categories. For instance, in the woodworking tool category, there are edge tools, boring tools, measuring tools, woodworking machines, and so on. Within the machinist tool category, there are calipers, gauges, indicators, etc.

Tools can also be categorized in ways outside their intended purpose, such as by tool makers, patented tools, aesthetic tools, tools from a particular era or generation, tools made in a particular geographical area, tools made from a certain material, and miniatures.

Collecting tools can be daunting—and expensive—if you don’t focus on a particular type early on. But whatever type you choose to collect, always buy the best you can afford.

A Penny a Light

QUESTION: I love quirky old machines. Recently, I purchased a penny vending machine that I think held matches from an online auction. The seller couldn’t tell me much about it, but it’s in pretty good condition. It looks like it stood on a counter or table and stands 13½ inches tall. The machine seems to be made of cast white metal, but the slot that the penny drops through is made of wood. Unfortunately, the machine came with no label on it, so I have no idea who made it. An unusual feature is a cigar tip cutter which sits at the front of the base. Can you tell me who made this vending machine and how old it is. 

ANSWER: From what you described, I’d say you have a Sellem match vending machine, most likely produced around 1912 by the Northwestern Corporation of Chicago, which also produced a varied line of gumball machines.

Northwestern released 70 different machines under the Sellem name, starting in 1911. In addition to the Sellem match vending machine, the company also produced stamp vending machines and another type called Penny Matches.

The Sellem line was the deluxe model of the Northwestern match vendor line. The top, front and base are all made in the beautiful Art Nouveau style from cast iron, not white metal as you supposed. Two dolphins decorate the front of this machine. The Sellem was the firm’s  only model to have a cigar cutter and matchbox holder, both of which enticed customers to the machine and reminded them to buy a box of matches.

The Sellem came in two models. The A model had frames attached to the machine's sides and top that contained advertising panels and the more common B model, which seems to be what you have. The company also made a third version for a private match company, called The Scup. The Sellem dispensed small cardboard boxes of matches. The front of the machine had a holder that would hold the last box dispensed. These machines originally came in white, green or antique silver, and sometimes had brass-colored accents. 

Back in 1912, you would have most likely found your machine sitting on a table in the smoking lounge of a fine hotel. It was the custom of gentlemen at the time to smoke cigars after dinner. When a gentleman inserted a penny, it would drop through the wooden piece and allow the push bar to go back and forth. The machine also had a removable match loading compartment which often is missing on ones appearing for sale today. The cigar tip cutter was an added feature that enabled smokers to prepare their cigar before lighting.

Sellem vending machines sell for between $300 and $400. However, a fine one sold at auction for $960, but that’s rare.