Part 16 (1/2)

[Illustration: Figure 111--NETTLETON & RAYMOND SEWING MACHINE One of themachines was patented and manufactured by Willford H Nettleton and Charles Raymond whose first patent was received on April 14, 1857 The patent model, believed to be a commercial machine, is beautifully silver-plated

Whether this was a special one-of-a-kind model, or whether the inventors tried to make a commercial success of a silver-plated machine is not known Theboth threads from commercial spools By October 1857, the inventors had received their second patent This tihter, but less expensive At the sa-shears machines under the patent of J E

Hendricks

By the latter half of 1858, Nettleton & Raymond had moved from Bristol, Connecticut, to Brattleboro, Vermont The patented improvement of the two-thread chainstitch machine received that year was in the nah the machines of this type bear neither name nor patent date No record of the price for which they were sold has been found, but it would be fair to estimate that it was probably about 25 This style of machine was discontinued when the land an, a machine that Raymond had initiated just before the partners left Bristol (Sure 112--RAYMOND PATENT MODEL, March 9, 1858

(Sure 113--NEW ENGLAND sewing machine of about 1860, manufactured by Nettleton & Raymond; it bears the Raymond patent date of March 9, 1858 (Sures 112 and 113--NEW ENGLAND SEWING MACHINES The s machines some of which were called Common Sense, were manufactured by at least three companies and possibly more

The earliest ones were those made by Nettleton & Raymond based on Charles Rayed presser foot acting as the top feed On July 30, 1861, Raymond received a patent for an improved looper; this date is found on all machines later manufactured by the inventor

In 1858 Nettleton and Raymond had moved from Bristol, Connecticut, to Brattleboro, Vermont Also in Brattleboro at this time were Tho a small machine called the Brattleboro White left Vermont in 1862 and went to Massachusetts

There, in partnershi+p with Willialand machines; these were basically the same as the Raymond machines After a short time, Grout left the partnershi+p with White and land machines for approximately one more year In 1865, J G Folsoland machine at the Tenth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics association along with his Globe machine Whether both ht have been exhibiting one of Grout's land reat similarity between thesemachines of the 1870s It is believed that the nalanders to several of the cheaper chainstitch ure 114--PRATT'S SECOND PATENT MODEL, March 3, 1857, probably a commercial machine (Sures 114 and 115--PRATT'S PATENT and the Ladies Co machine The machines manufactured under the patents of Samuel F Pratt were first sold in 1857 and 1858 as Pratt's patent

These machines carry the Pratt name and the patent dates ”Feb 3, 1857 Mar 3;” the latter is an 1857 patent date also In 1859 the Pratt machine was called the Ladies Companion and was so marked It was also marked with the 1857 patent dates, the date February 16, 1858, and a serial number, and was stamped ”Boston, Mass” Manufacture was discontinued after a few years]

[Illustration: Figure 115--LADIES COMPANION, 1859 (_Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museuan_)]

[Illustration: Figure 116--QUAKER CITY SEWING MACHINE During the first decade of sewing-machine manufacture many types of handsome wooden cases were developed to house the h such cases increased the total cost, they were greatly admired and were purchased whenever family funds permitted The er: a ust 17, 1858 (antedated May 8), and a patent for the casing on Dece as the lid was brought forward and closed--an idea much ahead of its time

This Quaker City machine, serial number 18, was purchased by Benjamin F

Meadows of Lafayette, Alabama, for 150 just prior to the Civil War

Relatively few machines of this type wereMachine Co existed for only a few years Its apparent hope for a southern market was short-lived, and it was unable to compete either with the companies licensed under the ”Co less expensive machines (Sure 117--FROM AN ADVERTISING BROCHURE, marked in ink, ”The National Portrait Gallery, 1855,” in the Singer Company's archives

The brochure states ”Howard & Davis, 34 Water Street, Boston, Massachusetts Sole Manufacturers of Robinson's Patent Sewing Machine with Rope[r]'s Improvements” (Sure 118--SEWING MACHINE OF ABOUT 1856 with inscription ”Howard & Davis Makers, Boston, Mass Robinson & Roper Pat

Dec 10, 1850, Aug 15, 1854”; the drive wheel and the circular stitching plate of this(Sures 117 and 118--ROBINSON AND ROPER sewinga backstitch or half backstitch to realize any commercial success Manufactured a very short time by Howard & Davis, it was a short-thread machine, based on the Frederick Robinson patent of Deceust 15, 1854 Roper produced additional improvements for which he received a patent on November 4, 1856 In the _Scientific American_, November 1, 1856, the new machine was discussed: ”Robinson & Roper exhibit their new ireat success Two needles are employed, the points of which are furnished with hooks that alternately catch the thread and form the stitch The finest kind of cotton thread or silk can be used

The work appears well done Price 100”]