Part 14 (2/2)
(Sure 91--GREENMAN AND TRUE SEWING MACHINE This lockstitch machine based on S H Roper's patent of 1857 was manufactured at Norwich, Connecticut, from 1859 to 1861 by Cyrus B
True, the inventor, and Jared F Greenman, True's financial partner
Licensed by the ”Co the Howe patent date, the ood family machine Exhibited at the Ninth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics association in September 1860, it received a bronze medal (At this time the company was listed as Morse and True--the inventor had obviously taken on a second financial backer) Unfortunately, the best market for the machine lay in the South, and the outbreak of the Civil War reatly retarded business and finally drove the firm into bankruptcy In all, it is doubtful that more than one thousand machines were produced in the three years of manufacture
The machine illustrated is marked ”Greenman and True” and bears the serial number 402; it was probably manufactured early in 1860
(Sure 92--GROVER AND BAKER SEWING MACHINE The Grover and Baker machine was one of the more popular machines from the 1850s until the early 1870s The company produced iron-fras 35 and 36) Their machines may be dated by serial number approximately as follows:
_Serial Number_ _Year_
1-500 1851 501-1000 1852 1001-1658 1853 1659-38931854 3894-5038 1855 5039-7000 1856 7001-10681 1857 10682-15752 1858 15753-26033 1859 26034-44869 1860 44870-63705 1861 63706-82641 1862 82642-101477 1863 101478-120313 1864 120314-139148 1865 139149-157886 1866 157887-190886 1867 190887-225886 1868 225887-261004 1869 261005-338407 1870 338408-389246 1871 389247-441257 1872 441258-477437 1873 477438-497438 1874 497439-512439 1875
(S of a Grover and Baker sewingbrochure of about 1870)]
[Illustration: Figure 93--HANcock SEWING MACHINE, 1867 One of theand producing a mechanically simple and cheaper machine was Henry J Hancock His 1867 machine is only about six inches wide; it uses a ta a loop of thread fro surface (Sure 94--HANcock SEWING MACHINE, 1868 Hancock in 1868 received both a design patent and athe eye-pointed needle and a hook to forn was an open framework circle with a mirror mounted in front of the table clalass” was decorative only The Hancock machines were only manufactured for a few years They er than the earlier machine
(Sure 95--[AC] HERRON'S PATENT SEWING MACHINE, 1858
The manufacturer of this machine is not known, but the ust 4, 1857 All the machines carry a s the patentee's name and the patent date The patent covered an i the chainstitch The machines were provided with a hand crank, but were also meant to be operated by a belt and treadle No records of the extent of manufacture of this machine have been found This machine head measures 14 inches in width, about standard size (Sure 96--A B HOWE SEWING MACHINE of about 1860
(Sures 96, 97, and 98--THE HOWE MACHINES It is difficult for end ”Elias Howe patent, Sept 10, 1846” does not certify that a ranted a patent for the lockstitch -machine factory for about twenty years Early in the 1850s and later through the ”Co his patent Thesepaid
Aanized the Hoing Machine Co in 1854 The Aood ones, and in 1862 Amasa won the prize medal at the London International Exhibition This immensely increased the popularity of the e factory at Bridgeport, Connecticut, to fill the increasing deeport, however, although i the Amasa Howe machines, proved inferior in quality A his business reputation, his brother's efforts were hurting him, and he severed business relations with Elias
Because of their brief association, the 1862 prize medal awarded to A
B Hoas sometimes credited to Elias The latter did receive awards for his patent, but never for his manufactured machines When the two brothers dissolved their joint venture, Elias atte Machine Co, but Amasa's claim that this name had been his exclusive property for many years was upheld by the courts
Elias then o” and called his company simply the Howe Machine Co
After Elias died in 1867, the company was run by his sons-in-law, the Stockwell brothers To distinguish their machines from those of A B
Howe, theythe head and flowing locks of Elias Howe They also continued to advertise their inal” Howe In about 1873, B P Howe, A Machine Co to the Stockwell brothers, who continued to manufacture Howe machines until 1886
TheMachine Co may be dated by serial number approximately as follows:
_Serial Number_ _Year_
1-60 1854 61-113 1855 114-166 1856 167-299 1857 300-478 1858 479-1399 1859