The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1867-06-01
The Sewing Machine.

in the May numbcf Of the Aiianhc .nosialy
| 'lr PARTON gives = most interesting history o
'ie Sewing Machine, from which we ex;rac; ID,
Glowing summary
Elias Howe, the inventor Of this machine wa
''irn IN 1919, in Spencer Massachusetts, whcr,
is father was u farmer and miller, who had ,
list MILL saw mill, and shingle machine il
Iteration From these mills, Howe thinks hi
rsind GOT is bent towards machinery Ia lss.
'ia was a; work in machine shop in Boston
i. hen he heard visitor 70 the shop say that who
ever would invent q sewing machine would max,
fortune ou' OF Il. This led him 70 reflect u,.or
,he art o. sewing, watching the process as pro.
'e-met by hand, and wondering whether /, Wal
thin the compass Of the machine art 10 do /,
''' machinery. \; 81, being siill journey tnsu
"..eb!nisi, earning nine dollars week, he mar
! i;' q. The increase Of bis family and the pres.
.rc OF poverty stimulated his inventive faculty
,i.i he went 20 work in earnest to make sew
, lax machine. lie wasted many months on a falls,
-at VIXEN he began the experiment, bis only
ought was 20 invent machine which should
!" what be saw his wife doing when she sewei
ils FIRST device was a needle pointed At both end
"i;h the eye in the middle, that should work ut
.:'i down through the cloth, and carry the thread
Though Il at each thrust This wssA failure -
'ir' one day, IN ls4I, the thought flashed upon
3 i.s u u necessary thst machine should inl.
'a'c the performance OF the hand Nay there
ret be another stitch This Was the crisis Of the
-. .;.ycniion. The idea Of using iwo threads, and
'v;ming stitch by the aid Of shuttle and a
cL:ie ell needle with the eye near the point, soon
o,e.red 10 him. and he felt that be bad invented
s-Siug machine. In October, lS4l, he was
Shla 10 convince himself, by u rough model oi
wood ard wire, that such . machine ss be bad
projected would sew
Howe ~ this time. was living in Cambridge.
NSss where also lived a sehoolmaie Of his,
GeVsrc Fisher. = coal dealer, who had some
property and was disposed 10 speculate little.
a. well Il, kindly 10 assist Howe Fisher Advanc.
ed scr"ra. hundred dollars for the construction
o. a machine, or which be was. 10 case Of sue
eess, 10 have half " the patent. The machine
was taishsl in May istS, aud Howe sewea With
u all thv seams Oi 'wO suits OF woolen clothes I;
Is ST.. 10 cXisiance and may be seen az Howe
Office 10 broadway, New York, where, within
these few weeks. u has scwed seams in cloth At The
rate Of three hundred stitches minuie. IL is q
thing, that hrsi machine, which goes into boz
q the capacity Of abou, a cubic foo, and . hals
Every eon;rivancc in i; has sine" been improved
and ne~ devices have heen adde! but 40 sue
cessie, sewing machine has ever been made
which does not contain some of the essential Dc.
vices Of the first attempt, Upon this point says
Parton all the great makers are agreed, and ju.
dicial decisions have repeatedly affirmed it.
Lake al other great inventors Mr. Howe
found that when lie bad completed his machine
his difficulties had but begun. No one wanted
II. The ,ailors did not believe in ii. All sorts
OF futile objections were raised 10 IL. the only
weight being i's high cost which at that time
was three hundred dollars Nr Parton gives q
vivid and interesting sketch of his struggle
against want and OF nis efforts 70 Introduce the
machine ia:o use in which he wac nc; very sue
ecss'al I'LL in 1850 Isaac Merritt Singer invented
al improvement, ard sci to work with as,onish
Ing energy 10 force the improved machine upon
an unbelicNIng public IN which he succeeded so
vel! that within twelve years the Singer CoInpa-
ny Vas selling thousand machines a wccA. Al;
profit q a thousand dollars DAY Howe p,os.
ecGied him lot infringing his patent aud gained
bis case. the courts deciding in the language Of
Judge SrTAgne that there !s not u shadow Of
ccubi that for all the benefit cuniefte! upon the
public Ly N" introduction o; u sewing machine.
the public are indebted 70 Nj liowe
II Is - very singular ias;, however. hat "a
! -i., while Mt. Howe was absent ~ England
Mr. Allen II. Wilson. a very young Journeymhn
cRi.nc; maker. living IN Piiisfc!d Mas Invent.
ed iracilcal sewing machine, without eVcF hsv.
Ing seen one, and without having any KNOW.
edge Of Howe ; Invention. lie procured a paient
for hi' machine and formed connection With a
young carriage maker Nathaniel whCc.eF, who
bad some capital, and thus WAS founded the
great and famous house " Wheeler & Wilson
who are now making sewing machines az the
rate OF about fifiy-ihree thousand - year.
About the same time. that Is ia is41. William
q. Grover a Boston taller, after numbetcss ri.
ais, Invented the exquisite devices bv which ,h.
famous Grover Baker stitch is formed -
All these inventors and improvcrs however, arc
now, by the decision o. the courts, tributary 10
Elias Howe. the first paienter, and pay him a
dollar 70; every sewiag machine they make For
those made before $50 they paid him tive dol.
lars piece. lie has received IN all all about one
million seven hundred thousand dollars, and BY
the time hia pa,en, expires, which will be GU
September 10, " this ycAl has entire receipts
viii probably amount 10 TWO millions oi dollars.
The number of machines made ia the Chiisd
State ~ 20 the close 1850, is iscompuisd al $50
600, Gnl j; IS supposed that several hundred
ihousand more are annually made ~ Canada hy
iafrlngers cf the patents At the end Of his af,i.
e,c VI Parton giyvJ On amusing sketch Of the
experiences OF lady in search of the bcsi sew.
ing machine, paragon which he declares does
not exist. Each has iis special merit, which
make i the beet FOR sotne purposes, bu, there IL
no such thing as an absolutely aud universally
bfs sewing machine