| National Museum of American History

Cordage Machine Patent ModelPatent No.

Description: Cordage Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 596, issued February 7, 1838; Moses Day of Roxbury, Massachusetts; This patent was an improvement on Day’s earlier patent (9692x) of June 2, 1836, which was destroyed in the 1836 fire and reconstructed by the Patent Office for the Columbian Exposition of 1893.; The difference between the two patents is the addition of a gauge-plate to the end of the machine, by which it became a strandmaker. Day stated that his method of making cordage had two advantages over those in common use. First, the twist given to the strand was uniform throughout its length. Second, as the cord was made, it was wound on a bobbin, thereby eliminating the need for long rope walks and large buildings. The whole process could be done in a room that was only slightly larger than the cordage machine and the bobbin frame.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-02-07
patent date: 1838-02-07

inventor: Day, Moses

ID Number: TE.T11405.045
accession number: 89797
catalog number: T11405.045
patent number: 596

Doubling and Twisting Thread Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 352, issued August 15, 1837John Golding, Dedham, MassachusettsIn his patent specification, Golding noted that the frame of the doubling and twisting machine was to be constructed like any of the “modern” frames.

Description: Doubling and Twisting Thread Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 352, issued August 15, 1837; John Golding, Dedham, Massachusetts; In his patent specification, Golding noted that the frame of the doubling and twisting machine was to be constructed like any of the “modern” frames. It would have gears, and an eccentric, or heart, motion to guide the thread on the spool. His patent claim concerned the arrangement of the machinery that prevented wasting the thread if it broke. This was accomplished by stopping the spindle and raising the feeding-down roller.
Location: Currently on loan

model constructed: before 1837-08-15
patent date: 1837-08-15

inventor: Golding, John

ID Number: TE.T11416.064
catalog number: T11416.064
accession number: 89797
patent number: 352

Cloth Shearing Machine Patent ModelPatent No 1,015, issued November 25, 1838Seth Parsons of Hoosick Falls, New YorkSeth Parsons’s Patent No. 1,015 was an improvement on his earlier patent, 3082x, granted in 1819.

Description: Cloth Shearing Machine Patent Model; Patent No 1,015, issued November 25, 1838; Seth Parsons of Hoosick Falls, New York; Seth Parsons’s Patent No. 1,015 was an improvement on his earlier patent, 3082x, granted in 1819. The later patent resembled the earlier one but differed from it by its ability “to shear broad and narrow cloths, the machine operating upon [the cloth] in its passage back and forth both ways without changing it from end to end, thereby saving much time . . .” Also claimed in the patent specification was the motion of a brush that would brush up the nap in either direction, and a few other minor construction details.; Parsons’s Patent No. 3082x had claimed to be an improvement on Samuel Dorr’s 1794 patent cloth shearing machine, which was called the “wheel of knives.” The “wheel of knives” refers to the shearing cylinder that was wrapped with blades in a spiral pattern. Parsons said of his improvement that it could be “composed of frame of suitable size, about 3 feet 7 inches long; 2 feet 4 inches wide and 4 feet high. Instead of knives on a large circle it should be a small one, about 2-1/2 inches in diameter . . .”; In the 1820 Manufacturers Census, there is a reference to Parsons’s first shearing machine being used by a woolen manufacturer, Shearwood and Goreham, from Rensselaer County, New York. This earlier machine is also mentioned in an account of the Patent Office fire of 1836 as being one of several models of valuable improvements in shearing and napping cloth. At the twelfth Exhibition of American Manufacturers, in 1842, Parsons and Wilder were awarded certificates of Honorable Mention for their improved cloth shearing machines.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-11-25
patent date: 1838-11-25

inventor: Parsons, Seth

ID Number: TE.T18569
accession number: 1978.2538
catalog number: T18569.000
patent number: 001015

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 11,161, Issued June 27, 1854Walter Hunt of New York, New YorkWalter Hunt was born in rural Martinsburg, New York, on July 29, 1796. The nearby town of Lowville was the site of a textile mill where Hunt’s family worked.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 11,161, Issued June 27, 1854; Walter Hunt of New York, New York; Walter Hunt was born in rural Martinsburg, New York, on July 29, 1796. The nearby town of Lowville was the site of a textile mill where Hunt’s family worked. Hunt, adept at providing mechanical solutions to difficult problems, worked with the mill owner, Willis Hoskins, inventing and patenting improvements to the flax spinner in 1826. He traveled to New York City to raise capital for manufacturing the device.; Hunt supported his family in New York by speculating in real estate, but his love of creativity was paramount. From 1829 to 1853 his inventions and patents included a knife sharpener; a rope making machine; a heating stove; a wood saw; a flexible spring; several machines for making nails; inkwells; a fountain pen; a bottle stopper; firearms; and a safety pin.; In 1833, Hunt invented a sewing machine that used a lockstitch, but failed to patent it. The lockstitch used two threads, one passing through a loop in the other and then both interlocking. This was the first time an inventor had not mimicked a hand stitch. As Joseph N. Kane writes in Necessity’s Child: The Story of Walter Hunt, America’s Forgotten Inventor, “With nothing to serve as a basis or model, with no other machine from which parts could be obtained, he evolved a plan for mechanical sewing which was so revolutionary that had he even dared to suggest it before completion of his model he would have been scoffed at and regarded as insane.”; Ten years later, manufacturers searched for ways to mechanize sewing, and inventors turned their energies to patenting improvements to sewing machines. On May 27, 1846, Elias Howe Jr. received Patent No. 4,750 for improvements to the sewing machine, claiming to have created the first machine to sew a lockstitch using two threads. When Howe began to sue manufacturers for royalties, Hunt’s previous work emerged as attorneys argued that Hunt’s invention preceded Howe’s and therefore Howe’s patent claims were invalid.; On April 2, 1853, Hunt submitted his application for his 1834 sewing machine, as his invention preceded Howe’s machine. The Patent Office recognized Hunt’s precedence but it did not grant a patent to Hunt because he had not applied for one prior to Howe’s application. Hunt received public credit for his invention, but Howe’s patent remained valid because of a technicality.; Later, Hunt was granted a patent for other improvements on the sewing machine. In Hunt’s patent specification for Patent No. 11,161, issued on June 27, 1854, he claimed: “Said improvements consist in the manner of feeding in of the cloth and regulating the length of the stitch solely by the vibrating motion of the needle; in a rotary table or platform, upon which the cloth is placed for sewing; in guides and gages for controlling the line of the seam.”; Hunt noted that other sewing machines would jam because the material had to be pushed through the vibrating needle. He created a round rotating top that allowed the cloth to be fed through the needle at an even rate, eliminating the problem of jamming. As in the past, Hunt simply sold off the rights to the machine to others and did not capitalize on it, but he did prove that he had the mechanical ability and the creativity to improve upon the sewing machine.; Hunt continued to invent and patent devices until his death in 1859. Several were patented: shirt collars, a reversible metallic heel for shoes, lamp improvements, and a new method for manufacturing shirt fronts, collars, and cuffs. Walter Hunt’s inventive nature was captured in the New York Tribune, which wrote at his death, “For more than forty years, he has been known as an experimenter in the arts. Whether in mechanical movements, chemistry, electricity or metallic compositions, he was always at home: and, probably in all, he has tried more experiments than any other inventor.”
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1854-06-27
patent date: 1854-06-27

inventor: Hunt, Walter

ID Number: TE.T07781
catalog number: T07781.000
patent number: 011161
accession number: 139439

Speeder for Roving Cotton Patent ModelPatent No.

Description: Speeder for Roving Cotton Patent Model; Patent No. 724, issued May 4, 1838; William Mason of Taunton, Massachusetts; In 1837, William Mason, who was employed by Crocker and Richmond, developed a speeder (a machine used in cotton yarn spinning) to replace the one that had been invented by George Danforth in 1824.; Mason’s patent consisted of two parts: the method of removing the full spindle and the centrifugal levers. In 1839, the editor of the Journal of the Franklin Institute stated of the first that it was “ingenious, and manifestly good.” Of the second part, he explained that “by their weight at their outer ends, these levers expanded by the centrifugal force, with a power proportioned to their velocity, causing their inner ends to press upon the spools, and laying the yarn hard and compact upon them; and consequently, admitting of a very high degree of speed.” Although Mason was granted Patent No. 724 for his improvements, it proved difficult to thread and to remove the bobbins.; Earlier in his career, Mason had devised a loom for weaving diaper cloth and another loom for weaving damask tablecloths. In 1833, he succeeded in perfecting John Thorp’s ring frame to the point where it was later used extensively in the textile industry. He also invented a self-acting cotton spinning machine (Patent No. 1,801, issued October 8, 1840), which for that period was a successful alternative to the contemporary ring spinning machine.; Mason, with the financial backing of Boston merchant James Kellog Mills, established a machine shop in 1842 called William Mason and Company. Business prospered and in 1845 new buildings were constructed. At that time, Mason’s Taunton shop was considered the largest machine shop in the United States. The shop was particularly successful in manufacturing cotton machinery, as well as machine tools, cupola furnaces, blowers, rifles, Campbell printing presses, gears, and shafts.; Mason found new fame in 1852 when he began building locomotives, the first of which was finished in 1853. His locomotives found wide acceptance for the beauty of design and technical excellence. Mason was a pioneer inventor and manufacturer whose ideas, manufacturing methods, and products had a profound influence on American technology.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-05-04
patent date: 1838-05-04

inventor: Mason, William

ID Number: TE.T11421.043
accession number: 89797
catalog number: T11421.043
patent number: 000724

Spindle and Flyer Patent ModelPatent No. 781, issued June 12, 1838Richard E.

Description: Spindle and Flyer Patent Model; Patent No. 781, issued June 12, 1838; Richard E. Yerkes of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; According to his patent specification, Yerkes patented “the revolving arrangement and combination of the sliding shaft, with the broach, or with the spool, for the purpose of removing and renewing the latter . . . .” The action of the sliding shaft enabled the operator to remove and change the spool when the spring was pressed down. In addition, he patented the ring in combination with the flyers that distributed the yarn on the spool. Yerkes intended his improvements to be used on machines for spinning cotton and other fibers.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-06-12
patent date: 1838-06-12

inventor: Yerkes, Richard E.

ID Number: TE.T11420.080
catalog number: T11420.080
accession number: 89797
patent number: 781

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 9,338, issued October 19, 1852Otis Avery of Honesdale, PennsylvaniaOtis Avery was born in Bridgewater, New York, on August 19, 1808. He learned the watchmaker’s trade from his father John, a silversmith and watchmaker.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 9,338, issued October 19, 1852; Otis Avery of Honesdale, Pennsylvania; Otis Avery was born in Bridgewater, New York, on August 19, 1808. He learned the watchmaker’s trade from his father John, a silversmith and watchmaker. Otis opened a watch repair shop in Bethany, Pennsylvania, in 1827.; Later, he studied dentistry under a Dr. Ambler in New Berlin, New York, and received a dental certificate of qualification in 1833. In 1850, he settled in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where he practiced dentistry until his death in 1904.; Avery was mechanically talented, making many of his own dental tools. He designed a self-cleaning cuspidor and devised improvements to a typesetting machine. On October 19, 1852, he received Patent No. 9,338 for improvements on a sewing machine. The chain stitch he used was enlarged on his patent drawing and he described it in the specification as “two threads having a double lock with each other, and in practice almost every alternate stitch may be cut or broken, and yet the material will not . . . ‘rip out.’” A common problem with the chain stitch was that it could easily be unraveled. His patent claims were for the working combination of needle-bars, spring-holders, and adjustable guides, which regulated the length of the stitch together with a weight for moving the cloth forward.; The catalogue for the 1853 New York Exhibition noted that three sewing machines were exhibited by the Avery Sewing Machine Co. of New York City. Each machine was adapted for sewing different materials, such as wool, muslin, linen, and leathers. He continued to improve his machine and received Patent No. 10,880, issued May 9, 1854, and Patent No. 22,007, issued November 9, 1856.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1852-10-19
patent date: 1852-10-19

inventor: Avery, Otis

ID Number: TE.T06114
catalog number: T06114.000
patent number: 009338
accession number: 89797

Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 9,041, issued June 15, 1852Allen Benjamin Wilson of Watertown, Connecticut.Allen B. Wilson was one of the most creative and innovative of the early inventors.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 9,041, issued June 15, 1852; Allen Benjamin Wilson of Watertown, Connecticut.; Allen B. Wilson was one of the most creative and innovative of the early inventors. Born in Willett, New York, in 1823, he was apprenticed at age sixteen as a cabinetmaker. Later in 1847, he moved to Adrian, Michigan, and worked as a journeyman cabinetmaker. It was here, far removed from New England and the efforts by other inventors, that he began to design a different sewing machine. After recovering from an illness, he moved back east to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and began to perfect his new concept for a sewing machine.; In 1850, Wilson developed a prototype for a reciprocating-shuttle machine. When the needle went through the cloth, it formed a loop below the seam. A shuttle that was pointed on both ends held a second thread that was passed through the loop and as the tension on the thread was tightened, a lockstitch was made. This shuttle could be moved both forward and backwards to form a stitch on both movements, unlike the shuttles of Hunt and Howe, which only created a stitch in one direction.; Based on these same ideas, he made a second machine that he submitted to the U.S. Patent Office and was granted Patent No. 7,776 on November 12, 1850. Presumably, Wilson’s skills as a cabinetmaker came into use with this model as it is almost entirely made out of wood and painted black to look like metal. Constructing a model out of wood, rather than metal, was a less expensive and easier way to build, requiring fewer specialized tools. On the underside of the metal raceway is stamped “Deall & Sons,” evidence that Wilson used a machinist to fabricate this part.; Fortunately, Wilson met Nathaniel Wheeler, partner of the firm of Warren and Woodruff of Watertown, Connecticut. He moved to Watertown to join in the partnership and to continue to perfect his sewing machine.; In his second patent (Patent No. 8,296, issued August 12, 1851) Wilson developed the rotary hook and bobbin to replace the shuttle mechanism in his first patent (Patent No. 7776, issued November 12, 1850.) The rotary hook opened the loop of the needle thread, while a reciprocating bobbin carried the second thread through the loop to complete the lockstitch.; In order to avoid patent litigation that the reciprocating bobbin might have caused, Wilson developed his third unique invention, the stationary bobbin (Patent No. 9,041, issued June 15, 1852.) In Wilson’s rotary hook and stationary bobbin, the lockstitch was made by locking the needle thread with the bobbin thread by passing the needle thread loop under the bobbin. The driving shaft carried the circular rotary hook, which resulted in a revolutionary method of sewing.; For his patent model, Wilson submitted a commercial Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine that had been manufactured the previous year. The evolution of his ideas from the simple wooden model to the successful manufactured machine beautifully illustrates the progress of his novel inventions.; In 1853 the Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Company was organized to manufacture sewing machines based on Allen Wilson patents. In 1856, the company moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and became the largest and most successful manufacturer of sewing machines in the 1850s and 1860s.
Location: Currently on loan

model constructed: before 1852-06-15
patent date: 1852-06-15

inventor: Wilson, Allen B.

ID Number: TE.T06055
catalog number: T06055.000
patent number: 009041
accession number: 48865

Hand Card Patent ModelPatent No. 863, issued August 1, 1838George Faber of Canton, OhioFaber’s patent related to the construction of the common hand card used for carding cotton or wool prior to the spinning process.

Description: Hand Card Patent Model; Patent No. 863, issued August 1, 1838; George Faber of Canton, Ohio; Faber’s patent related to the construction of the common hand card used for carding cotton or wool prior to the spinning process. He specifically patented using wood veneer, instead of leather, for the foundation that contained the card’s wire teeth. The wood was cut from 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch in thickness, 4 inches in width, and 4 to 8 inches in length. The wood was then steeped in water to soften it so that when placed in a card-making machine, it could be pricked and the teeth inserted. The veneer was nailed to another piece of wood and a handle inserted to form the hand card.; Although Faber did not claim credit for inventing the card-making machine, in his patent specification he did mention that he had made improvements on it.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-08-01
patent date: 1838-08-01

inventor: Faber, George

ID Number: TE.T11396.030
catalog number: T11396.030
accession number: 89797
patent number: 863

Loom for Weaving Knotted Counterpanes Patent ModelPatent No. 546, issued January 6, 1838Erastus B. Bigelow of West Boylston, MassachusettsErastus B. Bigelow primarily claimed the mechanism that raised the knots that formed the figures or patterns on the counterpane.

Description: Loom for Weaving Knotted Counterpanes Patent Model; Patent No. 546, issued January 6, 1838; Erastus B. Bigelow of West Boylston, Massachusetts; Erastus B. Bigelow primarily claimed the mechanism that raised the knots that formed the figures or patterns on the counterpane. His patent specification was lengthy, five pages of drawings and nine pages of written specifications.; In 1840, the editor of the Journal of the Franklin Institute wrote, “. . . the goods produced in this loom are of a quality very superior to such as are produced in the hand loom; at all events we have not met with any thing of the kind in the shops that will compare with them for texture, and for beauty and regularity of pattern. . . . We anticipate that at a very early day, American counterpanes will become as general as berths on board steamboats, and as beds at hotels. The articles are for sale in all our large cities, and as soon as there is a sufficient supply, will make their way into every part of the Union.”; Bigelow was a prolific inventor, patenting at least 33 loom improvements. In 1842 he revolutionized carpet manufacture by a series of inventions that made the carpet loom automatic. The automatic features enabled manufacturers to replace male weavers with less costly female weavers or boys. His inventions for the power weaving of Brussels, Jacquard, Ingrain, and Wilton carpet were quite successful. Before the mid-19th century, the importance of these inventions was recognized both in the United States and in Europe.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-01-06
patent date: 1838-01-06

inventor: Bigelow, Erastus Brigham

ID Number: TE.T11411.128
accession number: 89797
catalog number: T11411.128
patent number: 546

Carpet Patent ModelPatent No. 1,028, issued December 10, 1838John Humphries of New York, New YorkHumphries’s innovation was the addition of a supplementary layer to the bottom of a carpet to provide an extra cushion and to strengthen the overall structure.

Description: Carpet Patent Model; Patent No. 1,028, issued December 10, 1838; John Humphries of New York, New York; Humphries’s innovation was the addition of a supplementary layer to the bottom of a carpet to provide an extra cushion and to strengthen the overall structure. The added stuffer weft is a stout, loosely twisted cord, woven into the underside of the carpet and interlaced with the ground warp. These samples of carpeting are important because they are the earliest known examples of patented carpeting in the United States.; Whether this patent was utilized is unknown but there is evidence of Humphries being involved in the manufacture of carpeting. The Journal of the Franklin Institute lists premiums awarded at their eighth exhibition in 1833. John Humphries was presented a premium for four pieces of Brussels carpeting. The judges noted that “these goods are of excellent quality and style, and satisfactory assurances have been received that they are exclusively of American workmanship throughout all the processes from the raw material to the finished product of the loom.”
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-12-10
patent date: 1838-12-10

inventor: Humphries, John

ID Number: TE.T18362
catalog number: T18362.000
patent number: 001028
accession number: 1978.2402

Loom Heddles Patent ModelPatent No. 1,498, issued on February 26, 1840John Thorp and William G. Angell of Providence, Rhode IslandThese heddles, both wire and twine, were exhibited in the Patent Office in a round wooden frame.

Description: Loom Heddles Patent Model; Patent No. 1,498, issued on February 26, 1840; John Thorp and William G. Angell of Providence, Rhode Island; These heddles, both wire and twine, were exhibited in the Patent Office in a round wooden frame. In the patent specification, Thorp and Angell described the dimensions of heddles for use on a common power loom. A chain of the heddles was formed by taking two pieces of wire or twine and tying them with a common square knot, “which will unite them in the same way and manner that a lady ties her apron strings or a child his shoestrings.” The placement of the knots resulted in the formation of the eyes of the heddles, which raise and lower warp threads in weaving cloth.; Thorp and Angell did not include a patent drawing with the specification. The 1841 Journal of the Franklin Institute remarked of this omission: “We must suppose . . . that the description, although to us somewhat obscure, would be clear to a professional weaver.”
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1840-02-26
patent date: 1840-02-26

inventor: Thorp, John; Angell, William G.

ID Number: TE.T11409.032
catalog number: T11409.032
accession number: 89797
patent number: 1,498

Loom Temple Patent ModelPatent No. 987, issued October 19, 1838Emory A.

Description: Loom Temple Patent Model; Patent No. 987, issued October 19, 1838; Emory A. Angell of Killingly, Connecticut; In his patent specification, Angell stated that “this temple is of the kind which holds the selvage of the cloth between jaws, which are opened by the beat of the lathe, and is in many respects similar to such as have been long in use.” He claimed, as his invention, the way in which the upper and lower jaws were connected by pins to form the hinge-joints.; On the original wrapper containing the patent application papers is a faint handwritten note “see Saml. P. Mason’s Temple July 1837.” In the process of checking Angell’s patent, Charles M. Keller, the patent examiner, probably wrote that notation but found no conflict with the Mason patent and thus granted Angell his patent.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-10-19
patent date: 1838-10-19

inventor: Angell, Emory A.

ID Number: TE.T11414.013
catalog number: T11414.013
accession number: 89797
patent number: 987

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 9,365, issued November 2, 1852Christopher Hodgkins of Boston, MassachusettsOn his sewing machine patent model, Christopher Hodgkins made sure his model was well identified.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 9,365, issued November 2, 1852; Christopher Hodgkins of Boston, Massachusetts; On his sewing machine patent model, Christopher Hodgkins made sure his model was well identified. On the base, “Hodgkins” was painted in bold gold letters, and a brass bed plate was stamped “Christopher Hodgkins.” In his patent specification, Hodgkins wrote “My machine sews with two needles working through the cloth in opposite directions, and the one being made to cross the path of the other. It performs a lock-stitch, the loops made by each thread being locked in the cloth by those of the other.”; Hogkins assigned his patents (Patent No. 9,365, issued November 2, 1852; Patent No. 10,622, issued March 7, 1854; and Patent No. 10,879, issued May 9, 1854) to Nehemiah Hunt of Boston. In 1853, N. Hunt & Co. manufactured sewing machines based on Hodgkins’s patents. A year later, Hunt took a partner, and the company became Hunt and Webster.; Ballou’s Pictorial, July 5, 1856, featured Hunt and Webster in an article. The illustration depicted Hunt and Webster sewing machines in an elegant exhibition and showroom in Boston. They noted that “ . . . the North American Shoe Company have over fifty of the latest improved machines now running . . . .”
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1852-11-02
patent date: 1852-11-02

inventor: Hodgkins, Christopher

ID Number: TE.T08702
catalog number: T08702.000
patent number: 009365
accession number: 89797

Cloth Napping Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 350, issued August 8, 1837Benjamin Swasey of Mount Vernon, MaineSwasey’s patent concerned the setting of teazles ( thistle-like plant heads) in the wires of the large napping cylinder.

Description: Cloth Napping Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 350, issued August 8, 1837; Benjamin Swasey of Mount Vernon, Maine; Swasey’s patent concerned the setting of teazles ( thistle-like plant heads) in the wires of the large napping cylinder. He also claimed certain springs and levers that shifted the cloth rollers in and out of gear. This shifting of the cloth rollers caused the cloth to come in contact with the teazles as the cloth was wound forward and then disengaged the cloth from the teazles as the cloth rewound.; In this way, the cloth could roll from one cylinder to another as long as necessary to ensure a well-napped surface. Also, the shifting of gears did not require a person to match and unmatch the gears. Friction bands on the ends of the cloth rollers, together with hanging weights, kept tension on the cloth even.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1837-08-08
date made: before1837-08-08
patent date: 1837-08-08

inventor: Swasey, Benjamin

ID Number: TE.T11403.011
accession number: 89797
catalog number: T11403.011
accession number: 89797
patent number: 350

Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 7776, issued November 12, 1850. Allen Benjamin Wilson of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.Allen B. Wilson was one of the most creative and innovative of the early inventors.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 7776, issued November 12, 1850. Allen Benjamin Wilson of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.; Allen B. Wilson was one of the most creative and innovative of the early inventors. Born in Willett, New York, in 1823, he was apprenticed at age sixteen as a cabinetmaker. Later in 1847, he moved to Adrian, Michigan, and worked as a journeyman cabinetmaker. It was here, far removed from New England and the efforts by other inventors, that he began to design a different sewing machine. After recovering from an illness, he moved back east to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and began to perfect his new concept for a sewing machine.; In 1850, Wilson developed a prototype for a reciprocating-shuttle machine. When the needle went through the cloth, it formed a loop below the seam. A shuttle that was pointed on both ends held a second thread that was passed through the loop and as the tension on the thread was tightened, a lockstitch was made. This shuttle could be moved both forward and backwards to form a stitch on both movements, unlike the shuttles of Hunt and Howe, which only created a stitch in one direction.; Based on these same ideas, he made a second machine that he submitted to the U.S. Patent Office and was granted Patent No. 7,776 on November 12, 1850. Presumably, Wilson’s skills as a cabinetmaker came into use with this model as it is almost entirely made out of wood and painted black to look like metal. Constructing a model out of wood, rather than metal, was a less expensive and easier way to build, requiring fewer specialized tools. On the underside of the metal raceway is stamped “Deall & Sons,” evidence that Wilson used a machinist to fabricate this part.; Fortunately, Wilson met Nathaniel Wheeler, partner of the firm of Warren and Woodruff of Watertown, Connecticut. He moved to Watertown to join in the partnership and to continue to perfect his sewing machine.; In his second patent (Patent No. 8,296, issued August 12, 1851) Wilson developed the rotary hook and bobbin to replace the shuttle mechanism in his first patent (Patent No. 7776, issued November 12, 1850.) The rotary hook opened the loop of the needle thread, while a reciprocating bobbin carried the second thread through the loop to complete the lockstitch.; In order to avoid patent litigation that the reciprocating bobbin might have caused, Wilson developed his third unique invention, the stationary bobbin (Patent No. 9,041, issued June 15, 1852.) In Wilson’s rotary hook and stationary bobbin, the lockstitch was made by locking the needle thread with the bobbin thread by passing the needle thread loop under the bobbin. The driving shaft carried the circular rotary hook, which resulted in a revolutionary method of sewing.; For his patent model, Wilson submitted a commercial Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine that had been manufactured the previous year. The evolution of his ideas from the simple wooden model to the successful manufactured machine beautifully illustrates the progress of his novel inventions.; In 1853 the Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Company was organized to manufacture sewing machines based on Allen Wilson patents. In 1856, the company moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and became the largest and most successful manufacturer of sewing machines in the 1850s and 1860s.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1850-11-12
patent date: 1850-11-12

patentee: Wilson, Allen B.
inventor: Wilson, Allen B.

ID Number: TE.T06052
catalog number: T06052.000
accession number: 48865
patent number: 007776

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 3,389, issued December 27, 1843George Henry Corliss of Greenwich, New YorkIn 1825, George Corliss’s physician father moved the family to Greenwich, New York, where George, then 8, grew up.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 3,389, issued December 27, 1843; George Henry Corliss of Greenwich, New York; In 1825, George Corliss’s physician father moved the family to Greenwich, New York, where George, then 8, grew up. The son spent several years as a young man clerking in a country store and in 1838 opened his own country store in Greenwich. While running the store, George received complaints about the stitching of leather boots from a customer. Since all stitching was done by hand, George wondered why a machine had not been invented that would stitch stronger seams.; He analyzed the saddler’s stitch, which was commonly used to stitch boot seams, and developed the concepts of the mechanisms that would be necessary to reproduce the stitch with a machine. By 1843, he had developed such a machine and received Patent Number 3,389. In his patent specification, he described the operation of the “Sewing Engine” as follows: “Like the common process of sewing by hand, it is provided in this machine that the article under operation be perforated for each stitch, and that the perforation be filled with a thread passed through it from each side. The instruments by which this is affected repeat their operations always at the same point. The article to be sewed is therefore moved at each stitch.” Knight’s Mechanical Dictionary of 1881 indicated that the machine was similar in operation to the Greenough patented in 1842 in the use of the running stitch. In his patent claims, Corliss noted the rectilinear and lateral movements of the awls; the movements of the needles; the combination of levers; the method of forming stitches; and the mechanism that prevents the entanglement of threads.; Hoping to promote his sewing machine patent, George moved his family to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1844 to gain financial backing and machine shop experience. Associating himself in business with John Barstow and Edwin J. Nightingale to develop and manufacture steam engines, Corliss received many patents relating to steam engines and their associated components. His interest in sewing machines was overtaken by his pursuit of improvements to steam engines, for which he became famous.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1843-12-27
patent date: 1843-12-27

inventor: Corliss, George H.

ID Number: TE.T06110
catalog number: T06110.000
patent number: 003389
accession number: 89797

Self-Adjusting Loom Temple Patent ModelPatent No. 291, issued July 22, 1837Samuel P. Mason of Newport, Rhode IslandTemples are attachments on looms designed to keep the cloth at a uniform width during weaving.

Description: Self-Adjusting Loom Temple Patent Model; Patent No. 291, issued July 22, 1837; Samuel P. Mason of Newport, Rhode Island; Temples are attachments on looms designed to keep the cloth at a uniform width during weaving. Self-acting temples required no adjustment as the cloth was woven, for they automatically adjusted their position. The greater speed obtained with power weaving made the use of self-acting temples a necessity.; The basic construction of Mason’s temples was similar to others of the period. The patented feature of his temple concerned the arrangement of the parts by which the jaws or forceps were forced open and released their hold on the cloth.; Mason patented other useful textile machinery. Notable were an 1830 speeder for roving cotton (a speeder is a machine used in cotton yarn spinning that inserts a twist to the yarn and winds it on the bobbin) and a cotton whipper (a machine that separates clumps of cotton) in 1834. James Montgomery, in his 1840 edition of “Cotton manufacture of the United States Contrasted with that of Great Britain,” wrote that he considered the whipper the best, cheapest, and simplest that he had seen in factory use over a span of thirty years.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1837-07-22
patent date: 1837-07-22

inventor: Mason, Samuel P.

ID Number: TE.T11414.073
patent number: 291
catalog number: T11414.073
patent number: 001838
accession number: 89797

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 9,139, issued July 20, 1852Charles Miller of St. Louis, MissouriAt the time of his patent, Charles Miller lived in St. Louis, Missouri, an uncommon choice of residence for a sewing machine inventor.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 9,139, issued July 20, 1852; Charles Miller of St. Louis, Missouri; At the time of his patent, Charles Miller lived in St. Louis, Missouri, an uncommon choice of residence for a sewing machine inventor. Most of the inventors, and subsequent manufacturers, were located in the northeastern United States, particularly New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.; In his patent specification, Miller states: “This invention relates to that description of sewing-machine which forms the stitch by the interlacing of two threads, one of which is passed through the cloth in the form of a loop, and the other carried by a shuttle through the said loop.” His claim continues by stating: “It consists, first, in an improved stop-motion, or certain means of preventing the feed or movement of the cloth when by accident the thread breaks or catches in the seam; and, second, in certain means of sewing or making a stitch similar to what is termed in hand-sewing ‘the back stitch.”; According to Miller, his mechanism was different in that it passed the needle through the cloth in two places rather than in one, as was the case with other sewing machines of the time. His brass model is strikingly handsome, and engraved on the base of the model is “Charles Miller & J. A. Ross.” Usually when a second name is so prominently displayed on a model, it indicates a second inventor. However, no mention is made of Ross in the patent specification. Interestingly, Jonathan A. Ross turns up the following year at the 1853 New York Exhibition, exhibiting a sewing machine, and is listed in the catalogue as a sewing machine manufacturer from St. Louis, Missouri.; Miller is perhaps best known for an invention some two years later. It was the first sewing machine patented to stitch buttonholes (Patent No. 10,609, issued March 7, 1854). In his patent specification, Miller describes the three different stitches, “button-hole stitch, whip stitch or herring-bone stitch,” that can be mechanically sewn to finish the buttonhole.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1852-07-20
patent date: 1852-07-20

inventor: Miller, Charles

ID Number: TE.T06113
catalog number: T06113.000
patent number: 009139
accession number: 89797

Sewing Machine Patent Model Patent No. 8,294, issued August 12, 1851Isaac Merritt Singer of New York, New YorkThe eighth child of poor German immigrants, Isaac Singer was born on October 27, 1811, in Pittstown, New York. As a young man he worked as a mechanic and cabinetmaker.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model Patent No. 8,294, issued August 12, 1851; Isaac Merritt Singer of New York, New York; The eighth child of poor German immigrants, Isaac Singer was born on October 27, 1811, in Pittstown, New York. As a young man he worked as a mechanic and cabinetmaker. For a time he was an actor and formed his own theatrical troupe, The Merritt Players.” Needing a steadier income, Singer worked for a plant in Fredericksburg, Ohio, that manufactured wooden type for printers. Seeing the need for a better type-carving machine, he invented an improved one.; In June 1850, Singer and a partner took the machine to Boston looking for financial support. He rented display space in the workshop of Orson C. Phelps. Here Singer became intrigued with the sewing machine that Phelps was building for John A. Lerow and Sherburne C. Blodgett. Analyzing the flaws of the Lerow and Blodgett sewing machine, Singer devised a machine that used a shuttle that moved in a straight path—as opposed to theirs, which moved around in a complete circle. He visualized replacing their curved horizontal needle with a straight, vertically moving needle. Phelps approved of Singer’s ideas and Isaac worked on perfecting his machine.; For his first patent model, Isaac Singer submitted a commercial sewing machine. He was granted Patent No. 8,294, on August 12, 1851. These commercial sewing machines were built in Orson C. Phelps’s machine shop in Boston. The head, base cams, and gear wheels of the machine were made of cast iron; to fit together, these parts had to be filed and ground by hand. The machine made a lockstitch by using a straight, eye-pointed needle and a reciprocating shuttle. The specific patent claims allowed were for: 1) the additional forward motion of the shuttle to tighten the stitch; 2) the use of a friction pad to control the tension of the thread from the spool; and 3) placing the spool of thread on an adjustable arm to permit thread to be used as needed.; Always the showman, Singer relished exhibiting his invention at social gatherings and was masterful in convincing the women present that the sewing machine was a tool they could learn to use. The machine was transported in its packing crate, which served as a stand; it contained a wooden treadle that allowed the seamstress to power the machine with her feet, leaving both hands free to guide the cloth. This early, heavy-duty Singer machine was designed for use in the manufacturing trades rather than in the home.

model constructed: before 1851-08-12
patent date: 1851-08-12

inventor: Singer, Isaac M.

ID Number: TE.T06054
accession number: 48865
catalog number: T06054.000
patent number: 008294

Power Loom Patent ModelPatent No. 595, issued February 6, 1838Elijah Fairman of Stafford, ConnecticutFairman’s improvements, consisting of an additional cam and a set of treadles, were applied to power looms in common use.

Description: Power Loom Patent Model; Patent No. 595, issued February 6, 1838; Elijah Fairman of Stafford, Connecticut; Fairman’s improvements, consisting of an additional cam and a set of treadles, were applied to power looms in common use. His improvements allowed the harnesses to operate more smoothly and the warp to open, enabling the shuttle to pass more easily. The end result was that the loom was better suited to weaving either light or heavy fabrics. Six pages and three illustrations in Clinton Gilroy’s 1844 book, The Art of Weaving, are spent in describing Fairman’s patent. Gilroy commented that Fairman’s loom would probably work fine for simple weaves, but for fancy patterned work, requiring 10 to 100 heddle frames, it would be totally impractical.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-02-06
patent date: 1838-02-06

inventor: Fairman, Elijah

ID Number: TE.T11411.095
accession number: 89797
catalog number: T11411.095
patent number: 595

Spinning, Doubling, and Twisting Silk Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 977, issued on October 10, 1838Harrison Holland of Northampton, MassachusettsThe central part of Holland’s patent concerned the stop motion mechanism on a silk thread making machine.

Description: Spinning, Doubling, and Twisting Silk Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 977, issued on October 10, 1838; Harrison Holland of Northampton, Massachusetts; The central part of Holland’s patent concerned the stop motion mechanism on a silk thread making machine. If a thread broke, a small rod, connected to each of the threads by bent wires, would drop. A lever, to which the rod was attached, would come in contact with the drum and then stop the machine by throwing it out of gear. Also included in the patent was a method to change the twist of the silk thread by using a short cylinder.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1838-10-10
patent date: 1838-10-10

inventor: Holland, Harrison

ID Number: TE.T11407.027
accession number: 89797
patent number: 977
catalog number: T11407.027

Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 2,466, issued February 21, 1842John James Greenough of Washington, D.C.In 1842, John Greenough received the first American patent for a sewing machine. Greenough’s patent model used a needle with two points and an eye in the middle.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 2,466, issued February 21, 1842; John James Greenough of Washington, D.C.; In 1842, John Greenough received the first American patent for a sewing machine. Greenough’s patent model used a needle with two points and an eye in the middle. To make a stitch, the needle would completely pass through the material by means of a pair of pinchers on either side of the seam. The pinchers traveled on a rack and opened and closed automatically. The needle was threaded with a length of thread, and required constant rethreading.; This type of sewing was classified as a short-thread machine. The machine was designed for sewing leather, and an awl preceded the needle to pierce a hole. The leather was held between clamps on a rack that could be moved, to produce a back stitch, or forward to make a shoemaker’s stitch. The material was fed automatically at a selected rate, according to the length of stitch desired. A weight drew out the thread, and a stop-motion shut down the machinery when a thread broke or became too short. Feed was continuous for the length of the rack-bar, and then it had to be set back. The turn of a crank set all motions to work. Greenough did not commercially manufacture his invention and his patent model remains as the only evidence.; He held several profitable patents for shoe-pegging machinery. He had many interests and his other patents included ones for plate glass; lampshades; looms; firearms; meters; propellers; gearing; hinges; power-transmitters; car steps; and a paper bag-making machine.; Greenough worked at the Patent Office from 1837 to 1841, supervising draftsmen who were restoring the patent drawings lost in the disastrous 1836 fire. Later he became an attorney working mostly on patent cases, and established a patent agency in New York City. In 1853, he was one of the founders of the American Polytechnic Journal, which published engravings of recent patents.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1842-02-21
patent date: 1842-02-21

inventor: Greenough, John J.

ID Number: TE.T06048
catalog number: T06048.000
patent number: 002466
accession number: 48865

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 9,679 issued April 19, 1853William Wickersham of Lowell, MassachusettsWickersham exhibited his boot and leather sewing machine at the “New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations” in 1853.

Description: Sewing Machine Patent Model; Patent No. 9,679 issued April 19, 1853; William Wickersham of Lowell, Massachusetts; Wickersham exhibited his boot and leather sewing machine at the “New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations” in 1853. His address in the catalogue for the exhibition was listed as 20 Bulfinch Street, Boston.; In 1853 and 1854, Butterfield & Stevens Mfg. Co., of Boston.; Massachusetts, manufactured sewing machines based on his patent of April 19, 1853. In his patent specification, Wickersham wrote, “My machine for sewing cloth, leather, or other material is calculated to sew either a chain stitch (the formation of which is well understood) or a stitch . . . formed of two threads, and so that the loops of one . . . shall alternately pass through or be interlocked with those of the other . . . .” Although he mentions sewing cloth, it was for sewing leather for boots and shoes that his sewing machine became important. Wickersham’s patents introduced the method that allowed for the use of sewing leather with waxed thread. The development of mechanisms that would allow for sewing with wax thread was crucial to the industrialization of the shoe making industry.
Location: Currently not on view

model constructed: before 1853-04-19
patent date: 1853-04-19

inventor: Wickersham, William

ID Number: TE.T06117
catalog number: T06117.000
patent number: 009679
accession number: 89797

Textiles

1838 Day's Patent Model of a Cordage Machine

1837 - John Golding's Patent Model of a Silk Spinning Doubling and Twisting Machine

1838 Parsons's Patent Model of a Cloth Shearing Machine

1854 - Walter Hunt's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1838 Mason's Patent Model of a Speeder for Roving Cotton

1838 Yerkes's Patent Model of a Spindle and Flyer

1852 - Otis Avery's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1852 - Allen Wilson's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1838 Faber's Patent Model of a Hand Card

1838 Bigelow's Patent Model of a Loom

1838 Humphries's Patent Model of a Carpet

1840 Thorp and Angell's Patent Model of a Loom Heddle

1838 Angell's Patent Model of a Loom Temple

1852 - Christopher Hodgkin's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1837 Swasey's Patent Model of a Cloth Napping Machine

1850 - Allen Wilson's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1843 - George H. Corliss's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1837 Mason's Patent Model of a Loom Temple

1852 - Charles Miller's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1851 - Isaac Singer's Sewing Machine Patent Model

1838 Fairman's Patent Model of a Loom

1838 Holland's Doubling and Twisting Silk Machine

1842 - John J. Greenough's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

1853 - William Wickersham's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine (leather)