The Invention of the Sewing Machine Part 6

_Chapter Four_

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 38.--GIBBS' PATENT MODEL, 1857. (Smithsonian photo 45504-E.)]

Less Expensive Machines

While the "Combination" was attempting to solve the problems of patent litigation, another problem faced the would-be home users of this new invention. The budget limitations of the average family caused a demand for a less expensive machine, for this first consumer appliance was a most desirable commodity.[67]

There were many attempts to satisfy this demand, but one of the best and most successful grew out of a young man's curiosity. James E. A. Gibbs'

first exposure to the sewing machine was in 1855 when, at the age of 24, he saw a simple woodcut ill.u.s.tration of a Grover and Baker machine. The woodcut represented only the upper part of the machine. Nothing in the ill.u.s.tration indicated that more than one thread was used, and none of the st.i.tch-forming mechanism was visible. Gibbs a.s.sumed that the st.i.tch was formed with one thread; he then proceeded to imagine a mechanism that would make a st.i.tch with one thread. His solution was described in his own statement:

As I was then living in a very out of the way place, far from railroads and public conveyances of all kinds, modern improvements seldom reached our locality, and not being likely to have my curiosity satisfied otherwise, I set to work to see what I could learn from the woodcut, which was not accompanied by any description. I first discovered that the needle was attached to a needle arm, and consequently could not pa.s.s entirely through the material, but must retreat through the same hole by which it entered. From this I saw that I could not make a st.i.tch similar to handwork, but must have some other mode of fastening the thread on the underside, and among other possible methods of doing this, the chainst.i.tch occurred to me as a likely means of accomplis.h.i.+ng the end.

I next endeavored to discover how this st.i.tch was or could be made, and from the woodcut I saw that the driving shaft which had the driving wheel on the outer end, pa.s.sed along under the cloth plate of the machine. I knew that the mechanism which made the st.i.tch must be connected with and actuated by this driving shaft. After studying the position and relations of the needle and shaft with each other, I conceived the idea of the revolving hook on the end of the shaft, which might take hold of the thread and manipulate it into a chainst.i.tch. My ideas were, of course, very crude and indefinite, but it will be seen that I then had the correct conception of the invention afterwards embodied in my machine.[68]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 39.--ONE OF THE FIRST COMMERCIAL MACHINES produced by the Willc.o.x & Gibbs Sewing Machine Co. in 1857, this machine bears no serial number, although the name "James E. A. Gibbs" is inscribed in two places on the cloth plate. It was used as the patent model for Gibbs'

improvement on his 1857 patent issued the following year on August 10, 1858. (Smithsonian photo P. 6393.)]

Gibbs had no immediate interest in the sewing machine other than to satisfy his curiosity. He did not think of it again until January 1856 when he was visiting his father in Rockbridge County, Virginia. While in a tailor's shop there, he happened to see a Singer machine. Gibbs was very much impressed, but thought the machine entirely too heavy, complicated, and c.u.mbersome, and the price exorbitant. It was then that he recalled the machine he had devised. Remembering how simple it was, he decided to work in earnest to produce a less-expensive type of sewing machine.

Gibbs had little time to spend on this invention since his family was dependent upon him for support, but he managed to find time at night and during inclement weather. In contemporary references, Gibbs is referred to as a farmer, but since he is also reported to have had employers, it may be surmised that he was a farmhand. In any event, his decision to try to produce a less-expensive sewing machine suffered from a lack of proper tools and adequate materials. Most of the machine had to be constructed of wood, and he was forced to make his own needles. By the end of April 1856, however, his model was sufficiently completed to arouse the interest of his employers, who agreed to furnish the money necessary to patent the machine.

Gibbs went to Was.h.i.+ngton, where he examined sewing-machine models in the Patent Office and other machines then on the market. Completing his investigations, Gibbs made a trip to Philadelphia and showed his invention to a builder of models of new inventions, James Willc.o.x. Much impressed with the machine, Willc.o.x arranged for Gibbs to work with his son, Charles Willc.o.x, in a small room in the rear of his shop. After taking out two minor patents (on December 16, 1856, and January 20, 1857), Gibbs obtained his important one, U.S. patent No. 17,427 on June 2, 1857 (fig. 38). His a.s.sociation with Charles Willc.o.x led to the formation of the Willc.o.x & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company, and they began manufacturing chainst.i.tch machines in 1857 (fig. 39). The machine used a straight needle to make a chainst.i.tch. At the forward end of the main shaft was a hook which, as it rotated, carried the loop of needle-thread, elongated and held it expanded while the feed moved the cloth until the needle at the next stroke descended through the loop so held. When the needle descended through the first loop, the point of the hook was again in position to catch the second loop, at which time the first loop was cast off and the second loop drawn through it, the first loop having been drawn up against the lower edge of the cloth to form a chain.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 40.--A DOLPHIN sewing machine based on Clark's patent of 1858. This design was first used by T. J. W. Robertson in 1855, but in his patent issued on May 22 of that year no claim was made for the machine design, only for the chainst.i.tch mechanism. The same style was used by D. W. Clark in several of his chainst.i.tch patents, but he also made no claim for the design, stating that the machine "may be made in any desired ornamental form." The dolphin-style machines are all chainst.i.tch models of solid bra.s.s, originally gilt. Although only about five inches long, they are full-size machines using a full-size needle.

(Smithsonian photo 45505.)]

A Gibbs sewing machine, on a simple iron-frame stand with treadle, sold for approximately $50 in the late 1850s,[69] while a Wheeler and Wilson[70] machine or a Grover and Baker[71] with the same type of stand sold for approximately $100. After the introduction of the Gibbs machine, the Singer company[72] brought out a light family machine in 1858 that was also first sold for $100. It was then reduced to $50, but it was not popular because it was too light (see discussion of Singer machines, pp. 34-35). In 1859, Singer brought out its second, more successful family machine, which sold for $75.

Like the other companies licensed by the "Combination," Willc.o.x and Gibbs company paid a royalty for the use of the patents it held.

Although the Willc.o.x and Gibbs machine was a single-thread chainst.i.tch machine and the company held the Gibbs patents, the company was required to be licensed to use the basic feed, vertical needle, and other related patents held by the "Sewing-Machine Combination."

With the approach of the Civil War, Gibbs returned to Virginia. Poor health prevented him from taking an active part in the war, but he worked throughout the conflict in a factory processing saltpeter for gunpowder. Afterward, Gibbs returned to Philadelphia and found that Willc.o.x had faithfully protected his sewing-machine interests during his long absence. The firm prospered, and Gibbs finally retired to Virginia a wealthy man. Interestingly, Gibbs named the Virginia village to which he returned in later life "Raphine"--derived, somewhat incorrectly, from the Greek word "to sew."

The Willc.o.x & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company is one of the few old companies still in existence. It discontinued making and selling family-style machines many years ago and directed its energies toward specialized commercial sewing machines, many of which are based on the original chainst.i.tch principle.

There was also an ever-increasing number of other patentees and manufacturers who, in the late 1850s and 1860s, attempted to produce a sewing machine that would circ.u.mvent both the "Combination" and the high cost of manufacturing a more complicated type of machine. Some of the more interesting of these are pictured and described in figures 40 through 54.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 41.--THE CHERUB sewing machine was another Robertson first which was adopted by Clark. Robertson's patent of October 20, 1857, once again makes no claim for the design; neither does Clark's patent of January 5, 1858, ill.u.s.trated here. The machine is approximately the same size as the dolphin and is made in the same manner and of the same materials. Two cherubs form the main support, one also supporting the spool and leas.h.i.+ng a dragonfly which backs the needle mechanism. (Smithsonian photo 45504-D.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 42.--THE FOLIAGE SEWING MACHINE originated with D.

W. Clark. Once again he did not include the design in his June 8, 1858, patent, which was aimed at improving the feeding mechanism. Like most hand-turned models, these required a clamp to fasten them to the table when in operation. (Smithsonian photo 45504-C.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 43.--THE SEWING SHEARS was another popular machine of unusual style. Some models were designed to both cut and sew, but most derived their names from the method of motivating power. The earliest example of the sewing-shears machine was invented by Joseph Hendrick, who stated in his patent that he was attempting to produce "a simple, portable, cheap, and efficient machine." His patent model of October 5, 1858, is ill.u.s.trated. (Smithsonian photo 45504-F.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 44.--THE HORSE SEWING MACHINE is among the most unusual of the patents issued for mechanical improvements. Although James Perry, the patentee, made several claims for the looper, feeder, and tension, he made no mention of the unusual design of the machine, for which a patent was issued on November 23, 1858. Although it was probably one of a kind, the horse machine ill.u.s.trates the extent to which the inventor's mind struggled for original design. (Smithsonian photo 45505-C.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 45.--MANY INVENTORS attempted to cut the cost of manufacturing a complicated machine. One of these was Albert H. Hook, whose machine is only about four inches high and two inches wide. His patent, granted November 30, 1858, simplified the construction and arrangement of the various parts. Although Hook used a barbed needle reminiscent of the one used by Thimonnier, his method of forming the st.i.tch was entirely different. The thread was pa.s.sed through the necessary guides, and when the cloth was in place the needle was thrust up from below. Pa.s.sing through the fabric, the needle descended, carrying with it a loop of thread. As the process was repeated, a chainst.i.tch was formed with the enchained loop on the under side. In spite of its simple mechanism, Hook's machine was not a commercial success. (Smithsonian photo 45505-D.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 46.--IN ADDITION TO MECHANICAL PATENTS, a number of design patents were also issued for sewing machines. These fall into a separate series in the Patent Office's numerical records. This unusual example featured two semidraped female figures holding the spool of thread, a mermaid holding the needle, a serpent which served as the presser foot, and a heart-shaped baster plate. The design was patented by W. N. Brown, October 25, 1859, but no examples other than the patent model are known to have been made. (Smithsonian photo 45504-A.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 47.--THE SQUIRREL MACHINE was another interesting design patent. S. B. Ellithorp had received a mechanical patent for a two-thread, stationary-bobbin machine on August 26, 1857. That same month he published a picture of his machine, shown here as republished in the _Sewing Machine News_, vol. 7, no. 11, November 1885. The machine was designed in the shape of "the ordinary gray squirrel so common throughout this country--an animal that is selected as a type of provident care and forethought, for its habits of frugality and for making provision for seasons of scarcity and want in times of plenty--and the different parts of the animal are each put to a useful purpose; the moving power being placed within its body, the needle stock through its head, one of its fore feet serving to guide the thread, and the other to hold down the cloth while being sewed, and the tip of its tail forming a support to the spool from which the thread is supplied."

Although the design patent was not secured until June 7, 1859, the inventor was reported to have been perfecting his machine for manufacture in 1857. Ellithorp planned "to place them in market at a price that will permit families and individuals that have heretofore been deterred from purchasing a machine by the excessive and exorbitant price charged for those now in use, to possess one." Patent rights were sold under the name of Ellithorp & Fox, but the machine was never manufactured on a large scale, if at all. No squirrel machines are known to have survived. (Smithsonian photo 53112.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 48.--HEYER'S POCKET SEWING MACHINE patent model, November 17, 1863. This patent model is one piece, and measures about two inches in height and two inches in length. It will st.i.tch--but only coa.r.s.e, loosely woven fabrics. As can be expected, a great deal of manual dexterity is required to compensate for the omission of mechanical parts. Heyer advertised patent rights for sale, but evidence of manufactured machines of this type has yet to be discovered.

(Smithsonian photo 18115-D[a].)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 49.--HEYER'S MACHINE as ill.u.s.trated in _Scientific American_, July 30, 1864. The smallest and most original of all the attempts to simplify machine sewing, Heyer's machine, which made a chainst.i.tch, was constructed of a single strip of metal. The _Scientific American_ stated: "It is simply a steel spring ingeniously bent and arranged and it is said to sew small articles very well. The whole affair can easily be carried in the coat pocket."

One method of operation, vibrating with the finger, was ill.u.s.trated. The machine could be operated also by holding it in the hand and pressuring it between two fingers. Cloth was inserted at _c_, and the p.r.o.ngs of the spring feed _f_ carried it along after each st.i.tch. It was stated that the needle could be cut from the same strip of metal, but it was advised also that the needle could be made as a separate piece and attached.

(Smithsonian photo 48221.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 50.--ALTHOUGH BEAN'S AND RODGERS' running-st.i.tch machines, the second and fourth U.S. sewing-machine patents, experienced little commercial success, small manufactured machines based on Aaron Palmer's patent of May 13, 1862, were popular in the 1860s. The patent model above is a small bra.s.s implement with crimping gears that forced the fabric onto an ordinary sewing needle. The full needle was then removed from its position, and the thread was pulled through the fabric by hand. (Smithsonian photo 45524.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FAIRY SEWING-MACHINE. A HOLIDAY GIFT FOR THE WORK-TABLE

Figure 51.--ONE OF THE EARLY COMMERCIAL MANUFACTURERS of the Palmer patent was Madame Demorest, a New York dressmaker. She advertised her Fairy sewing machine in _G.o.dey's Lady's Book_, vol. 66, 1863, and stated: "In the first place it will attract attention from its diminutive, fairy-like size, and with the same ease with which it can be carried, an important matter to a seamstress or dressmaker employed from house to house ... What no other sewing machine attempts to do, it runs, and does not st.i.tch, it sews the more delicate materials an ordinary sewing machine cuts or draws...." (Smithsonian photo 43690.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 52.--THE FAIRY SEWING MACHINE sold for five dollars and was adequate for its advertised purpose, sewing or running very lightweight fabrics. The machine was marked with the Palmer patent, the date May 13, 1862, and the name "Mme. Demorest."

A machine identical to the Fairy, but bearing both Palmer patent dates, May 13, 1862, and June 19, 1863, and the name "Gold Medal," was manufactured by a less-scrupulous company. This machine was advertised as follows: "A first cla.s.s sewing machine, handsomely ornamented, with all working parts silver plated. Put up in a highly polished mahogany case, packed ready for s.h.i.+pment. Price $10.00. This machine uses a common sewing needle, is very simple. A child can operate it. Cash with order." Some buyers felt they were swindled, as they had expected a heavy-duty machine, but no recourse could be taken against the advertiser. Another similar machine was also manufactured under the name "Little Gem." (Smithsonian photo 45525.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figures 53 and 54.--RUNNING-St.i.tCH MACHINES were also attempted by several other inventors. Shaw & Clark, manufacturers of chainst.i.tch machines, patented this running-st.i.tch machine on April 21, 1863. From the appearance of the patent model, it was already in commercial production. On May 26, 1863, John D. Dale also received a patent for an improvement related to the method of holding the needle and regulating the st.i.tches in a running-st.i.tch machine. Dale's patent model was a commercial machine.

John Heberling patented several improvements in 1878 and 1880. His machine, which was a little larger and in appearance resembled a more conventional type of sewing machine, was a commercial success. (Shaw & Clark: Smithsonian photo P. 6395; Dale: Smithsonian photo P. 6394.)]

FOOTNOTES:

[67] _Scientific American_ (Jan. 29, 1859), vol. 14, no. 21, p. 165. In a description of the new Willc.o.x and Gibbs sewing machine the following observation is made: "It is astonis.h.i.+ng how, in a few years, the sewing machine has made such strides in popular favor, and become, from being a mechanical wonder, a household necessity and extensive object of manufacture. While the higher priced varieties have such a large sale, it is no wonder that the cheaper ones sell in such tremendous quant.i.ties, and that our inventors are always trying to produce something new and cheap."

[68] Op. cit. (footnote 53), pp. 129-131.

[69] _Scientific American_, vol. 15, no. 21 (January 29, 1859), p. 165, and Willc.o.x and Gibbs advertising brochure, 1864.

[70] _Scientific American_, vol. 12, no. 8 (November 1, 1856), p. 62.

[71] Ibid., vol. 1, no. 19 (November 5, 1859), p. 303.

[72] I. M. Singer & Co.'s Gazette, vol. 5, no. 4 (March 1, 1859), p. 4, and a brochure, _Singer's New Family Sewing Machine_ (in Singer Manufacturing Company, Historic Archives).

_Appendixes_