New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-05-23
rur sEwrvG-MACIsHNE.
II, Origin; Hntrcducfion into Genera U'e'
Progress and Extent OF "s H"hn'"c'
,yre-A Great Wachinc-Shop Gcscrioc"'
srwING-MACHINE PATENTS.

sFWING-MiCIIYNE PATENTS.
The first tarent granted in this country for ma
.h;ne To sew. as substitute for hand-abor, was IS
med Feb. 81, 1912, TO John J. Greenoogh Of Wash
ipctou City but go far can ascertain HE iveh-
ton whatever il was was Of no practical use 10 the
world az no machine except The model, was ever
built
The second ratent wse dated March 4, 1913, issued
a. BENJAMIN w. Bean of New-York City. This,
.bonrh called "A sewiug-machine, was quite unlike
sny now in use. The cloth was corrugated, and a
Iony needle thrust ihrou-h tie fold and then The
cloth being straigltened, was held together somewha'
ne it is by bas,ing by hand. Probably no machines
were ever built for fale, hut we find patent Tor Inc
sam. model reissued March 10, l849.
The third sew'nr-machine patent was granted pee
E.lsi3. 70 Geo H. Corlies, Greenwich, n y, ioF
machine similar 10 Greenoughs. No machines
were made for USE except by the inventor so iar Is
we can learn.
ENGLISH INVENTIONS.
Tho F5rhnreb Encyclovgdia, Vol. v, 1879, con-
so;rs the first notice that we can find Of the invention
.,fo sevipc-mschine. though is not described by
,hst name but as q ",ambouripg- machine." II is
described ss having sutOmstic feed motion, ana
"p;.,on needle" We find an American machine,
tns, snch needle. which threads and untl,reads at
every stitch: the eye being nude with slide that
opeps and shuts, and makes stitch Ike handsew'
ing. Neither he Edinburgh machine nor the Robin
con machine has proved practically successful.
In May, 1893, n patent granted IN London 10
Henry Book for "a tambouring-maohne," the
needle having 1.-TWO points and one eye" But tam
bouripg 10 not sewing; and we believe no sewing
machine has ever been invented in England though
some patents have been granted for improvements
or piratipg, upon IIowes Machine which was lntro-
Auced and manufactured there before WAS perfected
here.
NUMBER OF AMERICAN PATENTS.
The number If patents granted 10 this country for
sewing machines, or improvements, isremsrhabe.
Three wears ago we examined the records OF the
Patents Office at Washington, and found that some
two buud ed patents had been issued and, what Ia
very remarkable, one hundred and ninety-four OF
them had been issued since The middle OF the year
1851. l. was about that time that the public mod
became fully impressed with the important fact that
The invention was practical one and that hence
forth the great work of the needle would be- done by
machinery.
The number of patents granted prove the sowing
machine an American Invention. 1t proves, too,
how fully awake the public mind has become
to its importance, though ct first it wac slow
70 believe that the sewing.macbne would ever
have place smoug household gods around Anne
rican hearthstones TIE idea Of doing family sewing
on machine was declared qrePosterous, even after
Il was conceded that the invention would be very
useful for manufacturers Of clothing.
HOwE's PATENT.
t.;s ii, do,, oF q ,or.u
10 the inventor, and upon which all practical i'm
provemenis have been raised, and which has almost
revoIulionzed all kinds Of manufactures Of clothing,
was issued Sept 10, 1876, 10 Elias Howe, jr., Of
CAMBRIDGE. Mas The original idea of the inventor
was a clock stitch" and Tie he's never been lost
sight Of in all subsequent improvements and modlhca
lions Of the original machine. The original model,
which we have seen, bears but little rescmblance 10
that beautifully polished and god-anc-sver ornament
ed machine that thousands stop TO admire IN The show
window Of the Wheeler & Wilson Company, No.
500 Broadway. The dtsig ~ Of Howes original "a.
chine TO hold the cloth perpenticular In front OF
she machine, and move it by hand Through the
loop Of the hreac Of each stitch little shuttle passed
back and forth Oh Intoxicated slide inserting thread
that locked the stitches Just they now licked
IN the Wheeler 81 Wilson Machine, though the re-
suit il obtained by very Different means, ana with
much ess expenditure of power. There Is no doubt
that Howe was the original inventor and maker OF
tie fret practical sewiog-macbiue ever utilized 10
this country or Europe though sttemrts to produce
such machine had been made previous TO bis orlgi
nal Efforts.
ORIGIN or THE INVENTION.
The successful originator Of the sewing nsehine
was an apprentice in the shop of Mr.. DAVIS, IN Bos-
ton some three or four years before the date Of Ia.
patent where he heard his employer say to a person
who inquired, "Cau you make d knitting machine
"Yes; or sewing machine"
"Can your tue man replied. "lf You can, will
insure you all independent fortune
The words se.ing-machine and independent
fortune rang in the ears o; the young Yankee IN
ventor. That was the origin Of the sewine-machne.
From that moment his mind never rested, though lie
had no idea how the machine TO be made, Or for
tune acquired. lie had not much idea OF tie latter
even after ne Lad accomplished the former
THE INFANCY OF sEwING-MACHiNES.
Important az tho invention has proved, the
public was slow TO zee it, and, like msny others,
Ii did not bring that Independent fortune ill
after years OF hope deferred. The infancy Of sewing
machines needed much nursing anu tbe invention
came near peiishiDg before it was appreciated.
After log tOiling and experimenting, Ir. Howe
obtained patent; but be had spent lis last dollar
End no one was willing 10 lend or embark another
in such Uopisn enterprise manufacturing
Sewing-macLines.
For certainty. one had the power o. "a ecoud
sight" 10 enable him 10 see the palstia sewipg-ina-
chine emporuns at attract the curious upon Broad