Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-11-28
WHOLE NO. 2l47.
AMONG THE OLD MODELS.
Some Of the Curious Contrivances tn
Early Inventors Patented.

Some of the Curious Contrivances that
Early Inventors Patented.
The model room of the Patent Office
is the most bewildering place of all
those which the sight-seers visit in
Washington. The National RepuJh-
ran says for those people who have a
taste for machinery there is fascination
there for lifetime. Even for those
who know and care nothing for wheels,
levers, screws, pulleys, and their COM
blnations, there is picture suggested
by each intricate contrivance Of the
maker, studying, planning, drawing
over his work, sometimes hopeful,
sometimes despairing occasionally
losing sight of the difficulties in his
way while thinking of the wealth sue
cess will bring him.
Almost any well known instrument
or machine in use to-day which is at
all complicated is not an invention, but
an army of inventions, and the history
of it is written in the cases which con-
tain the models in the patent Office,
That Of the cotton loom or the steam
engine may be more thrilling for the
mechanician, but the story of the sew
ing machine is easiest to read for
ordinary people. The models of sew
ing machines and their parts are num-
bered by the thousands The Oldest
label which appears upon any of them
is dated February q, 1912. The in
Scription is "P. James Greenough
Washington, d. c., machine for sewing
straight seams" The instrument
itself looks like small section of ele-
waited railway, and it turns with a
hand crank. 1t does not appear how
it could ever sew a "seem." The next
one was patented December p, 1913
by G. w. COrliss, who calls it on the
label Il sewing engine" 1t is an
enormous thing, and in some respects
bears suggestion of the Corlss engine
which ran the machinery at the Cen
tennial Exhibition. There is also 9
suggestion of the much later machine
for making barbed wire fencing. 1t
looks as if it was intended to run by
horse power. There are quite mum.
Der of those old models, which bear nc
resemblance to each other or to the
modern sewing machine. Nothing in
the shape Of the machine used to-
day appears until ten or twelve years
later, when Howe and Singer found
their gold mine. Then men began tc
invent all kinds of sewing machines
and attachments-mor and more every
year-but nearly all of them are
variations Of the modern machine.
With them came the idea of putting on
tucks and hounces and many seams
With them also came the sewing
machine agent and the instalment
plan. The queerest and apparently
the most useless model in the sewing
machine collection is for the long bar
which forms the top of all sewing
machines. This one is made in the
form of an animal cOuchant. The ami
nal may be a cat; it looks very like a
squirrel, and something like rabbit,
A long, flat tail, curled along its back,
appears to have been used for a handle
One forepaw is uplifted as if about to
strike something. Through this the
needle works.
There are but one or two models in
the building of date earlier than 1886
and but few older than 1854.
Probably the earliest patent in this
country was that granted by the COM
mOnwealth of Massachusetts to Samuel
Winslow, who had invented method
of manufacturing salt "None are to
make this article" said the patent,
except in a manner different from his,
provided he set up his works within a
year"
AS early as 1913 John Shipman ap-
piled for patent on mills to be run by
the ebb and flow of the tide, and got a
monopoly for forty years for. running
his tide mills anywhere in the town of
Saybrook. Since then the same thing
has been many times unsuccessfully
tried.
Benjamin Dearborn, of New Hamp-
shire, was famous inventor 100 years
ago, and in 1877 obtained patents for
printing press, balances or scales, and
a hand fire engine.