The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-02-20
GRAND TRIAL
SEWING MACHINES,
AT
Island Park, near Albany, N. Y,
SEPFEM DER, 1865.
The Wilcox s. Gibbs Machine
PHANT!
THE THIAL.

At the Great Union Falr held at Island Park
between Albany and Troy, September 10, 90 q,
22, and rs, 1865, two premiums offered on
Sewing Machines, one for the Best Se1ing Ma
chine, and the other fer The Second BeSt-compe-
tition being open to the State.
On the first day of the Fair, the Troy Agent Of
the Florence SeS wing Machn Company, having,
jointly with the Albany Agent of the same Ma
chine, entered it Tor competition, published In the
Troy Daily Times a challenge TO agents OF osher
Sewing Machines to meet them at sand Fair and
compete with them for the prmium.
The challenge was accepted ny the Troy and
Albany Agents OF the Wilcox q Gibbs Machine.
And no other kind of Sc wing Machine being in
competition, IL was left tor these two Machines
Zone representing the old douOle-thread, 'lock"
or Shuttle stitch" class, and the other the new
single-thread, twisted loop stitch" claSsl, by
this single-hanoed contest to decide the relative
merits of these two classes OF Sewing Machines.
The competitors being allo we'd to choose the
Judges each party selected one, and tnese two
selected thlrd-all of them practical nlacliatsts,
and two of them Sel0inJ machine experts; who,
beng approved by the officers OF the Fair, were
appointed Judges, as will be seen by the Official
Certificate below.
Before entering upon the trial, the folio wing
programme for conducting it was mutually
agreed upon between the contestants and
adopted by the judges Each party was to pre-
pare aud submit to the judges a list OF the
several points of merit on account OF which
superiority was claimed. These points were to
be separately considered, thoroughly invest
gated, and practically tested, by work done then
and there, upon each Of the machines; and then
decided in favor of the machine which was
adjudged to excel on that ''point.",
1t was also agreed that each party should De
at liberty to expose defects in the competing
machine, and have the right to call for tests to
prove the same.
Finally, il was agreed that the machine which
at the conclusion of the-trial, should be found to
have the greatest number OF those ''points" de-
cided in its favor, should be declared the "BRsT
SEWING MACHINE" and awarded the "FIRsT
PREMIUM"
The Agents of the Wilcox q Gibbs Machine
were assisted by Mr.. BatteY, one of the Com
pany's General Agents, as Manager at the trial;
and the Agents OF the Florence Machine by Mr..
Tucker, one OF the best Sewing Machine experts
in the country, in the same capacity. Mr..
| Tucker was formerly connected with the Flo
renee Manutactory, as an Adjuster of the ma.
ci.ines, and was probably as competent TO repre-
sent their machine efficiently, both in working
it, and in advocating its claims, as any person
connected with that establishment. The result
OF The trial was that WILCOX q GIBBS won the
victory and the prize by the extraordinary supe-
rority Of htrtyJtue points, decided in its favor,
against taco points in favor OF the Florence.
Full notes were taken of the trial, including
the practical tests made, the discussion ehcite1,
and the facts developed. A few of the most
important of these notes win be found inter-
spersed in the two 'I4ists of Points, each Note
Immediately following the Point to which it
| re]ates-with the Decision OF the Judges in
itdiics between the Point and the Note