09-11-200409-12-2004
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBolton MA
2248
September 11, 2004 12:00 PMCalender
9

Wood Sewing Machine Model

Sell one like this
$235$200
Auction: Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments - 2248Location: BoltonDate / Time: September 11, 2004 12:00PM

Description:

Wood Sewing Machine Model, prototype (?),with slim birch arm, thread holder, stitch plate and mahogany base on tapering feet, wd. 15 in.

Provenance: Elias Howe Homestead, Ware, Massachusetts.

In 1846 Elias Howe patented his design for a lockstitch sewing machine capable of sewing 250 straight stitches a minute (which he famously demonstrated in a challenge against five seamstresses in Quincy Hall Clothing Manufactury, Boston). Each machine was hand-tooled and would have cost around $300, compared to $125 for a machine from Isaac Singer; additionally, Howe's machine could not accomplish curved stitching, which had to be finished by hand. Clearly, the design was not ideal.

After a protracted legal battle between Howe and Singer (and others),the first U.S. patent pool was formed with the Sewing Machine Combination in 1856: the resultant design incorporated the major elements of several different inventions, including Howe's eye-pointed needle and shuttle combination. The pool was finally dissolved ten years after Howe's death in 1867. The model offered here bears a strong resemblance to Howe sewing machines produced in the Stockwell Brothers factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from 1865 onwards.
Estimate $800-1,200

Keywords

Howe Homestead, Elias Howe Homestead, Massachusetts, Isaac Singer, United States, U.S. patent pool, Singer, Connecticut, Stockwell Brothers factory, Bridgeport