On this day in 1851, Isaac Merritt Singer obtained a patent for improvements he created to the sewing machine. Though he did not invent the original sewing machine, his design changes made the machines smaller, more reliable, easier to use, and easier to manufacture. He emulated the mass-production examples of gun makers (like Samuel Colt and Eli Whitney) with their modern production lines and reliance upon interchangeable parts. Prior to this, sewing machines were big, bulky, complicated industrial machines—better suited to cobblers, harness makers and other industrial settings. Singer's smaller, reliable machines could be used in the home. And they were affordable. His mass-production drove-down the price of a new sewing machine from $100 to $10 (equivalent to about $400 today). Furthermore, Singer instituted an installment payment plan, allowing more households to make the purchase.
Sewing machines in the home had a huge effect on commerce and society. Underemployed women could work from their homes (nearly all mid-Nineteenth Century clothing was still custom made). A growing middle class could hire more seamstresses, reducing the cost of clothes production and creating a quicker evolution of fashion styles.
These machines could complete 900 stitches per minute compared to the 40 stitches per minute of an accomplished seamstress. A shirt, which once took 15 hours to sew, could now be stitched in one hour. Before long (near the Turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century) garment factories were opening and "ready-to-wear" clothing was born. And Singer's Mott Street factory (in New York City) was humming with production, supplying machines across an expanding United States and overseas. The Singer Sewing Machine Company was America's first multi-national corporation.
But Singer's durable cast iron sewing machines (with their handsome enameled finishes and decoration) would be replaced by lighter, cheaper, more modern Japanese models in the 1960's.
The Blackforest carved-wooden pin cushion, shown above, hearkens back to the earlier days of sewing. It was made in the early Twentieth Century in Switzerland. The rustically naturalistic frame will add a handsome touch of nature to any sewing room. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248